3 stars. I'm just going to say that this author's writing style and I don't mesh. Definitely a character driven story rather than plot driven, which I rather enjoy.

Come and Get It, a novel set largely at the University of Arkansas, has a lot going on! I loved Reid’s Such a Fun Age, so my expectations were really high for this. At first, the structure and the number of characters had me worried. I wasn’t sure if I was following that well, and I had a hard time feeling connected to the characters. But of course I should have trusted Reid, because by about halfway through, I was hooked, reading late into the night and starting up again in the morning. There were times where I found it difficult to believe that certain characters would actually make the choices they were making, but I was able to put that aside and enjoy (or, feel the tension of? certainly feel invested in!) the story. Now that I’ve finished it I am eager for a friend to read it so we can discuss it. And once again, I can’t wait to see what Reid writes next.

Content warnings include racism, death of an animal, suicidal ideation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for providing a digital review copy.

All aboard the hot mess express! Come & Get It is the campus novel/ coming-of-age/ finding yourself in your twenties book I didn’t know I needed. There’s A LOT going on in the mini universe of the dorm where one of the protagonists lives, and while it takes a bit for the three narrators stories to connect, I felt like it worked in a way many books with multiple points of view don’t.

This one is heavily character driven with not a whole lot of plot, so if that isn’t your thing, you may not like this one as much as I did.

It's simply written and not too deep, but this novel does an excellent job of ratcheting up the tensions between various mostly well-meaning characters with widely diverse backgrounds and motivations, all of them thrown together in situations that are somehow fractured and fraught just below (and sometimes just above) the surface. At one point I had to skip ahead to reassure myself that nothing too irrecoverable was going to happen to my favorite before I could calm down and make myself go on. Fun believable college setting, interesting soup of financial and racial and sexual tensions, voices you can totally hear, and I was pleasantly surprised by the queer content.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC! I've been a big fan of Kiley Reid since "Such A Fun Age" and I was really excited to read this book!

Come and Get It tells a story from multiple perspectives of female students in a dorm over the course of a year. This book was expertly written. It is tense and uncomfortable at times, and often I found myself audibly questioning some of the characters' decisions. I felt connected to all of the characters at different times, which is a credit to Reid: she makes her characters incredibly human and relatable.

I so appreciate the opportunity for this ARC. Thank you again!

First off, thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for a chance to read this one early! I absolutely loved “Such a Fun Age,” Kiley’s first novel, so I was really looking forward to reading this one.

And gosh, I do love Reid’s writing; she writes everyday racial microaggressions in such a skillful way that feels fresh and spot-on. Reid’s characters are constantly scheming against each other and using each other for their own means, and it is so clever and engaging to read. Reading her work often feels like being recognized in little ways.

That being said, I do agree with some of the other reviews I’ve seen on goodreads saying they felt this novel was a bit light on plot & that it felt a bit anti-climactic. From the start we aren’t really sure where we are going, but I was willing to accept that and go along for the ride because I trust Reid as a writer. We meet quite a few characters but it isn’t really clear who is going to be the main character. All of the characters are interesting, but the plot itself didn’t really seem to take off in the way I would have liked it to. I did feel for much of the book that I was waiting for the action to start although I remained entertained by these characters and their backstories and appreciated the realistic view of how lonely dorm life and college life can actually be if you aren’t one of the lucky ones who immediately finds your tribe.

I rated this one 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 for goodreads!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review. I was initially interested in this book because it takes place at the University of Arkansas, and I am a student there. I loved all the references to Fayetteville and loved being able to recognize them. This story is very character driven and we follow three students and their dorm RA. I liked the characters and the set up of this book.

Wow, Kiley Reid does not know the definition of a sophomore slump. Her second book is different but just as good as the first.

If I’m comparing to her first novel, this one is a lot different in some ways. It is the same in its character development and cringe moments that are so real you can vividly remember in your mind something similar happening to you. In this case we are on a college campus- I’m talking dorm issues, roommate issues, figuring your life out, making friends, trying to fit in with the party crowd, and just kind of feeling alone in college. I feel like a lot of people have rose colored glasses on when it comes to college but this one really kind of showcase some of the experiences that I had and that I know a lot of others did. This one is much slower than her first book and very slow to start, which I feel was necessary. It is masterfully character driven with minimal plot, which I think will probably turn some people off, but it is well worth it to keep going when everything comes together. It almost reminded me of a well-done family drama, but campus culture edition.

It was chaotic. It was well written. The characters were multi dimensional. I felt like I deeply knew each and everyone of them, and the dialogue was probably my favorite part. the way Kiley read writes how teenage girls speak to each other, and just the things that they talk about!!!! There is a lot of discussion and themes about finances in college, which is just fascinating to me given that everyone that I knew had a different financial experience and financial situation in college. whether it’s the students who are going to college on student loans like myself, the students who get a $700 allowance per month, etc and just that financial divide at universities and how it causes entitlement, Roommate issues, etc.

Now I remember when Reed’s first book came out (SUCH A FUN AGE) I absolutely loved it and before I read it, I went to an author talk with her (she’s a local author to Philadelphia) and she talked a lot about how the moments in the book were supposed to be beyond cringe- it wasn’t supposed to be something that you would criticize or say it didn’t fit- it was supposed to be funny/cringe, but also a conversation starter about important topics , and this one is very similar, and that way there are countless moments of just beyond beyond cringe and I just think she does it so well and I do think that can feel off putting for some people if they just don’t jive with that kind of writing style. If we’re comparing, the biggest difference between her 2 books is the pace- SAFA is short and sweet. I do feel like this book could have been shorter, but then we would’ve missed out on all those deep intricacies and how she parses out each character, which was really impressive so part of me thinks that I I am OK with the length, and the the slow burn that this one was. I’m really excited for all of you to read this one and my biggest tip would be to really just embrace the slow burn- embrace each character and how she deeply describes them and be patient for it to hit a stride.

