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With thanks to Netgalley for the book arc in exchange for an honest review.

Max, a transgender woman, is having a tough year already having fallen down the stairs at a New Year’s party. Surrounded by discourse of traditions of marriage and children Max isn’t sure where she fits.

When Max meets Vincent she grapples with these questions. As they grow closer we are introduced to his past via his point of view. When the past meets present Max is faced with a choice…

Beautifully written similar to the writing of Hello, Beautiful and Tom Lake. Gripping narrative, characters are complex and likable. A unique mixture of existential crisis with complex themes of cultural parental appeasement and navigating relationships as a transgender woman. Poignant and humorous; Nicola highlights universal experiences while also delving into the specific, nuanced point of view of each character. Highly recommend.

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Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan is a raw, honest, and beautifully crafted exploration of heartbreak, identity, and self-discovery. Dinan's writing is sharp and emotionally resonant, capturing the complexities of modern relationships with unflinching clarity. The novel follows the unraveling of a once-passionate connection, with writing that can only be described as fearlessly authentic. Dinan doesn’t shy away from discomfort—she embraces it, inviting the reader to sit with the messiness of love, change, and letting go. The characters feel real, flawed, and deeply human, making their emotional journeys all the more compelling.

This is not just a breakup story, it’s a coming-of-self story. It's tender, devastating, and, ultimately hopeful. Dinan cements herself as a bold new voice in contemporary fiction. Disappoint Me is unforgettable and utterly unmissable. I couldn’t put it down.

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ok, i devoured this book in four days, which is fast for me. i started the first chapter months ago when i got this arc, and then of course, life happened. finally picked it back up this week and could not put it down.

quick summary: max is a trans woman in her thirties, and this book dives into the complexity of her friendships, family, work life, and a new relationship with vincent, who also has his own past to sort through.

i absolutely loved max. she is so well written and full of depth. i felt every single one of her emotions and kept flipping pages just to see what she would feel next. giving this 4 stars only because i always need to know exactly what happens in the future or i lose my mind.

spoilers:

like, i need to know. what happens with her brain operation? does she forgive vincent? i know i am extra to think like this, but i need to know. lol.

Reviewed on GoodReads on 7/12/2025
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7434890500

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Nicola Dinan has a knack for writing stunningly complex characters.

We follow Max, a trans woman who works at a law firm impersonating an AI robot. After she falls on New Year's Eve, she meets a man named Vincent and decides to try out a heteronormative relationship with him. The perspectives then shift between Max and her budding relationship, and Vincent from ten years ago as he takes a gap year in Thailand with disastrous consequences.

Watching this story unfold was a lovely experience. Following Max as she develops throughout the story as well as unraveling the mystery of Vincent's Thailand excursion kept me thoroughly engaged and it all came together beautifully in the end. There is heavy subject matter in this book, but it's handled in a very respectful and delicate manner. Overall, I love a novel rich with character development and this hit the mark.

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Add this to the current novels questioning the institution of marriage but refreshingly from the perspective of a trans woman. Thirtysomething Max finds herself in a pretty stable, seemingly 'normal' relationship with Vincent that is pretty. heteronormative. But is that what Max wants or even should want? Max wrestles with these questions as she and Vincent meet each other's families and friends, take vacations, and attend functions including weddings. These questions become even bigger once their relationship is rocked by illness and betrayal. I enjoyed this book. I liked that Max is trans AND the book wasn't about Max being trans, that it was a romance but a romance rooted in nuance of large and small joys and complications of everyday life.

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Disappoint Me follows Max, a trans woman in her thirties who decides it’s time to get her life on track after a New Year’s Eve accident leaves her reevaluating where she’s headed. She finds herself settling into a relationship with Vincent, a man who shows up for her in ways she didn’t quite believe were possible. But Vincent’s past choices – and the person he once was – add complications to the present. As Max tries to build a future she can feel at home in, she also finds herself reconnecting with her father, navigating the complicated process of making peace with the people we love and the people we used to be.

This is a quieter book (with some noisier moments) about forgiveness, family and identity, with a gentle but unflinching belief that people can change – and that loving someone means making space for that change. It’s funny at times but not flippant, grounded in the realities of trans womanhood without reducing Max to a caricature or tragedy. She gets to be layered and deeply human, and I found myself rooting for her as she stumbled, recalibrated and tried again.

