This was marketed to people who like Daisy Jones but aside from the fact they both deal with musicians they are in fact nothing alike but fear not this is just as good ! . It's not really a thriller as such but more of a coming of age story , a story about power and desire. I love multiple timelines and here bwe have three; present day Dylan, Dylan in high school and Dylan becoming the superstar. I was invested in all parts of her life, it works so well. The writing is good , there is good character development and the plot will make you want to read on without being over the top or unrealistic. I'm hoping this one will be adapted for the screen as it would be great !

I loved this book so much, I read it twice.

Why, you ask? You are going to have to dive in to find out for yourself.

I first read Emily Layden, when I picked up "All Girls" . .To say I was intrigued, would be an understatement. When I saw Once More From the Top, pop up on NetGalley, I was pleasantly surprised and eager to see what Layden had been working on.

I loved it

I absolutely loved every bit of this enthralling, tantalizing and mind bending thriller.

Relative and captivating, this is a book, once you start, you will not want to put down. I totally felt the Daisy Jones vibe with a hint of current social media influences.

You don't want to miss this one!

Check out this teaser :

Everyone in America knows Dylan Read, or at least has heard her music. Since releasing her debut album her senior year of high school, Dylan’s spent fifteen years growing up in the public eye. She’s not only perfected her skills when it comes to lyrics and melody; she’s also learned how to craft a public narrative that satisfies her fans, her label, and the media. In the circles of fame and celebrity in which she now travels, the careful maintenance of Dylan Read pop star is often more important than the songs themselves.

And so lots of people think they understand everything about Dylan Read. But what no one knows is the part of her origin story she has successfully kept hidden: her childhood best friend Kelsey vanished the year before Dylan became famous. Now, as Dylan’s at the height of her career, Kelsey’s body is found at the bottom of their hometown lake—forcing Dylan to reckon with their shared past, her friend’s influence on her music, and whether there’s more to their story than meets the eye.

Dylan Read, a renowned pop star, has never fully recovered from the disappearance of her childhood friend, Kesley. When Kesley’s remains are discovered years later, Dylan is thrust into a whirlwind of revisiting her troubled past while managing her current fame.

This novel was an exhilarating ride. It seamlessly weaves together Dylan’s poignant memories of Kesley and her rise to stardom through vivid flashbacks, all while she grapples with the shocking revelations of the present.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

2.5/5

I'm a country music radio DJ so maybe my expectations were set too high? I found the writing inconsistent...sometimes it ran freely and was enjoyable...however too much time was spent where it felt as I was reading through treacle. I'm sure people will enjoy this, but I personally didn't connect with the story, or Dylan. Many thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Once More From The Top is an enjoyable read. It follows our main character singer/songwriter Dylan as she revisits her home town following the discovery of her friends body who went missing as a teenager. It jumps between the present and Dylan's journey to fame to document how her friend and her disappearance played a role in Dylan's career development and personal life. It is an enjoyable read although I didn't find myself as immersed in the thriller/mystery aspect of the storyline as I would have liked. I enjoyed the look at the role of friendship and imposter syndrome that the character describes throughout the book and the emphasis on the music industry. Overall an interesting book which I am glad I picked up.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

This story seemed like it had all the right elements to be a favorite of mine, but it ultimately fell short. The plot centers around Dylan, a singer whose life begins to unravel when her childhood best friend, Kelsey, is discovered dead after having disappeared years earlier.

The narrative jumps back and forth between the past and present, but the pacing feels inconsistent. One moment you’re in the present, and the next you’re thrust back into Dylan’s high school years. I think the book could have been improved with shorter, more focused chapters.

I did find Dylan’s character intriguing, particularly the parts that explored her fame. Those were the highlights for me. The musical aspects were well done, and I appreciated the insight into her songwriting process.

However, the mystery aspect didn’t hold up, and by the time I reached the end, I found myself indifferent to Kelsey’s fate.

I have no doubt that many readers will connect with this book, but unfortunately, it just didn’t resonate with me as I had hoped.