Come and Get It
Kiley Reid
Pub Date: Jan 30, 2024
Bloomsbury
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Reid looks at class and race in an off beat way. However, there is almost no plot in this book. It is a character driven novel. It takes so long to get to a point, this is an early copy so hopefully some of the things I didn’t like will be edited by publication date. The execution left a lot to be desired.
I didn’t enjoy this one.
3 stars

I was a big fan of Kiley Reid's first book 'Such a Fun Age', so was excited to read this one as well, but it fell flat. It's a character driven story but nothing really happens in this book until you are 80% in, then the ending felt a bit rushed, with minor consequences for the students involved.
Millie Cousins is an R.A. in her senior year of college, and is looking for a good way to make some extra money. Enter Agatha Paul, a visiting professor that quickly inserts herself into Millie's life. What follows is lies, deception, power struggles, and race and class distinctions. Reid does a good job tackling these big themes in the eyes of the college students, but there is very little plot to be had here. Reid loves to use flowery prose and it's entertaining at first, but then gets tiresome. For example: 'I eight and eight until I was six on the floor'.

This book could have been so much more, expanding on race and classism in the context of the university system, especially in light of the recent Supreme Court decision to banish affirmative action.

After reading and loving Such a Fun Age, I was disappointed by Come and Get It. I didn’t understand the need for so many characters and the underdeveloped plot. Jumping from topic to topic, Reid takes a stab at many different things but doesn’t quite nail down any of them. I was really hoping to enjoy this one more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Come and Get It was a big fail for me. The writing itself moves quickly and is compelling and kept me reading until the end. Unfortunately, there as no substance to the book itself. So many odd tangents, but nothing important occurs and the ending is such a dismissive way to explain away an incident that could be so triggering to many.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

"Come & Get It" centers almost entirely around a dorm and it's various residents, hinging on 24 year old RA Millie's link with an anthropologist/ professor/ journalist in her research process. The multiple characters are well-developed with full backgrounds and life stories that converge in the novel. Reid deftly blended the multiple storylines and I liked the slow reveal of the link between all the women of the novel. I loved "Such a Fun Age" and this one was just as engrossing. I wanted to overhear all of the dorm room gossip and conversation, cringed at what certain characters would say when they thought no one was listening, and I appreciated the funny banter between the various RAs. Reid is talented at humor and drama, but there were still gut punch moments and social commentary about exploitation and the lengths we are willing to go to to get what we want, and how that can vary based on race, power, social status, and capital. Explores how relationships, even friendship and romance, can be transactional.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin/Putnam for the e-ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I was really excited to receive it as I was a fan of Such a Fun Age, the author’s previous novel.

There were times I was sure I would give a positive review to this one as well. The characters, while a bunch to keep track of, were interesting and compelling. I kept waiting to see how their stories would merge into a coherent theme or direction. Unfortunately, that never really happened. Their secrets were not all that shocking and not much really happened.

I’m not sure what the author was intending with this novel but I’d still be interested in reading her next.

There is A LOT going on in this book. Read it with that in mind. Prepare to possibly take notes to keep track of characters and their stories. Writing is enjoyable but I’m not sure that the journey was totally worth it.

Thank you for the ARC!

This book will resonate even more due to the Supreme Court rulings on Affirmative Action and the Student Loan Debt Crisis.

The story had too many stories at once. There were too many characters to follow. I did not feel the themes met the setting. The setting should have felt more amplified. The ending was also abrupt.

I appreciated the setting of a residence hall and all of the intricacies and identities of young adults figuring out life while caring for people their age. Millie is an interesting character. Following her story was great.

Kiley Reid’s sophomore work was anything but a slump. She has such a genuine, intimate understanding of modern humanity that translates effortlessly to the page. I know these characters, I know how they feel, I know their struggles and their worries.

This was, chef’s kiss, perfect. 🤌🏼

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this title.

I’m pretty bummed about this one. I enjoyed Such a Fun Age and was surprised at how much I did not enjoy Come & Get It. For starters, I could not tell you what the title has to do with the story at all and that really annoys me…

This story fell flat in every way for me. The characters were so one dimensional, uninteresting and unlikable. The only ones I actually enjoyed were Colette and Rhyland although they do not escape that same description. This felt like Reid was just testing the waters for different subjects, but eventually abandoned them all. There are themes regarding race and class, but they remained unexplored and undeveloped. I mostly felt uncomfortable with the relational dynamics of nearly all the characters. And maybe it was because I didn’t feel like I really knew the kind of person any of them were.

The big event of the book took 300 pages to get to and I was so underwhelmed. It felt convenient and messy and rushed. The ending, particularly Kennedy’s storyline, left me a bit mad to be honest. There were some challenging subjects written about, but I don’t think they were done in a constructive, insightful/thoughtful, or educational way.

To top it off, I cannot tell you how exhausting it was to repeatedly read through dialogue riddled with phrases like “Yeah, no. Sorry.” “Homygosh!” and thick southern accents where “I’m” is replaced with “Ahm”. Wish there would’ve been more ways to represent those aspects of the relative characters.

While I didn’t enjoy a lot about the book, the pace and writing itself stayed true to Reid’s previous work, which I did enjoy. It made it easier to get through despite not meeting my expectations.

"Come and Get It" by Kiley Reid is a gripping exploration of race, privilege, and ambition. Sharp and thought-provoking, it challenges societal norms and keeps you hooked until the very end.

I had a really good time with this. Gay, messy, college RA content that i could not put down!! The drama was crazy. Sometimes the characterization felt a liiiitle heavy handed but i thought Reid did a good job at fleshing out so many characters in not too much time.