Thank you so much to G.P. Putnam for the Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review!

I was super stoked to see that I had been approved for COME AND GET IT-- I really enjoyed Kiley Reid's first book, SUCH A FUN AGE, and I would've definitely been eager to read this one when it came out in any case. COME AND GET IT toes the line of several different genres and avenues, dipping into quite a few different themes and topics, which contributes to a slightly disjointed and frantic tone. However, I believe this works in the novel's favor, as all the plotlines seem to come together under a major theme. COME AND GET IT focuses on twenty-four-year old college senior Millie, who works as a Resident Advisor at the University of Arkansas. Millie struggles to take care of her ailing mother, scrape together enough money to finish school and hopefully buy a house, deal with the troublemaker girls on her floor, and find her place as a black student at the predominantly white institution. She crosses paths with Agatha, a researcher, journalist, and professor at the university, when she comes to her dorm in search of students to interview for her newest nonfiction book. Conflicts ensue between the girls on the floor, between Millie and the girls, and further when Agatha goes down some less-than-ethical avenues to get the content she needs for her research.

First of all, I have to commend Ms. Reid on the excellent portrayal of Res Life and the RA job! I was an RA in college, and this book perfectly encapsulated both what it was like and why I hated it. The feeling of monotony, frustration with administration, and the care for struggling students comes through in the little details. I have to wonder if she was an RA herself, because if not, she's certainly done her research. The setting feels very fleshed out, rich, and immersive-- again, those little details of college life really shine through to create compelling imagery.

The characterization also resonated strongly with me. Ms. Reid is very skilled in weaving together specific images and descriptions that work to quickly create an image of the character in one's mind, and I enjoyed the opportunity to delve deeper into all of the POV character's backstories and headspaces. There were quite a few foreground characters featured in this book, which I can see being frustrating to some readers, but I feel that the alternating POVs were used efficiently and effectively in order to provide new perspectives and challenge certain beliefs. While no character is totally innocent, I felt such sympathy for Millie and Kennedy, a lonely resident struggling to adjust to college life, especially. Tyler and Peyton, fellow girls in the dorm, were a little harder to redeem for me, but still sparked my curiosity.

I enjoy Ms. Reid's work because she delves into modern-day, real-world societal issues with grace and an appropriate dose of levity. SUCH A FUN AGE painted a fascinating image of upstairs-downstairs life with the young black nanny and the upper-class white mother, and called attention towards current events through its narrative. I do feel that COME AND GET IT approached the issues of racism and class contentions at PWIs with a bit more subtlety, which I appreciated, as it felt a bit less forced. I do feel that this theme could have been woven in a bit more into a few of the subplots, as some of them felt a little out of the blue or unrelated.

Before I read the reviews, I knew what some of them were going to complain about: the apparent lack of a plot line. I'd agree in a certain sense, but also would contest that the characters are so dynamic and the prose and dialogue so witty that the pace goes by quickly nonetheless. I did wish at certain points that an inciting event would appear a bit earlier, or that a certain issue a character was dwelling on would progress a bit faster. The ending felt slightly anticlimactic to me, to the point where I was actually surprised that Ms. Reid chose to end the book on the scene that she did. For these reasons, I'd take off points, but I still found myself glued to the story in a way that was hard to explain.

To make a long review short, I'm extremely pleased and grateful to have been able to review a book by a big-name author and one whom I personally admire! I'd recommend COME AND GET IT to fans of character-driven literary fiction, snappy, Gen-Z-approved dialogue, and anyone who's worked for Res Life and lived to tell the tale. ;)

Something that I've always loved about the TV show "Seinfeld" is that it's about nothing. It just features the small moments in the lives of pretty regular people, and how their conversations and seemingly insignificant actions can cause a colossal misunderstanding or event that will impact the characters' lives in a significant way.

Like "Seinfeld," this book was mostly about nothing. An RA, her residents, and a visiting professor make up the major cast of characters. The way the residents treat each other, the way the RA gives them advice, and the way all of their relationships form greatly affect what happens before, during, and after a major event in their semester. It was crazy and, like a season finale of "Seinfeld," the reader is shown how a bunch of snippets of conversations and brief encounters in the hallway have actually led to this moment. I loved it; it was a wild ride.

