Casey cannot get to grips with her mother's unexpected death and to top the disasters up a break up of a relationship. She has also not been able to get a proper job commensurate with her qualifications because she wants to write and finish her novel. She gets this time by waitressing and uses her free time in trying very hard to make sense of what she sees as a good story just waiting to be written.

Falling in love with two different men, holding down a difficult job though it was only waitressing the undercurrents were huge! and trying to make sense of insurmountable student debt was too much for Casey who was breaking down under the strain.

I could get where Casey was coming from. In her mid twenties, all her friends are either getting married or having babies. They are all career girls balancing homes and careers or either married well with husbands who take care of all the problems of money. In Casey's case she is all alone and with a brother three thousand miles away she feels so alone, and so burdened by her life that she is literally cracking up.

The book touches on all the subjects that most modern women are subject to - the having it all theory, the beautiful balancing act of home and career, the glamour of looking well at all times and the effort it takes to get there, to have well behaved children because somehow it is your fault if they turn out to be jerks, fertility or rather lack of it can also be a women's problem it doesn't seem to end. Casey suffered from most of it at various stages in the story and this resonates with a lot of young women.

A well written thought provoking story.

The writing was excellent, but it was hard for me to get lost in the story. Lily King does a great job of establishing a 90’s vibe(Ben Folds’s Brick and Hunger by Knut Hamsun....took me back to my college days) I am sure it is an accurate depiction of the struggling writer’s life, but I had a really hard time connecting to Casey. The ending was too pat for my taste. I’m happy she got everything she wanted, but it all wrapped up so quickly and conveniently. I think this book will appeal to aspiring writers or other people who devote their life to perfecting their craft.

Thank you Netgalley, Grove Press and Lily King for my advanced copy of “Writers and Lovers.” I have to be honest, I didn’t want to love this novel. Casey was so scatter-brained at the beginning. Her pace threw me and the fact that she lived in her thoughts, drove me wild. Then, oh then, I found myself lingering in her descriptions of every day life. I was along for the ride as she grieved her mother’s death, cried over heartbreak, fluttered through new romance and battled with anxiety. .

Her everyday life - memorizing orders, banter with friends, struggle with writing her novel, and more all captured me completely. I knew I was hooked when I started posting quotes for friends on Facebook. Lily King is just too good at this literature thing, and I want to thank her for adding to my vocabulary.

It was a great experience and not all books even make it to a bad one. Maybe I was in the right mind-set or maybe lots of people will find connection with this lost and yet found main character that has so much life to live. This could become a classic.

3.5 stars. I tend to love books about writers or narrated by writers, so I went in primed to like Writers & Lovers, and it was such an enjoyable read. Most of all I thought the book captured perfectly the feeling of being an unmoored youngish adult with deep-seated anxiety who feels like she should already have her act together and is struggling with the tension between pursuing her passion and finding stability. Casey is such a real character, and the way King portrayed her anxiety was particularly effective. I really enjoyed how much of Casey's experience was internal; it's not easy to write a compellingly readable novel that takes place substantially inside the narrator's head. The writing generally flowed incredibly smoothly. King created a strong sense of place: Casey's version of Boston felt very specific, and the restaurant scenes especially were so detailed and believable.

Some negatives. The pacing didn't entirely work for me: The novel took too long to set the stage (a few too many restaurant scenes) and then wrapped far too quickly and neatly all at once. The arc of the plot was a little predictable; it felt a little like a writerly fantasy. Except for Casey, the characters weren't particularly well developed; it was unclear that Muriel, Harry, etc. had any lives at all apart from the one note they needed to strike in the book. There were some particularly one-dimensional villains (Casey's dad, Casey's landlord). And though I generally really enjoyed the writing and thought it flowed quite well, there were a few notably clunky lines that felt like they were trying way too hard (why would someone suck on a headband? What does it mean to smell like Europe?).

Overall a really pleasurable reading experience and perfect for what I needed at the time.

This story is one that, on paper, might seem slightly boring and while I will say the first third felt a little meandering my advice would be to stay with it because the writing is amazing and the flow of the story definitely becomes apparent. I found Casey who's a waitress and writer struggling to find her way after her mother's unexpected death to be so likable and a character with layers of depth. I connected with her, rooted for her and genuinely wanted her to find happiness and success. Coupled with the fact that the writing is some of the best I've read in a long time and I found myself unable to put this book down. The author's writing of grief was powerful. Add to that the setting - 1997 - and a very well developed love triangle - this was an absolute winner for me!

