Thank you to William Morrow for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
Ola is a feminist journalist who wakes up to news of The List, a crowdsourced list of men who are accused of sexual allegations. Since it’s a Google doc anonymously posted on Twitter, the list can’t be traced or verified. And Ola’s fiance is on the list.
The chapters alternate between the viewpoints of Ola and Michael, her fiance. It definitely is a social commentary on the #metoo experience, but I struggled to understand either of their choices in the aftermath of the list being posted. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a great job alternating voices/accents, which was enjoyable, but this was a tough read for me to really engage with, and I can’t quite put my finger on the reasoning of that.

I tried really hard on this one. The blurb was SO GOOD. But the actual book, it was so slow going. Even after the "LIST" was revealed, it just felt like walking through molasses to read this one.

The characters were fine, but I didn't feel like I connected with them enough to care about them. This didn't compel me to keep reading.

I ended up not finishing this one.

What I did read was fine. It was well-written. I could visualize what was being described. I just didn't connect with the story. I can definitely see that there --would-- be an audience for this story though.

I am going to try and write this review with kindness rather than the deep anger that I felt when reading it. In a nutshell, the story follows Ola and Michael, an engaged couple who are insta famous and the picture of Black love and couple goals. A month before their wedding, "The List" is published on Twitter, an anonymous spreadsheet outing abusive men in the media, and Michael is named. Ola, a feminist journalist, is torn.

I'm not going to go into all the ins and outs of this book, but it attempts to present a nuanced look at the me too movement, approaching the subject from "both sides." It succeeds only in centering men's voices, rewriting the entire narrative to make men the real victims, and taking the statistically tiny number of false accusations and blowing them up. The final "twist" in the story serves only to take the very real trauma of abuse and assault and make it a "gotcha" moment.

Being generous to the author, I want to believe she was attempting something other than what she ended up creating. I hope so. Because this reads like an apologist manifesto and it hurts that it came from a woman.

Would not recommend, especially to survivors.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish the novel so I won't be leaving a full review.

This book is what happens on the other side of a #MeToo — and the fiancé of the accused is a feminist journalist who has written several pieces on men accused of harassment. It’s so JUICY, but also complex and heartbreaking.

From the publisher: “Ola Olajide, a celebrated journalist at Womxxxn magazine, is set to marry the love of her life in one month’s time. Young, beautiful, and successful—she and her fiancé Michael are considered the “couple goals” of their social network and seem to have it all. That is, until one morning when they both wake up to the same message: “Oh my god, have you seen The List?” 

“It began as a crowdsourced collection of names and somehow morphed into an anonymous account posting allegations on social media. Ola would usually be thefirst to support such a list—she’d retweet it, call for the men to be fired, write article after article. Except this time, Michael’s name is on it.”

As a reporter, I was obsessed with this storyline and the chaos it caused for Ola personally and professionally — and how difficult it was for her to separate the two. I think if you enjoy following news stories like this one and liked “Catch and Kill” and “When We Were Bright and Beautiful,” you’ll really get “The List.”

I really found this interesting and riveting for the first half. However eventually the book just became too much about the character's internal monologues, and less about the issue at hand. I appreciated the issues the author was trying to address but thought the argument of the book could be more developed. I'm excited to read more by the author because this book shows some promise.

3 stars!

I will say that I found this a very entertaining and a fast read but I can't say that I found any of the characters likeable. Also they were supposed to be very famous and almost celebrity level and I definitely did not feel that. I also don't think I liked how it felt like the author was almost supporting men who have been accused through the #MeToo movement. Overall, I just unfortunately didn't love it that much.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed Yomi Adegoke's debut novel, THE LIST, although I felt it moved rather slowly through a few sections. I thought the concept was timely and the challenging circumstances our protagonist faces when a Me Too uproar forces her to challenge her own feminist ideology and commitment to always supporting other women when allegations arise, until those allegations put her high profile wedding at risk. The book was smart and the revelation of who truly named the names was a surprise at the end for me. I was thrown off a bit , as an American reader, by some of the British slang. I appreciated the multicultural representation.

Wasn't able to review this one, so I'm leaving a neutral rating as to hopefully not affect the average too much.

Really great book with amazing characters and a great plot. Was easy to get into and it was very engaging. This is a book that I can see a lot of people in YA enjoy.

