The Lightning Bottles
On sale
10th April 2025
Price: £9.99
‘I absolutely loved this book and found myself drawn in and unable to put it down from page one! I can see this being a great pick for anyone who loved Daisy Jones and The Six‘ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I seriously loved this book! It brought together two of my great loves in life, music and books… The characters were out of this world! I felt all of the emotions… What a wonderful story’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
He was the troubled face of rock ‘n’ roll . . . until he disappeared without a trace…
Jane Pyre was once half of the famous rock ‘n’ roll duo, the Lightning Bottles. Years later, she’s perhaps the most hated-and least understood-woman in music. She was never as popular with fans as her bandmate (and soulmate), Elijah Hart – even if Jane was the one who wrote the songs that catapulted the Lightning Bottles to instant, dizzying fame, first in the Seattle grunge scene, then around the world.
But ever since Elijah disappeared five years earlier and the band’s meteoric rise to fame came crashing down, the public hatred of Jane has taken on new levels, and all she wants to do is retreat.
What she doesn’t anticipate is the bombshell that awaits her at her new home in the German countryside: the sullen teenaged girl next door-a Lightning Bottles superfan-who claims to have proof that not only is Elijah still alive, he’s also been leaving secret messages for Jane.
And they need to find them right away…
Combining a mystery, a love story and a coming of age, this unforgettable novel is perfect for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Idea of You and Songs in Ursa Major – and will have you hooked from the very first page!
Everyone loves The Lightning Bottles:
‘If you enjoy rock n roll love stories and Daisy Jones and The Six you will really like this book. I absolutely could not put it down!… A great summer read’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wow – I absolutely loved this… 5 stars!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I wish I could give this book 10 stars! From the very start of Elijah and Jane’s relationship, I was absolutely hooked’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘WOW. I could not put this book down. I loved the grunge, rock & roll, music feel of this book… I read this book in 2 days‘ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A book that you can’t put down!!‘ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wow, this was such a great book! I loved both Jane and Elijah and thought their love story was inspiring’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I seriously loved this book! It brought together two of my great loves in life, music and books… The characters were out of this world! I felt all of the emotions… What a wonderful story’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
He was the troubled face of rock ‘n’ roll . . . until he disappeared without a trace…
Jane Pyre was once half of the famous rock ‘n’ roll duo, the Lightning Bottles. Years later, she’s perhaps the most hated-and least understood-woman in music. She was never as popular with fans as her bandmate (and soulmate), Elijah Hart – even if Jane was the one who wrote the songs that catapulted the Lightning Bottles to instant, dizzying fame, first in the Seattle grunge scene, then around the world.
But ever since Elijah disappeared five years earlier and the band’s meteoric rise to fame came crashing down, the public hatred of Jane has taken on new levels, and all she wants to do is retreat.
What she doesn’t anticipate is the bombshell that awaits her at her new home in the German countryside: the sullen teenaged girl next door-a Lightning Bottles superfan-who claims to have proof that not only is Elijah still alive, he’s also been leaving secret messages for Jane.
And they need to find them right away…
Combining a mystery, a love story and a coming of age, this unforgettable novel is perfect for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Idea of You and Songs in Ursa Major – and will have you hooked from the very first page!
Everyone loves The Lightning Bottles:
‘If you enjoy rock n roll love stories and Daisy Jones and The Six you will really like this book. I absolutely could not put it down!… A great summer read’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wow – I absolutely loved this… 5 stars!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I wish I could give this book 10 stars! From the very start of Elijah and Jane’s relationship, I was absolutely hooked’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘WOW. I could not put this book down. I loved the grunge, rock & roll, music feel of this book… I read this book in 2 days‘ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A book that you can’t put down!!‘ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wow, this was such a great book! I loved both Jane and Elijah and thought their love story was inspiring’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Reviews
A wild and deeply satisfying rollercoaster ride through the world of a con artist with a heart of gold. Propulsive and affecting, Lucky is the most fun I've had reading a book in quite a while
A riveting caper full of heart, I loved this book!
