4 1/2 stars rounded up to 5

January has been my month of wild futuristic dystopian books. Immaculate Conception is one that actually feels like it could quite plausible, especially in terms of art and AI.

The book begins at a prestigious art gala where well-known artist Enka is grieving over the disappearance of her friend Mathilde. From there, we go back in time to learn that Enka and Mathilde met in art school where they formed a very close friendship, seemingly mainly due to Enka's desire. We also learn about Enka's younger years and why this new world didn't allow her to have the same art education as most her other art school peers. The two women grow incredibly close, but in a codependent sort of way and though she loves and admires her, it's also clear Enka is a bit jealous of Mathilde's natural artistic creativity and easy popularity. But now, where has Mathilde gone and what will happen when Enka finds her?

About midway through the week, we learn just that. I don't want to spoil anything, but we dive into all kinds of technology developed by the wealthy that on its surface is meant to help people... but does it really? We also get to ponder what advancements in technology and AI mean for the art world. I found the book to be really thought-provoking as well as entertaining. The characters are all very flawed, but in a way that made me want to read on.

Honestly, AI and advancing technology is exciting in many ways, but it's also incredibly scary and this book highlights things I hadn't yet thought about, especially in terms of art. And that alone, I think, is a good reason to read it.

It’s evident after reading this and ling ling Huang’s debut Natural Beauty that she has a penchant for writing female friendships and the unhealthy dynamics that can develop within them. But something about her writing feels so detached that I had a hard time feeling any connection for these characters. Regardless, she will always be an auto-read author for me and I’m excited for her future works <3

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book :)

3 stars.

Erika meets Mathilde, a talented but tortured artist while both are in art school. They develop a deep friendship. Mathilde becomes famous and Erika is determined to keep herself in Mathilde’s life.

Erika then meets and marries a billionaire whose family company is funding technology that could inhabit brains. Meanwhile she and Mathilde become even more codependent. The book is about society, technology, betrayal and the nature of friendship.

I liked the book but I think taking on all four of those topics is a lot. The whole Enclave/Fringe thing really wasn’t explored much at all; there were just too many other threads to unravel. However I do love a book about complicated female friendships.

GENRE: horror, sci-fi, fantasy
Yellowface meets a Black Mirror episode about AI gone wrong...

Themes of jealousy, obsession, class, art, identity, ethics, toxic friendship, competition, technology....

This one is simply twisty and fun-- you'll be wondering where it's headed and just how far off the rails it can go.

Overall, well-written, thought-provoking, slightly confusing, but always engaging-- lots to talk about here-- perfect for a book club.

4.25

Setting: USA
Rep: Asian-American author & protagonist

This was a great sophomore novel, and I way preferred it to Huang's first book! I love anything set in the art world and I love an obsessive protagonist with questionable morals.

are you someone who obsessed with the tv show Black Mirror or just someone who’s spent way too much time spiraling over how technology is basically gaslighting us all? maybe you’re an artist battling imposter syndrome in a cutthroat world where even AI is out here flexing its creative chops. If so, buckle up—because IMMACULATE CONCEPTION is about to ruin (and enhance) your life.

the premise: a surgery lets you jack into someone else’s brain. that's right, full access. want to experience their greatest highs? go for it. rob a bank? sure thing. binge movies, eat pizza, make love? it's all yours. oh, and you also get their memories, emotions, and deepest secrets in high-definition detail. what could possibly go wrong?

EVERYTHING!

this story isn’t just a sci-fi fever dream; it’s a symphony of chaos. set in a future where technology has gone completely unhinged, this book dives headfirst into themes of envy, obsession, toxic ambition, and what happens when you mix artistic insecurity with literal mind-melding. it's part warning, part existential crisis, and fully binge-worthy. think consent horror meets AI panic meets motherhood gets a Black Mirror makeover.

at its core, this is the story of best friends (or are they frenemies?) Enka and Mathilde. they're art students navigating a hypercompetitive world, and their friendship is like a ticking time bomb of insecurity, admiration, and just a sprinkle of lowkey obsession. over the first 25%, we get to know them—and then, BAM, the story sucker-punches you, and you’re too hooked to stop. by the end, you’ll be questioning your own identity, debating originality, and side-eyeing your phone like it’s planning to betray you.

here's why it 5 ⭐️ for me: the writing? chef's kiss so easy to read. the world-building? terrifyingly believable. the themes? so raw and relevant they’ll have you texting your group chat at 3 a.m. with “omg we’re all doomed lol.” and Enka and Mathilde? they're messy, morally ambiguous, and absolutely magnetic. their relationship is so real it hurts, and their choices will have you yelling, “GIRL, DON’T DO IT!” while secretly hoping they do lmfao

this book feels like watching a trainwreck in 4K slow motion—beautiful, horrifying, and impossible to look away from. It’s the kind of speculative fiction that makes you laugh, cry, and contemplate deleting all your apps. it's an instant obsession, and i'd sell my soul to read it again for the first time. (i'm kidding, please whoever is watching don't take it)

If you’re into AI, art, messy human drama, or existential dread disguised as entertainment, run—don’t walk.

