From the author of Such a Fun Age comes a new literary fiction story centered around a cast of unique characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC in exchange for my thoughts!
I went into this one aware that it was a character driven novel as opposed to plot driven. Overall, it worked for me. The beginning was a little confusing, I wasn’t sure exactly where we were going. After I got to know the characters a bit, I found myself thoroughly entertained. The setting took me right back to dorm life in college.
This might not be a winner for everyone, especially those who seek excitement and thrill. If you are looking for a relaxing read, this might be the one for you. Without giving spoilers, I was expecting more repercussions for the characters after “the incident” at the end of the story. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Kiley Reid’s sophomore novel COME AND GET IT is a rather large departure from her debut SUCH A FUN AGE, and I think patience is required for it. Along those same lines, I’m not sure it’s going to be a hit for every reader. This will resonate more for those readers who like slower, character-driven contemporary novels.

When the novel starts out, we are introduced to Agatha, who is a visiting professor to the University of Arkansas, and she’s interviewing college residence hall residents on weddings. This immediately was weird to me because wedding research at a university seems so … odd. It reminded me of my days in college when psychology experiments are stated as being for one purpose to those who volunteer, but actually something else is being studied. So I was immediately suspicious of Agatha’s motive for her “wedding research.”

Then we are introduced to Millie, a Black residence advisor in the Belgrade (least preferential) dorm. She’s hard-working and is of little means, scraping together money from wherever she can. The reader sees how the residents and fellow residence advisors treat her: not well, she tolerates a ton of microaggressions and other insulting behavior.

We learn background on Agatha, including her relationship with her wife Robyn, and Millie, and we are introduced to some of the residents that are being interviewed. There is a lot of detail in the writing; for example, we are told how each of the dorm rooms looks in an exhaustive way. Again, patience is needed.

This novel shows so much in the small moments, and it talks about money with much more specificity than you see in other novels. It doesn’t slap the reader across the face with conclusions and epiphanies. It’s definitely a slow burn. And it’s not a storyline/novel that I’ve ever seen before. I definitely give uniqueness points, and some chide me for doing that, but I think it’s really difficult to achieve uniqueness these days in books. This novel looks at race and economic class in a way that can meet the reader wherever they are in their race and economic justice journey, provided that the reader doesn’t DNF due to the very difficult-to-nab-down plot.

The plot gets going at 75% with the main incident, and it didn’t resolve to my complete satisfaction. But that’s life, right?

Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I enjoyed Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid so I had high hopes for this one. But honestly I felt a little disappointed in this book.

I felt like it dragged and I felt like this book was way too long. Alot of it could have been said in about half the pages. I struggled to get through it.

Also, what does the title have anything to do with the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for this e-copy!

Unfortunately, this didn't really work for me. I liked the authors last novel, or I at the very least found it engaging, but I found this book incredibly slow to get through and at times boring. For my personal taste, there was too much characterization and not enough plot. This isn't my normal genre, so I am sure there are people who are more character based readers and would enjoy this, but it just was not for me. I would still be interested in reading whatever Kiley does next!

After all the online hype about this novel I was pretty disappointed. As I didn’t read the author’s last book, I can’t say if this one is better or not but I found the dialogue vacuous and the characters bland. While I can see that the author was trying to include cultural issues the many stereotypes felt offensive. After reading so many backstories of so many characters that didn’t go anywhere or have anything to do with the plot, I wanted to scream. This book was just not it for me. Thank you NetGalley for the digital copy.

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penquin Random House for an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I jumped at the chance to read Kiley Reid's sophomore novel after liking Such a Fun Age so much; however, this one fell flat for me.

Reid is a character & relationship heavy author oftentimes at the expense of the plot. As other reviewers have noted, the plot truly didn't kick in in this book until about 300 pages in and even then we were left without resolve. I found myself frustrated with the characters and especially frustrated with the ending.

Ultimately, I feel this book tried to do too much. As many as 8 main characters with overlapping points of connection became increasingly hard to follow. I don't understand much of the point of Agatha's relationship with Robin taking up so much of the beginning or the backstory we received on Kennedy's life before transferring to Arkansas.

However, the reviews of this are pretty split and I'm confident some of my friends will really like this one. I wouldn't tell anyone not to read it, certainly, but it mostly wasn't for me.

Much like its predecessor, Such a Fun Age, Come and Get It is uncomfortable in parts, typically when discussing race relations and microaggressions. But the discomfort is in its accuracy and specificity. In the nuances of human behavior, Reid nails it.

I nearly gasped when a character imitated gossiping with intention for the Lord, in which someone feigns concern for a person while covertly badmouthing them. "God's really putting Hannah on my heart this week[...]And I need to figure out a way to hold her accountable while I do my best to shower her with grace," Reid writes.

