Olive is a single radio interviewer who is quirky in all the best ways. She has a secret habit (obsession?) with recording all of her interactions. When she meets Theo, a surgeon, and develops a relationship with him, her habit turns into something even bigger. This book had unexpected twists, and I very much enjoyed the writing style.

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

Ya.. so.. um….what did I just read?

Open Wide completely caught me by surprise. I think this is one of those novels where not fully knowing what you’re getting into really adds to the overall reading experience. I won’t give an in depth synopsis for that reason, but please note that this book is gross…disgusting even. Open Wide belongs much more in the horror genre than I originally thought going in.

The story follows Olive. Olive is a radio host who is obsessed with recording ~everything~. One day, while she is volunteering at a food bank, Olive meets Theo. They hit it off and soon their relationship becomes all consuming for Olive.

Like I said, this book is gross and disturbing. It mostly reads as sad or dark literary fiction about a millennial, but then it really goes there. I appreciate how much this novel was able to surprise me. I thought it lagged a bit in parts, but the author was really able to pull everything together in the end. I expected the ending to be meh or random because the book was so weird and sometimes that makes it hard to close out the novel, but the author really nailed it.

This story explores obsession and wanting to be close to the people you love (like as close as possible). The focus of the story is Olive and Theo’s relationship, but it also delves into Olive’s suffocating relationship with her mother.

Another aspect of the story I really enjoyed was Olive’s job interviewing writers for her radio show. I felt like this was such a unique way of exploring Olive as a character. I have never read a book about a character quite like Olive. Her obsession with recording things and how her job is linked to this obsession was quite unique and interesting to read.

This is definitely a strange book, but I love what it's doing. If you love lit fic and you’re looking to read more broadly in terms of genre, Open Wide is a great option! I would also recommend this to anyone who enjoys social horror.

Soooo weird and fun!! A story about a woman who unzips her boyfriend and takes naps in his body? Sure, I’ll bite… and then I devoured this wild tale in less than 24 hours. That ending? 😳

(Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Jessica Gross’s Open Wide is one of those novels that defies neat categorisation. On the surface, it’s a horror story; in practice, it’s something far stranger and more absorbing—a work that merges body horror with romance, obsession, and a wry study of intimacy gone wrong.

The novel follows Olive, a 33-year-old radio host whose life is steeped in recording and re-recording, ever since she was gifted an audio device as a child. Olive is reserved, a little naïve, and still tethered to the gravitational pull of her mother. At a local food pantry she meets Theo, a charming if unsettling colorectal surgeon, and what begins as a romance quickly spirals into something darker: a relationship defined as much by possession as by tenderness.

What Gross does so brilliantly is sustain this double register: the grotesque sits alongside the intimate, and moments of tenderness are made queasy by their proximity to obsession. It is not conventionally frightening, but it is deeply disturbing—provoking a visceral unease that lingers.

Gross writes with boldness and precision, pulling the reader into territory both absurd and uncomfortably real. Open Wide is weird-girl lit pushed to its most extreme form, but also a sharp exploration of desire, dependency, and the messy borders of love.

Expertly narrated in audiobook form by Alice Way, who gives each character a distinct voice, this is a novel I won’t be shaking off anytime soon. Unsettling, inventive, and oddly moving, Open Wide is easily one of my most memorable reads of the year.

Thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Jessica Gross for the advance copy.

I just.. well... I... truly don't know where to start with this book. Is it unhinged? Yes. Should Olive seek a therapist? 100%. Olive is OBSESSED with her boyfriend Theo and truly wants to be so close to him that she just wants to live inside of him. A delusional female main character is my favorite kind of book, but this made me SO uncomfortable at times I had to close the book and put it down. Would I recommend this to others? Only if you are a little twisted. If you really loved My Husband by Maud Ventura, then maybe. There were definitely some things that this book could have left out.. ifykyk. Thanks to Abrams Press and NetGalley for this eArc - I think?

