This was a great story that touched so well on a lot of big issues, black lives matter, women's issues, mental health. The story was so good and I love Queenie and her strength.

Well..where do I start. This was a great book. I can see this as a real life story that people experience but never speak about. Some people are very vulnerable because their confidence is very low and they will take comfort from anywhere ..even a wall if it had arms. It is sad. I still believe people can be stronger and work towards strength by making God the centre of their lives. Thank you again for the book.

Fresh and funny while also taking a raw look at some serious issues: (mental health, racism, gender, childhood trauma) but it never feels forced like you're meant to learn a lesson. I've heard this being compared to Bridget Jones' Diary - which in the beginning I can see, but I don't think it's really a fair comparison. The storyline is believable albeit sad and at times realllyyyy depressing, but it's life. The author balances things nicely with Queenie's wit, sarcasm and bold self. Really enjoyed this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book. It was even chosen for my Book Club and received rave reviews. I enjoyed the authors perspective and way of telling this story. It was truly interesting.

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel follows the life of Queenie post just after her break up with her long term boyfriend. Her life and mental state collapse around her and we are present as she struggles to put her life back together. It had its high points and low points, laughter and tears but I really really enjoyed it. I loved the characters and all the different personalities. My only qualm was that I wanted more. I feel like Queenie’s story isn’t even close to being finished and there’s so many things I want to know. I think this book has a series potential, even if it is a short one.

That being said, please write more of Queenie’s story!

While I can see why this is being compared to Bridget Jone's Diary, it definitely is not as light and humorous. Queenie is dark at times and focuses a lot on the themes of abuse, mental illness and racism. It has a message that Candice Carty-Williams conveys beautifully.

The reader can't help but feel frustrated with Queenie as her lack of self-confidence and self-destructive behaviour clearly leads her down the wrong path. There were so many times I wanted to give Queenie a shake and tell her to get her life together.

It's a dark read, but an important and great one, and I feel like it will hitting some "Best of 2019" lists.

Being a fan of Bridget Jones' Diary was enough to get me reading Queenie, but about a quarter of the way into it, I realized that this was definitely not Bridget Jones' Diary, and I was ready to give up. Dear Queenie was a train wreck and every choice she made had me banging my head with frustration! However, I took a day or so to consider why this character was making me so angry, and realized that reading Queenie was much like reading a memoir of my life during my twenties. As a woman in her forties, I can now look back and see how lost I was while navigating the challenges I faced as a first generation black woman in a predominantly white country. I never had a firm grasp of my identity, my worth or my sexuality, and Queenie is no different. Once I recognized how much Queenie's life resembled my own, I fell in love with this story and found myself rooting for her through every painful decision. Candice Carty-Williams is an honest writer and does a wonderful job of highlighting the culturally taboo topic of mental health in the black community, while also effectively addressing a number of prevalent race issues. This book won't be for everyone and there were some noticeable editorial issues, however, I would still highly recommend that everyone give this surprising read a chance. Thank you, Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a modern romantic comedy.

Queenie is a British woman who works for a newspaper in London. She is of Jamaican descent. Her storyline reminded me of Bridget Jones’s Diary, because of the way she has to balance her work with her romantic life. However, there were some serious issues in the story.

I really liked the way realistic issues were addressed in the story. Queenie got a little carried away with dating multiple men after her serious relationship ended. She ended up at health clinics a few times because of these encounters. I appreciated that she had to deal with the consequences of her actions, unlike many characters in romance stories.

The story wasn’t all serious. There were some funny parts as well. Queenie refers to her friends in their group chat as the “Corgis” because they support their queen. There were also some funny situations with Queenie’s grandparents. Though there were a lot of serious parts of the story, I enjoyed the light humour as well.

I really enjoyed this story! It’s a refreshingly modern take on a romantic comedy.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams is a novel that took me by surprise. As many reviewers have previously noted, I too was anticipating a lighter, humourous look at the daily mishaps and foibles of a young, single woman negotiating life in modern London in the spirit of Bridget Jones. I did not foresee the dark and prevalent themes of racism, mental illness, and abuse. My expectations of a light-hearted read quickly evaporated. This is a novel with something to say, and that is in no way a criticism, merely a personal takeaway.

Twenty-five year old Queenie Jenkins is an aspiring journalist of Jamaican descent. Having just ended a relationship with boyfriend Tom, who is white, Queenie is struggling. Despite having endured both 'casual' and overt racism from Tom's family, Queenie believed that the relationship would go the distance. She is devastated when Tom moves on. In response to this new reality, Queenie finds herself engaging in random sexual encounters with highly unsuitable men, never once considering the need to protect herself. Queenie continues in this spiral of self-destruction until she is dismissed from her job and must return to live in the home of her strict and traditional grandparents. Counselling reveals that the questionable and in absentia parenting that Queenie has received may well play a role in her lack of self-esteem and self-destructive tendencies.

