Love Orange is a pithy and somewhat bleak observation of a modern American family. Hank and Jenny have two boys, Jesse and Luke. They move out of the city into suburbia and Hank turns their home into a 'smart' home. Jenny hates it. She feels like motherhood is overwhelming, and feels a kind of 'marshmallow numbness'. She keeps a secret to herself - she is writing to John, a prisoner. He was found guilty of manslaughter, and his wife Shona, was found to be an accessory. John asks Jenny to pass on letters to Shona as prisoners are not able to write to one another. When Jenny notices an orange colour on the envelope, she tastes it. And it numbs her pain.

Hank is obsessing about what it means to be male in modern times, he wants to encourage his boys to be more macho. He thinks Luke might be autistic and is keen to get a diagnosis.

Jenny disappears one night, and goes to Shona who has been released from prison. She discovers that what she has been taking is suboxone - highly addictive and meant for Shona to use as currency whilst locked up.

I thought the writing was clever and a sharp insight into modern life but I didn't really feel a connection with the characters or feel invested in their story. There was just something that left me feeling a bit detached from the plot.

A well written engrossing debut a smart home an American smart home.The families daily life each members strugglers told in its own unique way.Characters that come alive not always likeable except for Little Luke,Will be recommending.#netgalley loveorange

That was a wonderful novel to read. I loved the characters - little Luke especially, there was something endearing about him - and I loved not liking all of them. The writing felt quite impersonal at times but I enjoyed that - it worked well with the banality of a lot of the scenes, how ordinary they felt, how touching a times their little aches were.

This is unlike anything I’ve read before - unique, smart and a little bit twisted!
This story holds a microscope to an American family and their life under the watchful gaze of their smart home. There’s Hank, the father who is feeling dissatisfied with his career and his sons who he doesn’t feel are “manly” enough, Jenny, the mother who hates how much technology has taken over their lives and resents just being thought of as a mother, and then there are the boys, Jesse and Luke, both dealing with their own questions about life. The twist is that Jenny has a secret prison pen pal, John, who inadvertently gets her hooked on his ‘Orange Love’, which finally allows her to break free and be honest about how she struggles.
I’m not sure how much that will all make sense as this is a difficult book to explain covering such a wide range of topics, from technology, to religion, to the expectations of masculinity, to motherhood, and to addiction in different formats - from the opioids Jenny gets hooked on, to the violent computer games Jesse can’t get enough of. Then there is Luke, a boy so sensitive and inquisitive that he is struggling to cope with the lack of answers for him, and his father’s expectations.
There were so many relatable elements to this story, especially in the way Randall describes motherhood and losing your identity as an individual when you become a mother, which I loved. Hank’s character development was brilliant - easy to hate at first, but as Jenny took less responsibility he has to step up.
I also loved the way this story eases you into its weirdness - it begins as a very normal look at family life, but by the end you are left wondering what you just read, and having to go back to fully understand the extent of Randall’s genius (some of which may have been too much for my lack of genius!). Definitely the quirkiest story I have read in a long time! Actual rating 3.5.

This is a very harrowing story of the American dream family but all is not what it seems.
Jenny is the typical housewife that yearns for more out of life and she believes she has found it by the way of communicating with a dangerous prison inmate called John.
With each letter Jenny gets more involved but to what end?
Meanwhile her husband Hank has his own issues with feeling completely inadequate.
Their children have their own issues to deal with.
You will laugh,cry and sometimes scream at this book it's that good.

This book is hard to review for me as to start with I really did not like the characters in the book, having said that I couldn't stop reading it as I really wanted to see what would happen and was engrossed in the story regardless, so I would say that is a winner of a book and one everyone should read. As a debut novel this was fantastic!

I'm on the fence regarding this book: I highly enjoyed some parts and was bored by others.
It's well written, I liked the humour and the descriptions of American life but it felt like something was missing.
Not exactly my cup of tea but neither something I wouldn't recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc, all opinions are mine.

Either this book is just not kind of thing or it had some deeper message that soared over my head (in which case, also not really my thing as I read for enjoyment!) I am sure that there are readers out there that will enjoy this slice of life book.