This wasn’t quite the cheeky “take a stab at heteronormativity” romp I’d half-expected from the marketing, and it sits just outside my usual sweet spot genre-wise. Still, it’s a phenomenal, deeply compassionate novel that I’ll recommend to anyone looking for stories about redemption and the slow, sometimes tender work of becoming who we want to be. Some books meet you where you are – others gently pull you somewhere new, and this is one of those.

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a very fine entry into the canon of millenial sad girl books where not that much happens. from the jump I thought this book was extremely funny, and i loved the 'date a nice chinese man' propaganda (listen it worked for me). the detransition baby references were hilar. a lot of this felt really resonant to me, probably since I'm also a 31 year old watching friends get married / embark further down heteronormativity road while wondering which parts of it I want for myself. I thought Simone was kind of a delicious character because she had such cruel moments- which felt so real! who of our friends are always perfect, and how much of adulthood is navigating those moments. i liked max's POV more than vincent's but thought his was also well done. the closure with her father was really beautiful and i appreciated the complexity in each character and the final conflict. it's so true, no person is fewer than two things!!

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Nicola Diann’s second book Disappoint Me from Dial Press is slice of life for trans lead Max and her partner Vincent - alternating story lines.

"You can fall in love with an outline, you can even make a home with one, but there will come a time when you can't deny the bones their flesh. No person is fewer than those two things."

Unfortunately- this book did disappoint me. The writing was decent - but found the characters a little flat - and the story soap operish - given to over the top storylines and character reactions. Subtlety is not this story. I found reading Disappoint Me to be engaging enough - and the nuances of race - class - gender politics - family ties are explored as well as the issues facing a trans woman trying to navigate a heteronormative life’. But still wish the characters were better written - the story less dramatic- overall just a better book for the subject matter - and other nuances of the story.

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It disappointed me. I fully expected that this could be a new favorite, but sadly, I really couldn't connect with the protagonist. Their voice just really didn't click for me. This is one of those with very little plot (which I do love sometimes) so since I wasn't vibing with the main character, it definitely wasn't for me. Nothing really pulled me in or had me feeling invested. I'm sure there is definitely an audience out there that will love this one. Unfortunately, it isn't me.

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Max is a trans woman poet working a day job as a lawyer. She is starting a new relationship with Vincent, but he has secrets of his own that need to come to light for them to move forward.

I'm not sure this book was for me. I think there are people that will resonate with these characters, but I am not one of them. I found these characters very whiny. They complain a lot about their lives and don't take actions to change things. The lack of communication between Max and Vincent was very frustrating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of Disappoint Me.

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Nicola Dinan has way of writing the human condition that is so relatable. She puts emotions and experiences into words that connect with the reader, even if you haven't experienced what her characters have.

I read the bulk of this book in 2 days, and highlighted so many passages that resonated. It makes me want to re-read her first book which didn't click with me as much.

All of the characters here are messy with rough edges. And there's a lot of love and care in these pages. I felt like I was in the room, balancing the universal tension of who we were vs. who we are and who we will we become. I also struggle with learning to love and be loved without knowing the outcome (and after some pretty traumatic shit).

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I absolutely loved this book. It was beautifully written and emotionally layered in all the right ways. I couldn’t put it down. It’s one of those stories that pulls you in from the very first page and doesn’t let go. It was a fast read, but it stayed with me long after I finished. The characters felt real, the dialogue was sharp, and the story itself was thoughtful and tender. Nicola Dinan has such a strong and distinct voice, and I will definitely be reading more from her.

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This book is a vibes-heavy exploration of several characters who are going through various things and coming to terms with events of the past. Sections of the book alternate between present-day Max and 19-year-old Vincent. The book discusses the various complicated aspects of what makes someone who they are the weight of forgiveness and acceptance. I think that two lines from the book describe its overall message pretty well: "No person is fewer than two things" and "People are what they are, and sometimes they're just an ongoing series of small disappointments."

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This book is aptly named because the ending did in fact disappoint me. About halfway through, I could tell that this was going to be the kind of book that left me feeling a bit unsatisfied, and I want to preface that I am okay with being unsatisfied by and ending when I understand the reason. Fortunately, this is one of those cases.

