Shelf Awareness MAX Shelf, Thursday, February 1, 2023:

Everything's Fine is a love story but not necessarily a romance; there are no guaranteed "happily ever afters" to be found in the pages of Cecilia Esther Rabess's complex, thought-provoking debut novel. It asks big questions about where love fits amidst race, politics, identity and values in the lead-up to the 2016 United States presidential election.

After graduating from college, Jess has landed something of a dream job at Goldman Sachs, with a paycheck large enough to cover rent and her student loan debt and still buy fancy shoes and go out with girlfriends. And along with debt-capacity models and credit-risk analyses, federal fund rates and LIBOR (the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate) and a key card that doesn't work in the company gym, there is Josh: Jess's former classmate, now assigned to be her mentor in her first months on the job.

As one of the only women and one of the only Black people (and definitely the only Black woman) working in the "bullpen" of financial associates, Jess finds Josh all too secure in his place as a white male in the office, in the company, in the world, to ever be approachable. But the two can't seem to keep out of one another's orbit: first appearing side by side in the student paper following the historical election of Barack Obama in 2008 (and representing very opposite opinions on his success); arguing about reverse racism and affirmative action in a course on Supreme Court topics; antagonizing each other loudly over cheap drinks at a local dive bar they both show up to with their friends. She is Black, liberal, constantly trying to prove herself and solidify her place in a world shaped by whiteness and white supremacy. He is white and conservative, and assured that he is always in the right, that everything will work out for him. They are wildly, entirely different. And yet there's something that binds them.

The antagonism between the two is palpable--first of the political variety, and ultimately, a kind of uneasy friendship underwritten by a decidedly sexual tension. In what reads like the ultimate take on the "opposites attract" trope, Jess and Josh become an item and fall deeply, madly in love, alternating between verbal sparring and intense passion in a relationship that seems to work, even when it doesn't. "Sometimes you make me really, really, really mad," Jess tells Josh after he utters yet another comment that downplays the role of race in her experience as a Black woman. "But other than that, he is perfect, they are perfect, she has never been more in love, everything's totally fine."

This is where Rabess shines, building nuanced, multi-layered characters in an equally nuanced, multi-layered relationship, two people who are seemingly incompatible and yet undeniably work together... most of the time. Within this incredibly complex relationship, Everything's Fine becomes more than the love story at its center, as Rabess probes into deep, messy questions of race, politics and personal values--and the ways these appear within Jess and Josh's relationship, particularly as the political landscape shifts in the tense lead-up to the 2016 election. Jess herself questions their compatibility time and time again:

" 'I'm Black, you're white. I'm liberal, you're conservative....' Said that way it almost sounds like poetry. Opposites attract. The best kind of love story. But that's not quite right.... They're not really opposites. More like two people playing for different teams."

Is there something inherently incompatible about this arrangement? Between a liberal and a conservative? A Black woman and a white man? And what of the larger context, a country increasingly polarized and political parties with increasingly disparate values? "Love conquers all, except geography, and history, and contemporary sociopolitical reality."

Rabess asks all of this, but--it's important to note--does not offer easy answers to these questions. Everything's Fine is as complex and complicated as the world it reflects, messy and interconnected and imperfect in the most realistic ways. The result is a love story, as noted, without a clear happy ending; not only is a happily-ever-after not guaranteed here, it's not even clear what a happy ending would be. The two staying together? Or splitting up? Finding a compromise, or converting to the same political party? What's realistic, what's believable, what's acceptable and what's desired, what will make them happy in the end--the answers to each will vary depending on the reader and what they bring to the story, their context and perspective and beliefs. What is guaranteed is that Everything's Fine will leave every reader thinking more deeply about all of these questions in the way the best of fiction does, pondering Jess and Josh's story long past the last page and also asking themselves about love and race and politics and how they intersect in a messy world. --Kerry McHugh

A novel that asked more questions than it answered. That you couldn’t quite put your finger on. - This is what the author's goal was for her debut novel. I agree it did just that for me. It wasn't a typical office romance or a black person and white person get together romance. It was so much more. I enjoyed how Rabess put this story together. I'm glad I read this book and it has me thinking still!

