A review by sophiareads_
So Happy for You by Celia Laskey

dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings: homophobia, violence, attempted murder, animal death, abortion (mentioned) 
 
Robin's childhood best friend asks her to be her maid of honour. Though their society is marriage-obsessed, and Ellie, the bride-to-be feels similarly, Robin's ideological opposition to the institution of marriage makes it a difficult decision. Despite her reservations, Robin agrees to be the maid of honour, but when the bridal party festivities begin, things begin to take a sinister, dangerous tone. 
 
What an absolute wild ride this book was. It was a quick read for me, and I did really enjoy it, despite (maybe because?) it was so off the wall. Though the novel is a thriller, the narrative for most of the book bounces between the day-to-day of the lead up to Ellie's wedding and flashbacks to other points in Robin's life to give the reader more context. This definitely slows the pace of the book down, which I think was a smart decision - and when its time for us to be in the fast-paced finale, this is dropped, which makes sense. I was a little confused about the setting for most of the book (modern times of a near future dystopia inspired in part by recent abortion restrictions in some US states?). However, as talk of wedding charms ramped up, it became clear it was the latter, but I thought the plentiful modern pop culture/political references confused this a little bit. I also thought some of the political points which are made throughout the novel (despite fully agreeing with them) to be a tad on-the-nose, but this wasn't too majorly off-putting or anything. I'm also notoriously nitpicky about how lesbian characters' sexualities are portrayed, and I really liked this aspect of the book. 
 
All in all, this was a really interesting read. Equal parts funny and series at times, I think it's a really solid novel, and I'd definitely recommend it to fans of unhinged women being unhinged. 
 
Thanks to Celia Laskey, NetGalley, and HQ for the eARC of So Happy For You. 
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