Wellness culture, startup culture, LA culture, and millennials....all gone wrong. The Goddess Effect was a painfully accurate and scathing portrayal of today's boutique fitness and wellness industry and the lengths to which so many women are willing to go to not just look like they fit in but change themselves entirely to fit into the 'clique'. I felt myself cringing and laughing throughout, but I couldn't put it down. It was smart and savvy and a must read for anyone who's ever found themselves in a boutique fitness class or bought into the latest wellness pyramid scheme.

This was fun, fast paced, and quite relatable. Anita is trying to build her career and be her best self (or at least appear to be!) in our social media obsessed world. The move from NYC to LA is supposed to be about leveraging a meeting at a media company into the kind of job that will make her mother, her ex, and her frenemies start paying her some respect. But almost immediately Anita is waylaid from her plan by a new obsession. The Goddess Effect, led by enigmatic Venus, promises to make her tough, sexy, a total boss. But as Anita begins to consider working for them instead, clues appear that there is more to the story of Goddess Effect...

I had such a great time reading The Goddess Effect! This book provides a sharp, witty and incisive critique of the wellness industry, peppered with points of laugh-out-loud humour that further accentuated the ridiculous nature of certain aspects of the industry. I rooted for the main character Anita from start to finish (in spite of the slew of bad decisions she made throughout the book, which were both highly entertaining and deeply frustrating, but also very much relatable). Beyond its entertainment value, I liked that this book asked a lot of uncomfortable questions regarding racism, wealth, social class and just how far we’re willing to go to manufacture the “best” version of ourselves. I also liked the dark twist that the book took towards the end—I certainly wasn’t expecting it, and while some might find it a little far-fetched I thought it was rather creative. Altogether, I really enjoyed The Goddess Effect and would recommend it to anyone who wants to delve deep past the glittering facade of the wellness industry and into its much murkier depths.

This book had me cackling. The writing was witty and sharp, and perfectly roasts LA’s (and beyond’s) wellness culture, while quietly comments on its toxicity. Everyone can relate to the societal pressure to “live your best life”. Our heroine’s journey may seem a bit over the top, but the book’s underlying message has stuck with me for a week or two, and THAT is what is so special about a really good book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

a fun and cute read about finding yourself in LA. This book had great characters and a great plot

I enjoyed the diverse characters in this book and the glimpse at some Indian customs. The setup (about 80% of the story) was more enjoyable than the final big reveal, which felt rushed. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review!

I was drawn to The Goddess Effect because of its beautiful cover and fun premise. The writing immediately hooked me (the details in the narration are way too on point), but by the time I was about 10% through, I was already getting annoyed with Anita's constant social media references. It was hard to root for her, or even to relate to her, when it seemed like all of her actions were driven by Instagram. Because of that, this book ultimately wasn't for me, but I look forward to reading whatever the author publishes next.

This book was interesting and fun! I can’t wait to see how this author grows through her writing career. The cover is beautiful, the story was relatable while still providing an escape, and I’m glad I read it

There’s nothing supernatural in the delightfully wild and fun novel, “The Goddess Effect,” by
Sheila Yasmin Marikar, but I’ll be recommending it on my fairy tale site anyway. It’s a hoot!

Anita is a 30-something woman who has chucked her unsatisfying job in New York and moved to LA to start over. She’s hurting from the loss of her beloved father and has some ill will toward her mother, who she, nonetheless, clearly loves.

What follows, as she shares a house rent free with some other young people trying to hustle a life in LA, is a series of terrible, yet fascinating, decisions. Anita drinks waaayyy too much, doesn’t really pursue the job opportunity she moves for, and gets caught up in an awful “wellness” semi-cult: “The Goddess Effect.”

Anita absolutely grows in this story. And along the way, we learn a lot about race and Indian culture and the way it is fetishized and co-opted by rich white women. But we also get to read about a stupendous Indian wedding, a truly bonkers retreat (there’s something horrible in those gummies at that whacky gathering). And we learn that there’s a lot of racial box-ticking along the way by several characters.

