This Bird Has Flown

This delightfully funny and steamy novel about music, fate, and love from beloved songwriter and Bangles co-founder Susanna Hoffs is “a total knockout” and “the smart, ferocious rock-star redemption romance you didn’t know you needed” (New York Times Book Review).

“This Bird Has Flown is SO GOOD. If you liked Daisy Jones & The Six or Juliet, Naked, I feel like you will love this one.” —Taylor Jenkins Reid

Jane Start is thirty-three, broke, and recently single. Ten years prior, she had a hit song—written by world-famous superstar Jonesy—but Jane hasn’t had a breakout since. Now she’s living out of four garbage bags at her parents’ house. Rock bottom.

But when her longtime manager Pippa sends Jane to London to regroup, she’s seated next to an intriguing stranger on the flight—the other Tom Hardy, an elegantly handsome Oxford professor of literature. Jane is instantly smitten by Tom, and soon, truly inspired. But it’s not Jane’s past alone that haunts her second chance at stardom, and at love. Is Tom all that he seems? And can Jane emerge from the shadow of Jonesy’s earlier hit, and into the light of her own?

In turns deeply sexy, riotously funny, and utterly joyful, This Bird Has Flown explores love, passion, and the ghosts of our past, and offers a glimpse inside the music business that could only come from beloved songwriter Susanna Hoffs.

“Hoffs nails the life and heartbreak of rock and roll, academia, and our soul-nourishing connection to our very own soulmate so expertly she must have carved it in Norwegian Wood! And isn’t it good!” —Tom Hanks

“A sweet and tender romance—and a valentine to music.” —NPR

“This book will hook you like the best pop song you can’t stop playing—something Susanna knows a little something about!” —Molly Ringwald

“This isn’t just a book, it’s a love song, and it should come as no surprise that Susanna Hoffs has crafted the perfect one to put on your playlist.” ―Christina Lauren

“This book is a blast . . . about art and new beginnings and love and friendship and taking risks, it’s such a fun read.” ―Jasmine Guillory

• "This Bird has Flown is SO GOOD. I cannot wait for people to dig in and read what a fun story Susanna's told here, with rock singer Jane Start. If you liked Daisy Jones or Juliet, Naked, I feel like you will love this one."
  Taylor Jenkins Reid
• "Hoffs nails the life and heartbreak of rock and roll, academia, and our soul-nourishing connection to our very own soulmate so expertly she must have carved it in Norwegian Wood! And isn't it good!"
  Tom Hanks
• "In this sexy, page-turning treat of a debut novel, Susanna Hoffs writes as engagingly as she sings."
   
  Helen Fielding, author of the bestselling phenomenon Bridget Jones's Diary
• "Hoffs' immense writing talent isn't just confined to songs. . . .This Bird Has Flown is a love story, a sweet and tender romance, but not just one between Jane and Tom — it's Hoffs' valentine to music."
  NPR
• “A clever and entertaining debut novel about the nagging ambivalence of love, missed connections and the transcendent power of a great two-minute pop song. . . . Hoffs spins the gears of her antic narrative with sharp, sardonic wit and an insider’s feel for the mixed blessings of pop fame and a fickle public. But just as the wheels start to fall off, grace arrives . . . such is the power of music; it can give us the key to ourselves at those times when we need it the most. Hoffs understands this acutely, which is why This Bird Has Flown rings so true. Read it with the radio on.”
  Los Angeles Times
• "Charming, beautiful, and deeply authentic...What an incredible gift for us all!"
  Laura Dern
• "This book will hook you like the best pop song that you can't stop playing—something that Susanna knows a little something about!"
  Molly Ringwald
• "This bird has flown! High! #bestbooksofthesummer."
  Jamie Lee Curtis
• "A charming romcom."
  USA Today
• “Bangles frontwoman Susanna Hoffs demonstrates her range. . . . Hoffs hits the familiar beats of romantic comedy with such panache and gusto, every note feels fresh. Clutch your pearls as Jane swears, boozes, masturbates and indulges, but just try to measure the size of her heart with any ordinary ruler. Ditto the writing. There is not a spare, bare sentence to be found. Instead, the pages are packed with wit and sly allusion and dialogue that strikes the ear just so.”
  Beatriz Williams, New York Times Book Review
• “This Bird has Flown is a blast of pure pleasure, an addictive medley of music, romance, secrets, and sex. Susanna Hoffs’ captivating first novel is part British romcom, part Jane Eyre, and one hundred percent enjoyable.”
  Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Fletcher and Tracy Flick Can’t Win
• "Irresistible." 
  E! News
• “This book is a blast. It satisfied the part of me that loves a hot rock-and-roll romance, with Vegas adventures and sold out concerts and lots of champagne, as well as the part of me that loves a tender love story with an Oxford professor, with slow airplane kisses, drives in the British countryside and long talks over tea. It’s about art and new beginnings and love and friendship and regrets and fear and taking risks, and it’s such a fun read.”
  Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of Drunk on Love
• "Centered on a heartbroken one-hit wonder hoping for a comeback, this romantic comedy from Bangles front woman Susanna Hoffs is the literary equivalent of power pop with soul."
  Shelf Awareness
•  “A little bit romance, a little bit rock-and-roll—this isn’t just a book, it’s a love song, and it should come as no surprise that Susanna Hoffs has crafted the perfect one to put on your playlist.”
  Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners
• “Elegant, thoughtful, and ever-so-sexy, This Bird Has Flown will stay in your mind—in your heart—like a favorite song.”
  Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs
• “A tender, funny, love story wrapped in a guitar-jamming rock-and-roll cloak. I haven’t had this much fun reading a book in a long, long time."
  Jessica Anya Blau, author of Mary Jane
• “Hoffs write with a snappy wit that recalls rom-com favorites like Bridget Jones’s Diary . . . A fun read that’s perfect for lovers of pop music, classic books, and romantic comedies.”
  Kirkus Reviews
• “What a treat, and a pleasure, to find out that Susanna Hoffs can tell a story filled with characters as engaging as her song lyrics, who come alive to crack you up and break your heart, and tell it with all the confidence you would expect from a seasoned explorer of the depths of love, music, and life.”
  Ayelet Waldman, New York Times bestselling author of A Really Good Day
• “Hoffs brings her knowledge of the music scene to this lively, spicy love story. Jane is an appealing character whose creative and emotional journeys are relatable and entertaining, and readers will enjoy watching her come into her own after years of struggle and self-doubt. Fans of Emma Brodie’s Songs in Ursa Major will want to take a look.”
  Booklist