Despite the fact that I was engaged throughout the narrative, I found it almost impossible to relate to Queenie, and I strongly believe that this altered my experience of her story. The first page of the novel had me laughing out loud as Queenie visited a women's health clinic but, for me, that is where the humour ended. I found Queenie to be a tragic figure overall, even though there are brief moments of levity with her friends, the Corgis. The scenes where Queenie submits to sex in response to her lack of self-worth are particularly difficult to digest.

Although this was quite a dark read for me, I do think the novel will hit its mark and find its intended audience. This is an ambitious and relevant story, and kudos to Ms Carty-Williams for telling it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC.

This is a great read. It’s funny and topical while being intense and deeply introspective. I loved it!

I'm definitely going to be an unpopular opinion with this one. I wanted to love it and was excited to receive a copy, but it fell flat for me.

There were moments where Queenie and her friends, along with her sexual escapades that I thought were entertaining. But I mostly rolled my eyes and became frustrated with Queenie, to the point where I wanted to slap her.

It wasn't my cup of tea, but many enjoyed it and you could be one of them.

I was really looking forward to this book.
I think that's what made it all the more disappointing when I started it.
I thought I was going to get a mid twenties woman struggling with everyday life and a group of close girlfriends that help her navigate through it.
It does have some of this (the Whatsapp chats were great), but Queenie is not a strong MC and a lot of the situations she gets herself into (more than once) just made me want to slap her.
It was like watching a horror movie where the "damsel in distress" runs up the stairs instead of out the door.
Soooo much yelling at my kindle.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC.

This was a beautifully written novel! At times I was literally laughing out loud, other times I was deeply moved by the character's feelings/situation.

This is a story about Queenie, a twenty-something Jamaican girl who is living in the UK. She recently went on a break with her boyfriend of three years and the main guts of the story discusses how she handles this. Her dating misadventures were hilarious at times, particularly when she visits a health clinic. Queenie starts to slack at work due to her personal issues, which is something I believe all of us could identify with at one time or another. The description within the synopsis of it being a mixture of Americanah meets Bridget Jones's Diary is spot on!

The part of the story that I was not expecting is that it ultimately is a story not only about race, but also depression including with how one deals with both in our modern culture. The author painted this story beautifully and I feel like oftentimes we develop so many coping mechanisms that we don't realize that ultimately, we are depressed. This was the main objective in the novel I believe.

Queenie is a character you want to root for and this is a book I will recommend to many others.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for my copy and honest review.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Gallery/Scout Press, and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Meet Queenie Jenkins—a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman who is straddling two heritages and trying find her place. She has just been dumped by her long-time white boyfriend and is on notice at work where she is constantly comparing herself to her white middle class peers.

Needless to say, Queenie is not in a good frame of mind and she is making some pretty awful decisions concerning who she spends her free time with and with whom she is seeks comfort from.

Carty-Williams has written an honest account of one woman's struggle, which sadly many women can relate to, and at the same time, given us a character to root for. Unfortunately Queenie's story isn't unique, there are many women out there struggling with issues of sexism, racism, and self-acceptance. She is a modern woman trying to navigate her way through a messy break-up, figuring out where she fits in, and learning that her self-worth does not come in the form of toxic relationships.

Queenie is so much more than Bridget Jones, and I don't mean that as a slight to Helen Fielding's brilliant heroine, but there is no comparison. Bridget is a funny, awkward, and endearing character that journals her life in cheeky entries, whereas Queenie is a more serious character with incredible depth. There is also a heaviness about the story and again, this is another reason why a Bridget Jones comparison is doing this novel a disservice.

I adored her grandparents, especially her grandfather (and those of you who have read this book will know what scene I am referring to). What I didn't like was that the author uses Queenie's promiscuity as a symptom of her anxiety and I'm not sure that this is entirely accurate—I think that it is rather a symptom of her lack of self esteem.

What is also interesting is that Carty-Williams makes no apologies for Queenie, nor should she. She is a bold, brash, and flawed character who at times does some really unlikeable things. But we keep pulling for her.

