mads_jpg's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
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:
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.
Spoiler
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.Spoiler
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
Spoiler
the epilogue about Harri touching herself felt like such a random note to end on. Spoiler
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
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, Classism, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
franceselsie's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
caitdonlew's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death
jschumann3's review against another edition
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
thenovelbookshelf's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A brilliant read about life, family, friends, colleagues, and work.
It takes a while to get into what the book is about, there are times there are entirely too many words, and I wish the Mackenzie situation was bigger and didn't just happen at the end.
In this two person POV narrative, we follow Imogen & Harri in a phase of their careers where change and adversity exhausts and rewards them.
For those that like contemporary fiction, or love & resent their job.
It takes a while to get into what the book is about, there are times there are entirely too many words, and I wish the Mackenzie situation was bigger and didn't just happen at the end.
In this two person POV narrative, we follow Imogen & Harri in a phase of their careers where change and adversity exhausts and rewards them.
For those that like contemporary fiction, or love & resent their job.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
becca_thegrimreader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
This made me incredibly anxious while reading (which I’m finding is far too easy to do). Imogen is a sex blogger who has done a series of unpaid internships and juggling waitressing jobs while trying to make it in the world of media. After landing a job as a writer for a new start-up she thinks this is finally it, she’s now successful and has everything she’s ever wanted. What follows is an examination on the stress and grind of the working world. Reading of Imogen’s experiences is utterly shocking, I was honestly waiting for the moment that she would collapse from the amount of stress that she was under. Her entire physical and emotion wellbeing suffers due to the pressures of work, and I don’t think that is a rare occurrence in today’s world.
On the other hand we have Harriet, Imogen’s boss. From the outside anyone would think that Harriet has a perfect life with a wonderful glamourous career. However, she’s under another set of pressures trying to achieve insurmountable goals. With her life devoted to work, we soon learn that work has become a coping mechanism for her grief. As her bosses begin to add on more and more demands, Harriet starts to morph into a woman she doesn’t recognise. I felt that I connected more with Imogen’s story, possibly due to my age and having been in situations where I’ve had to struggle to get my dream job.
Thankfully the humour and sharp wit cuts through the heavier sections, and honestly there are some incredibly funny bits that left me laughing in hysterics. This book really questions how hard do people work for the dream job, especially when the dream doesn’t turn out to be as good as they thought. As well we look at how much people are willing to sacrifice for that job. Imogen sacrifices her wellbeing and her sense of self. This was a book that hit too close to home at times, but one that is very apt for many people working towards their dream jobs.
Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Group for the copy of this book. My review is honest and unbiased.
On the other hand we have Harriet, Imogen’s boss. From the outside anyone would think that Harriet has a perfect life with a wonderful glamourous career. However, she’s under another set of pressures trying to achieve insurmountable goals. With her life devoted to work, we soon learn that work has become a coping mechanism for her grief. As her bosses begin to add on more and more demands, Harriet starts to morph into a woman she doesn’t recognise. I felt that I connected more with Imogen’s story, possibly due to my age and having been in situations where I’ve had to struggle to get my dream job.
Thankfully the humour and sharp wit cuts through the heavier sections, and honestly there are some incredibly funny bits that left me laughing in hysterics. This book really questions how hard do people work for the dream job, especially when the dream doesn’t turn out to be as good as they thought. As well we look at how much people are willing to sacrifice for that job. Imogen sacrifices her wellbeing and her sense of self. This was a book that hit too close to home at times, but one that is very apt for many people working towards their dream jobs.
Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Group for the copy of this book. My review is honest and unbiased.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Death
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