I also feel the need to point out that this book was so very relatable. I was an RA in college and Kiley Reid did not miss the mark. Millie and her RA friends talk about their residents in private (yup, we did that). RA Colette hates the duty phone with a passion (oh yeah, that dreaded thing's ringtone still pops up in my nightmares). Even the roommate disagreements over tiny problems building up to a blow-up were accurate!

As I read, I felt like all of this could have happened to me or in my residence hall and that I'm glad I made it out okay.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book. My only issue was that it took quite awhile to get to the good stuff. I can see why some other reviewers quit (right before it amps up!), but I'm glad I stuck with it.

I am very torn on this book. On one hand, it is perhaps the most fabulous and in-depth experiment in character that I have ever seen. Reid places you so vividly in these characters lives that it becomes hard to extricate yourself. Her dialogue is unbelievably realistic, as is her depiction of the day-to-day lives of college students. There are times I found it hard to believe this WASN'T a direct transcription of college student interactions, a fascinating meta-experience given that one of the main characters, a professor, is quite literally doing just that (transcribing/recording college students lives). On the other hand, this book made me incredibly stressed. There is a point about 80% into the novel where I nearly couldn't continue. Some of the characters become deeply unlikeable, and the likable characters are put in such impossible situations that the secondary anxiety I felt was palpable. However, I do feel like this visceral sense of distress is representative of Kiley Reid's incredible skill as a writer, and feel that it is reflective of this novel as a seminal work of fiction and character work.

Wow! What starts as an interesting look into college dorm life (for residents and staff) and getting to know the characters well…… suddenly takes a serious turn that had me deeply engrossed. Many timely and timeless topics can be found within the pages: racism, sexuality, recreational edibles use, disparate age couples and more.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy of this novel.

Unfortunately I seem to be on a string of novels that just don't fit what I'm looking for. While I like character driven, I feel as though character without any discernible plot for a quarter or more at the beginning of a novel is simply not enough to keep my attention. I'm struggling at getting myself into these types of books, and this was, unfortunately, yet another example. I hate to rate books like this because for me it's more about style and preference than "quality." Thus, take this review with a grain of salt as ymmv depending on what you're looking for.

This is my independent review.

It must be an an author's nightmare when your first book does so well and then your second book is just okay. I do like the author's writing style and she has very sharp observations. I agree with other people who said that there were a million characters (but then again that's how it is when you're a RA and trying to remember everyone). I liked Millie's POV, I felt like there were too many unnecessary details with Agatha's past, and for some reason I wanted to skim over Kennedy's chapters (also the "thing" that happened at her other school felt like it could have been left out). It took a long time for things to get exciting and then I felt like everything was wrapped up really quickly and was just...done. Overall it was okay but people are going to be disappointed if they're expecting the same caliber as [book:Such a Fun Age|43923951].

2.5 stars, rounded up.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"come and get it" is a novel about... well,
about nothing. the plot is very loose, and most of the novel is completely pointless.

millie is an RA at bellgrade dorm in the university of alabama. she's one of the few black students and experiences racism at the hands of the freshman, the administration, colleagues, and just about everyone else.

agatha is a black professor at the university who starts a research project interviewing students in the dorms about weddings, but then it switches to students' financial situations. she immediately connects with millie after one of her residents calls her "ghetto." as they build a relationship that borders on romantic, millie stops being the best RA she can be.

while this novel wants to say something about racism in predominantly white universities, it really falls short. while this novel wants to say something about lesbophobia and biphobia, it doesn't. at the end of this novel, i just felt it was all pointless prattling.

however, it was very atmospheric. it reminded me of my freshman year in a dorm to such an extent that i felt a sense of homesickness and nostalgia.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, there wasn't much of a plot. On the other, the author is adept at creating characters that are multilayered and compelling. Entwined are issues of race, sexuality and abuse of power.

I absolutely loved "Such a Fun Age" so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this advance ARC. This novel was a bit slower-paced for me but there were many thematic similarities. Kiley Reid is talented at creating complex characters and I really like her writing style.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book but it didn't quite have the impact Such a Fun Age did.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Kiley Reid expertly creates a cast of characters who are both flawed and extremely likable. I found myself caring deeply about how the lives of these individuals would turn out. The story is gripping with plenty of surprise twists, and Reid manages to address weighty topics such as privilege and race with sensitivity and humor.

