This novel was a queer book lover's dream! Not only did we follow a sapphic couple through the ins and outs of their relationship, but we also visited them in a very Black Mirror-esque anthology way - minus the tech! I appreciated that the author chose to include all the details of what it looks like in the mind of someone suffering from intense mental health issues, and they also didn't shy away from giving us a close look at the inner workings of a relationship. It was raw, it was powerful, and I will re-read it soon. Thank you to NetGalley for providing the eARC of this book. My opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Doubleday Canada for the arc !

I feel really conflicted about how to rate this book, especially because I liked the concept a lot and really enjoy short stories.

However. My first thought after reading the first story was that this book jumps into supposed "nuance" of the relationship between Myriam and Allison without giving any context of who they are. I think this happens sometimes when the author is so sure of who the characters are (esp when they’re based on real people as I think is the case here). Anyways. I felt like the characters never changed. Sure they were CEOs one story and lizards the next, but they had the same flaws, the same issues, and it frustrated me that the characters were so static.


I felt like there was so much focus on the objectification of lesbian relationships, that I don't think there is much celebration. Especially with the amount of slurs and that last story that is literally objectification, no matter how much someone argues that there’s a revenge plot at the end.


I don't think this book is about love, as promised. I think it was about sex and disappointment. I think a lot of people will like it, but idk if I was one of them

This book was a fever dream. Experimental and absolutely visceral. I've never read anything quite like it before, and I'm 95% sure that's a good thing.

In a nutshell, this book follows two characters and their relationship to one another through alternate universes in one of the most interesting structures I've read. The first universe was by far the weakest in my opinion, and honestly had me very close to dnfing this, but I'm so beyond glad that I stuck with it. As the story developed, so did Lacroix's extremely unique style, and I found myself absolutely drawn in. This book is unapologetically queer and fucked up, and I already want to reread it.

In short: I absolutely adored this, and cannot wait for more readers to get their hands on this so I can talk about it!

How it Works Out is delightfully chaotic, queer, and unapologetically Canadian in its numerous pop culture references. Myriam and Allison are a couple who take on various roles across eight short stories, representing the different facets of their relationship and the potential futures for their budding romance. Each of the eight short stories has cameos and connections. Despite the wildly different scenarios they present, they do a great job at developing both Myriam and Allison as individuals as well as their relationship dynamic. Their journeys include a foray as prolific lesbian influencers, cannibals, adoptive mothers, housepets, and coworkers. Lacroix asks a simple question: who are we, and how do our relationships define that?

The campy and humorous tone is superbly executed and is reminiscent of Patricia Wants to Cuddle or Motherthing if you've enjoyed those titles. Despite the generally light-hearted tone, this does have a notable layer of depth; imagery of queer desire, ruminations on morality, and the rise of influencer culture are all navigated well, for example. I enjoyed that even minor characters appear as cameos across the different stories, and how cohesive everything felt. Each story has a sense of intent and finality, and the characters are consistent in their flaws.

This is a stellar debut that highlights Lacroix as a unique emerging voice in Canadian literature. While the highly experimental concept may be polarizing to readers, I found this to be a breath of fresh air and compulsively readable. Cannot recommend this enough.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Canada for the e-ARC!

Starting this book I had a general idea of what it was about - a surreal queer love story, two characters meeting in different situations across the multiverse and an exploration of connection. But after reading the first story I knew any understanding or expectation I had for this book was about to be surpassed.

This book was weird, in such a genuine sense. No matter how disturbed the behaviour of the characters got, particularly chapter 2 where the multiverse we are introduced to has them participating in cannibalism but only within their family, their actions were written about so normally it felt real still. Even the characters recognized their own strangeness, the way they were giving in to morally wrong behaviour. There were consequences for their actions, to a point. When I read this chapter I was so shocked, I had to keep reading to see what would happen in other universes.

This was a fantastic exploration of a queer love story in different scenarios. Equally funny and disturbing, the stories felt connected to each other through subtle references despite having different plots. I also liked how we got both Myriam and Allisons perspective throughout the stories.

Honestly this book was so interesting and again weird that it left me feeling unsettled but also at peace? I would love to know Myriam Lacroix's writing process because truly how did she come up with some of this, and also the confidence to write weird and publish it is something to be admired.

I can only imagine what my alternate universe self may be writing or thinking about this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC.

This novel did not work for me even though I love the writing style and the characters. I am personally too squeamish for some of the descriptions and even though I found it intriguing in almost every sense, it was very difficult for me to get through.

A poignant story with incredible writing. I will be recommending this to all of my literary fiction-reading friends.

How It Works Out is a very particular and strange story that follows the lives of Allyson and Myriam. These two rewrite their lives and how they would be in alternate universe in each chapter. It was alot, These stories were manifested by deep trauma and issues that stem from both characters and how they feel about each other. In each scenario, they are together but always end up drifting a part. It is an eye opening story thats puts a lot of perspective on multiverses and how peoples connections can transcend levels we don't understand. All an all, these stories were wild and not for the weak hearted. i like to think Myriam and Alysson got together each time because they learned and meant more to each other than some random one-off love. Or maybe this book was to show us that no matter how hard you try, some loves are just not meant to be.