Once More From The Top is not the book I expected it to be, I expected Dylan Thomas to be more of a superstar in the music world and the mentions of Daisy Jones and The Six / Taylor Swift only fuelled this. I liked the way the past was discussed by album, this could have been improved and added more layers to the story by having different perspectives or even articles/interviews from the time. It became quite monotonous only ever reading from Dylan's POV. She's supposed to be this "legendary country-music pop star" but not a lot happens from album to album, compared to the likes of *insert name of megastar here* nowadays.

I struggled to root for any of the characters, which didn't help with my enjoyment of the story either. I probably should have DNF'd and moved on. I expected more from this book especially when it was hyped up for fans of Taylor Swift and Taylor Jenkins Reid (don't disrespect the Taylors that way).

Thank you 4th Estate + NetGalley for the opportunity to read this! #OnceMoreFromTheTop #NetGalley

This had all the ingredients of something I would love but unfortunately it just didn’t hit the spot for me. It follows Dylan, a very Taylor Swift esque singer whose world begins to crumble when her childhood best friend Kelsey is found dead after vanishing years ago.

It flits between past and present but the chapters are also a bit all over the place in terms of pacing, one minute you’re in present day and the next you’re back in high school and I think it could’ve benefited from being sectioned into smaller chapters.

I did like Dylan’s character and her similarities to Taylor, the parts about her and her fame were really interesting and definitely my favourite part of the book.

The mystery got lost and by the end I didn’t really care what happened to Kelsey to be honest.

I’m sure a lot of people will love this but for me I just didn’t quite connect with it the way I wanted to.

I loved the premise of this book. It uses music to build the story but never does it get technical which helped engage me. The book has serious parallels with popular artists but never did I lose focus from the main leads of the story. Which is a credit to the author. It is well written and shows the cost of fame quite well. While a mystery, it is also about love, grief, friendship and loss.

Thank you 4th Estate and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

This book is getting some hype at the moment due to the very Taylor Swift like main character.
I quite enjoyed it but it’s not a thriller or even a psychological drama. Dylan Read is a hugely successful pop star. When her teenage best friend is found dead in the local lake years after she was presumed to have gone missing, she returns to her hometown to confront the mysteries behind Kelsey’s disappearance.
The main problem is that Dylan Read is such a boring character. She is paranoid, utterly self aware and controlled. The one time she goes crazy and has a 72 hour marriage it’s given a couple of pages. It doesn’t make for a very passionate read, especially as the girl who died was far more interesting. There are so many characters in the book that I struggled to keep up with them, especially as many brought little to the plot. I finished it but I won’t be recommending this one.

I really enjoyed Once More From The Top but I wouldn't really class it as a mystery or thriller, for me it was more about friendship, coping with loss, overcoming guilt and imposter syndrome.
Moving between the present, her childhood and her albums Dylan narrates the story and I really liked her voice.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Once More From The Top.

Dylan, a successful musician, has a past which haunts her. When the body of her childhood friend, Kelsey, is discovered she has to come to terms with how her disappearance has shaped her career. The present and the past are juxtaposed throughout as we learn about their friendship and about Dylan's career.
Although I enjoyed the book, it wasn't what I expected - I thought this was going to be a crime/police procedural novel. For me, the music side of things was too top heavy: I would have preferred to read more about the girls' relationship. Sorry!

This was such a unique and different read. The writing feels like a journal. This is a multilayered story and characters are so mysterious. This is about the loss of a childhood friend, friendship, secrets, mystery , fame and music industry.

Thanks to the Publisher and Author.

This book is perfect for fans of Daisy Jones and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, with a great mystery plot surrounded by a broader memoir-like story about a famous self-made singer, with interesting commentary on celebrity culture and fandom. I really enjoyed the mystery aspect to the story and how the book was structured, with constant timeline jumps to keep readers engaged and intrigued by Dylan's story. Unfortunately, I just felt that Dylan as a character wasn't as compelling as I wanted her to be, and in contrast, I wanted more of Kelsey.

Loved the premise of this, but after a very slow start that never really picked up, unfortunately it fell a little short for me.

