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This is one of those books I wanted to DNF during the first half but was glad to kept with it. The second half worked better for me. I’m not sure if the first half is just slow or Astrid just grated on me until I got used to her or what but by the end, I was happy to have read it all.

Astrid is written as unlikeable and I for sure did not like her. Some have said that she was charming but I didn’t find anything charming about her, I found her to be insufferable. She’s a writer trying to come up with her next book while also juggling a chaotic love life. However, she hides behind Adderall and alcohol, is narcissistic and wholly unreliable as a narrator.

They say this is a “hilarious nod to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction� but if it was, it went over my head. I’m almost positive I’ve never read anything classified as lesbian pulp. So please go read other reviews for that comparison.

I will say that Astrid’s commentary on Carole (The Price of Salt) did make me laugh. I was very happy to see a lesbian agree with me on how terrible Carole is. Astrid has lots of thoughts and I actually agreed with some of them. I wasn’t a fan of how she always relayed those thoughts but she wasn’t always wrong, although she often times was.

While I did get invested in Astrid and her story, I thought her growth came a little too late and while it didn’t come out of nowhere, it didn’t make sense how quickly it came about. The ending as a whole felt rushed after the slow start.

I don’t think everyone will love this but I do think some will absolutely love it. It’s very much one of those that you have to read and figure it out for yourself.

I received an ARC from Simon & Schuster via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.