I adored Lily King's previous novel "Euphoria", the premise of "Writers & Lovers" was not as enticing to me as that of "Euphoria", however her strong writing lead me to give this a chance. It is the story of a woman in her 30s who is a struggling writer in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It follows her life as she waits tables, struggles to finish her novel, and grieves her mother's death. This was a compulsive read that was beautifully written. It almost seems autobiographical in that King seems to know her protagonist's life situation so deeply.

I really enjoyed this tale of Casey Peabody, a 31 year old aspiring writer who is holding on to her dreams of a creative life even though it seems the odds are against her and so many of her friends seem to have caved in and sold out and settled down to regular lives. Beset by debt and ill health, she works as a waitress to survive but her novel, six years in the writing, isn’t going well and her personal life is in turmoil. It’s an empathetic and convincing portrait of a young woman in contemporary America, battling with a low paid job, lack of health insurance, spiralling student debt, and in Casey’s case the recent loss of her mother. Characterisation, dialogue, pacing and the writing in general are excellent. Nothing very profound here, admittedly, but it’s an entertaining, immersive and enjoyable read.

Stick with this book for 100 pages and you won’t be disappointed. Casey’s struggles are so relatable! You find yourself rooting for her love and success. The writing captures simple nuances of feelings that makes the reader become so invested in the outcome.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I had a difficult time with this book. It seemed to jump around alot and wasn't balanced.. the uneven style of writing seemed to mirror the life of the main character in the story .who was fumbling through life trying to work on a book while grieving her mother and dating two very different men. A lot of people love this book and I can see why as it is very artistic. It just was not my kind of book that. could appreciate.

Thanks to Netgalley this is my honest review in exchange for an advance copy.

Ok, I know it is only March but I am certain I just finished reading my favorite book of 2020. I loved Casey Peabody. Her voice. Her struggle to make art. Working as a waitress is an awful job. Losing her Mother, twice. Her friends. Muriel. Silas. Harry. Their lovely banter. The way she answered Jasper’s question about his mother. The anxiety of putting her writing out there to be judged. The statement that made a difference to her mental health by her therapist, “This is not nothing.”
I have read Lily King’s Euphoria and loved her style.
Thanks Net Galley and Grove Atlantic #Writers&Lovers #Lily King

Writers & Lovers by Lily King, had a tough beginning for me. I honestly just wasn’t enjoying the story line. Thirty-one-year-old, Casey Peabody, was filled with grief. We see her drowning in grief and anxiety. Her mother died suddenly, earlier that year. She finds out that the guy she was dating is married. She is struggling to stay afloat financially, with debt collectors harassing her. She is over qualified for her job as a waitress, but stays there to give herself the time she needs to keep writing her novel, though she is not making much progress. I wanted to like her, to but frankly, I just didn’t find her or the story line likable. Instead of empathizing, I found myself pitying her. Luckily, I was on a car trip and kept reading. Around the half way point of the story, when you think things can’t get worse, they do, but humor starts being infused and I found myself laughing at things she said. She also begins dating, two different writers with very different backgrounds and personalities. She finishes her novel. She gets a job teaching English the same week that she lands a publisher for her book. In the end, Casey and the reader get a happy ending. And, I ended up liking the story, after all. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced digital edition in exchange for an honest review.

At the beginning of this book I was wondering why all the fuss and acclaim. The writing is uneven, rambling, and bounces around. But as I got into it I realized that the writing was just a representation of Casey, the early thirties main character, who herself is uneven and rambling with a unfulfilling job and dealing with the recent loss of her mother. As the book progresses, both the writing and Casey begin to coalesce and become strong and utterly engaging. By the end of the book, I wanted to be able to check in with Casey as she continues into the future.

It took me a few chapters to get into it, but ended up really enjoying it and reading it very quickly. Just my kind of story about flaws people truthful to figure out life/adulthood and trying to decide if the dreams is their youth are still attainable. I appreciate the story from a pre-cell phone time frame, which reminds me of old times.

Free ARC provided by NetGalley, but opinions are solely my own.

Camila ‘Casey’ is a 31 year old writer desperate to finish her first novel. With overwhelming student debt, grieving the sudden loss of her Mother and inescapable anxiety, Casey seems unable to find happiness in any part of her life. Through indecisiveness and crippling pressure, Lily King was able to relate Casey’s character to anyone who reads Writers & Lovers. The way Casey’s story flows from past memories, hardships to present time and finding herself through struggle is a breath of fresh air. Writer & Lovers is a great book for anyone finding their way in our generation.