Five stars and a big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

My thought is that this is just too…repetitive&dull. Mundane in the membrane. Josh does some varying level horribleness that Jess doesn’t like. Jess stays with him anyways. Lather, rinse, repeat for 300 pages. I disliked all of the characters. Josh is a self-righteous, king of the micro-aggressions chump. Jess is okay and her plight be real as hell, however, she attracts racist trash time and time again (see: Ivan, Wine Girls, Josh). This is topical and at least different than many novels out I reckon. Another nice thing, actually, was that it was a quick read.

Everything is not fine, this book is very much not good. It is harmful and I am sad that it was published as is. There is a sense from the marketing of the book that this is comedy, but it is not sharp enough to pull off the humor so it reads as earnest and anti-Black. There is so much placating of white guilt and diminishing of Black feelings and experiences.

The one good thing in this book is that the love story (minus the disastrous racial and political dynamics) is fun and cute and enjoyable. Also there is a grief section that was well done, mostly.

I really can't even recommend this as a hate read. Ugh. I'm sad about this book being in the world, because I know it is going to suck up a lot of oxygen but it when it comes out and it's not even worthy of that discourse.

I couldn't get through this book. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt despite the premise but nothing about Josh made me want to read a story about Jess, a Black woman, falling in love with him. Josh does nothing to try to even learn and change. Instead, Jess is the one compromising her beliefs for him. As a Black liberal woman myself this felt very unrealistic. It'd be different if Josh was a liberal and apolitical and then it's revealed he has some racist views, but from the very start with his thoughts against affirmative action it's clear what kind of person he is. Why would Jess ever fall in love with him? It doesn't make sense.

This book is hilarious but also tackles so many different issues-racism, politics, equality,. Jess and Josh are opposites she is black and he is white. They started as enemies and ended up in love. They are both nerds and it is fun to watch them bond and fall in love and try and work through all their differences.

I have to say I love Jess so much as she struggles to be comfortable in her own skin and what truly makes her happy. It was gut wrenching when she lost her father and all the things they left unsaid.

Foregoing my review of this book as a white woman due to the discourse on it in the black community on TikTok. Prioritize their opinions when reading this book. For a great review from a black woman breaking down her thoughts, check out @satrayreads on Tiktok

I got about 100 pages in and had to DNF this book. The use of racism as a romance obstacle or an excuse for “enemies to lovers” was a bit … not great. This was absolutely more of a social commentary than a romance. That’s perfectly fine, but it was advertised as a romance which is what I was expecting. The writing seemed a bit simple and underdeveloped as well. I understand that I am not a POC while the author is and our life experiences are clearly different, so perhaps others will have a different experience.

2.5 overall.
This is a hard review for me to write because I see both sides of the argument being presented. I can agree that certain aspects of this book are thought-provoking, while also saying that many parts of this book are uncomfortable to read and the 'enemies to lovers' romance is between two people who have literally nothing in common. Which I understand was the point, but they had so much in common that I was questioning why they were together. Honestly, was there love really that strong? They had nothing they shared expect a bed.

This book is broken up into 4 parts and I will say the first part is the hardest to get through and the fourth would have to be the most intriguing. I was very annoyed throughout however on it being in third person POV. Maybe it's just me, but I was taken out of the story almost every time I read "Jess __" solely because I had immersed myself into Jess' mind and seeing her name kept reminding me I wasn't her. Although in the case of this story maybe that was for the best. I also found both of the main characters kind of flat (Josh more than Jess), and just boring. They would have full pages of dialogue about data and I was so lost. Maybe I just don't know enough to keep up with their conversations, but I was definitely lost. I felt like they talked about 2 things throughout the entire book, finances and politics, of which they didn't agreed on either of those topics, so why was I supposed to be rooting for them?