I thought the plot was very unique and timely! The last chapter completely shocked me. I think it will make for a great adaptation but it fell short for me. The ending and the dramatic turn of the last 50 pages or so confused me on what the takeaway message should be but it is definitely a page-turner!

A great book with strong characters. Lots of twists and turns, and important story on what to do if someone you love is strongly and anonymously accused of a heinous crime.

I really wanted to love this!! The first page hooked me, as did the premise. This had so much potential, but the execution of the plot and the unrealistic decisions the characters made really took me out of the book.

I enjoyed the author’s writing and would read another. Bummed this one didn’t work for me! 2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I struggled through this uncomfortable tale. Ola's set to be married in a month, and then her fiance ends up on a viral social media list of men who have abused women. It's not a happy tale or a light tale. It felt really dark as both characters go back and forth over how they can move forward.

I was drawn in by the premise but unfortunately the execution didn’t work for me and I decided to DNF at 30%. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook.

This book started with a bang! I couldn’t imagine finding out that the love of my life was on a list of abusers that was sent out anonymously. Babyyy, we’re #couplegoals! I kept thinking, what would I do if I was in this situation? I went back and forth because it was so much uncertainty. Do I side with my man who has a history of being untrustworthy or ride with my girls for the sake of womanhood? Shoot, Ola being a hardcore feminist working for Womxxn Magazine even further complicated the situation. Yomi Adegoke had me clinging to each page wondering what was happening next until I realized that after a certain point, nothing was actually happening. We were just waiting and waiting. But then again Michael and Ola were depressed about how this situation had affected their lives. This book tackled sooo many issues and I think that’s where the execution got a little shaky. The twist at the end was definitely unexpected. I think the overall impact of will stay will me forever. I’ll be reading a story on a blog like “it’s giving ‘The List’!” 😅 It already has me thinking a little harder before I post that comment or choosing how I process a story on my favorite gossip blog. This was a great read and I’d recommend it to anyone!

Ola is a high-profile feminist journalist whose fiancée Michael is called out online as an abuser a month before their wedding. What began as a crowdsourced collection of names morphs into a viral anonymous account posting about male abusers in the British media.
I found the “The List” thought-provoking. It makes you question what if, what would you do, who would you believe if you were in Ola’s place.
The story is complicated and tense and will keep you guessing and turning the pages. It’s a testament to the power of the internet and how living our lives online can be dangerous. You can post anything online. Who checks? What’s true? What’s not? And if its salacious enough who cares?
I didn’t particularly like any of the characters Ola and Michael were kind of insufferable in their own ways. I also didn’t particularly like their individual friend groups. The ‘bros’ were especially problematic, but I think a realistic representation of men among men not calling each other out for abusive behaviors. Michael only feels the need to call out another man on the list because he finds out a woman, he knows was assaulted by that man which makes it personal to him. Prior to this he was passive in these conversations with other men on the list.
I did however like reading from Michaels POV as a man accused of being an abuser on the list and being in his head while also not knowing if he’s guilty or not. We just know he’s not being truthful about something.
I do not know what I wanted the outcome of this story to be, but I did not agree with what I felt was harmful rhetoric about women making false accusations for revenge purposes even with that twist at the end.
I would however recommend this book. I think it is extremely tense and timely. A great book for discussion.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book and it certainly addresses some important issues but ultimately it fell a bit flat for me because I didn't particularly like either of the characters.

A testament to the power and danger of the internet, The List was entertaining with engaging characters and a riveting plot line, but lacked anything to make it exceptional. A good read, but not spectacular.

Michael and Ola are about to get married and the world is their oyster as they’re a known power couple with exciting careers. Then they wake up a month before their wedding day to the news that Michael has ended up on a list of abusers and harassers. The list is circulating the internet and it’s all anyone can talk about. Ola isn’t sure who to believe and her world begins to unravel along with Michael’s.
I was really drawn into the premise of this novel and it’s super relevant and hits on all the buzzy topics of the day. The book certainly looks at every angle though I found Michael’s realizations and evolution a little hard to believe. Once that happened to book lost me a bit. I also wouldn’t really call this a thriller but more of a drama so if you’re thinking you want a fast paced twisty book this isn’t really that. This is one I’m glad I read but won’t make any of my top lists of the year.
3.5 stars