Reviews

Pretty mixed feelings, I felt like the author was glorifying toxic work culture for the majority of the book, until right at the end when they condemn it in a very on the nose fashion. It tried to tackle so many different issues, from workplace racism to the grey areas of consent to the exploitation of interns, resulting in none of them being properly fleshed out. While I personally didn't enjoy it I could see other people loving it. But these were my thoughts while reading the book:

Pros:

There were a lot of genuinely funny lines.
I liked some of the exploration of the destructive nature of current work culture.
It was nice seeing two different perspectives on life as a working woman, one that's new to the industry and one that's already established.

Cons:

Tabitha, Mackenzie, the finance girls, and Louise's friends are SO unlikable that they are entirely unbelievable as characters. I've never worked in publishing but I doubt anyone is that unabashedly awful.
If I read one more lengthy description of someone's outfit I was going to throw the book across the room I SWEAR.
The chapter titles are formatted in a clunky way; each chapter has a number and a title and the name of the character POV, which seems unnecessary since Imogen is always in first person and Harri in second person, the reader isn't stupid, we can figure it out. The chapters are also usually too short to warrant a title as well, just have the chapter number and leave it at that.
Imogen is woefully pesimistic about her life. Everything is a competition of who's suffering more (always her apparently) and she's incapable of feeling empathy for anyone else, including her best friend who wasn't willing to sacrifice everything for her career like Imogen.
On that note, I would NEVER call my best friend a bitch, and I find it incredibly unbelievable that Jen would call her best friend a slut. If they're best friends then it's very unlikely that they'd have such different views on sex without it coming up sooner, we're given no reason to believe they would ever be friends in the first place. Jen was an entirely pointless character in the end and I wish that their friendship could have been used in a more positive and interesting way.
Imogen even gets angry at Harri for daring to give her clear career options going forward. How awful of her to be considerate of what Imogen wants!
The focus on sex felt weird to me when I thought the whole point of the book was to focus on toxic careers. The sex scenes just felt out of place despite Imogen's job and
the epilogue about Harri touching herself felt like such a random note to end on.
Louise's friend who ends up being a last minute love interest for Imogen was barely a footnote and I find it AGAIN unbelievable that he would kiss her after one convo. No one in this book acts like a real god damn human being.

Content Warnings

plutosorbit's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

3.75

Enjoyed it, relatable about work and what it means to be accomplished, and all those deadlines we tend to give ourselves for no reason (slaves to capitalism my guy). Could’ve been about 100 pages shorter tho. BUT well written so I’ll let it slide

charlib12's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

the1andonly's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

miacaven's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

… why did anyone suggest this

lydiavsbooks's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This wasn't quite what I was expecting it to be, but at the same time I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to.

It follows two women who work for the same magazine, but in very different roles, as they fall out of love with their careers, and start to question the very idea of a 'dream job'. It discusses womanhood and female friendships, sex and relationships and power, exploitation and identity, all while maintaining a lighthearted and often funny tone.

Although I don't feel overly attached to any of the characters, I did find myself connecting to the experiences of these women facing the roles they've invested so much of their energy and identity in working towards. Although the specific experiences of these characters were very foreign to me, it did speak to me in a way that managed to feel very personal.

Its a book I'd recommend specifically to women in their 20s, for a fun but reflective look on ambition, power, and what it is to dream of labour.

paperbackinmybackpack's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

chloedannielle1996's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted

4.0

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