I was pleased to receive this book centering on the higher education community where Millie, an RA wants to move into the next phase of her life, but needs money. A visiting professor, Agatha, has a proposition for Millie to help her achieve her goals; Millie begins to help Agatha with her research into weddings, and then Agatha begins to figure out how she can use this information for her personal self. This is predominantly a character driven book and therefore, it seemed as if there was no plot or purpose for the majority of the book. If you like storylines, rather than just reading about the interactions of characters, this book is probably not for you. But if you like to get a glimpse into the lives of characters and how they intertwine, pick up this book. The book could have also been a bit more thorough in its delivery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Come and Get It is Reid's second novel.

It deals with a variety of issues - primarily centered on the lives of college students, a professor, a love affair, and a serious look at the morality of them all.

I highly recommend this book.

I can't recommend this book highly enough! The dialogue was funny and realistic and I loved the setting of Fayetteville. You were rooting both for and against the characters throughout the book- they were nuanced and authentic. The professor-student relationship trope is often unappealing and flat, but this book approached the topic from a new perspective.

I loved the author's first novel and wasn't sure that this one would live up to my expectations, but it was a delightful read start to finish. It

I love Kiley Reid’s debut novel and was excited to read Come and Get It. The book started off slow and I almost stopped reading because Millie’s introduction dragged on with so much unnecessary and frankly, uninteresting, detail. Before I quit reading, I wanted to get to the multi-POV and I’m so glad I stuck it out. Once I was further into the book, I couldn’t put it down and enjoyed the world Reid crafted. There were a few too many characters in this book, but the three main characters will well-developed and engaging.

As an alum of University of Iowa, I was impressed with how Reid nailed the descriptions of Iowa City and its unique culture while telling Kennedy’s story. Reid has an incredible ability to write dialogue and multi-faceted characters who are deep, empathetic and frustrating at the same time.

I didn’t love this as much as Such a Fun Age (a 5-star read for me) but overall, I rate it 3 stars. I look forward to reading what she writes in the future.

Uhh I’m really surprised I finished this book. So many characters that didn’t need to be in the story. I didn’t feel like there was an actual plot.

Much like many reviewers, I loved Such a Fun Age and was so excited to read Come and Get It. Unfortunately it was not nearly as good and part of the reason why, in my opinion, is that the southern accents were incredibly distracting. I was having to translate in my head as I was reading and it really took away from the joy of reading for me. In addition to that, something about the way this story was written made it confusing to follow. I kept having to re-read paragraphs and pages to remember who no was reading about.
I did like the storyline and still think this author is a talented writer. This one just didn’t do if for me like her last one did.

I'm more than a quarter of the way through this novel that seems mostly about women on a college campus. It's professionally written. The prose and dialogue are well-handled. But the plot, at least so far, meanders in places and drags in others Plus, the characters are not all that interesting or conflicted. Having completed at least the first 100 pages, I'm finding myself not at all engaged, much less interested in learning what happens next. So, this will be a DNF for me. But it is professionally written and others may well feel differently.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an electronic ARC. The foregoing is my independent opinion.

Sometimes a writer's style and your own reading style do not match up and I'm afraid this was the case here. I couldn't keep the students straight as they all spoke with spelled-out southern accents. (Tyler is Tahler? Really?)

It seems to be the story of Millie, a 24 year old senior and RA at the Fayetville-located UA. Or maybe it's the story of Agatha, an older (38) visiting professor there researching another book. The minor characters were difficult to keep straight. Is it Kennedy who is the slob, and too close to her mother? And which one is Jenna again? And did I really care to know?

Apologies to Kiley Reid for not liking the way she writes because I can tell she is talented. But for this reader I did not begin to enjoy the novel until the very end when some action came into the mainly plotless story.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy for an early read.

This book took a long time to say very little. I liked some of the characters and I felt like it was building up to something, but the pay off was a bit meh.
Thank you, Net Galley!

I enjoyed this book a lot 5/5 stars. Kiley Reid has a great way of creating characters that are realistic and love-able. She also does a great job of bringing up race, gender and sexuality in a way that still fits with the story. Overall, this was a very well written, interesting, engaging read.