This sharply written, concise book is about Jane, a twenty-something in New York who works what she considers the soulless job of selling ad space for a newspaper. She has fallen in infatuation with a straight girl named Madeline who's interning at the newspaper, and they engage in the classic dance of playing hard to get and then being obsessed with each other. Jane's weird relationship with Madeline is the bright spot in her day: basically everything about her life feels vapid and meaningless to her. But things slowly start to change in ways she can't see at first.

Jane is relatively unlikable - millennials would probably call her a fuckgirl lmao - but that's clearly the point. She is a lost twenty-something, and her choices don't always make sense. Her malaise about working in corporate America is so relatable, and I appreciated that her feelings about her workplace weren't one-note: she liked some of her coworkers, derived some sense of pleasure at some points from her tasks, and felt conflicted about what she'd rather be doing. Jane has so many spirals and freakouts that resonated with me, as they'll probably resonate with anyone who's ever felt totally lost in their job or love life. This book has plot but is more about Jane growing up in some sense while also still having a lot to learn. This is fun and thought-provoking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Work Nights was a different kind of book for me. It was definitely more about the characters than having an actual plot. While it did follow Jane as she went about her days; work and while she was having a social life; it didn’t really have Jane working toward a specific thing. She juggled relationships or the lack there of. It was interesting to read on, seeing if her day to day would change, if her relationships with her family, friends, coworkers, etc would go a different route throughout the seasons. There were lots of dry humor in this book which I liked and it had me laughing quite few times and relating. If you work the office life or are around a lot of people constantly, live in a big city, or just want to see what that’s like, this may be the book for you. 3.25⭐️ from me
*Thank you NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for the ARC of this book.
#netgalley #worknightsbook #ericapeplin #bookrec #funnybooks

I received a copy of the book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start this review by explaining that I am clearly not the target audience for this book, and that has a lot to do with why I didn’t like it. I have never been a fan of fluffy romance, even if it’s sapphic or about lesbians. However, this book is really important because it’s a fluffy lesbian romance and we definitely need books like that, I need books like that. I really love that this book exists and I want to hug it because it’s so cute, but fluffy romance just doesn’t do it for me.

I didn’t have the best time reading this. I found it a bit boring and I couldn’t gel with the main character for ages. It’s written in a sort of stream-of-consciousness way, which I actually liked once I got the hang of it. I am the sort of reader that needs characters I can really bond with and I found Work Nights had too many characters that didn’t feel real or solid enough. The pace was quite fast and I like how that was done – it reflects the busy office environment that the book is set in, but it made it even harder to get the characters straight in my head. In the end though, I really liked Jane and I just wanted to hug her.

If you like fluffy romance and you’re looking for something different or something lesbian, you might like Work Nights. If you like The Devil Wears Prada, but less intense and more cute and fluffy, you might like Work Nights. If you’re a lesbian that can’t get their s*** together, you might like this. 🙂

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read this via Sapphlit Book Club.

I somewhat enjoyed this weird, contemporary take on a romance. It’s a realistic take though I didn’t like most of the characters (maybe because I’m no longer in my 20’s).

i love a weird, queer, funny, realistic book, and this was just that. i can’t recommend enough. maybe im in love with erica poplin who’s to say. thank u netgalley and the publisher for this eArc!!

This was a weird, fun little book, with emotions and depth. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

This is a quick and interesting contemporary romance; it's funny and messy and a classic queer millennial story. I found the initial comparison to the Devil Wears Prada difficult to shake, as Jane is less focused on her work and I found myself less invested in it. This is really character driven, so if you can get on board with the messy lesbian vibes, you'll have a great time!

At this point, the lesbian who somehow supports herself while not doing the job she hates, and can't keep a relationship because of ennui, might be its own genre. I like it, though. I found WORK NIGHTS to be quite funny, with several amusing quotes. This is a dialog-driven book with lots of characters. The characters each have their voice, delighting and annoying in equal measure.
Jane, the LHB (long-haired butch), does have a good job and a best friend, as well as a family that cares (they just can't seem to show it). She also has a gross apartment, unrelatable co-workers, and possibly questionable taste in women.
I wonder what will happen to Jane next?
#NetGalley

There were several times I almost put this book down. I found it slow moving at times and tedious. I did not particularly like any of the characters as well.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of Work Nights by Erica Peplin. I’ll admit I was hesitant to start this one—I worried I might not connect with Jane, the novel’s protagonist, or her world. But what unfolded was a nuanced, emotionally layered character study that surprised me in its depth and quiet tension.

Jane’s life feels profoundly untethered. Her relationships at work are impersonal, her friendships seem to float without much grounding, and even her attempts to connect with her mother are met with cold indifference. When we meet her, Jane is aching for intimacy, for a sense of belonging—even if it comes in the form of brief physical connection. That yearning becomes central to her dynamic with Madeline, the magnetic and emotionally unavailable intern.