INFINITE STARS!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this novel; Natural Beauty was one of my favorite reads of 2024, so this was at the top of my list of books to look forward to this year. I am happy to say, Immaculate Conception did not disappoint!

As society uses AI more and more, I think the themes explored in Immaculate Conception become more relevant - the idea of a Scholastic Archive may not be as far off as we think. This book successfully explores themes from the ideas of wealth inequality and separation, the evolving use of technology and AI and its effect on art (and people), and complicated personal relationships. I love how Immaculate Conception is able to meld discussion of these themes with a Black-mirror type sci-fy story.

As someone who has had close, co-dependent (and at times toxic) friendships, the portrayal of the relationship between Mathilde and Enka struck a chord with me. Huang really illustrates what it is like to be in that kind of relationship - the complexity of having a deep unconditional love accompanied with the toxicity of jealousy and anger.

I look forward to reading more of Huang’s works in the future. She doesn’t fail to tell a riveting story that keeps you engaged till the end.

Thank you Dutton and NetGalley for the early ARC in exchange for an honest review!

are you a fan of BLACK MIRROR? or loved the movie THE SUBSTANCE? or are you an artist who understands the competitive cut-throat world? does technology scare you as much as it intrigues you? do you love speculative fiction?

imagine you have a surgery that connects your brain to someone else’s. meaning, you can switch into their mind— you can experience new things as them: movies, films, you can even paint and make love from their perspective. now imagine you would be able to see every single one of their memories, feelings, emotions, and encounters. nothing could possibly go wrong…. right?

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION explores a society in a sci-fi future that has created [terrifying] advanced technology. it dives into themes of motherhood, envy and obsession, the importance of human expression and consent, selfishness and greed within competition, toxic insecurity, identity and conservatorship, the depth of human nature, AI art, genetic editing, and what it really means to be an individual. it makes you question how you are perceived and wonder how far people will go in the face of jealousy.

this story follows best friends and art students, Enka and Mathilde, over the course of a decade. we experience the blooming of their relationship and a glimpse of how their world works, all within the first 25%— then shit hits the fan and you won’t be able to put it down. it’s a deliberate build that leads you to twists and turns that i will leave you to find out for yourself.

this was *compulsively* readable, and quite frankly, my roman empire. i wish i could read it again for the first time. this was masterfully crafted, the descriptions were vivid and i felt extremely immersed within their world. Enka and Mathilde’s relationship felt raw and real, tumultuous, flawed and morally ambiguous. i was obsessed with them. the world and relationship was believable, leaving me frightened at the thought of AI and technology progressing for the worst in our own world. it’s a true warning about the ethicality of AI technology and challenges you to think about “originality” profoundly.

thank you so much @netgalley and @duttonbooks for an advanced reading copy of this work, it’s truly an honor to behold. i can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on a physical copy. IMMACULATE CONCEPTION by Ling Ling Huang, to be published on May 13th, 2025.

This was a book that would have worked for a multiple POV but instead only follows Enka. However, this doesn't detract from pulling you in. It was hard to predict what directions this book was going to pull you in and was absolutely heart rending at points.

I was beyond thrilled to see that Ling Ling Huang had a new book hitting the shelves. Her work is some of my favorite that I've discovered in the past two years and I cannot get enough. Immaculate Conception is a stunning investigation into the complicated friendship of two women, made all the more complicated by a competitive art landscape that is rapidly inundated with unprecedented technological advancements. This is a book I will read multiple times, as I excitedly await more words from the author.

I am somewhat conflicted about this one?? I think the plot and story overall are very successful. We follow Enka and her codependent friendship with Mathilde as they both strive to become renowned artists in a future version of the US. I think the worldbuilding is deft, the relationship is compelling, and the story grabbed me... But I wasn't 100% satisfied with the writing style. For a book that is so entrenched in intense jealousy, a feeling that is so visceral and so embodied, I struggled with how detached much of the writing felt. This is still an incredibly smart and enjoyable book, I just can't help but think a more visceral writing style could have elevated.

I love Huang’s writing, but Immaculate Conception took me a bit to really get into. Some aspects of the storyline were a bit confusing, but they were offset by so many poignant, beautiful moments that really shone through at the heart of the story. I will definitely be recommending Immaculate Conception to all of the Black Mirror fans in my life.

Oh my gosh, this is my first book by Ling Ling Huang, but it will certainly not be my last. I simply could not put this book down since the very beginning! I truly don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this before or ever will again. I loved how the plot progressed into such chaos & madness but also sadness & empathy at the same time. I will think about this book and these characters for a very, very long time.

Wow, seventeen days in and we have a contender for my favorite book of the year?! This was creepy, unsettling, and surreal. But also a book that makes you consider the state of the world, technology, the internet, global community…how you see yourself and how others see you. I am so wildly impressed with how the author manages to fit so much thought and emotion in so few pages! I’ll be surprised if I’m not thinking of this all year!

4 stars!

Immaculate Conception is a raw and striking take on human connection and art in the world of generative AI and other ever-evolving technologies. And since I live for the drama, I liked it a lot!

