Review of ‘Bird on a Wire’ by Tagan Shepard
This is the second book I have read by Shepard. While I enjoyed ‘Visiting Hours’, about the same as this book, I think this book was slightly better written. This book is different than her first as ‘Visiting Hours’ was a romance and I would consider this a drama with a little romance.
Robin manages to escape her small hometown by being a real rock star. She has a new life in LA, with her wife and a band that tours all over the world. When she hears about her mother’s unexpected death, Robin drops everything to come back to her childhood home. Between dealing with her grief, a marriage that is rocky, and seeing her former best friend and first love, nothing about this trip is going to be easy.
This book is written in third person, but Robin is really the only main character. I was actually surprised that Shepard didn’t choose first person for this book, but it ended up working well anyway. There was no disconnecting with the main character. You are right in Robin’s head feeling what she feels. You are so connected to everything Robin is going through. This is something I experience more in first person books, so I’m really impressed with how well this was written.
This is definitely a lesbian drama book. I cried where I had to get tissues at least twice. The grief Robin is going through, her unresolved issues with her mother, they definitely got to me. I will say there are some romance elements to this story. I’m not going to explain it at all or it would be too spoiler-ish. This is a book I had no idea how it would end. It looked like one way, then another. Shepard kept me turning the pages since I had no idea. I will say I was very happy with the ending. It was what I was hoping for.
I will say the one semi issue is Robin is not always the easiest character to like. She is absolutely flawed and has issues to work out. Sometimes I was mad at her, other times I was proud. What really helped me is that she actually grew. Her character eventually recognized her behavior and changed. I’m okay with flawed characters if they grow and this is a perfect example.
This is Shepard’s second book and both have been good. She has become an author that I will automatically read now. If you are looking for a good drama book with a little romance, give this a read.
An ARC was given to me by Bella, for an honest review.