Marikar uses humor and wild behavior to make excellent points about friendship, culture and race and how we never should stop growing in this life. She’s a fresh new voice, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Note: “The Goddess Effect” is not for people who get wound up and put out by alcohol and party drug use, swearing and hookups. But I’m a grandmother, and I wasn’t offended. The author uses these elements to get her points across.

4.5 stars, but I didn’t mind rounding up

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The stunning cover of this book and the promise of a story satirizing the wellness craze hooked me. Unfortunately this book did not live up to my expectations.

Indian-American Anita Kathlikar is tired of her dead-end job, overprotective mom, and the sameness of living in NYC. After securing three free months of rent in Venice at a place called The Gig, she heads west in hopes of a new journalism career at a place called, Gonzo. Anita had met up with their CEO at a conference and plans to reach out to her for a job.

Almost immediately things don't go according to Anita's plans AND Anita starts lying--to herself, to her Gig-mates, to her mom, to pretty much everyone. She doesn't hear back from anyone at Gonzo and seems to hate anyone and everyone who's not trendy or affiliated with The Goddess Effect, a wellness place she joins. Her BFF at TGE is Stacy (engaged to a rich fiancé) who seems way too good/genuine to be true. The head of the retreat, Venus, is an Indian woman who seems to be perfection in human form, but Anita starts to notice cracks in the facade (and promptly makes sarcastic comments about them). It doesn't stop her from maxing out her credit cards to stay with the program, even being picked to go on one of their exclusive retreats.

The moment she's accepted to the retreat, things start to get even more suspect. She immediately hears from the woman at Gonzo who's ignored her for months and is asked to cover the retreat. Stacy comes clean about her true intentions. The banality of Venus's mantras and entire aesthetic start to wear thin. Anita's complex relationship with her own self-esteem as a woman of color gets even more complicated as she starts to notice odd things happening at The Goddess Effect.

There's a lot going on in this novel and it suffers for it. Is it a commentary on wellness crazes? Racism against Indian Americans? A woman's coming of age within an Indian family? A woman's search for her true identity? Marikar doesn't focus on any one plot point and ends up jumbling all of them into an overstuffed book. I also felt like the exploration of the racism Anita endured waned and only really started to crystalize into a strong plot point near the end of the book. I don't mind a book that attempts to explore numerous concepts, but this one seemed to suffer from uneven and confusing narrative through-lines for each issue it tried to tackle.

I also really wanted to like Anita more. The consistent slang and stream-of-conscious narration didn't bother me like other reviewers but I do think it took away from the story. There can be flawed characters that you root for; and I just couldn't root for Anita. Her experiences, personality, and backstory were too convoluted to engage me.

This book was so fun! I will admit I chose it because the cover was beautiful and i was intrigued. It was a fun story about health and social media. I wasn't too sure what to expect going into it, but I enjoyed!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Little A and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Hilarious, relatable and entertaining. If you want to exit reality and totally immerse yourself in something else? This is the book for you.

Great first novel! So outrageous, so insane, so LA. Reading this was immersive as a LA native knowing that I have seen so many of these characters IRL. Heavy on the Amazon placement for my taste (was it on purpose?).

A funny yet sad peek into a world where all that matters is status, thinness, and affirmations.

Anita is a journalist in NYC seeking employment. When she has a friendly connection with a woman working at a Buzzfeed-like outlet called Gonzo, she takes it as a sign to move to Los Angeles. Haven't you ever wanted to reinvent yourself? Anita scores housing at a We Work-like space where all of the housemates are working in tech/innovation adjacent areas. As Anita tries to fit in and figure out what she wants out of life she stumbles upon The Goddess Effect, which overs workouts like none Anita has ever experienced. We follow her as she gets drawn into the world that The Goddess Effect founder, Venus, has built.

This was an enjoyable read. There is plenty of humor, drama, and mystery throughout. It is a look into a slice of Millennial culture that is very online, wellness-obsessed, and susceptible to marketing and strong personalities.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

This book was very hit and miss for me. The main character, an early 30’s woman of Indian descent named Anita (Ani) was unlikeable and annoying… flighty, filled with unrealistic expectations, and hashtags and / or captions literally everything in her entire life. Nothing she does seems to be for herself and everything is for social media. (As an aside, this sort of person was a large part of the reason I left FB and IG a year ago, and I am not in my 20’s or even my 30’s… so I may not be the target audience here.). I found myself figuratively face palming any number of times, saying “Girl… what are you DOING?”

