This book was described as a “sharp and witty debut novel”. There was nothing sharp or witty about it. Lily is a whiny thirty-year-old in a job where she is constantly taken advantage of. However, she does get to attend some amazing parties and write about the attendees. An older, successful woman, Billie, befriends her and they only communicate via text. Billie encourages her to show a backbone and stand up for herself which results in all kinds of consequences, both good and bad, for Lily. In the end Lily finally grows up and becomes comfortable with who she is and where she wants to go. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

I wrote about this on Goodreads and the Storygraph and sent links to various social media sites. This book was only okay for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6343748997

I enjoyed this book to an extent, but I didn’t love it. The writing was very verbose (I feel like the words ilk and self-effacement were used like twelve times!) and the author tended to tell, not show. The plot was slow-moving and I really expected things with B (the “mentor” our main character is texting with throughout the book) to escalate into something more climactic. Most of the happenings were followed by paragraphs of editorializing. Some of the discourse was really interesting (I enjoyed the critique of influencers and digital media) but it didn’t coalesce into anything meaningful to the plot IMO, and it was just a bit much. I ended up skimming a lot as I neared the end of the book. Things wrapped up nicely, but I wish the path to the conclusion had been a little different.

Lily is in her 30’s, a worn out millennial with a job that uses and abuses her, she’s over worked and underpaid, and taken advantage of, struggling as the magazine she works for transitions from print to digital. She’s afraid of commitment and doesn’t stand up for herself.

She meets Billie and sees it as an opportunity to have a successful mentor to help her navigate the problems that pop up in her day to day at her job. Except Billie is infuriating and toxic. Her advice was right up there with like your parents or grandparents telling you the way to get the job is to take the resume into the store and ask to speak to the manager.

Billie, a white woman, never took into account the different experiences Lily may have in the workplace being mixed-race, like when one of her male coworkers made sexist, racist comments, Billie was like “he’s probably just being nice.” Like I’m sorry what? And Lily gets frustrated with her constantly yet CONTINUES to go back to her for her thoughts and opinions and advice, and Billie helps move her career forward by putting in a good word for her and in the end has a job opening at her company.

This is ALL through text by the way, which seemed an odd choice. I kept waiting for them to have some sort of affair or something, Lily’s friends hint that Billy might be into Lily, but their relationship never moves past texting about work. It’s sort of an emotional affair I suppose, as it causes issues with Lily and her girlfriend.

The book has a very Devil Wears Prada Ending. I was happy with the path Lily took, it was just SO frustrating to go on that journey with her 😂.

Overall, this book was fine. It was very well written, a quick listen on audiobook. Some of the narrative just sort of felt like things I’ve already heard before, a lot of “this is what our generation deals with” and while I agree with it, it sometimes just gets exhausting.

Thank you @netgalley and @duttonbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

"Ellipses" by Vanessa Lawrence is a novel that captures the essence of modern-day New York City life, portraying the struggles and aspirations of its protagonist, Lily, with authenticity. The book touches on themes like wanting to succeed, figuring out who you are, and the challenges of online relationships. While the narrative provides compelling insights into contemporary challenges, such as workplace dynamics and personal growth, some readers might find certain passages overly dramatic or drawn out.

Despite overly dramatic moments, Lawrence's character development and vivid depiction of urban life make "Ellipses" an engaging read. The dynamic between Lily and Billie offers a captivating exploration of mentorship and self-discovery. For anyone who's faced similar challenges in their own life, this book might feel relatable. Overall, "Ellipses" is a solid debut from Lawrence that captures the ups and downs of trying to be successful and true to yourself in today's world.

Thank you to Dutton & NetGalley for the ARC! I had high hopes for this novel as its premise teased themes of queerness / power dynamics / Asian-American livelihood. Unfortunately, what was anticipated to be a lively narrative was really at its core an indulgent confessional cloaked in a monotonous plot.

Ellipses follows Lily and Billie (doomed from the start with this): Lily, self-proclaimed "writer, NOT journalist" (all the while attending events to conduct profiles and interviews and submitting these for publication etc but what I do know), is feeling despondent in her career trajectory when she suddenly meets a top executive, Billie, an older woman known to use shards from the glass ceiling to stab out her competition. Most of their interactions occur over text, which Vanessa Lawrence insists on enunciating as she reiterates "buzz buzz" every time a message comes through.

