This took me a second to get into but once you get into it it’s compulsively readable. I read it in two sittings which really could’ve been one. A fun and very messy satire! At times it felt a bit too online but it really did work for the story. 

There were moments where she doesn’t seem to know or trust her audience, like when she spent time explaining very basic lesbian cultural touch stones like the plot of the L word or the evolution of The Price of Salt turning into Carol. I also did not agree with her take on Carol but what can I say, I’m only a millennial!

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

My first impressions of this story, and the main character, was that Anna Dorn went to the Ottessa Moshfegh School of Deeply Unlikeable Characters. While this is true, Astrid grew on me immensely. She's abrasive, definitely has cancelable takes and opinions, but most of all, she is raw. I loved to hate her, and in the end, I loved to love her, and was proud to watch her as she got healthy and made better decisions for herself. I'm adding every lesbian pulp I can get my hands on to my TBR.

I just love messy women! Messy lesbians! Messy relationships, careers, and people making stupid and funny decisions because we are flawed and I want to read about flaws!

Growth and renewal through and after struggle…plus perfume… a great Spring read! Already looking into which Dorn book to read next. There were many facets to this story that I loved, but I was especially enchanted by the rich descriptions of Astrid’s various perfumes, and how scent interacted with and affected her daily life. The pacing of the book was perfect for me, this might be a 2024 favorite.

I wanted to like this book, I just could not get into it. I made it 40% of the way in to the book and couldn't get in to it. The main character reminded me so much of the character Hannah from Girls and I don't know it sort of gave me the ick. Also, the constant reference to the Patricia Highsmith felt like it was every other sentence.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.

Cancel culture, mid-list writers, lesbian melodrama and pop culture references 💋 what a wild ride

PERFUME AND PAIN by ANNA DORN

Rating: 4.5🌟
Genre: literary fiction, lesbian fiction

This was a train wreck but (hear me out), it was a GOOD one. I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense but that’s how it felt. We have this unlikeable main character, Astrid, a controversial mid-list author who is unapologetic and on a seemingly self destructive path while trying to find herself in her career and love life again after getting “cancelled”🥴. She’s dense, obsessive and kinda toxic but I couldn’t help but sympathize from her point of view. Sometimes I just love a well written unlikeable and unreliable protagonist.

This is described as having “notes of Southern California citrus and sultry smokiness” which I found kind of accurate. I never thought of describing a book like notes of a perfume before but it actually works. The main character developed a perfume obsession and she thinks about and describes scents often so I felt like I could literally smell the scenes. I felt immersed in the pages (as I’m reading a digital book lol 😆)

I’m not too familiar with lesbian pulp or Anna Dorn but this was an untamed and unapologetic introduction to both. I devoured the unhinged satire and unglamorous mess. Her writing is so sharp, smart and down right fun.

A refreshing piece and I am in desperate need to read her other work sometime!!

Thank you kindly @netgalley, to the author and publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy. Releasing this May, I highly recommend looking into this one ☝🏼

Genuinely? One of the best lesbian novels I’ve read in a minute. Originally in my notes I had written that this novel is not your typical lesbian novel, but honestly from every reference it’s pulling from you could say this novel represents and molds a solid piece of classic lesbian fiction. The hard, hot, obsessive piece that is isn’t dictated by love or ~yearning~ itself but by primal desire and affliction of oneself. Astrid is not initially a good woman, but a highly relatable woman in that she is innately aware of her shortcomings to a fault. The kind of self aware where you can convince yourself you don’t actually need to change and can keep falling into the same traps because hey, it’s all worked out for you before! There is so much mess and yet I find myself so invested in Astrid and her sordid happenstances.
Thank you so much to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc <3

4.5 ⭐
I'm sort of surprised how much I loved this, Astrid is messy and cynical and self centered and she definitely kind of sucks but she has a self awareness that was at once confounding and refreshing. I think I was so gripped by this narrative because even though she seemed to be making the worst decision at every turn, I couldn't help rooting for her. This was also oaced really well in ny opinion, every new mistake Astrid made pushed the narrative (and her character) exactly where it needed to go.