I stuck with the book because I really did want to see what the big secret of The Goddess Effect was, and it took a pretty long time to get to it. It was pretty outrageous but not entirely unbelievable when one considers the crazy things women do in the name of beauty. But the book, before the sudden epilogue, ended strangely… like the author had gotten herself into a situation that she wasn’t sure how to write herself out of, and I’d like to have seen that.

I thought Stacy was actually pretty interesting, as the rich, white-guilt ridden friend, who spends her life throwing money at people (mostly people of colour), trying to absolve that guilt.

I also found the plot line with Max sort of… lacking. He was clearly needed for the end of the book but to go from zero interest to romantic / love interest so quickly just felt off. The book would have been fine without that.

I thought the epilogue had some great lessons, which I was glad for, considering how Ani had begun as a character.

Overall this book was firmly in the “okay but I would not choose to read it again” column.

Wow! I couldn’t believe this novel was a debut with its multi-layered characters. Sheila’s book is a socio-cultural commentary on the wellness industry.

Thank you to my lovely sister-in-law @sheilaym and @LittleA for the gifted arc of The Goddess Effect: A Novel.
📅: Oct 1st!!!

Thoughts 💭: Wow! I couldn’t believe this novel was a debut with its multi-layered characters. Sheila’s book is a socio-cultural commentary on the wellness industry.

It is funny, laugh out loud, and endearing look into the wellness industry through the eyes of the main protagonist, Anita, who moves from New York to Los Angeles after facing difficult circumstances. She attempts to move on and begin a new life by making a fresh start in LA.

It is here that she decides to stay in a modern commune called the “Gig” where she meets a hosts of characters. She also joins the gym called The Goddess Effect, which promises to turn her life around. What we then see is her encounters with self-proclaimed cultish “gurus”. As a commentary on the wellness industry and its exploitative nature, we see how sometimes people will go at lengths to belong on the journey of self-discovery, especially if you want to achieve happiness to live the best life (then place those moments of life on instagram and other social media platforms)!

This hard-to-put down novel will bring you into a journey full of twists and turns that you won’t see coming. It is intense, riveting and incisive.

⁉️⁉️: How do you feel about the wellness industry and it’s cultish nature? Have you gone to extremes to buy expensive equipment or branded clothes in the name of health and wellness?

I always get tempted by juicing and spin classes - we didn’t get a pelaton but ended up getting a second best bike during the pandemic (I still need to use it regularly) 😆

The Goddess Effect by Sheila Yasmin Marikar was an enjoyable read.
I liked the writing style. Marikar kept my attention glued to my Kindle and I was invested immediately into the characters.
Anita, gosh what can I say I loved her personality... She is true, witty, realistic and going on this journey with her was an amazing one.
Wonderful storyline, engaging characters and one story I couldn't put down.
I'd say my first book by Marikarmwas a success.
Enjoyed it. Simple, fun and entertaining. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
And let's just mention the cover. Gorgeous.

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

Little A,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

The cover of this alone was SO. SO. SO. Good! I loved this one. All the good vibes for an end of the summer book!

I received a copy of The Goddess Effect via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Is this my favorite book I’ve read this year? No, but I think the main takeaway is that you don’t have to have your life figured out in your 20s. This was by no means a page turner but held my attention just enough for me to read the whole thing.

I’m always intrigued by these books that seem like scandalous tell-alls… girl looking for something in her life that means something falls prey to an exploitative fitness/lifestyle group that turns out to be very reminiscent of a cult. Starts to see and hear some things that are a little concerning. Learns something she shouldn’t have that tips the scales from concerning to downright disturbing, and decides to do something about it. As someone who has been dubious of those fitness and wellness brands or trends that seem to have a cult-like following, I should have been hooked on this book. I too have felt a little lost and aimless on my life, looking for something that would give me meaning. But the first half of this book just wasn’t it for me, and even when things picked up in the back half, it just couldn’t catch up to my expectations. Solid book but nothing that’s going to stick out to me in a few months.