At the start, I was worried that this would be one of those books that you move through slowly; you know, the short reads that take way longer for you to get through than they should. But after a day or two, I felt like I was really getting into it, especially since I was giving myself larger chunks of time to just sit and read.

I think this is a very interesting story and enjoyed the way the author chose to switch between Max’s present and Vincent’s past; I loved when it finally became clear why the two timelines were so important to the story and the characters’ relationship.

There were some plot lines that felt like the came out of nowhere, but I guess when you’re told the medication you take gave you a brain tumor that can feel like it came out of nowhere for that person, too. So, I am willing to overlook the fact that it felt slightly out of place with the rest of the story.

The last chapter was kind of expected—it gave me the unclear, unsatisfying conclusion that I assumed I would get, but the epilogue I didn’t feel was necessary because it didn’t add anything or clear anything up.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House for this e-ARC.

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I will read absolutely anything Nicola Dinan writes. I see myself and those I’ve dated in her stories. They are so important and necessary.

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Thank you, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I decided to write this review right after I finished reading the last words because I have a feeling, I will forget these characters quickly and maybe that says something. This book feels more digestible if read slowly. Nicola Dinan clearly had a lot she wanted to explore through these characters, but in the end, it felt a bit flat for me. That might be a me problem, because I did recognize what certain characters were meant to represent: grief for the past you can’t change, the question of whether there’s anything left to fix, and what it means to be the “best version” of yourself and whether that’s a static or evolving idea.
The main theme is change, how we perceive it in others and in ourselves. Do we trust that people have changed? Do we stop believing them when our image of them no longer fits? Are other people just mirrors of us? If we start doubting them, isn't it actually self-doubt?
My thoughts are a bit scattered, but I suspect that’s intentional just like humanity is.

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Disappoint Me is beautifully written and relatable in lots of ways. Max is a trans woman who has just turned 30, is partying with friends for New Years and falls down a flight of stairs. She is all right, but is thinking a lot about her life and what she wants out of it. Soon after she meets Vincent, a Chinese cis man who seems perfect. Throughout the book, we learn more about Vincent's back story, as well as his and Max's friends. Relationships are complicated, as are many of the characters' relationships with their work and art. The story gets really interesting, and I don't want to spoil any of it, but it's really worth a read. Max is a difficult lead, she doesn't always make the best decisions, but she is lovable and we start to understand where she's coming from. I will be recommending this one.

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I went into this thinking it would be the spiral of a trans party girl, yet I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book was about so much more.
Main character Max’s life is nuanced and intriguing — to the people she surrounds herself with to her family. Yet the center of this novel is her love story with Vincent. Which I found difficult to digest at times as we would get flashbacks of what he had done 10 years earlier.

This was a beautifully written novel with some profound prose (I’m excited to read more from this author.) However, the main takeaway for me where the questions about forgiveness, love and trust that this novel tackles.
Whether people can truly change enough to live a life free from their past transgressions? Can you trust someone that has harmed someone like you? Would you accept them if you loved them?

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

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This book surprised me in a good way. It’s not a light read emotionally, but it’s incredibly honest and layered. I loved how Nicola Dinan explores identity, memory, and the messy parts of relationships without trying to tie everything up too neatly. The alternating timelines between Max and Vincent added a lot of depth- especially as you start to piece together how their past and present selves are still shaping each other.

Max was a standout character for me. She's sharp and complicated, sometimes hard to like but always compelling. Her voice felt real, like someone you could know and maybe avoid at brunch because she sees right through you. Vincent, on the other hand, was softer and more conflicted, which made their dynamic all the more interesting.

There were a few slow patches where the introspection dragged a bit, but by the last third I was fully invested. Some moments were surprisingly tender, and others made me pause and reread—not because I was confused, but because the writing hit just right.

If you're into character-driven novels that aren’t afraid to sit in discomfort and ask hard questions about identity, regret, and whether people can change, this one’s worth picking up.

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I loved this book - it made me think about how I view the future. The main character was likeable while still having flaws and I like that the book showed a transwoman living her life and how it affected her life but wasn't everything about her

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