Good songs come from love. Great songs come from heartbreak.–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Picked by Cosmopolitan and RED as a best book of 2025.

‘For fans of Daisy Jones and the Six and One Day, here is the will they, won’t they love story of Percy and Joe … Destined for the screen’ i Paper

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM A24 STARRING SAOIRSE RONAN AND AUSTIN BUTLER–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

'Tender as a ballad and pleasurable as a pop song' COCO MELLORS

'Clever and heart-wrenching and addictive' MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER

'An incredibly special book' BETH O'LEARY

'So relatable and enjoyable' GILLIAN MCALLISTER

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The first time Joe plays Percy one of his songs in his college room in 2000, she instantly realises three things:

One, she is watching a star in the making.

Two, she can shape his music into something extraordinary.

Three, she will always be on the sidelines.

She swallows her jealousy and throws herself into collaboration, transforming Joe’s songs into indie hits with her blistering critiques.

But there’s an undercurrent to the music they’re making – something undeniably electric, hurtling towards love. And then, almost inevitably, towards heartbreak.

As Joe steps into the spotlight, can Percy bear to watch on in silence?

And can he exist there without her?

Deep Cuts is an irresistible novel about passion and obsession, love and longing and, above all, our need to be heard.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––READERS ARE SAYING…

'The best debut novel I've ever read' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I need this book to come out so I can talk to at least one person about it!! Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow meets Normal People, with all the nostalgia of Almost Famous and High Fidelity' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'You need to add this to your TBR. Just trust me on this, ok?' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I can’t believe this book is a debut novel because of how good it is. I felt a mixture of Sally Rooney with Gabrielle Zevin and it was delicious' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I love it with all my heart, I'm super sad it's over and I will be insufferable when it's out' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I wish I could have written this book. I’m jealous of people who haven’t yet read this book' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'This is an absolutely breathtaking debut. I cannot hammer that home enough' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I can’t believe this is a debut! It’s perfect for fans of One Day and Daisy Jones & The Six … This one hit me hard'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Details

ISBN13: 9780008695835
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 288
Edition:
Publication Date: 02 Apr 2025
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)x2.4(W)360
Weight (gm): 360

Author Biography

Holly Brickley was born and raised in Hope, British Columbia, a small town known primarily for being the filming location of the first Rambo movie. At 18 she moved to study English at UC Berkeley with an MFA in Fiction at Columbia University. Instead of putting this education to any sort of literary use, she then spent a decade-plus running around San Francisco and New York, working in trend research and branding, and basically making a career of going out. She now lives with her husband and two daughters in a creaky old house in Portland, Oregon, where she prefers to stay in-and write. Deep Cuts is her debut novel.

Reviews

‘Tender as a ballad and pleasurable as a pop song… both a nostalgic romp into the indie sleaze era of the early aughts and a timeless love story of creative collaboration, competition and ambition’ Coco Mellors

'Clever and heart-wrenching and addictive, the kind of novel that grabs you in an instant and takes you reeling through its pages' Miranda Cowley Heller

'Raw and lyrical and so evocative of its time and place… like High Fidelity for the indie sleaze era' Bobby Palmer

'Holly Brickley spins us through a whirling disco of sound’ The Times

'A pitch perfect novel… brimming with tension, lyricism and passion, with a searing poignancy that will keep you hooked’ Glamour

'Smart, swoony and imbued with youthful yearning' Mail Online

'Will engender a rush of recognition in music lovers of a certain age’ Guardian

'Dazzling' Elle

'Obsessed' Cosmo

'I find it hard to remember the last time I found a novel so relatable and enjoyable' Gillian McAllister

'An incredibly special book, one of the best I've read in a very long time' Beth O'Leary

‘Warm, nostalgic, totally engrossing. I loved this novel’ Liz Moore

'Every writer knows the highest compliment is envy: I wish I'd written that. Holly Brickley's Deep Cuts is a joy: fizzy, moving, endlessly smart … So: I wish I'd written that. The other person I'm envious of is you, because you're about to read this deeply wonderful book for the first time' Claire Dederer

‘A blockbuster of a novel. Cool, sexy, smart and pithy – this is the love story you’ve been waiting for’ Lucy Clarke

‘Addictive… I fell hard for this music-drenched story’ Good Housekeeping

‘A must-read for fans of Daisy Jones & The Six and One Day’ Red

‘I’d never really identified with the phrase “screaming, crying, throwing up” before I read, and fell head over heels in love with this incredible novel … Can you tell I’m obsessed? I really think this is going to be huge’ The Bookseller, Book of the Month, March 2025