I loved this book! The language was so vivid, the characters were so full of life, like you know sometimes when you read a book and it describes someone's movement pattern and you´d think "what the hell"? that´s so unnatural? why would someone make that movement? Here, everything felt so natural and the characters felt so alive.
Honestly to the point that when I finished reading and was cooking dinner, I started to worry about Kate's future, As if we knew each other? Of course, I caught myself quickly and was amused by my stupid brain, but that says a lot about the book for me anyway.
So human and beautiful.

Fret is a character-driven story with plenty of propulsive plot. Kate makes some bad decisions; her life is not neatly tied up with a bow. This makes her a very realistic character. Her character arc is quite relatable, especially as she learns to open up to others. The public shaming aspect of the story adds another layer of tension. Highly recommended for fans of literary fiction.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

This was such a great piece of art! This was so interesting and really made me think. I highly recommend this to those who love fiction!

Nadia has crafted a flawed but beautiful main character that drives the entire novel. This is a book I won’t soon forget. The writing is captivating, and I enjoyed the story’s suspense even though it wasn’t a mystery or a thriller. I wanted to know what would become of the woman the novel centers on. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A beautifully told character driven story, over the course of one stifling summer. Mid life single mother Kate has a series of small events cascade into public shaming. Her responses felt real and the character arc is just captivating.

I loved this book, I devoured it over the course of a few days and when I wasn’t reading it my mind was with Kate.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher ECW Press for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Lyrical and well-written. Fantastic plotting, and the location almost becomes a character in and of itself, which I love. 5 stars. tysm for the E-ARC.

Each night, single mom and former rockstar Kate, plays guitar in her porch after her kids have gone to sleep and drinks exactly one beer. She remembers a time she was Kat- lead singer of a band on the cusp of making it big, The Toy Boats. Now, Kate lives in a run down apartment with no working AC in the hot summer, makes little money at a daycare, and drives a run down old Corolla they call the Crayola.

Early in the book, Kate has turned around for a moment while her car was on and turned back around to find the car, and her young daughter, gone. Quickly, The community hones in on Kate, and everyone is questioning her mothering skills. In an already unbearably uncomfortable summer, Kate has to prove herself to the world with less money than ever.

This is a rich, compelling character driven story. Kate is so dynamic and fleshed out I feel like she’s a person I really know. The narrative written from Kate’s perspective is so immersive, I literally couldn’t put it down.

I stayed up all night reading this book. I really did.

The reader is drawn to Kate and naturally roots for her as we seen a system repeatedly stacked against her. Her monetary struggles mean that one crisis often leads to another and quickly.

This novel also explores the idea of making peace with a part of yourself that you aren’t sure exists anymore. For Kate, it’s the part that plays music for other people.

This novel explores poverty, motherhood, celebrity, weather, identity, and aging in a way that makes you as a reader ponder your own life and your own dreams.

Fret is easily one of my favorite novels of 2026. Parts of it reminded me of the show/book Maid, and would recommend it to fans of that, but it’s hard to say who I wouldn’t recommend this to. I think it’s a really beautiful piece of work that reminds me it’s never too late to create again, and to build a community. Five stars. Thank you to ECW for the eARC.