Sweet Fury by Sash Bischoff is a debut novel that will keep you on your toes. The book is about Lila an actress, Kurt her boyfriend who is also an alclaimed director, and Jonah her therapist. Lila is working on a new movie with Kurt as the director. It's a retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night that has a feminist point of view. During the shooting Lila seeks out Jonah when her relationship goes south with Kurt. Jonah has been infatuated with Lila since they went to Princeton years ago. Without giving anything away this book is a cat and mouse game between all three of them. By the end of the book you wont know who is telling the truth and who is lying. Sweet Fury will definitely keep the reader on their toes. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for letting me read an advanced copy of this book.

This is a twisty, fun read that wasn't surprising but was quite enjoyable to work through. I absolutely HATED Jonah, the therapist, from the get-- which made some of the twists less surprising, but I would def recommend this to anyone who enjoyed The Secret Patient (or FSF lovers).

⭐️: 4/5

I am all here for a story about female rage and what happens when women are constantly underestimated, personally and professionally. I, like most of the population, also read The Great Gatsby during a high school English class, and other than that, for the most part, I only know popular pop culture references to other works of Fitzgerald’s. I knew the general plot of Tender is the Night, but found myself Googling the actual plot once I started this book, just to have some additional context, which I think helped. It definitely made the intentions of this book a little clearer, in how Bischoff played into Fitzgeraldian themes while also turning them on their heads a bit.

The story flow of this one was interesting, with the first part following Lila primarily, and the second, Jonah. Then the third continued the story more objectively, as all the pieces began to come together. This made it feel a bit like a genre-bender, because while it presents as literary fiction, it has a lot of thriller/suspense elements. But ultimately, because it didn’t lean entirely into the psychological thriller of it all, the few tropes that were present made the twists easy to predict for someone who does read a lot of thrillers, but while I knew where the story was going and what the connections were going to be, I still was intrigued and hooked on the story to see where the author was going to have the characters end up. The ending ended up feeling a little bit rushed and messy, with a vague ending, which seemed intentional, but also seemed to lack something to make it hit harder. Overall a riveting and reasonably well executed read, which makes me excited to see what the author writes next!

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

Sash Bischoff's Sweet Fury is a breathtaking debut filled with deceit, unrequited love, and a plethora of fabulous Hemingway references. Lila is a gorgeous, glamorous actress starring in a re-imagined version of Tender is the Night. Her fiance Kurt is the temperamental director with a penchant for young leading ladies. Jonah is Lila's therapist who falls in love with her as he tries his best to convince her to leave her abusive relationship. But is there more to each of their stories than what meets the eye?

Thank you to NetGalley for this deliciously twisted debut. The original storyline and the jaw-dropping ending should earn Sweet Fury a spot on every must-read list for 2025.

Wasn’t sure where this was going for the first half. Was kind of slow and not too interesting until you discover the connection between Lila and her therapist.
From there it moves pretty quickly and kept me entertained.
Check trigger warnings.
Would have liked to see things a bit differently in the end. Think it was abrupt and would like more of the women’s story moving beyond these gross men.

Sweet Fury is a great blend of thrilling suspense and Hollywood glitz and glamour. Fans of Prima Facie, In Session, and anything by Freida McFadden will adore this book!

Big thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy!

This was a miss for me. I struggled to connect to any characters or the plot, and skimmed a big chunk of the book. I felt pretty early on that Lila was going to be an unreliable narrator and she was extremely unlikeable to me (which does make her a valuable character in the overall storyline). I did not anticipate the ending which was a nice surprise. While this was a miss for me, it seems to be a big hit for most people. If the synopsis sounds intriguing to you, I’d say, give it a try!
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Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Power couple Lila Crayne and Kurt Royall are, respectively, starring in and directing a feminist adaptation of Fitzgerald’s Tender Is the Night. As part of her process, Lila starts seeing a therapist, Jonah Gabriel. Their relationship deepens as Lila opens up about the domestic violence she is facing. But things are not as they seem on the surface.

This book has interesting themes (the #metoo movement, consent, feminism, literary criticism) but everything was so muddled that it was hard to follow. The dialogue was flat and the book jumped around too much between narrative, therapist’s notes, and Lila’s messages to Jonah in a way that never felt cohesive. And I just flat out did not understand what happened in the end.

This may well just be a case of unmet expectations. I have only seen a few reviews of this, and they hyped it up as a literary thriller (my favorite genre!), and while it was a thriller that focused on literary themes I would not categorize it in that genre. It is just a regular thriller.

I would recommend it to those who are looking for a plot-based thriller, but I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a literary mystery.

Sweet Fury follows America's sweetheart, Lila Crayne as she stars in a feminist adaption of Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In order to connect more deeply with her character, Lila begins therapy to unpack her childhood trauma.

