2.5 rounded up to a 3 lol
this book in one sentence: hell is other people. I think this book does a lot of things well. I love ling ling Huang's writing. it's simultaneously straightforward and lyrical/literary prose which I love. I think the book gives some of its themes lots of space for exploration and room to breathe like commodifying trauma for art; I really like the depiction of being obsessed with a person in the first half of the book. I don't think the synopsis is really what the book is about. the allure of the book is explored for like 15% and it's in the latter half of the book. I wish we had explored the buffers more and maybe fleshed out the explanation of how they work and their impacts a little more. I hated the arc of the main character. the ending felt very unearned. I also was not the biggest fan of some of the language around trauma and conservatorship!!!! and how a lot of the language is wretched and goes unchallenged. the reactions around conservatorship felt unrealistic like there should've been more pushback and fighting and turmoil, but it was mainly just like a one liner: x is gonna be in a conservatorship now cool moving on. absolutely not. I understand that we as the reader are probably supposed to understand via the later elements of the book that conservatorship bad, but I wish the narrative had gone further/it didn't feel like it was blatant enough that conservatorship inhumane and bad.

thank you to netgalley and penguin random house for an eARC for this book.

two art students form a deep at times co-dependent bond in school that continues on in their lives as they pursue art professionally. main character is jealous of her friend who is the wunderkind genius. as friend gets more and more infamous in the cutthroat art world, main character is clawing at relevancy by clinging onto the friendship.

it was good to finish reading this while watching severance. will try to discuss the book and the show with limited spoilers. in severance there's technology to sever your work persona from your personal and the main character on the show does this because of the deep trauma of losing his wife in a car accident.

early in this book they introduce art and technology intersecting for good and for bad. main character in the book specializes in art x technology. her friend gains more prominence in the art world for art that's trauma-informed. when friend hits a wall creativity from a deeply scarring trauma, they consider technology where you can upload part of your brain to another.

the severance show and this book do not share the same technology in the slightest. they do introduce a layer of corporations invested in having folks undergo these procedures for production which is just the most bleak and sad portrayal of capitalism. in the book our famous artist friend is traumatized by the idea of making more art but her foundation board wants to crank out more. artist friend undergoes the procedure with our main character who is then able to access her memories, trauma and artistry. main character is embolden by the new skills and confidence and starts tapping into her friend's mind at first here and there to create art but then taps more and more for other aspects of her life. when friendship goes from codependency to obsession.

Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang was bonkers, but bloody brilliant. Enka is enthralled with Mathilde, a successful debut artist that has everything the competitive Enka wants. As Enka becomes more obsessed with Mathilde, an interesting invention potentially provides the solution to Enka's (somewhat unrequited) obsession. But is it really a solution? It's not safe.

Huang's depiction of the art world was fantastic - as someone in that world, I can say that they fully encapsulated what it is to be part of that sphere. Huang's writing was unique, well paced and not overly esoteric. 

I loved Immaculate Conception and would suggest it to anyone that likes a sci fi but also an arty book!

Thanks NetGalley for this eArc!

Where do I even begin? I was absolutely enthralled from page one. I couldn't put this book down. Ling Ling Huang's character development is remarkable and deserves close study. It's truly an art to live inside Enka's head and experience her descent to rock bottom. The irony of this is even more apparent once you've finished the book.

I loved Enka's honesty at the end. It really struck a nerve with me. I wish I could experience that complete surrender, free from any mask. I consider myself an authentic person, or at least I try to be. But we all play roles depending on the day, circumstance, and crowd. Consciously or not, we all put up a mask, whether it covers our whole face or just a part of it. The thought of experiencing utter self-honesty, vulnerability, and complete openness because there's no point in hiding, sounds incredibly freeing.

Everything about Mathilde was absolutely brilliant. Her character, her actions, what she represented – brilliant, art, 10/10. I'm obsessed with how she took impermanence to a whole other level and redefined the world at the end. If she were a real person, I'd sell my dog and my house just to talk to her for five minutes.