Oh my goddd this boooook! Do me a favor and if you like super weird but super wonderful books about obsessive love and dating in New York City, please just read this without spoiling yourself. It's such a fascinating journey and I was hooked on every word. Jessica Gross is an incredible writer and while I didn't completely understand the meaning behind this book, though I can't stop thinking about it and trying to figure it out, I was enthralled by the themes, characters, and crazy goings-on. It's weird, unhinged, laugh out loud funny, and genuinely shocking. All things I adore in a book.

Thank you to Abrams Press for the advance copy!

OPEN WIDE is my kind of book. A weird female character? Sign me up. I had no idea where OPEN WIDE was going at any point, and I absolutely loved it.

OPEN WIDE explores obsessions and boundary setting (and crossing), in the romantic sense, but also with family. Olive's relationship with her mom and exploring their dynamic were some of my favorite parts of OPEN WIDE.

With OPEN WIDE, Gross uses being literally consumed by those in our lives to explore obsession, and while some of the passages are gruesome and unnerving, they are also beautiful.

While OPEN WIDE is relatively short, Gross does an exceptional job of keeping the story going and being mindful of pacing.

What in the world. I love horror. I love weird. But this might have been too weird. Or it might have just been so much of a focus on the same thing. Like get over the gap in his teeth. I felt like the whole first 75% of the book was about that. The end was quite a weird shocker and I really liked it, but I almost DNFed and didn't make it to that point.

I am a huge fan of books that include obsession; so I was excited to read this. The main character is so unhinged, which made for a great story. I really liked the authors writing and I will definitely be keeping this author on my radar.

The first thing Olive notices about Theo… the gap in his teeth that makes her want to slip inside. And that’s about all I needed or wanted to know before going into this one.

Exactly what I want from this subgenre of weird litfic! It gets real weird, real gross, and doesn’t pull any punches. With the level of graphic body-horror, it definitely isn't for the faint of heart.

This book centers morally gray characters with depth and nuance. The obsession dynamics are explored through both Olive and Theo’s relationship (fraught, uninhibited, fervent, and tense), as well as Olive and her mother’s relationship (overbearing, unwilling to let go, and rather unsettling at times).

Open Wide also focuses on the struggles of transitioning from your 20’s to your 30’s, which I found highly relatable. When it seems like everyone you know is married and having kids and you’re stuck wondering where you went “wrong” and how you ended up on a different timeline from everyone else. All the ways you feel like you should have accomplished more by now and have it all figured out.

The story is a contemplation on all the ways we can know someone, truly - mind, body, and soul. How close can you be with someone before you start to lose parts of yourself? It sees closeness as a violation, gives an unabashed look at interior lives, and demonstrates the dangers of holding on too tightly to someone.

And the way it ended 😲🤌

For fans of:
- Natural Beauty’s blend of literary fiction and body horror
- Melissa Broder’s style of weird magical realism, giving horrific TMI, and bleakness
- Acts of Desperation’s themes of longing, yearning, and obsession

For readers who:
- Love when things get full weird
- Want characters that are overthinkers and just as socially awkward as the rest of us
- Understand what “strange in the best way possible” means

⚠️TW: Disturbing/repulsive situations with a dog. If you are sensitive to this, proceed with caution. The first (and worst imo) scene is only 20 pages in so if you can make it past that, then you’ll survive the rest of the book.

There is nothing—nothing—like an unhinged woman in fiction.

This book had me queasy, tense, and absolutely unable to look away. Jessica Gross doesn’t just write the obsessive girl trope—she dismantles it, rebuilds it, and makes it something so visceral you can practically feel the main character’s fixation sinking its claws into you. It’s intoxicating, it’s unsettling, and it’s brilliant.

I’m as hooked as the protagonist herself. I’m already lining up a second read, and yes, her debut Hysteria is in my Barnes & Noble cart as we speak.