Enka and Mathilde are fierce friends making their way through art school when a generative digital art program throws the art world into a state of chaos. Faced with her growing insecurity and the fact that her art is suddenly obsolete, Enka tries to emulate Mathilde's success. I love any story about obsessively ambitious people because I think it's the fastest way to make a character compromise their morals, and BOY does Enka make some poor choices. Huang manages to strike the right balance in Enka, where the reader can both recognize that her chaoices are wrong and also sympathize with why she makes them. Enka and Mathilde's friendship feels very real, in the sense that it feels extremely close but also tense and (one-sidedly) competitive. I think the concepts of art and technology were well done–complex and interesting enough to feel thought through but described nebulously enough that I don't question the details. Speculative literary fiction rarely hits for me because the sci-fi/surrealist elements make it feel ungrounded and overly poetic, but I thought they worked really well in this and just heightened the stakes.

Really great and thought-provoking all around, absolutely packed with new ideas and familiar dynamics. It gave me everything I wanted and a lot more I didn't expect!

Thank you to Ling Ling Huang and Dutton for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

Happy reading!

Content Warnings: Death, infant death, confinement, sexual abuse, body horror
Favorite Quote: “To know is to cease wondering.”
Representation: East Asian
Immaculate Conception is an ambitious novel that explores grief, trauma, and codependency in a dystopian setting unconstrained by the current real-world limitations of technology. Huang utilizes this advanced technology to explore the farthest extents of human creation, particularly art, in a world where seemingly everything can be AI generated. She maintains that there is something still to be offered by the human mind’s imagination but also does not shy away from the horrors that same imagination can create.
This novel follows an art student named Enka who grew up on the “fringe” side of nation-wide boundaries designed to divide neighborhoods by income. Enka earns a rare opportunity to study art at a prestigious art school and live a new life like the “enclaves” who grew up with everything she didn’t. While enrolled, Enka develops an intense friendship with an art prodigy named Mathilde and slowly becomes consumed by envy for her new friend.
Enka is convinced that Mathilde is every bit the artist she cannot be, exacerbated by the emergence of an AI database that pushes many out of the art world. Mathilde, seemingly unaffected, continues her career and creates art out of the extensive trauma she has endured throughout her life. When given the opportunity to reach into the delves of Mathilde’s mind, Enka volunteers to exploit this risky technology to “help” her friend and also benefit from the publicity she garners from her “selfless” act.
Huang’s writing style in this novel maintained the same easy flow and punchy deliveries that I loved in her debut novel Natural Beauty but what set this novel apart was its ambitious world-building. From the beginning, the reader is introduced to the general sense that this world is an escalated version of our own political and technological landscape, but as the story progresses, more and more major developments are introduced. The unfortunate effect of these revelations is the feeling that the building of the established plot is repeatedly interrupted by new concepts that push the story in a new direction.
I loved so much of what this novel had to offer, but I did feel that it tried to do too much. This was not a particularly long book, but as I recapped what I had read by the time I was halfway through, I felt as though there could not possibly be more developments, and developments there were. This novel did solidify me as a fan of Ling Ling Huang, but left me wanting something more polished from this beloved author.

We follow Enka and Mathilde, two art students, over the course of a decade. In a world of near future, sci-fi technology, the pretentious art world, grief, motherhood, an incredibly unhealthy, obsessive 'friendship' rife with competition and power struggles, we get a glimpse into the slow destruction of two women's lives.

I loved a lot of this book, but I thought the horror aspects took a little long to get going. When it did get there, I was truly horrified and I needed to take breaks because I got so frustrated with Enka. Ling Ling Huang remains one of my all time favorite literary horror authors.

Great social commentary on AI art and when medical technology goes way too far.

This book includes lovely prose and a mystery that hooks the reader early on. I also enjoyed the element of obsession and the underlying question of what it takes to create outstanding art that reaches the core of the human spirit.

Ling Ling Huang has cemented herself as an auto-buy author. Immaculate Conception follows Enka and Mathilde and a friendship full of both love and intense jealousy. Add in some speculative technology that allows us to feel another’s pain and then a dash of social criticism and commentary about the art world. The characters were grey and morally flawed, but so real. Also, there were a couple of twists I could see coming, but others that caught me entirely off guard. This is a book that you will think about for days on end.

Some “If you liked” style comparisons: Being John Malkovich and A Separate Peace (with a dash of Mean Girls)

Warning: If you have any sensitivities while reading, I would recommend checking the content warnings as there are some things that I know will be upsetting to some readers. (I found these issues well done and handled, but everyone is different!)

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the advanced reader copy.

I absolutely loved Ling Ling Huang’s second novel, which basically sticks literary fiction, tech dystopia, the modern art world and deep female friendship into a blender and ends up with a beautifully written and deeply unsettling story that feels futuristic yet so of-the-moment.

Going in, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this one, because while the writing in her first novel was excellent, the story was too body horror-y for me. (It’s just not my thing.) While this one does have some horrific elements, it’s more like intellectual horror rather than body horror. And the ending! Stellar work all around. I’m going to skip a plot summary and wrap up this review by saying just go read it as soon as you can.

Thanks so much to Dutton and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy!

Release date: May 13, 2025 🗓️