This one took me a bit to get into but it was absolutely worth the effort. I loved and sympathized with the main character, 20-year old Margo, and her endless string of challenges, including an affair with her deadbeat professor to her pregnancy and baby, struggling to make ends meet, dealing with her mostly dysfunctional mother, reconnecting with her drug-addicted father, being “doxxed”, weathering a paternity suit and invasive visits from Child Protective Services. I cheered her creativity and was entertained by the storyline involving her “sex work” on the social media platform OnlyFans. This book doesn’t dwell on the issues but there are so many here that afford it a rich, authentic ambiance and give Margo plenty of opportunity to overcome adversity and shine.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thrope is a fantastic read and my first book by the author. This book is a true gem, filled with humor and heart. From the very first page, I was hooked by the witty writing and charming story-line. It’s a coming-of-age story of a young single mother, her journey to adulthood and self-discovery as she tries to find ways to support her infant son.

The main character, Margo, is a new mom struggling to navigate the world of first-time motherhood. At nineteen, Margo had a brief relationship with her much older English professor, resulting in a pregnancy. She goes against everyone’s advice and decides to keep the baby. Margo soon realized she’s not prepared for motherhood and doesn’t have the support new mothers need. Her biggest challenge is finding ways to financially support herself. For Margo, social media could be a solution to her problems.

This is a wonderfully entertaining book, with a cast of offbeat characters. The characters are well-developed, especially Margo’s dad, Jinx. It was wonderful watching them reconnect and develop a relationship. He became her support, helping with the baby despite dealing with his own issues. Along with her roommate Suzi, these three become a family unit supporting each other.

From the very beginning, I found myself rooting for Margo. She was forced to grow up quickly and face challenges that she was not prepared for. Despite this, she tackled each obstacle with determination and resilience. Her struggles and triumphs are portrayed realistically, making her situation realistic and relatable. Margo showed that even in the face of adversity, one can rise above and become a strong, independent individual. The author depicted real life situations that single mothers navigate every day and the choices they make to support their families. She also placed a spotlight on the way society judges those who have chosen to make their livelihood outside of the mainstream.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rufi Thrope and William Morrow for this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Wow - when I started this book I couldn’t have guessed it would be my first 5 star read of the year but here we are. “Margot’s Got Money Troubles” manages an impeccable balance of being laugh out loud funny while also yanking on your heart strings until a few tears slip out. This book is a journey of self-worth, what love really means, and finding meaning in stories whether they’re fully real or not. The cast of characters is a motley crew of chaos that feels like a car crash you can’t look away from - in the best possible way. The focus on the topic of sex work might not be for everyone which is something to keep in mind, but if you are open I really encourage you to give this book a shot. I will admit the constant back and forth perspective shift in the writing was a bit confusing at first and I almost wish it was explained just a tad bit earlier but it was explained early enough it didn’t pull anything away from the story for me. The journey Margo goes through is genuinely so beautiful and something I think will resonate with many, many readers. I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

5 stars. What a smart, funny, and thought-provoking read. On it's surface, the plot of Margo's Got Money Troubles is delightfully bonkers. Margo is a college student who becomes pregnant with her married professor's baby. She decides to keep the baby, but because her baby daddy wants nothing to do with her and the baby, Margo ends up strapped for cash. Her recovering addict/ ex-pro WWE star wrestler father moves in to help with raising the baby and ameliorate some of her money concerns (but also, not really), but Margo decides to start an Only Fans account to help pay the bills. As a character, Margo was so real (on level with Taylor Jenkins Reid's ability to pen realistic characters), and the relationships in this book were so damn complex. Margo starts off a little young and naive, but grows up very very quickly, which I expect is something that happens when you have a kid at 20. And although the plot may seem a little wild and comical, which sure, it was, it was also so human. Most of the book really was about judgements (explicitly or implicitly) we as a society make against other humans-- what makes a good person, who deserves a good life. And I felt for Margo. FELT for her, because at the end of the day, all she really wanted was to be a good mom to her kid. And it certainly seemed like everyone in her world was conspiring to make that impossible. I had a really hard time putting this book down, and I can see it being very VERY well received.