Let me start by saying I absolutely loved this book—and it’s not necessarily one I’d be obviously drawn to. The basic plot—31-year-old aspiring writer Casey Peabody, struggling to come to terms with crippling student debt, a broken love affair and her mother’s sudden death, pursues her dream of finishing her book while juggling an unfulfilling waitressing job and the romantic attentions of two very different men—didn’t particularly appeal to me, seeming as it does to promise another “millennial angst” book. But “Writers & Lovers” is by Lily King, whose previous novel, “Euphoria,” was one of my favorite reads of the past few years, and in her capable hands, this familiar setup gets treated to a fresh take imbued with wit, wisdom and heart. There’s an authenticity to this book that is stunning—conversations and dialogue feel completely real, and if you’ve ever lost a parent or someone very close to you, Casey’s grief will be achingly familiar, as when she says, “I hate old people. I hate anyone older than my mother, who didn’t get to become old.” Casey herself is a lovely, fully realized character, capable of both deep emotion and dark humor, as in the scene where she debates throwing a mini golf game: “I decided long ago that if we ever did play mini golf, I’d let Oscar win. I thought I should preserve John’s faith in his father’s invincibility a little longer. But once I get a club in my hand I know I’m not going to go the noble route. I’m in the mood for some glory today.” And the love triangle, and consequent “who will she choose” tension it creates, is sweet but never cloying.

There are so many pleasures in “Writers & Lovers” that I don’t want to ruin other readers’ experience of discovering them by saying much more about the book here. Just go read it. Now. GO!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Grove Press for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. It was an unadulterated pleasure.

It's rare that I find a book that is as profound as this one, that leaves me wanting more, where I underline several of the lines because I find them utterly relatable. I loved Lily King's novel, and I hope to read many more from her. As someone who majored in creative writing, I felt her depiction of the writing community was so brilliant and emulative of the competition. I loved her writing and adore her work!

I received a free electronic copy of this modern novel from Netgalley, Lily King, and Harper Collins Publishers - Grove Atlantic. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of Writers & Lovers. I love Lily King's work. Euphoria was probably my favorite read of 2017. Writers & Lovers is another must-read, a first-person, stream-of-consciousness look into the world through the eyes of Casey Kasem.

Casey is a woman in flux. In her dream life, she is an author, a daughter, a lover, a mother, a wife. Her reality is quite different - Her novel, begun with high hopes several years ago, is still not finished, she is working as a waitress in an upscale restaurant and living in a potting shed/apartment attached to a garage, her mother - her best friend - recently died unexpectedly on a trip to South America, she is drawn to two men but both could be grossly unacceptable as husband/father material, and then we have the gynecologist visit, her first in several years. The results are horrifying. Bad PAP, bad mammograph, an obvious lump in her underarm lymph system and the looming oncologist appointment. This could be the kiss of death - or perhaps just the incentive Casey needed to stop treading water and get on with her life.

'Euphoria', this ain't. And for much of this novel I wondered: Is this the same Lily King? Her protagonist, Casey Peabody, is an aspiring novelist who is in a losing battle with that aspiration. Moreover, she is struggling with the recent death of her mother (Dad is a jerk and no factor), saddled with student loan debt and a serial seeker of male companions who also aspire to write but are mainly feckless fools. In fact, so many of the characters in this novel are annoying or repellent to me that I was tempted to put it aside. Good thing I didn't. The story hits its stride when Casey gets involved with an older, famous writer and that relationship seems to clarify things for her. You could say that the events in the last quarter of the novel seem too fanciful and false; but they are uplifting in a way that pulls the novel together, so that one comes close to feeling a sense of, well, euphoria.

This book is written in a writing style that I have never seen before. I sometimes found it hard to follow because of the lack of chapters, and breaks, and the digital copy I received just pushed the text together so it was hard at times to decipher who was talking when, etc.
That being said, the story involves a young woman in her 30's who is working to finish her first novel that she has been working on for several years. She goes from relationship to relationship, and she is struggling to find her true happiness. Part of the problem is dealing with her father's past indiscretions, and the unexpected death of her mother. She struggles to pull herself past these things so she can finally move on with her life, and her career as a writer.

Four and a half stars! The reason it’s not 5 is because it started out a little slow and the author hops around a bit, but once i got used to the author’s style I really enjoyed the book! Casey is a waitress for the money and a writer because it’s her passion. She has a lot going on in her life and she’s doing what she can to stay afloat. Friends and “lovers” come and go and she is coping the only way she can, while still trying to complete her first novel. Great story!