Beta Reading - Rock Revival

For the last week or so, I've been reading the first draft of my friend Natania Barron's recent novel, Rock Revival. I've written about Natania before but as a refresher, she's my friend from college who has gone on to actually publish her writing, unlike many people from our fiction classes in college (like me!). She has mostly written speculative fiction, publishing short stories but in the last year, her first novel, Pilgrim of the Sky. I've read several of Natania's books before, although this one was very different from her usual works.

I'm not going to review Natania's book here because this was just a first draft. However, it was a great first draft. I've emailed her personally with my thoughts but this novel has a lot of potential. It's not fantasy or spec fiction like her other books. This is the story of Kate Styx, keyboardist and songwriter for a band called The Revivals. Without going into too much detail, Rock Revival is the story of a band at crossroads. Every member has their own demons (not actual demons... I said this wasn't fantasy) and their own way of dealing with said demons. I told Natania that I found Kate damaged but not broken and certainly not someone so self-pitying that I couldn't empathize with her. She's been through a lot but I liked her. I've never really been a huge music fan. I listen to a lot of music. And I like it. But I don't live for it or through it like some people do. The last time I read a music based book, it didn't go too well. 

Anyway, I really liked reading Rock Revival and I really really hope that someday it will be on bookshelves or available as an e-book for everyone to enjoy. 

Not sure what I'm reading next. I've gotten sucked into Star Wars: Legacy comics, so I might focus on those for a bit. I've done a bunch of comic reading since the holidays but haven't gotten around to reviewing any of those. I may at some point but right now, I'll finish Legacy and see what I'm in the mood to read next!