Building on that, I loved how she represents a commentary on our obsession with perpetuity and everyone having access to everything. I'm not talking about basic necessities or human rights. I mean experiences that are supposed to be unique and lived, which we've bastardized via the internet and the obsession with preventing FOMO. This speaks to how we've tried to make everyone and everything feel so special and important that nothing truly is. Mathilde's medium switch to permanent works was brilliant.

Also, I loved the commentary on faith. I loved that it was important and deep for her and that she was traumatized by losing it. As a society, we often view faith of any kind—religious or not, in people or systems—as stupid and naive. But faith is absolutely a paramount part of the human experience. We have a need to believe in something, anything, anyone. I thought Ling Ling Huang's description of the loss of her faith and its indescribable effect on her was absolutely on point, beautifully and empathically written.

Also, the fact that the tests showed she would eventually heal, somewhat, and become more than her pain was heartbreaking in the best way possible. I love the idea that pain embodies us at times, when the loss is too big, the hurt too large, but that time does heal all wounds, and recovery isn't on a timer. Recovery is a part of life, meant to be experienced day by day, month by month, year by year, slowly or quickly, it doesn't matter.

Also, the book itself is just absolutely beautifully written. I'd want to print every page and make it wallpaper for my room. The writing is poetic; some sentences made me literally ponder my life choices and who I am as a human being.

This is the best book I've read this year, and I can't believe it's only March. It's literally downhill from here. I may never give another five-star review because I'll just compare everything to this.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with this ARC.

This is wonderful, challenging, difficult, and powerful stuff. I am intrigued and I’m sat. Can’t wait to read more by this author. This style is right up my alley!

Enka and Mathilde are best friends who meet in university. Enka is drawn to Mathilde’s brilliance and they form a deep relationship built on Mathilde’s trauma. Enka’s deep seated feelings of envy and insecurity fuel her decisions throughout her adult life.

The story follows the commodification and perversion of art due to technology, followed by the use of technology to create ‘art’. It was really interesting to read about how technology both supported and crushed the art world.

What I most enjoyed about Immaculate Conception was the relationship between Enka and Mathilde. It was a toxis and self-serving relationship (for Enka) but it was also an avenue for Enka to grow.

“You left your conceptual design project at my apartment. Straight from the tortured artist’s department

I think some things I’ll never say, like what do you need bodily autonomy for anyway”

Ling Ling has such a beautiful and in depth writing style. Her debut novel Natural Beauty kept me guessing and Immaculate Conception was no different! Enka and her best friend Mathilde are students in a prestigious conceptual art program competing with a newly created artificial intelligence program. Despite the majority of aspiring artists failing out of the field as a result of this AI program, Enka is holding on while Mathilde is continuously pushing boundaries to create never before seen works of art. Mathilde is recruited to create for a multi-billion dollar tech company, that Enka’s new in laws own. When the company believes Mathilde’s personal trauma is becoming a liability to their bottom line, she is placed under conservatorship by her best friends in laws, and given two not-so-great options regarding her future as an artist.

To be honest, this book took me a little while to get into. The first 30% or so kind of lags, the next 20% is a little all over the place and hard to follow, but the last half had me sucked in. There is definitely a lot going on in this book. I’m not sure that all of the added details were beneficial to furthering the plot of the story, but the futuristic and technologically advanced elements were well placed to set the scene in this sci-fi horror novel!

Thank you to Netgalley, Dutton Books, and of course the amazing author Ling Ling Huang for the early copy of this book to review!

Immaculate Conception is a beautiful book that explores the influence of AI on humanity. I was floored by the integration of art and technology, how Ling Ling Huang sets up a world lead by AI that is seen as the resolution to all problems. As we explore deeper, we come to see the complexity of relationships and what it means to be successful.
Ling Ling Huang, you never fail to disappoint me with your work!! It is so creative and your prose and plot stick with me (Natural Beauty will continue to be a favorite). Thank you for being a leader in books that push boundaries and make us consider the future of what could be.

