I really enjoyed this one! I thought it was addicting and honestly relatable in soo many ways, I highly recommend if you’re looking for a solid read.

**Read If You Like:**
- Darkly humorous murder mysteries
- Explorations of modern dating and technology
- Protagonists entangled in obsessive investigations
- Stories set in the tech industry

In her scintillating debut, Emily J. Smith introduces readers to Edie Walker, a disillusioned tech executive in San Francisco. At 35, Edie is weary of the online dating scene and harbors unspoken feelings for her longtime friend, Peter Masterson. When Peter's latest online date, Anaya Thomas—a charismatic feminist studies professor—turns up dead, Edie's world spirals into chaos. As Peter becomes the prime suspect, Edie's obsession with uncovering the truth intensifies, leading her down a path fraught with danger and unexpected revelations.

Nothing Serious masterfully blends suspense with dark humor, offering a sharp critique of modern relationships and the tech-driven world. Smith's portrayal of Edie's descent into obsession is both compelling and unsettling, making for a page-turner that keeps readers on edge. With its incisive commentary and intricate plot, this novel is a must-read for fans of contemporary suspense fiction.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my ARC!

This book addressed issues of power, gender, and kept my attention the whole way through. It was an interesting plot and the development of the main character throughout was thoughtfully done.

This is such an interesting concept, and a it was a pretty quick read. It was uncomfortable to read at times because it does deal with some heavy topics (I would recommend checking trigger warnings).I felt like main character was not likable in the beginning while she worshipped and defended a guy who was clearly not worth it, but I really enjoyed seeing her process her feelings and decenter men from her life. Overall I felt like it was a realistic take on online dating and the lack of accountability for powerful men.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader copy.

The premise of NOTHING SERIOUS--Edie finds that her best friend, and unrequited love interest, Peter is a suspect in the death of a woman he went on a date with. Having met the woman once, Edie becomes consumed with the woman and whether Peter is responsible for her death.

The beginning of this novel set up lots of interesting pieces: Edie's love of Peter from when they were in college and he saved her from being sexually assaulted, Peter getting out of a long-term relationship and immediately finding success on dating apps where Edie has struggled, the connection Edie makes with Anaya (Peter's date), and then Anaya's unexpected death and Peter's potential involvement. Perhaps if this book had been marketed as literary fiction, the fact that it seems to go nowhere wouldn't have bothered me. But this is meant to be a satirical thriller of sorts; not only wasn't it thrilling, but I found Edie and Peter to be insufferable characters that I didn't care about.

This was a miss for me.

The title of NOTHING SERIOUS by Emily J. Smith is a bit deceiving because it is in fact, VERY serious. My gosh, this debut was a lot heavier and gloomier than I was expecting, but I’m not complaining as I found it very intriguing and addictive! I wouldn’t classify this novel as a thriller, but it’s definitely dark and mysterious. Check out this quick synopsis:

“𝘈 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥-—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩—𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.”

Edie is stuck in a hard place. She wants to believe that her best friend, Peter is 100% innocent and had absolutely nothing to do with the death of a woman he had been recently dating. But as new evidence and incriminating information is brought to light, she begins to question his character and integrity.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- The tech world
- Online dating apps
- San Francisco setting
- Obsessive behavior
- Murder investigations
- Character-driven novels
- Mother/daughter relationships
- Complex friendships
- #sadgirl stories
- Feminist undertones

I must admit that I had a love/hate relationship with the female protagonist. Edie’s wishy-washy and obsessive ways got a little old at times, but she continued to grow on me with each new chapter. I appreciated and admired her character development throughout.

This novel showcased an effective exploration of gender and power through multiple scenes and situations. Mostly with Peter’s case—a successful white man with multiple strings to pull, but also with Edie working with all of the tech bros and navigating a male-dominated workplace.

The conclusion was rather jarring and strangely satisfying. I love how this story wrapped up and how much it surprised me. Overall, I’d say that it’s a super solid debut! 4/5 stars for NOTHING SERIOUS! It’s out now!

I really enjoyed this! I would recommend to fans of Sally Rooney or Dolly Alderton. The suspense element was intriguing, but not overdone. I really appreciated the main character's journey through the story as she navigated the complex relationships she was in. She was not at all perfect, and well aware of that fact which was incredibly refreshing and kept me rooting for her as the reader. I've seen some 'complaints' in other reviews about this being too character focused, which for me is a big win as a fan of character-driven narratives. I found myself saying "just one more chapter" over and over again and ended up finishing in just a few days. Overall, great story. One star deducted because the ending felt a little TOO perfectly complete - but that's not the worst characteristic a book can have. Do recommend!

I really enjoyed this book. It was thrilling at the same time righteous by the end. I was chewing my nails off trying to figure out what was going to happen. I was hooked from the very beginning. I would’ve liked to see more about Edie’s mom although I understand why it wasn’t included.

If I'm honest with myself, I actually liked this book a lot more than I thought I would after the first 1/4 of the book.