Every single character really grated on me but they very much seemed as though they were not meant to be liked. The father, Hank, is an extreme example of toxic masculinity whilst also being incredibly into conspiracy theories; I imagine that had this book been written this year he would be shouting about masks being against his human rights and a mind control tool. The mother, Jenny, seems to really hate her life but is really pathetic and doesn't take any steps to change her lot. Then there are two kids, one who may or may not be into porn and another who the book tries really hard to say is neurodivergent but for the most part is portrayed as very neurotypical.

The plot seems to just involve drugs but even that failed to capture my interest.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was an enjoyable read - a snapshot of 21st century America, presented through different lenses. At times absurd and chaotic, I found myself laughing out loud or tearing up multiple times.

It was an interesting look into gender roles and the implicit toxicity of them - however I do wish there had been a little bit more plot to it, or a more satisfying ending. It was still a good escapist book and I can easily see myself recommending it!

Natasha Randall’s debut novel Love Orange tackles offers an uncanny take on the perceived banality of family life. Armed with modern insight, Randall sets her fictional family unit under the microscope in order to probe the odd rituals and relationships we make to survive the toil of the 21st century.

While I was initially unsure as to the longevity of my time with this novel (it all seemed a bit too normal) I began to detect an undercurrent of the uncanny. On the surface, the Tinkley’s fall bang smack on the boring side of average, yet Randall begins to introduce their individual quirks which set the All American happy family tone of the novel slightly off kilter.

Set in the shadow of a nuclear power station building site, Randall’s novel encourages us to consider western societies’ obsession with its untouchable nuclear forms. The ‘nuclear family’ is a prime example of this tired expectation, which Randall handles through her female protagonist, Jenny.

It’s true that Jenny is pretty plugged into the 21st century. She is aware of her status as a middle class white lady in a fancy home. She laments the ironies of her laid back lifestyle as wife, mum and ‘occasionally useful’ cog in the wheel while delving into topical matters such as her predisposition for underlying prejudice (that much of the western world is guilty of). But she is actively checking her privilege and bringing up her boys to do the same. Her husband Hank, on the other hand, is an actual shit. He refuses to validate Jenny’s attempts at a holistic approach to life and hates the thought of his boys being anything but macho. He doesn’t get the bad vibe around ignorant white males… he’s too tied up in being one himself.

We understand the trials of Jenny’s emotional existence in a way that even her own family don’t. Letter writing to an unlikely friend allows her to express her distaste for the fact she traded her identity to become a wife and mother. She yearns to feel the tingles of life’s little secrets and uncertainties, something that feels impossible living in her husband’s stupidly clever ‘smart home’ where she is constantly under surveillance. Until one day, when she intercepts a sweet little orange note which reads ‘Taste me’. Her world becomes a blur in which the 21st century mindset is replaced by a subversive taste that sees her spiralling out of control.

From women’s rights, privilege, racial awareness and America’s prescription drug crisis, Randall has her finger firmly on the pulse of modern society and the many problems that centuries of expectation have created for it’s current occupants. The breakdown of happy little nuclear families begins to uncover secrets and the paradigm shifts, scattering many fragmented versions of the once familiar model out into society. The effect of this is uncanny. It even surprised me to hear descriptions of the ‘smart home’ which I read as some futuristic invention, before realising that this invasive lifestyle technology actually exists and is welcomed into our homes.

This novel asks us to question the state of affairs in which we find ourselves, and to consider how a toxic atmosphere in the home is tantamount to sending your family into the toxic nuclear fog that is slowly enveloping our way of life. It was an interesting read. While I wasn’t initially enamoured, Randall brings awareness to topical issues through her relatable characters who teach us how (or not) to navigate the world in which we live. I think this novel is the mark of a promising writer for the modern generation.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this one. I felt there was very little plot to the story. I nearly gave up around 60% but was drawn in enough that I wanted to see how it ended.
It had some bits that were more interesting and you get to know the characters well but I just feel there was very little to it, it wasn’t really heading anywhere.
The ending, for me, was disappointing, it just ended! I would have liked to have read more conclusions to things that happened in the book.
There were the odd funny moments but it just lacked content and an ending!

