This was an eye opening novel for me in more than one way. First of all this book takes place in London and is about a mixed race woman, Layla, who falls for a white man, Andy. It turns out that they both have the same last name and there is the possibility that Andy's ancestors could have been the slave owners of Layla's family. Layla's best friend tries to open up Layla's eyes to this fact and this sends Layla on a personal quest of discovery.

As an American, I never gave much thought to just how rampant racism could be in other parts of the world and the impact that slavery had in other places like Great Britain. It really opened my eyes to the fact that it is not just the United States. I also feel that reading a story like this helps me understand the struggles others are facing and really lets me into their point of view.

Besides what I learned, I just thought this was a good story about a young woman who wants to get married. It was interesting to read about her life and her family. I really did not like her friend Sera but I understand what an important role she played for Layla and her personal journey. There was a lot to unpack and really digest about this story. An interesting read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.

The story centers on a mixed-race woman, Layla, who is set to marry her white fiancé, Andy. Coincidentally, they share the same last name. Layla’s best friend, Sera, doesn’t support the relationship and has doubts about Andy. Layla begins to question if Andy’s wealthy family once owned Layla’s ancestors, explaining their shared surname.

Although the story centers on the relationships between Layla and Andy, and Sera, the novel is so much more than that. The importance of the novel is that it explores the British slave trade. It is a very well researched novel, and the story is told in a fascinating way. I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm so glad that I was given the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I loved the book. I found it thought-provoking and well-written. It gave me insights into the lives of black and biracial people, lives of immigrants, intermarriage, and many other contemporary issues. The author presented these issues in a very easy to read way- a mixed-race bride-to-be learning disturbing information from her disapproving black best friend about her white fiancé's family. I think it will be a perfect choice for book discussion groups; there will be much to discuss. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from the author.

Stimulating from the start, this book makes us contemplate how much influence our best friends have on who we are and who we marry.

Layla’s family is Black but she was born with light skin. She is getting married to Andy and they are very much in love – the type of love that is in a constant state of bliss. That is until her best friend, Sera, questions her decision to marry someone who is white. And there’s more at stake which means Layla has to search deep into her soul to find the answers.

It’s not easy to write an original story but Phoebe McIntosh did this with all the key elements revolving around love. She takes the reader into the days of slavery that have not been forgotten and continues to influence the present. Layla’s not a “colored girl,” not black like the color but a proud Black girl who wants to be absolutely sure that she will feel comfortable with a white husband and his family.

My favorite character is Layla’s 78-year-old grandad who shares his wisdom and warmhearted support. The author uses his dialect which makes their conversations feel genuine like getting a peak into their world. It’s very well written and makes an excellent book for discussions.

My thanks to Random House and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of March 7, 2024.

It is hard to believe this is a debut novel. I absolutely love books like this! It is so thought provoking and would be wonderful to start so many discussions for a book club.

Layla is biracial and she falls in love with a white man Andy. They both have the same last name. Layla's best friend is against the relationship and starts digging into the families history. Could it be that Andy's family owned Layla's family as slaves? Now Layla questions should she go ahead and marry Andy? She has to dig into the family history and come to terms with the past and learn to be comfortable in her own skin.

There is just so much to think about and process in this book. It brings up different issues with both families and friends.

This is a book with an important plot. I liked and connected with the characters. Unfortunately after about 30% of the book, the story dragged for me. I finished it as I wanted to know what happened but the middle of the book didn’t do enough to hold my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in return for a fair and honest review.

“Dominoes” is based on an intriguing concept: that a young black Englishwoman is set to marry a man whose ancestors most probably owned her ancestors on a sugar plantation in Jamaica. With only days before her wedding, she must grapple with painful racial prejudices from the groom’s family, as well as her best friend’s anger at marrying someone from the oppressor class. Layla, the narrator, decides to go to Jamaica to see if she can uncover family secrets to determine whether her beau’s family actually owned any of her predecessors. It’s a clever set up, and makes for a page-turner.

