I will be thinking about this book for a long time. I couldn't decide once and for all how I felt about it at any given point, but I think that's a sign of good book. It was messy, but in a resonant way. Some of the tertiary characters seemed irrelevant -- I couldn't keep track of Bex and Belinda -- and I wish the friendship between Virginia and Callie had been more strongly fleshed out; I had assumed it was leading to a denouement that proved they never really had a friendship, but that wasn't the case.

I’m afraid I wanted more from this book - it was competent and engaging but overall left me somewhat cold. I felt that the main character’s obsession with her body was overdone and distracting and overall unwelcome, and while her relationships with Whit, her boyfriend/fiancé, and Virginia, her best friend, were interesting, they felt somewhat unconvincing. I think my biggest problem was that the book felt torn between whether it wanted to be a social commentary or a thriller, and ultimately it didn’t really succeed in either.

Thought this would be different. Not as good as I'd hoped.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

This was an interesting story regarding two very close families who shared secrets and major milestones. I could not attach to the characters, perhaps because so much of their interactions resulted in emotional closure. I’m glad I read this novel, however it left no lasting imprint for me to discuss this with peers.

Out May 30, 2023 - thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for this ARC!
Cleverly told in retrospect as the lead character Callie flips through the past year of insta and her camera roll, the reader watches Callie sort of have a quarter-life/existential crisis, all the while attending the weddings and parties of her best friends and ultimately her own self.
I loved the voice of Callie; she felt so authentic and there were parts of her that really resonated with my younger self as well. I also loved the quirky side finsta and the plot line that forms around it because it was so clever and different from anything that I thought might happen. What a delightful read!

The end of a marriage before it has even begun is how this book begins - and ends. But yet there is more hope in the ending than sadness. Fans of Curtis Sittenfels will enjoy this book as the Authors writing style is very similar. There was also an element of The Romantics, coupled with Jennifer Weiner. Not exactly a beach read - but a book with substance that keeps you engaged. Thank you for the advanced copy!