A big BIG thank you to William Morrow/ Harper Collins, Thorpe, and netgalley for allowing me to read this one early in exchange for my honest review. I highly recommend and can totally see Margo's Got Money Troubles being one of my favorite reads of the 2024 (and yes, I'm saying that in January).

To be fair to this book, I didn’t really know what to expect, and I found the misanthropic and Margos plight as a young woman with zero support from her mother to be too tragic and sad for me.

I absolutely loved this book. Once I started it, I could not put it down and finished it over the course of the day, really only pausing to consider what I'd just read. The story is a fairly simple one: girl meets boy (her English professor), girl gets pregnant (and decides to keep it), girl tries to figure out what she's going to do next and discovers OnlyFans and Tiktok on her journey to self discovery. Enter her more-or-less estranged father, a cosplay loving roommate, and the sweetest baby and you have Margo's Got Money Troubles.

And still, it's so much more than that, just a peek into the world of this 20 year old who's trying to figure out life and her place in it. I loved the writing style of this book, I love the language and the way it was written, and I've been thinking about it nonstop since I devoured the last word at a little past 4 in the morning.

All this to say that I highly recommend, I already can't wait to read it again, and thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I LOVED IT.

I devoured this. Think it will be very popular. Wuick and fun read. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Love Margot! This is such a clever book. Rufi Thorpe has done it again. If you enjoy a book that makes you think while also laughing this will be a great read for you. Set in present day Southern California, it touches on issues of single parenthood, sex work, drug,culture. Ultimately it is a story of love and hope and family. Great! I found it a bit slower than earlier Thorpe but maybe it addresses more serious issues.

You know a book is enjoyable when you don't hate that your kid is insisting on cuddling with you from 2am-5:15am because you can read this book on your Kindle.

I really loved this book. I loved the character development, loved the shifting of point of view, and loved the entirely unique story line.

This was an ARC from NetGalley but definitely grab this as soon as you can.

A book outside my comfort zone, but one I enjoyed all the same. I don't know how to categorize it, maybe plain Literary Fiction touching upon some mature themes, sex work being a major one.

I found it very interesting how the MC is only 20. Still somewhat a teenager forced into adulting too quickly. I could see her maturity and frustration in the story, yet how she handles her situation, and her clarity of thought was commendable and had me hooked from the start. I love how her relationships are messy and complicated, the way they mold her as a person. I think Thrope did justice to all the side characters, showing bits of each person that bought the story together. I personally loved seeing Bodhi grow and gain more personality as the story progressed, making it that much more adorable and enchanting.

As I said, this isn't something I would generally pick up, and addictive writing style really helped with that. I mean this is the perfect example of a page turning novel that grabs your attention from the first line. Everything felt so raw and authentic, I'm genuinely in awe of the author. The POV was interesting to say the least, just mesmerizing! I loved the references to Margo's English class and how those may have impacted the experience.

On the topic of sex work, this opened my eyes to how normal and straightforward the job can be. Having recently watched "Gangubai Kathiawadi", a Bollywood movie and the real story of a sex worker's urge to introduce labor rights at the brothel. (If you liked the movie, you should try this book) It's also interesting how other aspects of Margo's life like her infant, her drug addict father, her mom's situation and the conflict with her ex-professor played into making her life the way it was.

I'm still processing my feelings about this book, but I know that I adored it. I'm happy starting my year with books like this one, so it's an easy recommend.

Weird and sad and hysterical and perfect. I highlighted many parts of this book, but to me this one sums it up. “She would never pay fifteen dollars to look at a guy naked. You could buy two, possibly three sandwiches for fifteen dollars.” Keep an eye out for Margo when the book comes out this summer.
(Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.)

I was a big fan of "The Knockout Queen" when I read it, and was thrilled to receive an e-ARC copy of Rufi Thorpe's upcoming novel "Margo's Got Money Troubles."

All together, I really enjoyed this book. I've never read a book from the POV of someone doing online sex work (Only Fans in this case) - the judgement, plus all the marketing and logistics that come with it, was really interesting to read about. I did wonder often if it was a tad unrealistic - the characters all had far more maturity than I think they would've in reality, the hard aspects of being a young mom to an infant with little to no support felt brushed over, and the book's conclusion was tied together in a bow a little too perfectly. That said, I was rooting for the characters, so I was fine with a happy ending.