If youre looking for something dramatic and provicative and undeniably incredibly messy absolutely pick this one up.

Astrid Dahl is a “canceled for now” author after an incident that didn’t settle well with the public.
After moving into a tiny bungalow and back in the writers group she initially confounded, Astrid tries to get her life and career back on track. But distractions are all around her. From her bohemian neighbor to her new love interest, her raging alcohol and Adderall addictions that leave her blacked-out and unable to focus, and actress Kat Gold deciding to adapt Astrid’s previous novel into a television series, her life is definitely a mixture of perfume and pain.

I wanted to love this novel. It had a bohemian, California, L-Word vibe throughout. While the concept was fresh and exciting, it lacked a bit more depth. With an almost drug-induced haze throughout, maybe this is what the author intended. If so, great job. I was convinced.

Overall, it is a bit lackluster but a breezy and fun read. Even with Astrid’s life being as confused as it was, I enjoyed her character and her interactions with the characters around her. She was self-absorbed but still somehow likable.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It is always so interesting to read a book when you have almost nothing in common with the main character. It covers so much in a short time period. The drugs, the romance, and the obsession is both interesting and heartbreaking to read. I found myself really rooting for Astrid to find whatever it is she needs to find, for becoming at peace.

Definitely worth a read when it releases, I am going to be looking for her previous books because this is the first I've read from her.

Thank you NetGalley for the review copy!

Perfume and Pain is not a novel I would’ve picked for myself but I really enjoyed it.

These characters will hook you and keep you interested for the whole ride!
I loved the interweaving of the perfumes and the other version of Perfume and Pain.

I had no idea what I was in-store for when starting Perfume and Pain, as I am not very familiar with the lesbian pulp genre, but I was pleasantly surprised!

I cannot put into words how fun this read was. A perfect mix of suspense and laugh out loud moments.

I'm always a sucker for a messy and unreliable first-person narration, and our main character Astrid is just that. Cannot recommend enough if you love mess, drama, not-so likable characters, and pop-culture references!

Thank you again to the publisher for the e-arc!

I am extremely impressed in the author's ability to craft such an unlikeable character. It takes a lot for a character to be written with an ability to make me cringe so often while reading. I appreciated how the main character was an unreliable narrator and caught up in her own delusions. Both of this really added to understanding her character and her addictions. I found myself quite bored at parts which is what has led me to dock this from a 4 to a 3 star read.

This book was fun! It delves into the chaotic world of writers, LA culture, cancel culture, and toxic relationships with sharp wit and clever satire. Astrid, the main character, is a captivating and kinda terrible figure, with a humorous edge that keeps you engaged throughout. The homage to lesbian pulp offers a fresh perspective on the genre.

While the pacing could have been tighter in parts, and some resolutions more expanded, the overall experience was thoroughly enjoyable. It's the funniest book I've read all year, and if you're looking for a good laugh or an exploration of complicated topics with nuance, this is definitely worth picking up. Solid four stars from me!

(Thanks to the publisher for the e-arc!)

Author Astrid Dahl finds herself cancelled after a controversial interview in this satirical novel about life in LA and the impact of social of media.

I have to say I do not think I was the audience for this book. It's heavy reliance on social media just did not resonate with me. The book itself makes fun of Gen X several times throughout (which I am) and I have no interest in the social media apps constantly mentioned. I did not like any of the characters, especially the main character. I almost DNF'd it several times, but kept going as it was a fast read. I don't think it's a bad book, I just wasn't the audience this book was inteded for.

I love (hate?) how I always manage to relate to Dorn’s main characters in some way. This book is funny, messy, and delusional. I love her unlikeable characters and I loved the casual writing style. I laughed out loud quite a few times. Obsession is one of my favorite themes in a book and no one hits on it the way that Dorn does. I loved all the pop culture references as well. To sum it up, unhinged and chaotic!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.