Carty-Williams explores identity, racism, mental health and what its like to be a young woman in the dating scene in the age of technology. She tackles some daunting social issues and uses Queenie's humour and solid supporting cast of friends/grandparent to keep the story from getting too dark.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada, Gallery/Scout Press, NetGalley & Candice Carty-Williams for the free digital copy.
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🌟BOOK REVIEW🌟
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▪️MY THOUGHTS
✔️ I adored Queenie! She was very relatable and such an honest character. Although she didn’t always make the best decisions - she stood by those choices and I thought really learned from them. I loved her relationships with her friends, their chats were everything! I also liked how mental health was handled. There’s a lot of stigma surrounding mental health and seeking help for it. I thought the book exemplified this in such a great way. Queenie was a complex character and following her life, while she was in the middle of self discovery made for such an amazing reading experience!
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▪️OVERALL RUNDOWN
✔️This was such a great book! I can’t wait to read more from the author! The story was engaging, funny, sad and so relatable.
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▪️FAVOURITE QUOTE
✔️”Maybe if we all had learned to talk about our troubles, we wouldn’t carry so much on our shoulders all the way to the grave.”
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▪️TITLE RUNDOWN
Quality read
Unique
Excellent
Exciting
Never boring
Intelligent
Enjoyable
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▪️STAR RATING
✔️🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Queenie is such an amazing character to root for. It was hard watching her self-destruct. Unfortunately, her struggle is one that many women have and I thought her decisions and choices were a realistic portrayal of a young woman "going through stuff". I think the author dealt with each issue in a straightforward and honest approach and despite the dark nature, the story was balanced out by the tone and by Queenie's humour. I think this is an important book that deals with anxiety, therapy and growth in a really admirable way. I thought this was great, and I know a lot of people will find themselves in this, and it will help.

Queenie, at its heart, is a story about a woman of color and the barriers she faces in her everyday life, but Carty-Williams writing is accessible to all, making Queenie’s story a story for everyone.
If you loved Bridget’s Jones Diary, then you’ll most certainly love Queenie. She’s relatable as she copes with who she wants to be versus who the world is telling her to be all the while trying to find her place.

Queenie is an incredible own voices debut that I would recommend to anyone looking for a novel to lose themselves in. Carty-Williams writing is all-inclusive as readers pushed headfirst into Queenie’s life as she struggles with obstacle after obstacle being thrown at her until things forever fall apart.

I especially enjoyed the text conversations because their format. I love with books lay out a text conversation as you would see it on your phone. It allows readers to immerse themselves fully in the story while making it easier and quicker to read.
I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book..

This book started out light, and somewhere in the middle moved into some pretty heavy issues, mental illness, neglect, casual racism, blatant racism and abuse in many forms.

We first meet Queenie as she is moving out of the home she once shared with her boyfriend Tom, needing his space Tom has suggested a break. In flashbacks we see what transpired in their relationship.

Leaning on her friends and family, Queenie tries to get through this "break" while making unhealthy choices, and unhealthy excuses for herself as well as the people in her life.

I thought this book was a very honest look at mental illness. Yes Queenie makes bad decision (after bad decision). Yes Queenie lets people use her and take advantage of her, and while this is frustrating, it is the nature of the beast.
We can not fault Queenie for the way she deals with her demons, and she has many.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada and Gallery/Scout Press for this ARC in return for my honest review.

I was very intrigued about Queenie as I heard so much about this book and saw it everywhere lately.

I mostly enjoyed the novel, though sometimes felt a bit tired of the same mistakes Queenie did and the same approach she took. It was a bit repetitive for my taste. However, when I came to learn her story I realized that the repetitiveness was necessary as to re-enforce and put more emphasis on Queenie’s coping techniques, or rather lack of it.

Candice Carty-Williams is impeccable in building her characters. Queenie herself is a masterpiece. Her circle of friends was very well drawn too, I enjoyed reading their chat as I thought it had provided another perspective on the story.

The author did a great job raising many issues but not overwhelming the book. She addresses them all one at a time.

Queenie follows a Jamaican British woman who definitely made me feel a whole range of emotions. She is a real and complex character and I loved reading about her. Queenie has a complicated relationship with some members of her family and she alludes to a challenging and possibly abusive past and this has definitely shaped the adult that she is. After Queenie and her long-term boyfriend go on a break, Queenie makes a series of questionable and self-destructive decisions as she looks for and seeks comfort. After a number of negative (and unhealthy) experiences with men, friends and a decline in the quality of her work Queenie begins to spiral.
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I want to say that the comparisons between Queenie and Bridget Jones’ Diary are not accurate and kind of set me up to be confused about what I was reading going into Queenie. While Queenie does have some great humour and also takes place in London that is where the similarities end. Carty-Williams tackles topics and themes of growth, self worth, identity, racism, and mental health and how these can impact the decisions you make. I feel like these themes are much more at the centre of the novel than romance, which is what I was expecting after reading the comparison. The humour in this book does help to balance out the tone of the book and I liked and appreciated these moments to reflect and think about the heavier themes that were being discussed. There were definitely moments where I laughter out loud! I really enjoyed Carty-Williams’ writing and look forward to reading more from her in the future.
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Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for an advanced copy of Queenie!
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Publication date: March 19, 2019
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Content warning: discussion of miscarriage, domestic violence and mental health.