The author also weaved in some areas where she used first person or third person for the main character Margo. I get that she was doing this because Margo attended a writing class about fictional characters and writing structure, but in the end the experimentation just felt unnecessary/unimpactful.

Even though I had critiques, this book was compulsively readable, and I found myself excited to return to it. Thanks Netgalley for the chance to review!

Pub Date: June 11, 2024.

This book is a star. From the first paragraph I was hooked. It managed to be literary, trashy and addictive all at once. I’ve enjoyed all of this authors books, but this one is my true love.

My first arc. Thanks NetGalley.
This was such a great book!! I really couldn’t put it down for a whole 2 days. I loved the characters/their flaws so much. Margo may just be one of my favorite characters from a book in a long time. This book is definitely worth a read, it’s funny, empowering and uplifting all in one! This is my first time reading from this author but definitely won’t be my last.

I could not love a book more. As a single mom, it was so easy to see myself in Margo when I was younger.
The struggle of identity from not being able to separate who you are from the label of being a Mother.
The money problems, not knowing how to make ends meet. How to balance childcare, and still pay the bills.
The flip flopping family dynamics. Not having the support you need, having too much input from people that think they know what’s best for your child. Trying to appease all sides of everyone involved.
I adored Margo, she is witty, strong, unbothered and determinedly powerful. Her unwavering love for her child propels her to new heights, and it was beautiful to watch her grow into this new version of her self. I especially loved watching her relationship blossom with her father. It was funny, it was raw, and it was frustratingly real.
I will recommend this to everyone I know. This is not one to be missed. I hope this isn’t the last we see of Margo Millet, Jinx, and Bodhi.

5 ⭐️

Oh my gosh, this book was delightful. It is laugh out loud funny, insightful, thought provoking, unpredictable and sad all at the same time. I really think this book will hit home with many demographics and it covers issues that many young women struggle with on a daily basis. I was routing for Margo the whole time and I think she is such a strong, independent character that is forced to grow up quickly and deal with real life issues she is not prepared for.

I thought this was going to be a light, fluffy book but it's so much more than that. The characters are complex and the writing will make you empathize with each and every character. You will be angry, you will be upset, you will be elated.

This book is wonderfully written and I cannot wait to read more by this author. I think this will be on many reader's book club lists as a must read.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow and Rufi Thorpe for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A 20 year old woman becomes pregnant after an affair with her English professor. She finds how how expensive raising a child is. Her ex wrestler dad moves in with her and she starts an Only Fans account to help with her money issues.

I loved The Knockout Queen and really thought I would love this one as well. Honestly, I just did not care for any of the characters. Margo seemed pathetic and childish. I think many 20 year old women will like this book and can relate more to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Rufi Thorpe for the digital arc copy of this book.

I'm shocked that this novel about an OnlyFans account and a WWE father really captured my heart! I loved this fast, fun read about Margo and the ways she had to adapt when she found herself all alone and broke with a newborn baby and no support. I'll be thinking about this one for a while!

This author knows how to write great characters that make you feel something. This is my first book by this author and it was such a delight. I loved the female main character and I was super invested in her story. While I am not a mother like Margo is, it didn't stop me from enjoying this book. Margo showed such resilience in this book as she goes through a lot of tough situations and makes some mistakes along the way. Her relationship with her father is also such a delight and it reminds me to spend more time with my own father. I think it would definitely make an interesting book club pick.

Will be checking out the author's other works as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A delight! Full of humor, surprises, and amazing characters that seem all too real.

This was my first read by this author and I am very impressed. She takes characters with outrageous backgrounds and personalities and transforms them into people you care deeply about (perhaps except for Shyanne and Kenny!). I found myself actively rooting for and empathizing with Margo early on in her story, feeling distressed when she was distressed, happy when she was happy, and so on. Margo’s Got Money Troubles is unusual, captivating, and thoroughly entertaining reading experience.

Thank you very much to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.