I loved Immaculate Conception and it was one of my favorite reads of last year! Immaculate Conception is a beautiful exploration of the implications of generative art, technological advancement, female friendship, trauma, and bodily autonomy. In a potential dystopian future where all generative art can be copyrighted, we see how these advancements affect human-created art. the story follows Enka and Mathilde, who meet in art school and Enka instantly falls into an obsession with Mathilde. their lives become more and more intertwined in the following years, and become deeply linked in a black mirror-like technological art project. Huang perfectly balances themes of technological ethics, grief, bodily autonomy, and artistic competition in this beautiful novel.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC of Immaculate Conception but Ling Ling Huang. This story follows 2 women, Enka and Mathilda, who meet as art students and how their friendship transforms over their lives. That feels like a very misleading summary even though it is technically true. What fills the pages though is far more complicated. The backdrop of the story shows us a world that is rapidly changing in ways that don't seem too impossible from our current reality. It is filled with ethically questionable technological advancements and the manipulations of the ultra-wealthy upon the rest of the world.

I think this story has a lot of strengths. We get a fascinating world and series of events. I felt like there was a good mix of the story making sense as it progressed while also adding surprises that kept me on my toes. I thought the depictions of codependency and what happens when emotions grow toxic were powerful. The tension was visceral as the more disturbing parts of the novel unfold and I was left riding a rollercoaster of emotions, much like the characters were. There is a lot to chew on as things change, usually for the worse, and I ended it knowing that I will have parts of it coming to mind again and again.

While I felt generally positive towards the book, I do think that there were a few too many topics pieced together, and that if a few things were left out there could have been more attention to more central elements. For example, I was fascinated by the Fringe communities and how this shaped Enka, but it sort of fizzled out of discussions over time. I wish it had circled back to it more directly at other points. I felt like a lot of wonderful ideas came and went too quickly. I also wish more time was spent on faith/loss of faith. Its purpose is certainly clear, but there I felt like it deserved some more time in the narrative.

This is the kind of book I'd love to digest with others. While it bites off a bit more than it can chew at times, I still think that speaks to the sheer depth of the world and the characters that Huang has crafted.

What can I say about this book? First of all it's intense and emotionally driven. The characters are well developed and the knowledge behind the art works was vast . The inventive ideas contrived by the author about tech and art world were all phenomenal I think the book also conveyed some serious messages about the art sales world and the impermanence of life that seems to be valued over longevity. There are so many underlining issues regarding the permanence of Enka and Mathilde's friendship and the beauty of authenticity in the end. I really liked it! It kept me turning pages and wondering what would happen next.

Such an incredible book. Science fiction isn’t my strong suit but I had an incredible time reading this one. This books navigates topics on originality, technology and its ethics, trauma and artistic competition. All I can think about is that phrase that’s so popular now “i’ve never had an original thought”

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and absolutely did NOT disappoint! The premise is wild and the story had me hooked right away,

In a speculative future of the art world, technology is king. Huang has envisioned the future of art and technology, and the intersection between them. With it, she has effectively examined the class disparities exacerbated by technology and access to information. Huang has also showcased the intricacies, and pitfalls, of female friendships plagued by jealousy.

Enka and Mathilde's love powers this novel, and leads its disintegration. Huang has built incredibly deep characters that infect each other's minds and bodies. I cannot find a single flaw in the plot or writing. I don't even usually like sci-fi, but 'Immaculate Conception' has stuck with me in the days since I finished it. I have been thoroughly affected.