I struggled to understand what drew Jane to Madeline, who felt, for most of the novel, like a hazy silhouette. But as the story progresses, it becomes clear that Jane’s portrayal of Madeline might not be reliable. Her fixation on someone so out of reach reflects her own discomfort with vulnerability and intimacy. It isn’t until the novel’s climax that readers glimpse a fuller picture of Madeline—suggesting that the flatness wasn’t a flaw in the writing, but a reflection of Jane’s limited view.

Meanwhile, Addy—Jane’s love interest later in the book—offers a compelling contrast. Grounded and emotionally intelligent, Addy brings out a version of Jane that’s less performative and more honest. Their connection feels reciprocal, even as Jane withholds the truth about her ongoing communication with Madeline and her planned move to Berlin.

One of the things I most appreciated about Work Nights is its commitment to being a slice of life novel. It doesn’t race toward tidy conclusions or sweeping emotional resolutions. Some readers might find the ending frustrating, especially if they’re looking for a sapphic happily-ever-after. I count myself among them. But the way Peplin chooses to close the story feels appropriate for the kind of narrative she’s crafting—one centered not in fantasy, but in the subtle, messy unraveling of a young woman navigating her loneliness, desire, and uncertainty.

This is a strong debut. Peplin made me care about characters whose lives and choices are far from my own, and that’s no small feat. I’ll be keeping an eye out for whatever she writes next.

Maybe I’m just burnt out on the messy millenial novels set in New York City, but this book was quite a let down.

The word that comes to mind is vapid. I’m all for some chaos in the name of character development and sexuality exploration, but by the end it felt no one grew, no one learned, and none of the surface level, jargony banter ever amounted to any insight of substance.

I’m of the strong belief that even the fun romps should lead to more existential breakthroughs, and even the unlikeable narrators have some likability. Unfortunately, this one left me with no real takeaways, and I was left wondering what to grasp to.

Work Nights by Erica Peplin is a quick and overall entertaining read about twenty-something Jane, her job in advertising at the New York Times, and her messy back-and-forth relationships between her flighty coworker Madeline and stable musician Addy. While it's described as Big Swiss meets Devil Wears Prada, I think this comparison is one that sets up false expectations for the novel. While the novel is absorbing like Big Swiss and is about working at a large, competitive publication like the Devil Wears Prada, that's where the comparisons end. It took me around 100 pages to shake these comparisons and realize that Work Nights, while enjoyable and a consuming, quick read, does not have the same emotional stakes as either Devil Wears Prada or Big Swiss.

Personally, I wish that the novel had either committed to being a workplace drama or focused solely on the love triangle that Jane finds herself in. While this may be a matter of personal taste, I found myself largely disinterested in the workplace dynamics by the end of the novel. If Jane is so blasé about her work life, why should I as the reader be invested?

Despite my neutrality towards the novel at the start, I couldn't help but keep reading and finished it in around 2-3 days. I would recommend Work Nights to someone who's looking for a beach read about messy interpersonal drama with some classic Brooklynite queer characters.

Enjoyed this contemporary romance novel with an existential, dark humor point of view. Good dialogue. Queer messiness. I wonder what the main character was looking for and if she will ever find it.

Work Nights’ publisher describes it as “Big Swiss” meets “The Devil Wears Prada.” Not having read either, I can’t comment on the former, but having watched the latter, I’m not convinced it’s a great comp.

Sure, both are set in the offices of high-profile, NYC-based publications, but in TDWP, the Vogue setting is inextricably linked to the story (key plot points are driven by it, as are the actions of the protagonist and others, all of whom live in terror of the magazine’s editor). The same isn’t true of Work Nights, where the protagonist is a planner in the ad sales department of “The Paper” (a thinly disguised New York Times, where Peplin once worked). Here, the setting is simply a backdrop, a place where our disaffected heroine can go and be disaffected somewhere other than her dumpy Brooklyn apartment and the dumpy Brooklyn dives she frequents while making a series of bad life decisions.

Basically, it’s about ad sales the same way The Office was about selling paper.

This isn’t a complaint (I wasn’t exactly waiting for a juicy, BTS takedown of the NYT’s ad department, and suspect I’m not alone in this).

I mention it because I’ve seen others compare this one to Sally Rooney, and with 20-something Jane’s messy relationships and sharp observations of the world around her, that feels far more apt to me. It’s definitely got Conversations with Friends and Normal People vibes (minus the latter’s heavier themes, which Peplin replaces with humour. “…I paced around the apartment and called my mother. ‘We’re setting up my new Fitbit,’ she said. ‘Can I call you back?’ ‘I have important news’ ‘Can it wait? Doug and I want to start counting our steps.’ I had the impulse to hang up and never talk to her again.”).

I think Rooney fans will appreciate Work Nights while waiting for whatever she follows up the excellent Intermezzo with.