TW for suicidal ideation

The author built interesting characters but the book had no plot or good ending. The ending was rushed and made no sense with no way to understand what had happened. All the action in this book happens in the last few chapters after a lot of character building.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5722987024

Kiley Reid is one of my all time favorite new authors. I thoroughly enjoyed Such a Fun Age, and I was super excited to get an advanced copy of "Come and Get it". This second novel did not disappoint! Come and Get It takes place at an Arkansas University and focuses on professor/author Agatha Paul, Resident Assistant, Millie Cousins and numerous residents of Belgrade dormitory. As with Such a Fun Age, this novel is strong in character development. This novel also explores many of the same issues as her first novel (racial and socioeconomic contrasts). Kiley Reid is definitely not a one hit wonder, and I look forward to her future novels! Thanks to #Putnam and #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I have mixed feelings about "campus novels," partly because I'm so tired of reading about little geniuses and their problems. This is not that campus novel! Perhaps it read differently because it's not about an Ivy or near Ivy League school and the characters were not predictable in their flaws. I wish there had a been a bit more depth to the racial dynamics, but I'd still recommend this book to just about anyone. It's too bad it's not coming out now (in August) because it was great to read alongside the discourse surrounding rush at the University of Alabama (aka #Bamarush). Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is a very character driven book about a group of young women living in a dorm and a professor/journalist who get to know them. I enjoyed the various viewpoints and though it’s lighter on plot the book kept me really engaged. I feel llle those that like a lot to happen in books won’t appreciate the nuances of this one but if you’re someone who likes to know every detail of a character down to how they eat their cereal you’ll enjoy this one

I requested this ARC because I had loved Kiley’s last book and this one didn’t disappoint. The characters in this book are so diverse and interesting it left me wanting to know so much more about them all. The relationship between the two main characters, Agatha and Millie was so touching but yet frustrating as can be at times as a reader just wanting them to succeed and not make the wrong decisions. Overall I would definitely recommend this book to others and I’m thankful for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book! I adored this author's previous book, and this one has a similar vibe. Her awareness of college lingo & culture was spot on. I got a bit confused by the different college girls, but this was fantastic, interesting story. I was surprised by the 1st kiss. I love the Chicago location. And Joplin, MO. It wasn't as fast paced as I would have liked for a plane read, but I didn't want to put it down because I was anxious to know how it ended and if they got caught. A fantastic read. Thank you!

“Come and Get It” is the spectacularly written new novel by Kiley Reid.

Agatha is a visiting professor at the University of Arkansas. She meets Millie, a dorm RA, and Kennedy, a transfer student. Their lives intersect in a variety of different ways.

I adored “Such a Fun Age,” so I was a little surprised that I did not enjoy this book quite as much. The characters are well-developed (in fact, expect a lot more character study versus plot) and Reid’s writing is very evocative and on point, but her earlier novel grabbed me in a way that this one did not. While I cannot put my finger on as to why, I suggest if you’re seeking something different and want to immerse yourself in some beautiful writing, you should definitely consider this book.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you the Kiley Reid, NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel.

I was so excited to read an ARC of this as I loved Such A Fun Age, and it did not disappoint! Honestly, I may have liked this one even more. Come and Get It follows multiple characters at a southern university who are connected through living in the same dorm. The characters are all pretty different from each other, some are lovable, and some are horrible people. As with her first novel, a lot of the character relations draw attention to racism and prejudice.

I was nervous going into this as I have seen many negative reviews saying that there is no plot… I didn’t find this to be true? I would say the book is more character-driven, but there is a pretty clear plot in my opinion?

Overall, I would rate this 4.5 stars, losing half a star because I didn’t really like the ending, as I found it a little too unrealistic

It’s hard to read a book in 2 sittings that’s mainly character based and doesn’t drive the story with cliffhangers or huge plot twists, but I devoured this book.

If you want huge characters arcs then this book isn’t for you. Kiley Reid does a good job at creating characters that serve to help demonstrate the underlying social commentary at the heart of the story. In this book, it’s the concept of “fun money”; the expendable income we have that we can do anything with. With characters that deserve fun money but don’t have any, those who use theirs for control, those who have no concept for it, and those who save it, Reid paints a poignant portrait of small town America.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

kiley reid somehow found a way to make a quiet novel about dorm room politics riveting. her writing feels like a masterclass in writing vivid characters & smooth, illuminating dialogue. you can practically see her MFA from the university of iowa being put to work. only a devout plotter can make such seemingly inconsequential details flow together like this.

I love Kiley Reid's work and I love a character driven story which Come and Get It is. This book takes a close look at post-college life in and around a college town and all the characters are so relatable. I don't think I liked this one as much as her first book but this was quite an exciting ride and I read it quickly, in two or three sittings.
Highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Come and Get It by Kiley Reid was interesting, confusing, and I had to read it to the end.
I had previously read Such A Fun Age by this author. I liked that one better. I thought it had more depth.
Still not sure what the title refers to!?!
Come and Get It takes place on a college campus. You meet several students, an RA and a writer.
The writer tries to get attitudes and opinions from a few students on weddings for a book. When she finds that she's not really interested in the subject, she switches gears. She already gathered some comments from the students about money and their relationships with it.
So, without giving anything away, this story revolves around money.
I didn't realize that as I read. After I finished the book, I saw money as the thread that runs through the story and the characters' lives.
However, I had trouble telling the characters apart. I hate that in a book.
So, I give it 3-1/2 stars. Maybe if you are a college student or a recent, you might enjoy it more than I did.

I went to the University of Arkansas, so i of course was extremely excited to read Come and Get It. I enjoyed its discussion of race, class, and power dynamics in relationships. It was definitely true to the sociopolitical landscape UARK was when I was there. I do think it’s exploration of the above themes didn’t go quite deep enough for me, and the novel did lose its way once or twice, but i still felt it was an enjoyable read!