Sweet Fury was an apt read in the wake of recent current events. While I won’t expand on this point any further to avoid spoilers, it was delightful to read a story that encapsulates female rage and touches on both the pain and beauty of being a woman.
I am not familiar with Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night, I didn’t feel that that took away from my understanding nor my enjoyment. Sometimes I struggle to spend disbelief when there is a therapy/therapist (as a therapist myself), but the chapters containing Jonah’s progress notes were enjoyable, albeit incredibly detailed for typical practice.

This one missed the mark for me. It was totally fine but the writing didn't work in my opinion, too many long monologues and entire pages dedicated to a play by play of filmmaking that wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC.

This book was pretty good. I was not familIar with the movie/book that was portrayed in this book, however, F Scott Fitzgerald was a wonderful writer so I may be tempted to look into it. I can imagine that if I was familiar with Tender is the Night, I am sure I would have enjoyed this book even more. Still I was quite mesmerized by the characters and the premise and I found this book to be a fast read. I may consider reading it again if I ever get the chance to read Tender is the Night.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

A mehhh psychological thriller. When I first started this books I was hooked with the storyline of the Hollywood couple making a movie and the therapy sessions. It quickly turned into an utter mess. Too much going on and the way it came together just did not do it for me. I love the cover of this book and I do think it will get good traction, especially with the Fitzgerald references. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really interesting premise, kind of a mixed level of success of execution in my book. The early building of anticipation had me hooked for a while, but despite the book’s short length, it began to drag before suddenly and almost ridiculously spiraling to its conclusion. Ultimately it was just a bit too over the top for me to enjoy thoroughly, though the twisty backstory and competing motives made for a few nice “WTF?!” moments throughout. I’d call it 3.25 ⭐️.

I liked it. I feel like you have to get used to the writing because it can be very, very pretentious feeling. But it's a fun read. I did see the twists coming, especially if you're familiar with the works mentioned in the synopsis. The beginning and middle were great, but the ending felt too much like a theatrical play and it kind of lost me. I feel like the same group who really likes ML Rio and Alex Michaelides will also like this.

Objectively, this is a beautifully written book. Stunning prose, clever turns of phrase. A piece of art. I haven't read Tender is the Night, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this immensely. This book is in conversation with Fitzgerald's works as a whole, as told through the lens of the film industry, and I found the structure and plot to be thought-provoking and engaging. A page-turner! I love a good Hollywood golden couple, especially when they play dirty. There aren't many likable characters in this cast, but who cares when the twists are this fun? Highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Sash Bischoff for an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

My goodness I loved this book. At about halfway through, I couldn't put it down!

I don't know much about F. Scott Fitzgerald and though I've read Gatsby, it was ages ago and I can't say I remember much. A massive theme in this book is a nod to Fitzgerald and his life but I felt that not having that inherent knowledge wasn't a negative. Bischoff did a great job filling in the gaps and connecting the dots, though I'm sure if you're a Fitzgerald aficionado, you'll pick up on many things I missed!

The style of this novel was incredibly unique and well done. I loved that it was broken into parts with different narrators/perspectives and then within each part there were also different styles like therapy notes, screenplays, etc.

The characters were really well developed. I didn't trust anyone and had you asked me about 20% in, I would have said I knew exactly where the novel was going. While I wasn't entirely wrong, I definitely wasn't entirely right either and getting to that final scene was truly epic.

This would be a stellar book club choice because there are so many relevant themes to discuss and it is very timely. With elements of the "me too" movement and feminism, I felt entertained and enlightened all at once.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and very highly recommend it. Well written, superbly executed, and tremendously thought-provoking. Don't miss it!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the copy!

This book definitely has a niche audience. Unfortunately, I am not that audience. I wanted to like the book, but the characters were very one dimensional for me and there was a lot of gaslighting, which I am not a fan of.

Sweet Fury is a debut novel by Sash Bischoff and it is one you won't want to miss!
I truly had no idea what character I was rooting for until the very end. This novel is a dual POV with so many twists and turns along the way. I loved the incorporation of classic literature into this novel.
Thank you to Sash Bischoff, Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC! Sweet Fury comes out
January 7th!

I was very excited to read Sweet Fury when it was offered to me as an ARC. The summary spoke to me because of the F. Scott Fitzgerald tie in with domestic violence theme (I am a huge advocate for DV survivors).

Main character Lila Crayne is seeing a therapist, Jonah Gabriel, to help her prepare for her role in an adaptation of Tender is the Night. Kurt Royall is the film director and also Lila’s husband. A unique storyline and definitely considered a psychological twist.

I have to say I did struggle throughout the book. The character development was good in the beginning but then started to weaken.The writing at times was tough for me to follow and found myself rereading parts over and over. As I noted, I was interested in reading because of the DV theme and that fell flat for me as well and at points not believable. The ending seemed off, maybe rushed for me.

Release date January 7, 2025.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me an ARC for my honest review.

I had high hopes, based on synopsis but the novel fell flat in every way. The plot rambles, the characters are one-dimensional and the dialogue is stilted. I do not recommend it.