Unfortunately this did not really work for me. The structure and pacing were so bizarre and did not make for a smooth reading experience. The main events occur in backend of the book, and I do think these issues could have been alleviated with more thorough editing. The writing started out a little uninspiring but picked up around half-way through, where were grow to understand the characters and their dynamics better. However, Jane and Madeline, particularly, read as rather insipid and grating, and had few redeeming qualities. Jane is so uninteresting and I felt as if I could not understand her motivations at all. She's the main character and yet I could not understand why we were reading from her perspective. Characters like Laurel and Addy was more palatable but I could not route for Addy and Jane in any way. Jane experienced no growth or positive introspection, and there seems to be no through-line carrying the narrative, and I could not discern the point of the novel, nor what I was meant to take away from it. I kept reading as this author does has potential and her prose is readable, however I could not find myself properly immersed in the plot. There were also too many characters.

4 stars. This was such an enjoyable break from my reality lol. This reminded me of big Swiss mixed with hbo max Girls. Lots of dry humor. A very character driven book if you don’t like that, idk if this one is for you. Messy lesbian vibes. This made me actually giggle out loud. As always, thank you to the publisher for the earc.

I really liked that this did disaffected millennial malaise without being Gross or overly depressing

This was a fun little read and made me laugh but I didn’t love it. I just didn’t feel like it was doing anything new but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless.

An easy read, but not really a fun one. I enjoy unlikeable narrators when they’re multifaceted, but Jane was just rude and boring. There were too many characters to keep track of that offered little to the story.

The Devil Wears Prada is one of my favorite movies and Triple Sec was a five-star read for me, and these were said to be mixed in Work Nights, but I didn’t see much of either of them in this book.



Thank you Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

https://chireviewofbooks.com/2025/06/19/work-nights-erica-peplin/

“Why do you do this job?” my old boss asked. “The answer can’t be about a paycheck or groceries or because you need a job.” We then took turns peddling mission-driven drivel about our meaningful jobs. The only reasons I could honestly give were the ones she said I couldn’t. So, I lied. At the end of the meeting, she reminded us to be grateful for the important work we do. She was trying to help team morale. Morale stayed the same—bad.

That meeting—and many like it—were top of mind as I read Erica Peplin’s deeply millennial debut novel Work Nights. The novel follows Jane, a twenty-something ad planner at a legacy newspaper in New York City. The events of the novel occur over seven months, each section one month in Jane’s life as she works in “an office where people coughed and the printer was always broken,” the perfect way to describe the classic corporate American workplace.

Jane harbors a workplace crush on the apparently straight intern, Madeline, who is “the only thing that made going to the office remotely worthwhile.” Soon, through her group of friends who throw “Gay Shabbat” dinners, she meets Addy, an intense, serial monogamist musician, who is ready to settle down and commit. It sells this novel short to say it’s about a love triangle. What endeared me most to this story was not the messy, queer love triangle, but how the mess fit into the frank and eerily familiar depiction of what it means to be a corporate, millennial woman.

Through Jane, Peplin captures the cognitive dissonance of professional women. In her first month, after watching her coworkers leave thank you notes for their boss in gratitude for a dinner he threw for himself, Jane muses, “Nobody made me be a professional woman. It was a pressure I put on myself…And yet so much of my life happened inside the office that I knew it was changing me—stunting my thoughts and calcifying certain lonely habits.” Her ability to name how bad this job is for her doesn’t stop Jane from working late on someone else’s project or taking credit for a coworker’s plan. When she is complimented for that same plan, she “felt a momentary sensation of power,” and thinks, “It was a privilege to work in an office to have an address, a salary, a keyboard, and a title.” She recognizes the toxicity of the office, but that doesn’t stop her from leaning into it.

When my boss told me to be grateful for the work that was burning me out, I still kept chasing Inbox Zero like it would save me. I briefly felt saved when someone told me I was doing a good job. And then, I refreshed my inbox. This cycle is the curse of many corporate millennials—the knowledge that work shouldn’t be ruling our lives, but letting it anyway. We know, as Jane puts it, that “this gradual manipulation, this convoluted meritocracy, would slowly colonize my life until one day I’d wake up a middle-aged woman with a crick in her neck, complaining about her kid’s college loans and the ever-present threat of a layoff,” but we keep grinding, caught up in the vicious cycle. Our nine-to-five rules our time, personalities, and future, so we try to escape however we can.

Which brings us back to the love triangle—Jane’s escape. Madeline is young and flighty, dragging Jane along to clubs and jetting off to London or Berlin. Their relationship—if you can call it that—has shifting expectations and unclear rules. She is young and free from responsibility, a way for Jane to try to chase her youth instead of accepting that she is a “gainfully employed adult.” Addy, on the other hand, is ready to settle down. Though she is a touring musician, she offers the apparent stability of partnership. Jane says to Addy at one point, “Someday when I’m seventy-two…I’ll remember this room and you next to me in it.” It’s one of the only times she thinks of her future outside of the confines of work.

As is often the case in a love triangle, Jane tries to have her cake and eat it too, keeping up a texting relationship with Madeline, who’s living in Berlin, and having a toothbrush at Addy’s place in New York. Madeline and Addy offer a way to chase both a carefree past and a stable future, because the present of her day job is making her miserable. For me, the point was never who she would choose, or even if either of them would want to be chosen in the end. The point is that the specter of work hangs over everything, even after you have clocked out for the night.