It's evident that Lawrence has had a comprehensive experience in her industry, but Ellipses seems to teeter the line between contemporary fiction and auto-fiction. I found this impression didn't necessarily work in the novel's favor as our protagonist, Lily, comes off as more pitiable and self-pandering, which in its own right could be useful to the plot and interesting to the audience, but yet... nothing profound, nothing real comes to fruition. It might have been better for Lawrence to have written a memoir of her experiences. At least then it may have felt material and honest. As a reader though, I felt nothing for Lily other than a sincere apathy and borderline disdain for her propensity to self-pity and navel gaze.

It doesn't help either that Lawrence's attempts at squeezing in the more progressive aspects of her novel through Lily's lens comes off as forced and inauthentic. There are a few instances where fetishization of Asian-American women is illustrated, but there's this dissonance between Lawrence's writing and the actual sentiments transpiring from her words that I genuinely can't connect. It could just be a matter of Lawrence's tendency to show rather than tell.

This failure to demonstrate extends as well to the central relationship between Lily and Billie. I kept waiting for the obsession and intensity that was dangled in from the story's premise to materialize, but nothing actually happened. Rather, the story is as simple as a twenty-something year old becoming enamored with the concept of someone who appears to be more beautiful, more accomplished, more renowned. Fantasizing about someone else who seems aspirational and larger than life is a daily hobby for all of us who use social media — I was hoping Ellipses would deliver more than a restatement of what we all already know and do.

All in all, I found it incredibly difficult to take this book seriously. After all when you include sentences like "Loneliness is other people" in your novels it's nearly impossible to consider sincerity.

I liked the premise of this book, but I thought the execution was a bit lacking. I was never totally convinced about the relationship at the center of the novel, either in terms of its enticements or its toxicity, and the centrality of texting just got a bit monotonous after a while. Also, I perhaps have read one too many books set in NYC recently (there are so many!) so though this definitely had the "NYC as a character" vibe that can sometimes be very effective, it grated on me a bit in this instance.

Go into this knowing it is appropriately labeled general fiction and not a romance. Lily is a writer for a print magazine, an industry quickly fading away. She meets Billie Ashton who is older, wealthy and successful. Billy begins to mentor Lily via text messaging. It sets up a strange dynamic between the two. The title of the book comes from Lily waiting for the next message or direction to digitally come. This is a book about challenges in the workplace and Lily dealing with her mixed Asian race, her sexuality and more. Following Billy’s advice does help Lily at times but it causes friction in other parts of her life, especially with her girlfriend Alison. I thought this debut novel was interesting and liked the ending. And I like the NYC setting which is almost a character itself. But I couldn’t relate to Lily at times and a lot of her choices. (3.5 Stars)

For a debut novel ellipses has quite some good bones, however i felt it didn't quite deliver fully in the end. Now i don't think that every question raised in a novel needs to be answered but i felt some things brought up in the novel were left hanging (as opposed to open ended) and some just straight up didn't work. That said however Vanessa was still able to capture the all too relatable quarter life crisis which I think was helped in part by the autobiographical nature of the book. She raises the all too relevant race, gender, sexuality, identity analog vs digital issues that encompass the zeitgeist of the 21st century. Curious to see what she does next! 3.5⭐

Vanessa Lawrence's debut novel, "Ellipses," takes readers on a whirlwind journey through the high-stakes world of New York City's media elite, blending sharp wit with keen insight into the complexities of modern relationships and professional aspirations.

In this captivating narrative, we meet Lily, a young woman navigating the cutthroat landscape of Manhattan's media scene. When Lily is offered a ride home by the charismatic cosmetics boss Billie, she sees it as an opportunity to advance her career. However, what starts as a promising mentorship soon veers into a toxic dynamic, blurring the lines between guidance and manipulation.

Lawrence explores the pressures of ambition and the quest for authenticity in a digital age dominated by curated personas. Lily's journey through workplace microaggressions and struggles with her own identity resonates deeply, offering a poignant commentary on privilege, power dynamics, and the ever-evolving nature of modern relationships. What makes the novel unique is Lily's internal thoughts on race and sexuality amidst societal expectations and personal conflicts. Through Lily's eyes, readers are invited to confront the nuances of privilege and the subtle ways in which identity shapes our experiences. What sets "Ellipses" apart is Lawrence's sharp prose and incisive commentary on the trappings of success and the search for validation. Billie's magnetic allure serves as a cautionary tale, highlighting the dangers of placing one's worth in external validation.

