I thought for sure that I would LOVE this book, but overall, I found it too morose for my liking. I struggled to get through the book. I did like the main character's cynical inner monologue and the prosaic writing. However, I just didn't feel too connected to the characters they felt distant from me somehow. Would love to pick this book up again in the future and try again.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a tricky book to review because, even after having reflected on it, there are still parts of it that remain a bit unclear. I suppose the reason for that is because the narrator proves herself to be somewhat unreliable throughout.

The story follows Anna, a twenty-four year old opera singer, who is studying at a London conservatory. To make money, she sings in a local bar, where she meets Max, an older man who she begins a tumultuous "situationship" with. For those that don't know, a situationship refers to a toxic, no-strings-attached relationship, in which one person inevitably gets uncomfortable with the lack of labeling and exclusivity. At least that's my narrow understanding of it. However, that's precisely what happens between Anna and Max. Throughout the entirety of the book, the reader is never sure about Max's life outside of the time he spends with Anna. That's because Anna is never totally sure about that. Even by the end, there's no real confirmation about what he gets up to in the time they are apart.

Obviously, Max's double life wasn't the author's focus. It was the dynamic between the two of them and how that dynamic ultimately isolated Anna from her friends, family, and the pursuit of her dreams. While they are both consenting adults, Imogen Crimp does a great job of demonstrating the unhealthy power imbalance between the two of them. Age is simply one factor in that. The disparity in wealth also contributes to the almost obsessive attachment Anna develops for him. At no point does she ever feel completely at ease or comfortable around Max. And yet, throughout the majority of the novel, she feels a clear need to be around him. To know more about him. To feel important to him. He offers her just enough to maintain that need and sense of self-importance. But there is a carelessness to the way he treats her thoughts and emotions. It is really an upsetting read at various points.

The thing that some readers may not enjoy about this: Imogen Crimp utilizes a style that has been popularized by Sally Rooney. A lot of comparisons have been made between this work and Rooney's Normal People. While I can see some similarities (the lack of quotation marks and a toxic, tumultuous relationship being the main ones), this is not a Sally Rooney piece. For me, personally, I felt like the pacing was off. There were various moments that dragged, while others left me wanting more. I definitely feel like this book made me think, which is always a positive. But I don't know that I always enjoyed or even understood some of the choices the author was making.

This is one of those books that takes you by complete and utter surprise.
I personally thought this book was amazing, strong, insightful, and fun.
A VERY NICE GIRL is an in-depth character driven story with characters who were really complex and interesting and was developed throughout the novel. Also well-rounded, relatable characters at that.
The dialogue was so real and interesting I liked how Imogen talked about feminism in the novel.
For this to be a debut novel she did a wonderful job executing it.

Henry Holt and Co.
I can't thank you enough for this eARC!
I will post to my blog and platforms close to pub date!

A poignant tale of a young woman chasing her dream of being an opera singer while working part time to make ends meet. Her world goes topsy-turvy when she encounters a middle-aged man who seemingly seems totally disinterested in her. Will she be able to handle this added note in her daily repertoire? All in all, this was a very nice story about a very nice girl. I enjoyed the characters and the story line. Imogen Crimp created a believable drama.

2 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Imogen Crimp’s “A Very Nice Girl” follows Anna, a girl in her mid-twenties who is studying opera at a school in London and Max, an older man who she begins an affair with. I went into this book with high expectations, I was incredibly intrigued by the plot, the writing style is very Sally Rooney-esque, and I always love a good story about a woman who is in her twenties and just trying to figure things out. This being said, this book was unfortunately a huge disappointment for me. I love a book that is very character driven and doesn’t have much of a plot, but for that to work I really need to care about the character and in this case, I did not feel very connected to Anna. I honestly could not name a single character trait that Anna has besides wanting to be an opera singer because I don’t feel as though the author allows the reader to get to know her. I also found Max to be an incredibly uninteresting character. There was no chemistry between Anna and Max, so their interactions were boring to read. While this book was not a hit for me, I think that Imogen Crimp has a lot of potential, and I will definitely be checking out books that she publishes in the future.