People who love women’s fiction with like this book very much. So will readers interested in the Jamaican diaspora. There is lots of passages describing Jamaican culture as it exists in the UK today. Some of the dialect may be hard for readers to understand unless they are already familiar with patois. I enjoyed the descriptions of shade prejudice and the difficulties that people of color still experience in England. Putting so much emphasis on the main character’s relationship with her best friend made this feel a bit like chick-lit. But it was very entertaining.

It was the women’s fiction part that made me take off one star. There were way too many descriptions of characters’ wardrobes and other personal details to make this genuine literary fiction, IMHO. But that’s okay. The novel doesn’t exactly have literary presumptions. Instead, it is a fun-to-read look at race and color in a new way, told by a fresh British voice.

DOMINOES is a banger of a novel. A British book which is grappling with ideas and themes that I have never encountered in fiction, I was floored by the plot of the novel and McIntosh's style of writing. Layla meets Andy at a party in London. They form an instant bond, especially when the realize they have the same last name. Layla is biracial, and Andy is white, and while Laylaa doesn't really think twice about this, her best friend Sera has other thoughts. She sends Layla a documentary about Jamaican slaves in Scotland, where her ancestors are from (as well as Andy's), and this send Layla into a spill about her family history, and the possibility of marrying into her family's oppressor.

The book jumps around a bit, so you really have to pay attention to what time frame you're in, but it allows the story to unfold slowly and somewhat shockingly. Sera is one of the most complicated characters I've encounter in a book. While you completely understand where she is going from, she is also utterly frustrating and treats her best friend like crap. I wanted to shake her, and huge Layla because of what she was going through because of Sera. But then, I completely understood why Sera did what she did. This is a book that makes you question lots of stuff, and fall in love with these incredible characters - especially Layla's family. It's a beautiful book and I can't wait to hear what everyone else things of the novel when it comes out next year.

Overall this book has really beautiful writing, and is an interesting story. It does lag in the middle and I almost considered DNF because of how boring it suddenly became.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Dominoes.

Dominoes is about a young couple, Layla, a biracial Black woman engaged to a white man of Scottish descent, Andy.

When Layla's BFF reveals Andy's ancestors may have enslaved Layla's descendants, Layla is faced with a difficult choice, and a chance to discover her heritage and her true feelings for Andy.

I really enjoyed learning about Layla's heritage and background, but I found her an irritating character. She came off as sort of wishy washy, and though I understand she's afraid of making waves, it felt as if she was afraid of herself.

Sera, her BFF, read as less like a BFF, and more like an instigator and a closet racist. It's as if she already resented Andy because he was white, and begrudged Layla for not marrying her own 'kind.'

I did like the premise, a timely subject as our society reckons with its slavery past and its ramifications on present and future generations.

What do you do when the person you love is descended from a family of enslavers? Is he to blame for his descendants' actions?

I was glad Andy was a nice guy, understanding and supportive, and naturally, genuinely shocked, when Layla confides in him.

The writing was good, but the narrative dragged, mostly because I usually read thrillers and suspense.

There were long, tedious paragraphs with no breaks.

I'm not sure if this is a UK thing because I just read another book based in the UK and there were few to little paragraph breaks in the writing as well.

This premise of the story is about a bride-to-be who has to choose between her best friend and fiancé after discovering that her fiancé’s family may have owned her family as slaves many years ago. Her best friend, Sera, loathes Andy once she discovers that this is a possibility.

This novel paints a picture of what it is like to be multiracial in the modern era. There is the choice to forgive and choose love while also balancing the anger and hurt of sins of the past. The main character expresses her struggle to fit in with the black community because of her lighter appearance, even though she identifies as a black woman.

The writing is beautiful, and I appreciated learning more about black history. However, the book stalled at times for me, especially in the middle. Overall, it was a great read, and I loved how the plot was tied up at the end.

Ended up really liking Dominoes. Great character work and great conflict. A little light on plot but otherwise a very satisfying read.

