Following a professor and several college students through their messy, intertwined narratives. There are some really conformable, hard to read situations with lots of important commentary and representation. Extremely slow and character driven with little to no plot for most of the book. I admit it started to lose me towards the middle (one can only stand so much description of daily life in a college dorm) but I’m glad I stuck with it.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

I really wanted to like this one but I think the author falled into the "Sophmore trap" with her esecond book. It's just not as good or interesting as the debut book. It felt like there was no story and I put it down.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC. Unfortunately, despite my anticipation, this book left a lot to be desired. As many have previously mentioned, the lack of plot did not work for me. I adore her writing style and her vivid descriptions took me right back to my dorm days in college but unfortunately even after 70%, there still was no greater thematic connections or plot driving this along. I found myself skimming the last quarter of the book for any hint of something happening. Unlike Such a Fun Age where the characterization gets revealed after a momentous incident in the beginning of the novel, this one hints and something that never comes to fruition.

This is a character based novel set mostly in the college dorm setting. We have multiple points of view, many characters and a few uncomfortable situations. This book was not often an easy book to read. I found myself trudging through it but also fascinated by it at times. Once you get through some of the background and really get into the heart of the story it’s worth it to keep going. Inside I was screaming at the bad decisions of some of the characters. But I think what is important here is good books do not require like-able characters.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts are my very own.

At 432 pages (kindle) and due for release January 30, 2024, author Kiley Reid's sophomore novel (Such a Fun Age was her first) is based at the University of Arkansas, in the Belgrade dorm for transfer students. The novel centers on Resident Assistant (RA) Millie, and visiting professor, Agatha, as well as Agatha's spendy partner, a dancer, and several students in Belgrade dorm.

The book is touted/promoted in pre-release materials (I read this as a NetGalley ARC in exchange for my review) as "a fresh and intimate portrait of desire, consumption and reckless abandon, Come and Get It is a tension-filled story about money, indiscretion and bad behavior", which is technically true, but it comes together as a book written largely as a collection of themes in a university setting:

theme 1: gay/bi representation;
theme 2: mental health issues and loneliness;
theme 3: racism/Black people as students and RAs and implications on job placement/scholarships;
theme 4: boundaries/morals of relationships between professors and adult-age students;
theme 5: professional codes of conduct of professors going through personal life drama;
theme 6: southern state school representation - accents, dorm decor, intelligence of students;
theme 7: MONEY - who has it, who pays who for what, what are people willing to do for it.

That's a lot of themes! As a result, the plot is very character based - good in theory - but comes across as meandering, and not particularly interesting. In fact, I had a really hard time getting into this book and put off reading it for months, but am committed to closing out my NetGalley shelf by year end, so made myself finish it.

Things that bothered me: Why was such a smart lady - Agatha - with her partner with no serious discussions about expenses or money? Why did Agatha make such poor professional decisions? How could she possibly believe no one would find out about the articles she wrote? And why didn't Millie share more about her life with her RA friends? Also, as such an empathetic person, I would have thought she would have seen Kennedy's sadness a mile away. Why did anyone involved agree to the pranks? And most importantly, why was not one single person asking how did it happen - that dramatic scene near the end involving a pizza cutter?? That really bugged me, as did Millie not doing something with the knowledge that Kennedy had written that application to Agatha's creative writing program.

These and other decisions made by the characters felt inauthentic to me, and made me not really trust the narrative. Anyone can write a book about people making very bad decisions, but it is another thing to have the reader really care about those people and the decisions, and demonstrate a meaningful life arc with gratifying resolutions. I wanted these characters to evolve in a more serious and insightful way. 2.5 stars.

MINOR TRIVIAL SPOILER COMMENTS BELOW!
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
The one thing that was satisfying to me was the part of the ending where Agatha uses her money to help Millie in 2 different ways. Good for her. I would have prefered there be one final chapter where Agatha dumps her partner and agrees to mentor Kennedy as a writer for free, and recants her published articles to make everyone whole.

It's really slow and anti-climatic. Way too many characters for no reason at all. I had to go back and reread the description because I thought I was missing something. The excitement from the synopsis did not translate to the text.