DNF at 64%
I'll usually never dnf a book once I'm past the 50% mark, but I just couldn't drag myself through A Very Nice Girl anymore.
This isn't the worst book I've ever read, but it has almost no qualities that warrant how long it is, or even justifies how hard it is to read. The prose is incredibly bland and honestly unoriginal, with the lack of quotation marks and changes in pacing when Anna, the main character, is singing, in that typical fast run along sentences with no commas or periods because she is deep in her head and letting the motions of the melody and lyrics move her and it is deeply emotional and meant to cause us alarm or maybe even awe, but does nothing but annoy the reader.
I won't bother describing the main relationship between Anna and Max, since it's something we've all read before, but I will say Crimp could've written a very meaningful conversation of elitism and feminism, if it wasn't slapped so hard across the reader's face. Everything about this story lacks nuance and thought.

This is was an interesting read. Anna, the main character, is a promising opera student who continually doubts whether she has what it takes to succeed, or even survive, as an artist. One night at the bar she works at on the side, she meets Max. At first he seems like many of the other businessmen who pass through the bar. But Anna realizes there is more to Max, and the two soon are regularly spending time together. Anna's relationship with Max and her efforts to become an opera singer both increasingly become sources of anxiety, not least of all because Anna increasingly questions whether she can have both -- or if she wants either.

This is an engaging story. offering insights into this stage of life, artist careers, and relationships. Highly recommended!

This novel is about the struggles of an aspiring performer, specifically a 24-yr-old soprano who is trying to stand out in a London opera apprentice program. Money struggles, auditions, keeping the delicate voice healthy, and competition with other sopranos. A good number of female singers end up getting married to someone who can support their creative lifestyle, but Anna is single. She's renting a small room with her friend and she falls in love with a finance guy who might or might not be married. (He says he's separated, and he's often distant). On the flip side, there are the highs of performing, and the love of the art, and the drinking after a performance, which Crimp displays with finesse and style.

Besides being in love with a hot/cold guy, Anna has trouble when she gets a case of the yips, like a mental block with singing. She has to decide if she is going to leave the scene altogether.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4492075731?book_show_action=false

Anna is an aspiring opera singer who also moonlights as a jazz singer. She’s having trouble finding her bearings; she and her roommate are constantly moving and she hates the fact that she has to “entertain” the gaggle of businessmen who end up at the fancy bar where she performs. After meeting one of these men, Max, she becomes transfixed by the ways in which he is everything she is not. Stable, successful, mature. As her career blooms, can her relationship grow alongside it? This is a novel that explores ambition, complicated relationships and careers and I think that fans of Sally Rooney will enjoy this writing. There’s a meandering quality to the prose that unfortunately, took me out of the reading experience. Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the advanced review copy.

"I'd feel then like life was happening somewhere far away from me, and I wasn't even sure I knew what it was."

A debut novel that perfectly displays the struggles of fitting in during your twenties. Our main character Anna is a twenty-four-year-old opera singer who feels stuck with the way her life is going. While trying to find her place she meets Max, a thirty-eight-year-old working in finance. Max is aloof, hard to read, and extremely unsupportive, but Anna finds herself searching for his love and approval. As the story continues, Anna is torn between wanting the grueling and time-consuming career, or Max's affection.

This story had a way of making me care so deeply for the main character while making my blood boil for every single side character, and I ate it up. Anna is such a flawed and relatable protagonist that it was hard to not get invested in her story being told. While Anna is constantly being gaslit by Max and her best friend, the author was able to write so realistically about the toll this has on a person. I couldn't help but be deeply annoyed and disgusted by Max and his actions. He is someone who gave nothing to Anna but expected the world of her. You were defiantly rooting for her to leave whatever they had going on the entire time reading.

I found this writing style to be very similar to Sally Rooney, not just because of the lack of commas, but the raw emotion and heartbreak the main character portrays. At times I did find it to be slow and dense, but I still really enjoyed the prose and story as a whole. This is a brutally honest book about longing for human connection and losing yourself that can connect with most people who read it.