5⭐️ Ling Ling Huang creates a world that feels delicate and realistic, but is totally batshit crazy and chaotic. In Immaculate Conception we are thrust into the cut throat and gritty art world. With an unreliable, morally grey FMC and a mind bending experience, this becomes an immersive experience with unexpected turns.
I absolutely loved it and look forward to more of Huang’s work.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Arc:

4.5 rounded up. I was SO pleasantly surprised by this novel. It started off pretty slow for me, but once I hit the 1/3 mark I was completely hooked. Huang seamlessly incorporates advanced sci-fi and artistic concepts in a way that is easily digestible. She was able to to create a stunning commentary on technology/AI, obsession, and originality and ownership of art in the 'modern' world. Very Black Mirror-esque.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the eARC!

Ling Ling Huang’s IMMACULATE CONCEPTION plays out like a BLACK MIRROR episode set in the art world, and I ate it the hell up. This book is an unflinching and unsettling look at AI, jealousy, and the existential trials and tribulations an artist goes through in their creative process. Huang demands us to confront our egos and acknowledge the fact that every artist is in danger of extinction. Furthermore, she asks us to question the following:

How much of our creations are actually solely ours and original?
Why do humans continue to make art, despite the idea that it’s already been done before?
Can art be as good without the artist's trauma?
What do we lose when we get what we want?

Through the eyes of Mathilde and Enka, we fall down the slippery slope of a codependent friendship, as they construct themselves in relation to one another. Ya know, super healthy. From the beginning, Enka has envied Mathilde since she creates one of a kind pieces, while she only constructs less than inspired ones. The first quarter of the book establishes their art school friendship, and then it quickly takes a dark spin into the terrifying world of AI in art, technology, and things that just shouldn’t be manipulated.

In a time where AI is taking over, and many professions are being threatened by its very existence, this book is an eerie omen of what could be our future. I was thoroughly enthralled by Huang’s characters, themes and social critiques, and I could easily see this make a banger A24 movie. Special thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another wonderful, though provoking book by Huang. The prose here is absolutely stunning and exactly what I have come to expect from her. I think the way Immaculate Conception tackles concerns about AI and technology is done in a way that is much more captivating and enjoyable than what I have found in other books thus far. I'm very, very, very excited to get my hands on this on release day and do think that readers who loved Huang's previous novel, "Natural Beauty", will not be disappointed.

While the novel excels in its emotional depth and thematic exploration, there are moments where the pacing feels uneven. But the quieter moments are just as important as the more dramatic ones, providing necessary context for understanding the character's decisions and growth. I really enjoyed this one and felt it was like nothing else i've ever read before. I can't wait to get my hard copy of this one in my hands.

Immaculate Conception is haunting as it explores some of our most basic human emotions—jealousy, obsession, and empathy. It does so against a backdrop of technological advancement and societal fracture, which feels eerily real given present circumstances. It forces you to confront the question: What happens when power, technology, and the human condition collide?

Reading this novel brought me back to my undergrad years, when I was fully consumed by the art world—spending hours buried in niche articles and writing papers on the most obscure artists I could find. I became particularly entranced by Hieronymus Bosch, whose chaotic, addictive works mirrored the layered, unsettling world Huang constructs here—a world teeming with beauty, madness, and moral decay.

Huang masterfully dissects the complexities of jealousy and competition, especially in a society defined by the stark divide between the haves and the have-nots. The novel taps into our collective anxieties about the future: the erosion of empathy, the impulse to erase trauma, and the dangerous allure of technological “solutions” to deeply human problems. It also confronts the corrupting nature of power—how easily those who claim to know what’s best for humanity can lose their own humanity in the process.

HOWEVER!!! At its core, this is a story about friendship—about connection, boundaries, and the thin line between admiration and obsession. It reminded me of the unsettling introspection of My Year of Rest and Relaxation and the sharp commentary on envy and ambition found in Yellowface.

What does it mean to be jealous? To be consumed by longing and comparison? And can technology ever replace the raw, messy emotions that make us human? Huang offers no easy answers, but her novel lingers with you—an echo of chaos, power, and feeling.