a quick read that mildly interested me

this book follows tatum, a young woman who gets wrapped up in a toxic relationship with a famous author when she's young and later, an older tatum who decides to tell her story to a reporter reporting on the famous author's sexual assault. the plot was intriguing and interesting from a glance, and i thought the writing moved at a brisk pace. tatum and the author's relationship is a very slow unraveling rather than a big fallout, which i thought made sense, especially in the context of the novel. how their relationship ends is truly shocking to me; i never even imagined that ending. i was unable to fully connect with tatum, however; she seems like a character i would dislike or feel indifferent to in real life, but i felt that her relationship and the power dynamics were nuanced and well-handled. i really enjoyed how she was able to find agency and firmly realize that this idol of hers was a false reality at the end. i just found some parts of the book to be boring, especially since i wasn't a huge fan of the mc. i am giving this book 3 stars.

thank you to netgalley and celadon books for this arc!