After reading and loving Such a Fun Age, I was excited to see a new novel from the insightful Kiley Reid.
Millie is an RA at a college in Arkansas, Agatha is a professor/author conducting research about wedding culture. The two first meet when Agatha interviews some of the dorm residents for her book. There is a large cast of other vivid characters and it all mostly takes place on the college campus. While this book attempts to say a lot about micro aggressions, racism in academia, and homophobia, those nuances got lost in heavy descriptions about clothing, room decor, and a bunch of other seemingly pointless details that bogged the pace down to a crawl. While I cared about some of the characters and was interested in their backstory, I became antsy to move it along.
Reid is obviously a talented author but this one fell short for me.

This wasn't my favorite, but I am still thankful for the opportunity to read and review it via PRH Audio, Netgalley, Putnam Books, and Kiley Reid. This is my first Kiley Reid book, and unfortunately, probably my last; the writing style just didn't jive with me - and it read like a YA novel. Come and Get It is set to hit shelves on January 30, 2024.

Millie is a senior Resident assistant looking forward to the year to come and the future and whatever it holds, but first, she's gotta get through the nonsensical drama that her residents throw her way every given day. While I felt most of the dialogue was unnecessary, I remember my days of being an RA, and some of my kids were so bratty and misbehaved that the nostalgia I felt was spot on.

All-in-all Millie has some great friends who stick up for her when the hall's chaos and disruptions impact her ability to seek a future in an important job the following semester. It didn't really feel like there was a plot, just drawn out dialogue and ambiance.

3.75 rounded up.
Okay, honestly? I hadn’t realized before reading this how popular ”uptalk” was, or that it even had a name. It is utilized frequently in this book in the dialogue of the college students.
This is a character driven book (with a lot of main characters and a lot of side characters also) with maybe not a ton of plot but more into these character’s connections to each other, how they view money, and their status in relation to money. The characters are incredibly well fleshed out. The dialogue is witty and Reid is clearly a master of observation and cataloguing “what might this type of person say.” The language especially surrounding “white nature-y Christians” and how they gossip was so accurate I really felt 20 again and back at life group 🫠 (see my highlights) lol anyways!! This book did have a slow start, but by halfway in I was invested in finding out how everything resolved, and reading on to see what my new favorite quote from a character would be. While reading this I did find myself asking “do I like any of these characters?” “Do I know people like this in real life and like them?” Ultimately I’m glad I read this and also glad I never lived in a dorm.

Thank you to NetGalley and especially to Bloomsbury for the much appreciated ARC in return for an honest review.

I was a huge fan of Such a Fun Age and have been eagerly waiting for Reid’s sophomore book. As usual, the writing is exquisite. This was much, much different from her other book. In the vein of Seinfeld, this truly felt like a book about nothing. I think I just expected more. And I generally am a huge fan of character driven stories with no discernible plots. They’re kind of my thing. But something just felt lacking here. I don’t necessarily need to like a character, but I do need to feel invested. I just didn’t really care about any of the characters. I really had to push myself to finish this one. Bummer because, as I said, Reid is honestly a fantastic writer and is great at putting sentences together. That feels dumb to say considering I didn’t love the book but I just want to highlight its merits.

Even though this wasn’t for me, I’ll definitely check out her next book.

This one fell a little flat for me. I loved Such A Fun Age so I was looking forward to me. It kind of just felt all over the place with a few too many characters and not quite enough focus on most of them. It took me longer than usual to get through this one because I just didn’t quite care about any of the characters. The writing was beautiful though, as I expected it to be.

This character study is about a 38-year-old professor/writer, her early 30s wife, and a group of RAs and college students. The professor becomes involved with the students when she interviews them for her third book. As the story progresses, also we get perspectives from Millie, a lovable, do-good 24-year=old RA, and Kennedy, a transfer student who is struggling to make friends.

What I loved about this was that each person was 3-dimensional. Each perspective was believable. Each character had traits that made you root for or dislike them. The writing, especially the dialogue, was perfect.

This isn't as plot driven as Such a Fun Age, and it's a slower read. I found it interesting and wanted to keep reading, and about 70% in, there is plenty of drama for folks who need that. Each of the characters is important. There are no throwaway exchanges.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance ebook copy in exchange for my honest review.

Come and Get It
By Kiley Reid

I did not like this book. I found it to be poorly written, with stilted dialogue and a cast of characters who not only failed to interest me, but actually made me dislike each and every one of them.