PERFUME AND PAIN is about a lesbian author, Astrid Dahl, attempting to recover from addiction and come back from a minor “cancellation” while becoming increasingly involved in a love triangle between her next door neighbor and a member of her writing group. Astrid is very obviously a fictional version of Dorn; the novel seems to be autofiction written to work out her issues and share her opinions. Not that that in itself is a negative, but PERFUME AND PAIN is so obviously self serving in a way that I find off putting.

I had high hopes for this novel because I’ve heard great things about EXALTED, but PERFUME AND PAIN suffers from the same deficiencies as other modern books I’ve read (ex.CLICKBAIT). it is written for a contemporary audience that is extremely online, which does not necessarily make for compelling literary fiction, so I wonder if this book will resonate with readers in five years. I cringed when Astrid references a meme and talks about twitter for pages on end. And I am so tired of hearing about “cancellation” (not real, is not effective long term) in real life, so I definitely don’t want to read fiction that’s essentially whining about it.

While I had a lot of issues with this book, it was not an unpleasant read, and was a decent homage to lesbian pulp. Also, it convinced me to watch the L word.

Thanks netgalley and Simon and schuster for the advance copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I cringed and laughed a lot. There were many times when I didn’t know whether or not I was supposed to be a fan of the main character, Astrid. That made it fun for me, not knowing how I was supposed to feel about her.

Astrid is a 35 year old novelist living in Los Angeles County. She may have a slight drug/alcohol problem, and everyone seems to enjoy her when she happens to blend a certain concoction of them, which she calls the Patricia Highsmith. She’s hard to be around when she’s sober. She crushes and falls in love easily. I love a messy main character!

This book is so damn witty. I loved all of the LA references, TV/book references, as well as the actor/actress/reality star references.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

i LOVE unhinged, neurotic, messy, wlw, "just a girl" fiction!!!! i LOVE IT!!!! aka...this hit the mark! definitely will have much more to say on this in my tiktok and GR review but i think the way Anna Dorn wrote this was SO funny--i genuinely was laughing out loud. I think her voice is so clear and the main character is so likable yet dislikable??? I'm rooting for Astrid....but AM i rooting for her?

DEFINITELY read this if you're thinking about it--super fun and perfect for an unhinged read!!

Interesting novel about queer relationships (specifically wlw) and the ways we cope with our pain. I recommend this book to fans of unlikeable female protagonists, messy relationships, and discourse around queerness.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy.

35-year old Astrid Dahl falls from grace after an incident at a Banres & Noble book reading. Struggling with writer's block and a failing attempt to live a healthier life, she returns to her co-founded writing circle for inspiration, only to be distracted by a young, fellow writer named Ivy. Interest becomes a toxic obsession as Astrid tries to navigate her penchant for drugs, her overwhelming collection of perfumes, her inevitable aging, and her consistently self-destructive behavior.

I finished this novel in one sitting on a flight from NJ to CA, so that should speak to how engaging the story is. Dorn’s writing is intense, compelling, controversial yet charming. The book is messy, challenging, and campy while touching on the evolution of cancel culture and the disparities between generations.

I’ll be honest, in the beginning I was unsure if this book was for me. Astrid is a complicated hot mess, and while I do love an unhinged female protagonist, I had a really hard time liking her. I felt like Astrid was shocking for the sake of being shocking without there being anything deeper. “People take me too seriously,” she says, “My characters are rude and unhinged so why do people always freak out when I act like my characters, who readers love?” And that was the struggle I was facing. While we love these messy characters on the page, they aren’t who we would want to engage with in real life… and unfortunately Astrid was feeling way too real. But that may have been an intentional move by Dorn, because as the story progresses, Astrid’s struggles become much more relatable. The character development was solid and by the end of the book I felt a closeness to Astrid while rooting for her success.

Regardless of my hesitancy to the main character, I really enjoyed Dorn’s writing style. The narrative felt like you cracked open Astrid’s head and all of her thoughts dumped out. It was refreshing to read such a raw and unapologetic perspective from a women struggling to navigate growing up in an industry that wants us to stay forever young.