One of the most original, unnerving “insane girl” novels I’ve ever read—and I mean that as the highest compliment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Press for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

so you like a crazy obsessive main character? look no further than open wide by jessica gross.

olive has intrusive thoughts and she lets them win. she falls in love quick and hard, and wants her new boyfriend all to herself. she wants to be close to him, as close to him as possible… she wants to open him up and crawl inside. what’s more romantic than that?

gross, funny, cringey, jaw-dropping, and just plain insane. olive is truly a one of a kind.

recommend for fans of:
🫀the movie Together
🫀obsessive characters from books like in My Husband or Creep
🫀gross body horror
🫀mommy issues

rounding up from 3.5 stars ⭐️

I finished Open Wide exactly one month ago and I haven't written a review yet because I still can’t fully put my finger on why it stuck with me. It’s unnerving, weird, gross and completely original, exactly the kind of book that keeps you thinking long after you're done. As a longtime weird girl lit fic fan, this checks all the boxes of the genre with it's strange undercurrent and characters that you just can’t quite pin down. The only reason it’s not 5 stars for me is the ending. I didn’t dislike it, but it felt more “there” than impactful. Still, this is a bold, strange little gem that’s worth the read if you love weird books about unhinged women. Thank you to Abrams Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book! What the heck did I just read? I read Jessica Gross’ debut novel Hysteria in 2021 which felt like ages ago now, and I honestly found it so forgettable.. open wide however.. I don’t think there is a chance I could forget this book if I wanted to. So many insane moments I had to pick my jaw off of the floor multiple times. Jessica gross really lived up to her name with this one! I am so glad I read this one and gave this author another go because this will definitely be a book I will be recommending for a long time. Not for the faint of heart! I feel like the less you know the better with this one. Thanks so much to the publisher for this review copy!

What in the actual hell did I just read???? (Non-derogatory)

Open Wide was a messy, disgusting, weird, and unsettling little gem. If you think you know what a toxic obsessive relationship is, I raise you this one. Olive may be a weirdo, but she sure was fun to read about. Everything with her mom made me extra uncomfy and I was nervous to see where that would end up. I never saw the appeal of Theo and I never will but hey - not my relationship, not my problem. Felix is definitely the best character here - someone go save him!!!!!

What a strange and wonderful book. I loved the ending. Although the main character wasn't so relatable she was fascinating and unpredictable. I was anxious about how far she was going to go. She went pretty far.

Open Wide was such a weird, wonderful ride - darkly funny, a little unsettling, and completely original. The writing is sharp and vivid, pulling you right into Olive’s strange, obsessive world. I loved the premise, it’s so bizarre but also totally captivating. Even when things got uncomfortable, I found myself really enjoying the experience. Overall, it’s smart, strange, and the kind of book you can’t stop thinking about once you’re done. (which is all you can ask for, really!)

Weird girl lit-fic at its finest. I can see how this book has such polarizing reviews, but honestly this realllyyyy did it for me. I love an unhinged female narrator, and Gross did such a fantastic job of painting a clear picture of who Olive was. It's a story of all-consuming love turned obsession; of boundaries and the lines we justify crossing. This was such an interesting take on control and power in different relationship dynamics. Definitely not a book for everyone, but if you like books that feel like fever dreams, this ones for you.

Thank you NetGalley & Abrams Press for the arc.

DNF @ around 30%

Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Press for a chance to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

As someone who generally loves insane women in literature, I was just not tall enough to ride this ride. It was incredibly disturbing and Olive’s obsessive behavior was so fascinating. To be honest, I really enjoyed how Olive and Theo were both insane freaks with really gross invasive hobbies. Unfortunately I’m DNFing it because there were a couple things that made me a little more uncomfortable than I was ready for. The biggest one was letting her dog lick her vibe after she used it. That was a big no from me. Obviously it’s all fiction, but there are a couple things I am not comfortable reading about and bestiality is one of them. I can totally see why someone would enjoy this, but I didn’t.

Open Wide by Jessica Gross completely hooked me; I tore through it in one sitting, utterly enthralled. It’s a hypnotic, unsettling blend of bodily horror and emotional unraveling that feels like it’s begging to be turned into a surreal Céline Song meets David Lynch fever dream on screen. The way Gross plays with obsession, desire, and the grotesque is so vivid and intimate it leaves you squirming and spellbound at the same time.