Book Review | The Refining (Book One) by J.C. Brown

 

Title: The Refining

Author: JC Brown

Genres: Contemporary

Publication Date: November 4th, 2020

Publisher: Juel (JC) Brown

* I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*

In The Refining, we meet the members of an up and coming hip-hop band Fyerr, through the perspectives of six characters we get to read their journey towards their goal of performing at the Toronto Music Awards. It was interesting reading about the struggles of trying to make it as a new band/artist in the music industry and get a behind-the-scenes look at the good and bad that goes along with it so I enjoyed that aspect of the book.


The constant switching of many POVs is not for everyone and takes a while to get used to but what helps with it in this book is that each character has a distinct voice and set of flaws and quirks and tone. They are well fleshed out and endearing to me and even before reading half the book, I started to get really get invested in the characters and so I cared when things started happening to them.

Jessi and Clayton stood out to me and you could say they ended up being my favorites. Jessi has so many struggles to deal with at home, maybe more than anyone else in the group, and her determination and will to overcome can resonate with anyone. Another Character I loved was King because he was funny, charming, and passionate about his music. 

What the writer managed to do brilliantly is how slowly the stories between the characters being to overlap and characters you thought had little in a common at first turn out to have a connection.
 

The characters go through serious situations themes and there is a warning at the beginning of the book so you know what to look out for and I appreciated that. The various themes were dealt with well by the author and you could tell it was very thought out and respectable.


Overall, the story is beautifully written, entertaining, and just the right amount of drama. kept me interested the entire time I was reading it.  If you love Contemporary Novels and characters that feel grounded and real and deal with real-life situations but also enjoy music and a group of individuals uniting for a common goal you will definitely enjoy this book.

Rating: 4.5 / 5