The Lightning Bottles

-Heather Marshall, bestselling author of Looking for Jane and The Secret History of Audrey James

"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!" -CHARLENE CARR, author or Hold My Girl and We Rip the World Apart

"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."
-SUZY KRAUSE, bestselling author of Sorry I Missed You and I Think We've Been Here Before

"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."-LAUREN FOX, New York Times-bestselling author of Send For Me

"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." -ROBYN HARDING, Internationally bestselling author of The Haters

"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." -LAURIE ELIZABETH FLYNN, author of Till Death Do Us Part and The Girls Are All So Nice Here

"It's hard to write a rock'n'roll novel that's both authentic and entertaining. Marissa Stapley has nailed it with this one."-ALAN CROSS, radio broadcaster and writer

"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!" -TARA MACLEAN, bestselling author and award-winning singer/songwriter

"A compelling mystery, an ode to the '90s scene and the power of music, a gorgeous love story, a feminist awakening-this book is everything."- KERRY CLARE, author of Asking for a Friend and Waiting for a Star to Fall