When it starts, I was having a hard time relating to the MC and the choices she was making, and the blatant red flags she was ignoring in herself and her relationships.

Along with the cover, and the way the story starts out, I thought I was reading a rom-com turns mystery. But the story wasn't about romance (at least in the conventional sense), it was about so much more - Edie opening her eyes to her own faults, as well as those around her, about how to fight for others, how to find herself and to love herself, how to be a good friend - and what a friendship looks like in return.

The ending wasn't what I imagine, but I don't know that I'd have wanted it to end any differently. The writing of Smith was beautiful, and I definitely hope she has more stories in the future!

TW: SA, drug use, death, mentions of suicide, domestic abuse

**Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.**

Nothing Serious by Emily J. Smith was a fascinating and well written debut!
The clever and entertaining concept made this story worth the hours of sleep I lost.
The writing sucked me in and kept me engaged till the end.
It was well written with a good tone and pacing, an engaging plot and well developed characters.
I will definitely pick up Smiths next novel.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

Edie and Peter are best friends since college currently in their mid 30s working in the tech industry. While Edie feels stuck in her career, Peter is the golden boy who is already a multimillionaire.

Edie has a secret longtime crush on Peter and when he breaks up with his long time girlfriend, Edie thinks it’s finally her chance. Not to see Peter go on an online dating spree. When one of his recent dates turns out dead, things spiral from there with Edie becoming obsessed with the case and befriending those involved, including the victim’s sister.

What seems like it might be standard tale of mystery and obsession is truly more a story of one woman’s journey of why she is stuck in her life and what she can do about it. It is also a commentary on the sexism of the tech industry and the downsides of being constantly online.

This was an enjoyable short (under 300 page) read that felt fresh compared to some of the other tech centered books that have come out recently. Although this has been marketed as a mystery, that is an overly simplistic take of what this book is actually about.

This book was very strange. It's a murder mystery, part unrequited love story. Also, I wish the writing style was stronger. The writing isn't terrible, but it's nothing special either. The overall tone is what really threw me off. I just couldn't connect with the overall story. It was good but lacked intrigue and excitement.

This is an adult novel but it reads as younger so I think my students will like this. A stalker, a love triangle in her mind at least will be interesting to some of my students who though emotionally healthier than the main character Heightened emotions during their adolescence make the character more relatable to them. For me it didnt work as well

3.75⭐️

I enjoyed this debut character-based book which follows the friendship between Edie and her best friend, Peter.

The title is very ironic as this deals with way more serious issues than it lets on- misogyny, sexism, alcoholism and drug abuse.

All the characters are unlikeable and one- dimensional but I think they add to the overall uniqueness of the story.

The plot brought some interesting topics, such as ‘tech bro culture’, male privilege and toxic masculinity and friendship. The representation in the book was spot on.

The ending was a bit rushed and I found myself rereading as I didn’t understand it and the language was shrouded in confusion and ambiguity.

If you enjoy mixed genre books then you will enjoy it.

I am so thankful to the publisher, Emily J. Smith, and Netgalley, for granting me digital and physical access to this one before it hits shelves on February 18, 2025.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC.

This was an easy read, but not my favorite. Parts of it were enjoyable and yet other times I felt like I was ready to be don with it.

I struggled to finish this book. The author offers insightful commentary on women and dating in middle age, so I hung in there for a few gems of quotes here and there. This had the potential to be a thoughtful story.

The characters in this story, and what motivated them, had me feeling confusion, anger, and (at best) pity. Edie's obsession with Anaya was over-the-top. The genesis of it felt forced, and it was so repetitive that I was quite sick of reading about Anaya by the end of the story. Edie's development as a character, instead of feeling genuine, felt like it served primarily as a platform for what the author wanted to say from a feminist perspective on the role of women in tech, in life, in relationships, etc. Even though Edie was the main character, it felt like she wasn't the focus of the story. Even her breakthroughs, the moments when the reader has been waiting for her to break out of destructive habits and ways of thinking, felt rushed and unconvincing. The book, overall, just left me disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for approving my request to read this book.

This book was not what I expected. The story was a lot more serious and not as funny as I thought it would be. Still, elements of the story were really interesting! For example, I enjoyed some of the discussion on feminism, motherhood, and friendship. Unfortunately, I do feel like the book ended with a lot of unanswered questions and it kind of fell flat for me. Overall, it was a decent read but not something I would rush to recommend.

I could not get into this book how I desired to. I grew annoyed with the main characters lack of self fortitude and esteem.

This book has such an interesting premise—but for me, the story just fell a bit short. I had a hard time rooting for the main character. She gave off crazy vibes and not in a forgivable way. Especially when it came to her relationship with her male best friend who she not so secretly harbors unrelenting feelings for. However, I did really like Alex’s character and arc. She felt believable and relatable.

The plot ended up feeling a bit expected but also unbelievable. So much of this book is focused on character development or lack there of that the plot gets lost in between it all.

That being said, I did finish it in two sittings and wanted to see it out until the end.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️/5