Dylan is the most famous pop-star on the planet. There's not a corner of the world where she won't be recognised. But even her most intense fans don't know her secret: that her childhood best friend, Kelsey, disappeared right before Dylan's first album was recorded. And when Kelsey's body is found, that secret can't stay buried forever...

I thought this would be a crime / thriller, but it's actually much more like Daisy Jones and the Six or other music novels: it flicks between Dylan in the present, grappling with the spotlight on Kelsey, Dylan and Kelsey's friendship and the music they made together, and the years between, tracking Dylan's career as she becomes meteoric. Instead of a thriller, it's a really smart use of the time jumps, tracking seamlessly between them to show the evolution of an artist and how she's unable to shake off Kelsey's influence. I really enjoyed this: clearly the author put so much attention and care into charting out Dylan's career, and I especially loved the song lyrics, which were gorgeous and believable and avoided the hazards of feeling cliche or tacked-on.

This isn't a criticism, but did anyone else get serious Taylor Swift vibes? A pristine 'good girl', terrified of losing her reputation, moving from country to pop after a few albums, known for being a songwriter, victim to a mass cancellation where she 'literally disappeared for a year'. Dating a British man. Walking the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in a long silk robe. A public friendship with another beautiful woman ending disastrously, though not before some publicised summer backyard parties. Either this is a huge coincidence or Emily Layden is a certified Swiftie. Credit to her that she managed to make me picture Dylan, not Taylor, despite the similarities.

This story is about fame and the implication of fame over everything, even the past. Dylan Read needs to navigate her life of being one of the most famous singers while hiding her past, but her past is catching up with her. That part of mystery made Once More from the Top to be really interesting and I couldn't wait to see what happened in Dylan Read's past.

Once more from the top is a story where I was expecting more to happen. It reminded me in a sense of Daisy Jones and the Six, also a book where I was just hoping for more.

It is entertaining and fun though

When 17 year old Kelsey Copastenke’s body is found in the lake after being missing for 15 years, singer/songwriter, Dylan Read is in shock as a media frenzy begins. They were best friends at high school, singing and writing together and with big dreams. It was Kelsey who was determined to escape their small town and make it big whereas Dylan, more uncertain, was not so focussed.
However, it was Dylan who had the million selling, Grammy award winning career and now the past has returned. But she is in control of her career with a carefully constructed public image and a good relationship with her fans.
As she attends Kelsey’s memorial service and revisits her old town that she is aware that she is standing in Kelsey’s shoes and that she might have had an even more stellar career than Dylan. But as she starts exploring Kelsey’s short life she wonders who is the mysterious ‘L’ who left a message in her first edition of Sylvia Plath’s ‘Ariel’> And why was Kelsey so frustrated about her plans for escape collapsing? Dylan begins to uncover the truth as her career and public persona reaches new heights.
It’s easy to see the parallels between Dylan and Taylor Swift and the songwriting and recording process were well described and not too technical. Dylan’s inspirations and how she writes songs and music are also a large part of the novel and I found this element fascinating. However, Dylan is always aware how easily it all came to Kelsey. Would she have overtaken Dylan and so become her rival?
It was fun spotting characters who might have been based on real people as I’m sure that Lady Gaga made a brief appearance at one point.
The downside of fame was also an important part of the story with the necessary control of fans access to her, their need for new information and gossip and the price of living life in the public gaze. This was also a ghost story as Kelsey appears throughout the book commenting on events and just hanging out. However, the mystery surrounding her death was a bit of a letdown after all the build-up. I have to admit that country music is not my favourite genre although its gender imbalance is well explored.
There are comparisons to be made with ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ but on the whole I preferred Dylan’s story. Fast paced, told in flashbacks and the present day, it was a great summer read and made me think about fame and its cost.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Liked the premise so thought I'd give it a go. For me it was extremely boring with a very slow pace and not much going on. When you do know the answer it's a case of, yeah...and... Maybe it's meant to be YA and would appeal to the Swifty (obvious comparrisons) audience. I did like Dylan as a character which helped and encouraged me to finish