Dominoes is the story of Layla, a mixed race bride to be, who explores the possible ties between her ancestors and those of her white fiancé. As she learns about the possibility, we travel with her to Jamaica where she meets relatives for the first time, learns about the ancestor who was born into slavery, and other realities during that time.

The book grabbed my attention early, and I was not disappointed as I read and absorbed the story. I found it was easy to become invested in the protagonist, and to understand how those around her were affecting her own personal journey. One particular storyline was introduced from earlier days, and I waited anxiously to see how this would fit into the current story. It did - and I was not disappointed.

I enjoyed the descriptive scenes surrounding the characters as well as the story. It was easy to feel as though you were right there with them, experiencing the surroundings at the same time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Phoebe Mcintosh and Random House for letting me read an advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Phoebe McIntosh, and Random House for letting me read an advanced copy.

The cover of the book intrigued me, the description compelled me to read the story, the writing captivated my full attention. Layla and Andy are in love and about to get married, but did Andy's family own Layla's family generations back in the past? Is that why they share the same surname?

Sera, Layla's best friend, refuses to attend the wedding if Layla decides to go through with it. Sera's attitude pushes Layla into finding her truth, and although I think Sera went about it in the wrong way, it was a journey Layla needed to take. I didn't want this book to end, but the final chapter was perfect for the story.

Premise: A mixed-race London woman prepares to marry her white fiancé, but her Black best friend has some concerns. The concerns are heightened by said friend's own experiences of racial discrimination, the intensity of the BLM movement in the wake of George Floyd, and the shit storm that was/is the pandemic and Twitter and the thorny issues of allyship and reparations and and and...

Add to this that Layla and Andy share a last name, which could be a cute coincidence, but could be a sign that their families have had a problematically entwined past.

A lot of possible complications and amplifiers right? It's an incredibly complex topic, and this book is an incredibly nuanced treatment of it, in the vein of Zadie Smith, Andrea Levy, Bernardine Evaristo, and Jean Rhys. I don't want to say much more for fear of spoiling even one ounce of this story, but I will say: if you've ever felt like you were in a situation where there was no completely right choice, and struggled to balance your own desires with the moral certainty of others, and the inevitability of disappointing someone, this book is for you.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

A gem of a novel and an exciting debut. Dominoes is a warm, quiet story about identity, love, and family.

Layla is getting married to Andy in 29 days. She is excited until her best friend starts dropping hints about how disappointed she is that Layla is marrying a white man. And not just any white man, but one whose family owned slaves - possibly including Layla’s ancestors. As Layla begins investigating her family tree, she wonders if she can marry Andy with all she has discovered.

The story moves back and forth through time, covering Layla’s early adulthood, the day she meets Andy, and the present day as we get closer to the wedding date. The writing is lovely and sharp, and the countdown to the wedding date creates a sense of dynamism and tension as we follow Layla and wonder what she will decide to do. Layla is an easy character to love. She has a beautiful relationship with her mother and grandfather and their interactions were touching. Recommended to any reader looking for a thought-provoking story of modern life and love and how identities and family history shape our stories.

Thank you very much to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

phoebe mcintosh's "dominoes" is a story of intergenerational trauma, the problem of white allyship, and self discovery. layla meets well-to-do andy, a white man from a rich family and they quickly fall for each other. however, they have the same last name. leading up to their meticulously planned, lavish wedding, her best friend sera starts having doubts about andy and his allyship. a documentary comes out describing how many old british families owned jamaican slaves, and sera sends it to layla, which causes her to wonder if her fiancé's family owned her ancestors as slaves.

while sera is layla's foil, confident in her black femme identity, layla feels lost. without knowing much about her ancestry, she starts researching her past, trying to find out who she is. this novel is not a love story, though a love story is within it; this novel is about friendship, family, and identity. carefully written and heavily researched, "dominoes" is a wonderful read that questions whether anger regarding the past is worth ruining present relationships, as well as examining white allyship and casual racism. it was wonderful, truly, and if you have ever wondered where your family comes from, i'd recommend giving it a read. my only complaint is that the end feels a bit rushed in terms of pacing. other than that, it's a stellar read.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review!