Thank you for the chance to read the advanced copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Love Orange is a snapshot of American 21st century life. Literally a snapshot. Like a photograph we can see what we see in this novel but without any real depth to the lives or backstories of Jenny and Hank, and I really really liked that. The children are only this age, Jesse is not going to grow up and go to high school. Luke is not going to be diagnosed with anything. What we see is what is happening then and there.
I especially enjoyed the boys views on life and their relationships with their parents. The disastrous camping trip that actually serves to really bring the brothers together and give them some time away from technology and their own narrow interests, and the shift in the family when Jenny is absent when they create the time capsule. Randall then swiftly reminds us that this is real life and not a Hollywood movie and the next day Jesse reverts to his typical 13 year old self.
The dispassionate writing style allows us to form our own opinions on what happens throughout the book as a casual observer and not part of the family ourselves.
I thought Jenny’s naivety around the orange was a little unlikely in this day and age but I loved the change in her behaviour especially the Botox which still has me giggling now.
I hope it was deliberate that the author had a white middle class mother going to a black, younger woman and finding intelligent help, support and boundaries there.

Love Orange is a novel about a married couple, Jenny and Hank, trapped in their gender roles in suburban America while bringing up two young sons.

Hank has some weird ideas about masculinity and protecting his family, obsessing about privacy and the dark web. He’s determined to create a “smart home” where the refrigerator orders more milk when they run low, whether anyone else wants this or not.

Jenny hates the house and is mainly bored and frustrated with her life as a housewife, mother and part time receptionist for a plastic surgeon. She starts a pen-pal correspondence with a prisoner named John to try to relieve the boredom which leads to the main narrative strand of the novel.

I enjoyed the novel as a slice of life, but never really engaged with any of the characters. Hank was particularly annoying and unsympathetic. I wanted him to get his comeuppance or at least have some sort of character development, but it never happened. Jenny was trapped and miserable, but I felt she was complicit in her own misery. Three stars seems about right.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

I enjoyed this satire of the modern American family. Although the subject matter is not wholly original, the writing is sharp and funny and the text was rich with insight and well-observed detail. A good read.

This book was good fun.

I love a family drama - it’s one of my favourite genres. I love a dissatisfied, dysfunctional family in suburbia so I knew I’d like this.

It was an easy, quick read which I read over a couple of days, and while I didn’t find the plot super engaging, I was never bored and always wanted to know what was coming next. I liked that the chapters moved around in perspective, but main character Jenny, a dissatisfied housewife, was my favourite.

There were a few plot point I would have liked to have seen more developed, but this definitely did the job for me as an easy fun read in one of my favourite genres.

I could not get into this one at all. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC, but it was just not written in a style that works for me and I felt as though nothing was going to happen in the plot for a while, which the other reviews seem to have borne out.

I found this book quite a strange read. There were parts where it was really gripping, then others where I was tempted to stop reading it as it didn;t seem to be going anywhere. The ending was a bit disapointing for me too. Overall I don't think I would recommend this book.

Three and half stars for *truly* remarkable writing

which is sharply reminiscent of Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 - a near-future story as chock-full of witty, non-stop, off-hand observations as I am (apparently) with hyphenated adjectives.

Randall is funnier than Bradbury; however Love Orange doesn't pack quite the emotional punch that one would expect from writing this good. The social commentary is unremarkable (watch out for an over-reliance on technology, and painkillers, and ennui, and parenthetical statements, and so forth) and the conclusion leaves us without a lot of hope that things will change for this family. Most of the characters were pretty unsympathetic and thinly drawn (which I found odd, considering we spend a lot of time inside their heads, mostly marveling at how lacking in self-awareness they are, which is where the humor draws from).

But not every book has to leave us with new eyes on the world - other readers will no doubt be drawn to a brilliantly written, quick, and humorous read that pokes merciless fun at modern American life..

The story line intrigued me...... the retro cover pulled me in....... unfortunately the story didn’t until over half way through.

Jenny and Hank live in a smart house that does all Jenny’s thinking for her. She is portrayed feeling a bit lost and bored, and gets pulled deeper into letter correspondence with John an inmate at a prison. This escapism from her mundane life is kept secret and give her a bit of excitement.

No spoilers so I shall stop there with explaining the plot. The latter half of the book was good but the first half was lacking that pull to keep turning the pages. I was kindly given this as an Advance Readers Copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review and if that hadn’t been the case I may not have finished it. I am glad I did though, but was tempted to shelve it for another book.

Unfortunately, although beautifully written, this book failed to capture my interest after the first 100 pages.