I hate writing negative reviews, but I cannot find anything positive in this book to make me recommend it. There are few books that I have ever read that have caused me to have such a thoroughly negative reaction.

This review will be posted on January 30, 2024 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

I liked this novel from the get-go. The characters are rich and robust, the prose evocative. (Millie is so special, the best character in the novel.) Reid draws sharp parallels between those who can and those who can't. Who can give into reckless abandon. Who can get away with unethical practices. Who can take advantage of college undergrads. Who can get away with dorm pranks. Who can talk themselves out of anything. Reid's prose is the sharpest and most revealing it's ever been. 🐖 #ComeAndGetIt Rating: 😊 / really liked it

I should probably start by saying I haven't yet read Such a Fun Age, but it's on my tbr. I know it was well-received and when I heard that Kiley Reid wrote another book, I was curious to check it out. The storyline - a tale of the entanglement of a resident assistant, a professor, and a group of residents - piqued my interest. It was a fun read that brought me back to my college days, though it was a bit meandering at times. I kept wondering where the book was going, which for me led to the build-up and kept me reading, but I could see where a different reader might get bored. I'm still looking forward to reading Such a Fun Age, though!

This is a very interesting character-driven novel that follows three women in very different circumstances. Agatha, a journalist who has moved to a college campus to work on her next book, is dealing with a break-up while Millie is back for her senior year after taking a year off to care for her sick mother. Kennedy, a transfer junior, has just moved to town with a past she wants to forget. These three women intersect in different ways and I found myself staying up late to uncover another part of the characters' identity. Kiley Reid crafts these very real characters and shows us the good, the bad, and the ugly without judgment.

Without giving anything away, this book climaxes in the most shocking way, and the reader is left with the sensation that the best intentions have the most disastrous effects.

Trigger Warnings: blood, (unintentional) self-harm, depression, animal death

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I kept reading and reading hoping the plot would go somewhere, but alas it did not. I think I may be the wrong age group for this book. I enjoyed pieces of the plot- parts of the character development but it never really led to anything except a blundering climax.

This coming-of-age story started off very strong for me. A visiting professor comes to the University of Arkansas to teach while also writing a book (she’s a celebrated author). The female-focused story is definitely more character driven than plot driven (which at times is something I do enjoy). I think, in the end, the sheer number of characters made the read a bit problematic for me.

I do find Kiley Reid to be a very funny writer and she develops characters and relationships extremely well. Ultimately I enjoyed the book but found myself wanting a bit more out of it.

This started off slow and I was hot and cold on Agatha. I saw parts (huge chunks really) of myself Millie which made me uncomfortable in a good way. The stakes were low but at times felt high and I liked that. I liked that book felt like the book version of "a show about nothing."
Reid also does a great job of fleshing out side characters and the slow reveal. The humor is on point and I found myself acting out dialogue. As I write this review, I realize I like this book more than I originally thought.
Colette is my favorite. Just wanted to make that clear.

Come and Get It is an exploration of class, money, race and loneliness within the insular setting of a southern college campus. Our main characters are a hardworking and hopeful RA, a mysterious self-isolating transfer student, and a professor/researcher visiting from Chicago. In addition, there are several side characters that help in mimicking the endless chattering of a campus.

The story itself is in a low-plot, slice-of-life style that highlights Reid’s talent in how she presents microaggressions and awkward interactions.. There are dozens of cringeworthy moments, and a slow, meandering pace that feels very realistic. While the subject matter and topics are much different, this style reminded me of Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau.

While realistic, I found reading the dialogue to be grating after a while, which may have been the point. Most millennials and Gen Z-ers are guilty of saying “ohmagawd” and “And then I was like..”, but there are only so many times I can read them within pages of each other before putting the book back down for a while. Maybe the author is trying to point out how annoying those phrases are, and yes, point taken.

I thoroughly enjoyed the pivotal moment in the book, but am ultimately unsatisfied and a bit confused by the conclusion (or lack thereof). Not needing everything wrapped up perfectly, and Millie’s open-endedness feels right somehow, but Agatha and Kennedy’s ending feels a little unfair. Ultimately, I enjoyed this just fine and can recommend it to the right person. I think it would be good for a book club discussion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam for an early copy in exchange for a review!