I can't believe it took me this long to read this book. Definitely one for my "best of all time" shelf.

I loved Reid’s debut novel, Such a Fun Age. With it, she showcased her sharp ability to create characters who are fully human—good, bad, and everything in between—and a narrative that’s as messy as life itself.

Set in an Arkansas University dorm, this novel is chockful of characters, but two take center stage: Millie, a 24-year-old Black woman who works as an RA and Agatha, a 38-year-old white woman, who’s a visiting professor and journalist researching a story about young women and weddings.

We also get to know a host of students and RAs, all living/working in a dorm for underprivileged students. Themes of money/power, both related to socio-economic status and race are explored through the everyday conversations and situations of these women. Agatha becomes so immersed in this dynamic, she gets Millie to agree to let her eavesdrop on the conversations in one of the suites for $40/week. Agatha then takes her research and turns it into profiles for Teen Vogue.

Reid’s ear for realistic dialogue is extraordinary...I listened to part of the audio for this, and narrator Nicole Lewis did an excellent job. I rightly cringed at the way Agatha was able to use her power over Millie, and how some of the students treated each other. While the characters were distinct and compelling, I still feel like this novel was missing the spark of Reid’s debut. The beginning of the book slogs a bit as we get convo after convo with no real narrative action. I have no problem with unlikeable characters, but Agatha tested my patience, even with the reveals in her backstory. While the “big” moments held narrative weight, they still didn’t combine into an even whole.

All that said, Reid’s writing is an absolutely fresh voice in contemporary fiction. Although this one didn’t fully connect with me, I’m very much looking forward to what she writes next.

Thanks to @netgalley and @putnambooks for the gifted copy in exchange for a review.

A fun mix of feminism and romance, this novel kept me smiling and laughing throughout. Indiana "Ana" Aaron is a female coder who lets it be known that she's upset to be passed over for a promotion. She ends up getting moved to a remote team, where her new boss, Melvin, assumes she's a male. As such, she starts getting the most praise she's ever gotten, even if Melvin does take credit for some of her work.

As Ana and her friends concoct increasingly ludicrous stories for why the ace new male coder isn't available to meet, Ana starts to fall for Melvin's minder, the dreamy Shane. He knows of Ana's ruse and gets a kick out of helping her hide--while also starting to see the struggles women in the field of tech have to deal with daily.

I enjoyed Ana and Shane's romance--having him know about her machinations made things even more fun. They were absolutely cute together, but they didn't have the chemistry to make them memorable. Instead, I was more enamored with the commentary on feminism and women working in male-dominated worlds--and the micro aggressions they have to navigate. That aspect of the novel absolutely enhanced the romance, but it also dominated the romance for me. Ana's friends were a hoot, too!

All in all, I enjoyed this serious-yet-sweet romance novel. A nice mix of escapism romance and real-life issues.