If you know me you know I was OBSESSED with exalted when I read it last year. I would talk about it to anyone who would listen and loved everyone who read it after I told them about it. Anna Dorn’s writing is so fun and fresh and nihilistic and silly in the most intelligent way possible. So of course I freaked out when I received an eARC of her newest novel set to be published May 21st of this year. Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster  for the arc in exchange for an honest review! 

Perfume and pain is a hilarious homage to 1950s lesbian pulp that is done in such a sharp witted way you can’t take your eyes off of. The novel tells the story of Astrid a mildly successful writer with a perfume obsession trying to revive her career in a zoom writers workshop after a recent event had her lightly blacklisted in the publishing world. Astrid may also have an addiction to love and sex with toxic women she knows are bad for and the drugs and alcohol they often provide her. We take a journey with Astrid as she tries to revive herself and her career while navigating the messy landscape that is her love and sex life. 

Dorn writes such unapologetically feral female characters who you can’t help but root for no matter the circumstance you’re introduced to them in. Her books are steamy and provocative and full of so much life. Every time I read her work I get sucked into the worlds she creates. I am best friends with these girls. I am making horrible life choices with them but I have agency and I’m smarter and sexier for it! Her books are honest and vulnerable and messy and honestly? We need more messy lesbian books! One might even call her compelling ;)

I had been seeing rabbit hole everywhere so when I got approved for the audio arc I was so excited. The effortlessness of the storytelling made this one a quick read. Unfortunately, it also made it feel a bit lackluster. There were a lot of moving parts to this story that I felt went nowhere and were only there to prove the shock factor. I understand you’re not yourself when you’re processing grief and trauma and the main character Teddy is constantly processing both. Her father killed himself a decade after her sister goes missing. The books title comes from a childhood memory Teddy has of her and her missing sister Angie looking down rabbit holes, it has a double meaning as Teddy investigates further into Angie’s disappearance. As Teddy unravels deeper in the investigation she loses all aspects of herself and begins dating an older man her parents once employed while she was a child. She makes many other questionable decisions and is led into some toxic thinking and behavior. I don’t feel like this book was described properly. I don’t feel like it showed any of the dark side of true crime aside from reddit conspiracies? I think a lot of the plot devices used here were a bit gratuitous especially the role the families dog wolfie plays in all of this. As well as other animals depictions from the very beginning of this story. The ending felt unfinished and rushed at the same time. I wanted so much more from this story and these characters. Nothing felt resolved and though that’s usually life in a missing persons case, it makes for a disconnected read. Overall this book just wasn’t for me in the way I wanted it to be. 

This book is fillllled with content warnings so if it sounds interesting to you please look those up before diving in. 

Thank you Netgalley and RB Media for this arc in exchange for an honest review. 

In Amanda Montell fashion this book is packaged very pretty and packs an entertaining punch that will boost your intelligence. 

In the age of magical overthinking Montell takes you on the journey her brain has been on in the last few years of, mostly, American history. While putting that famous linguistic twist on it she’s known for! She tells the cautionary tale of how damaging it is to give celebrities the halo effect and the history of it. We learn that manifestation is a quick pipeline to an alt right path. Of course it wouldn’t be a Montell book if cults weren’t somehow mentioned. Lots of these topics were intriguing and I never would have went out of my way on my own to read about them so I’m glad they were included. 

I did think it could have been constructed in an easier to follow theme or timeline. The subjects were kind of all of the place in the order that they’re told. 

I would reccomend this and any of Amanda Montell’s books to those who have yet to read them. 

Thank you Atria and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. And be on the look out for this coming April 2024