This was such a poignant debut! I hate comparing authors to Sally Rooney, because each author is their own person, but Imogen Crimp made me feel the same feelings that I feel when I am done with a Rooney novel. A must read for all 20-somethings who feel lost, Crimp is able to give a voice and feeling to the quarter life slump most of us face at some point. Relating to the MC's struggle, I felt her feelings and thoughts deep in my soul. I could almost see the lightbulb go over when the MC put words to the feelings that have become so familiar.

Very few authors become auto-buy authors for me since I read so much each year but I am so excited to see what Crimp does next. I will read any story she tells.

A near DNF with lots of skimming. Anna seems very, very young at times, and at others just impossibly naive. Add to that the fact that the book doesn't seem to know what it wants to be: a behind-the-scenes look at the world of opera (like the many books about ballerinas and their training) or a romance. Except Max is less than a romantic lead, and the opera stuff is lighter than it should be.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book! I honestly thought it was a brilliant debut novel and I found it impressive. Imogen Crimp is a talented writer and I can't wait to see more by them!

I thought the cover was interesting and figured I’d give it a shot. After the 3rd attempt I gave up. I just couldn’t get into it. I pride myself on being able to push through but I just couldn’t. The writing is fine but I could not make myself care about the characters. Not sure why. I might try one more time. I’d still suggest others check it out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

I absolutely hated the writing style of A Very Nice Girl. It felt like a knock-off version of Sally Rooney.

I had to DNF this book about 20% in. When i first read the excerpt of this book, I was intrigued and thought it would keep my interest, but quite frankly I grew tired of the storyline and the main character. I believe the author does have possible potential, she is a talented writer, I just don't think this story in particular was the perfect route for her.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! Fans of Conversations With Friends will devour this book. I can definitely see all of the Sally Rooney comparison that this book is getting.

Told from the perspective of Anna, a student of Opera, this novel follows Anna's relationship with non-committal Max. Being in the head of Anna you listen as she changes her ideas to please him and keep him around longer. This is a novel for people who like to cringe at how realistic fictional novels can be.

I enjoyed this book, although I did find myself less invested in other parts of Anna's life (her apartment and landlords, friendships, opera) and I was very invested in her time with Max. I think that says a lot about stories of your young 20's though.

Thanks again for the ARC!

When Anna meets Max she knows he’s not her type, but something about him draws her in. As she studied at the prestigious London Conservatory as an opera singer, she gets closer to him despite the red flags.

I didn’t give this one a rating because it was a DNF for me. BUT don’t let that stop you from reading it. It has a very unique style. The author can write and is talented, but the style wasn’t for me. There’s no quotation marks and sometimes it feels like a stream of consciousness. There were some really sharp and witty moments, but there were also moments where it dragged for me. I heard comparisons to Sally Rooney, which doesn’t surprise me because her books are not for me either. I still think many others will enjoy this one though.

A Very Nice Girl comes out 2/8.

Imogen Crimp's "A Very Nice Girl" is a debut novel about a young opera student in London trying to support herself, succeed in a cut throat industry, and balance her career with a new relationship which complicates her life. Anna works as a jazz singer in a restaurant and meets Max, and older man who works in finance. They decide to meet up for a date and their relationship progresses from there. We get insight into Anna's psyche when it comes to her passion for singing, feelings of inadequacy, and the effects of her upbringing on how she interacts with the world. She was accepted into a prestigious opera program from a no name school and feels inadequate and judged by her fellow students. She second guesses her decision making, not feeling secure in any choices she makes. Anna is a people pleaser, which is evident in her interactions with Max. He is mean to her and she just takes it and blames herself. It is quite manipulative on his part, and he gaslights her frequently. She refuses to accept, despite pleas from others, that she is in a toxic relationship and damaging her future in opera, which requires a keen focus. As the book progresses, Anna becomes more fixated on the status of her relationship with Max and it consumes all her thoughts, impacting her career. Their relationship seems unnecessarily dramatic and it is hard to imagine why the two of them are together. At multiple points, the amount of arguments and repetitive issues they run into became tiring and I found myself losing any sort of investment in Anna's outcome as it was so frustrating.

In the vein of Sally Rooney's work and Naoise Dolan's "Exciting Times", there are a lot of intimate conversations and arguments between the couple that highlight the intricacies and cadences of relationships. Fans of their works might also enjoy this novel.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co. via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.