Personally, I also especially appreciated the general career advice that Billie would give Lily through text. A good book is multi-faceted and people take away what is most meaningful to them. Being in a spot in my career where I am considering what's next, reading the career advice of a beauty mogul not afraid to ask for what she wants was empowering and somehow just what I needed to hear.

Ellipses is a poignant exploration of ambition, authenticity, and the pursuit of self-discovery in a world where digital facades often obscure genuine connection. Vanessa Lawrence has delivered a stunning debut that is sure to leave a lasting impression on readers long after the final page is turned. Highly recommended for fans of "The Devil Wears Prada".

This review can also be found on my blog here: https://thegoodleybookshelf.wordpress.com/2024/03/05/review-ellipses-by-vanessa-lawrence/

I was so excited about the concept of this book, and the intriguing promise of a story about an older, successful woman mentoring a younger woman, for better or for worse. But ultimately, I found it very difficult to read and less than interesting. It started off great, but it slowed down to such a halt that I sometimes wondered if the plot would ever be moved forward.

Ellipses by Vanessa Lawrence has such a promising concept—Lily, who is frustrated and feeling stuck within her career, meets B, a mega-successful businesswoman, who suddenly takes an interest in mentoring her. Through their texts, Lily develops a toxic and obsessive relationship with B, which spills into her personal life as well as her professional. I think Lawerence did a fantastic job of showing how all of these facets of life that Lily was working through are intertwined with that like feminism has to be inclusive, regarding race, age, sexuality, etc.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Interesting Read.

I was given an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Ellipses in return for providing an honest review. Despite making two attempts, I found it challenging to connect with the characters and the plot. During my initial read, I managed to progress to 20% before feeling disconnected and taking a break, exploring other books instead. On my second attempt, I pushed further, reaching around 35%, yet I still failed to develop an interest in the book. Overall, it simply didn't resonate with me.

Ellipses by Vanessa Lawrence is a debut novel of the author. Set in a world of social media and appearances, this novel takes a dive into several topics relevant in today's world.

Lily, a magazine writer, has aspirations. In the age of influencers and social media, she interviews individuals who, in reality, are different people. She gets stone walled by publicists, and her articles get edited to show what the readers want to read. Enters Billie, a successful woman who mentors Lily, through texts. It consumes her, and in the end, what does it cost her?

This book has so many layers in it. It takes on marginalization, racism, ethnicity, the societal pressure to have children, the definition of success, microaggressions and the toxicity of the world we live in. There's so much to unpack in this novel. With all the diverse characters and the topics, this book is a thought-provoking book for sure.

Thank you, Penguin Group Dutton @duttonbooks, @penguinrandomhouse, for this book.

I wanted to like this more. I am a woman still early in my career and have worked in toxic work environments but, and I don’t know what it is, I wasn’t able to feel a connect with the female main character.

I read 60% of this book in one day…Something that rarely happens! I was captivated by the author’s writing and the concept (even though it has been done before).

The banter between the 2 main characters, and how the feeling of being on top makes you need to feed it every day no matter where it comes from was well executed.

I’m also VERY happy that the outcome was not what I expected.

Wonderful debut!

Lily, a young woman working at a fashion magazine in New York enters into a toxic mentorship with Billie, a high-ranking woman in the cosmetics industry. The pair originally meet at an event that Lily is covering. After Billie offers Lily a ride home, they exchange numbers and Billie begins mentoring Lily. At first, it feels like a huge honor as Billie has poignant advice regarding Lily's career. However, Lily starts to feel manipulated by and obsessed with Billie.

I found this book frustrating, but only in how relatable the main character, Lily, could often be. She could be indecisive, easily swayed by others (mostly Billie), and lived in her head.

Overall, I found this book to be sharp and interesting. I enjoyed Lily's observations on careers, relationships, identity, and living in New York. I'm excited to recommend this book to a number of people when it's released.

ELLIPSES
Vanessa Lawrence
…

I’m going to give you a synopsis and then I’m going to take it all back.

Every word.

In ELLIPSES we are following Lily. Lily is a writer for a New York magazine. She spends her time going to fabulous events and writing about them. One day at a fundraiser she meets a woman named Billie. From then Lily and Billie converse through text messages.