This fun romp, with deeper themes of identity, family ties and the meaning of truth in a life built on lies, kept me greedily turning pages late into the night. Perfect for book clubs - or anyone looking for their next unputdownable read
Stapley's gorgeous writing cuts to the bone, and her grifter heroine, both vulnerable and fierce, is driven by a genius premise . . . a gripping, heart-wrenching journey of resilience, hope, and redemption. A stunning read!
A riveting caper full of heart, I loved this book!
Marissa Stapley's The Lightning Bottles is a riveting journey inside the '90s grunge scene, where soulmates Elijah and Jane skyrocket to stardom before Elijah's sudden, suspicious death. The novel is part love story, part mystery, and a sharp commentary on the price of fame. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough!
A hopeful and heartbreaking tale of love and loss . . . The Lightning Bottles is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. From the thrilling rise to stardom to the high price of fame, Marissa Stapley vividly brings the nineties rock scene to life.
In this must-read for lovers of Daisy Jones and the Six and A Star is Born, a golden couple achieve a meteoric rise, only to find their dreams shattered by the price of fame. Stapley's latest is a deep dive into the treatment of women in the music industry, as well as a delicious mystery featuring an international scavenger hunt. A wild ride of a novel that will leave you breathless.
Marissa Stapley's The Lightning Bottles is a passionate story about the driving urge to create, the ferociousness of love, and how it all can disappear beneath the chaotic terror of fame and fandom. Be careful: once you start, you won't turn away from this thrilling tale of music, madness, love and forgiveness.
Perfect for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Lightning Bottles speaks to the pitfalls and perils of fame. Full of nostalgia and angst, and peppered with sharp insights and beautiful simplicity, Stapley has penned both a tender romance depicting tingle-inducing young love and a treatise on the dangers and complexities of the ever-moving targets of success. The women in this story lived in my thoughts even when I put the book down, and I was sad to say goodbye. A truly captivating read!
Be still, my 90s-music-infatuated heart. I knew three pages into this glorious book that The Lightning Bottles would be a new favourite. What a journey it took me on-from the euphoria of first love to the dizzying heights of fame to rock bottom and back again. I fell completely in love with these characters, with their adoration for each other and for music, their imperfect grasping at happiness, their resilience. A nostalgic, exciting, heartbreaking read. I'm obsessed with The Lightning Bottles-both the novel and the fictitious band therein.
Marissa Stapley's The Lightning Bottles is a vivid and steely-eyed view of the music scene of the 1990s, an industry that sanctified its golden boys and took strong women down. It's a page-turner, for sure, but it's also an absolute heartbreaker about two damaged souls who find and lose each other, and how sometimes the thinnest thread of hope is all you get to try to claw your way back to happiness. I'm envious of anyone who hasn't yet read this gorgeous, deeply felt novel.
Part mystery, part love-story, part ode to a great era in music, The Lightning Bottles is a heart-wrenching page-turner about addiction, loss, and the high price of fame.
A fiercely visceral, exquisitely written ode to rock and roll, the 90s, and the power of music to hurt and heal in equal measure. With The Lightning Bottles, Marissa Stapley has created both a beautiful love story and a singularly unique mystery. Readers will quickly turn pages to find out what really happened to former rock star Elijah Hart-only to be swept away by the tumultuous journey of two lovers finding that fame comes at a higher cost than they can afford. Be prepared for the wildly talented duo that is The Lightning Bottles to take up permanent residence in your head, and in your heart.
It's hard to write a rock'n'roll novel that's both authentic and entertaining. Marissa Stapley has nailed it with this one.
My heart is still pounding after closing this book. An exhilarating love story on every level, Marissa Stapley masterfully weaves music and mystery, grief and hope, and courageously delves into the often untold, profoundly poetic and sometimes dangerous connection between artists who are also lovers. The Lightning Bottles is so true to what it was like in the music world in the 1990s, I forgot I was reading fiction. Gritty and shockingly real about the treacherous nature of fame, this book painfully reveals the traps on the quest for authentic expression and immortal love. I was left with the directive to always follow your art, no matter where it leads. A brilliant offering; tender, immersive, poetic and powerful. A standing ovation!