Billie is all that Lily wants to be. She knows the business, she’s established, and powerful, and when she talks people listen. We follow along as their relationship turns into something neither of them expected. That all happens in the book, and you can read the book that way, but it’s not what the book is about.

This book is not about New York, the media, or a career as a writer. This book is not about how blurry the lines get between a mentor and mentee. To me it’s not even about text messages or being left on read, waiting for the ellipses to turn into words we seek.

This book to me is about the feeling of invisibility.

Of being invisible in a world obsessed with being seen. Of not fitting into pretty little boxes you can checkmark. Not exactly being option one and not exactly being option two, the whole time not exactly being yourself. More an amalgamation of people you know, people you admire, and remarkably even those you don’t. Everyone and everything but yourself.

Because you are invisible, and no one wants to be invisible.

I loved this conversation. This is not a love story where the princess saves her in the end. This is the love story where the princess realizes she was the princess all along. Idolizing a royalty she held within.

Thanks to Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, and Dutton for the advanced copy and the opportunity to provide feedback!

ELLIPSES comes out tomorrow March 5th, 2024.

Make sure you pick up a copy!

ELLIPSES…⭐⭐⭐

Actual rating 3.5

I wasn't entirely sure about the premise of this book but thought I'd give it a try just in case I was being too hasty to judge without knowledge. I think the story had a lot of promise, and some areas were well done, but I honestly didn't get a truly toxic vibe from B. I think she was definitely aloof and not one to allow connections beyond surface, but I've seen that in a lot of professional females as a sort of armor so it didn't feel completely unexpected. Lily on the other hand, continually came across as whiny and fairly entitled, which wasn't at all appealing. I wanted to like her more, feel for her situation more, but everything kept pointing to her continually making her own bed to lie in. That's not to say that everything that happened to her was of her doing; she definitely had workplace horrors to deal with that no one should have to work with, but for the most part, she just wasn't likeable.

My thanks to Penguin Group/Dutton, the author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 stars! I enjoyed this! It was a super easy read and I liked the writing style. I thought it was a unique way to tell a story but it worked for me.

It really gives “The Devil Wears Prada” so if you like that movie you’ll probably like this! There were so many parallels between Lily and B and Andy and Miranda. Even Lily and her friends and Alison reminded me of Andy and her friends and boyfriend at points. It even ended similarly to me. But it was able to be its own story as well.

I think because I myself am a Journalism major, and while I don’t have a writing job like Lily, I could understand the struggles she was going through with her job. There was the New York City setting, so if you live there or love the big city this will appeal to you!

It was a book about Lily and her life, trying to navigate relationships, friendships, work and her own self worth and happiness. If you don’t like a very character driven book, this may not be for you.

There were a lot of plotlines happening. I thought a couple of them could have been cut out so it wouldn’t have been as busy, but I didn’t mind it so much.

There was Lily’s relationship with Alison and their ups and downs; whether Lily wants the commitment of living with her or keeping her independence. Then it’s the struggles with her career and how she is being overlooked and overbooked, and if she should strive for more. The mix of her friends and comparing herself to them; feeling like she should get married and have kids even if that’s not what she wants. It touched on her sexuality, not that she was questioning it, but it talked about the struggles she went through being bi. It also talked about her struggles being half Asian and how it affected her life in how people treated her. It wasn’t mentioned that often, but it was talked about it.

I really enjoyed reading about her relationship with B, even though it was purely through texting (hence the title of the book, which I thought was perfect). It was so intriguing to see Lily’s feelings toward her and wanting her approval while also making sure not to get sucked into her opinion too greatly. Her journey with that struggle throughout the book was so interesting to me.

I thought Lily was a good main character and B was such a cool character to me. I don’t blame Lily for her feelings toward her at all. I’m glad where Lily ended up thought.

I loved how it switched from Billie to B to Billie. It was so well done. It really signified where their relationship was at in those periods of times.

It had kind of an abrupt ending but I liked how it tied together and how Lily’s life and career path went.

I gave it a 3.75 stars because while I did enjoy this I just feel like there was something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on. I enjoyed the characters and the setting, I could picture all the settings and the food and the weather that was described. Maybe because there was a lot happening at once that I couldn’t fully connect to it.

If you like books with women as the main focus, this would be for you.