Lastly, I want to touch on the pacing of this book. Its face paced, to the point where Josh at one point mentions them being friends for 2 years when they started being friends like 70 pages before. Not only that but their relationship develops so quickly that I'm still stuck wondering how they actually got together. Like I understand how they got together, but I can't for the life of me figure out why they stayed together.

Again, this book did have some thought-provoking ideas and themes, along with some very interesting metaphors that leave a lot to be discussed. However, it is very uncomfortable at times to read and they are not a couple I could root for, solely because I didn't have any reason to, but maybe that was the point. If you can make it to the end you will see the entire book in a different light, but you'll also be left with so many questions. The last page is so good that I bumped my rating up .5. I think they authors has some good themes, but I just don't know if this was the best way to explore them.

This wasn't really the book for me. Racism just isn't what I consider enemies to lovers.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

this was definitely a book where I wondered “why was this written” BUT I will say the last page made me a think more critically about the prior 300+ pages. still tho i was not a fan

Even though some of the answers the book has to offer are obvious, I was still completely invested in Rabess' funny, smart writing, especially Jess' observations about the everyday frustrations of a racist, capitalist work culture ("Why did her success have to be predicated on perfection instead of, say, a vague sense that she was someone people would like to have a beer with?"). And I was in awe of those last few pages, which were just stomach-dropping good.

I did not look at any of the reviews prior to reading this book. Instead of actually reading the book, Many have decided to try to try to cancel this author without even trying to read this book which was pretty great actually. If anything else, this will hopefully compel more people to actually read this book. This book is a play on differences and you could not get more different, or more crossed than this couple. There is a parallel here that really fits into the culture that still very much exists after Trump so there definitely is a timeliness to it. The dialogue was really good in this book and the author has created something that is different in a great way. Race and culture will always be noticed and have a place in relationships because of the world we live in. Bravo to this author for standing up and addressing it. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Where to begin… for starters this is NOT a romance. I’d describe more psychological and Jordan Peele-esque. However, the portrayal of this as a romance is misleading and causes the book to lose its impact.

Secondly, I’m not sure who the target audience is for this book. It’s definitely not BIPOC readers. As a Black woman, I found the book incredibly difficult to get through because of the racism, gaslighting, and the constant self-sabotage.

Essentially, Jess gets into a relationship with Josh The Racist and although it doesn’t end in a happy ever after it does end with a headache. I was so confused the entire time I was reading this. Between wanting to throw my kindle out of anger at Josh’s audacity and Jess’ inability to walk away, my blood pressure was at a constant high.

The ending left me frustrated and unsatisfied. I spent 99% of the book being traumatized for what? I think I get the idea the author was trying to make but it was not well executed and she could’ve gone about it a bit differently.

Overall, I found this to be a difficult read and extremely triggering especially for Black women. Please read this with caution if you’re a person or color or Black.

https://medium.com/@mikaelasjournal/everythings-not-fine-an-advanced-readers-copy-review-ddd6339e2e35

This is my brutally honest review of Everything is Fine. I wish I had seen this blurb before I requested an arc as it was not publicized on Netgalley and if it was, I never would have touched this book.
“she's Black, he's white; she's liberal, he's
conservative; she thinks he's a racist ierk, he finds her extremely immature.”
Enemies to lovers is not deeply rooted racism. Especially in the world we are currently living with human rights issues, I am stunned that this is something that was written and published. This is not an enemies to lovers romance, this is oppressed vs oppressor.
"Jess realizes it's more important to be happy than right." This is a big red flag and we are we telling readers that this is ok??
I could barely get through this book and had to DNF not only because of the issues I already brought up, but because the writing was extremely poor. The book felt like it was a rough draft, not a finished book.
This book made me extremely uncomfortable and we should never be romanticizing racism.
Save your time and do not read this book.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All statements above are my true
opinions after fully reading this book.

What a thought-provoking and uncomfortable read! This is a story about how opposites can attract, but with a lot of social commentary sprinkled within. This would be a GREAT book club book because it sparks a lot of questions and discussions. This story is very timely and relevant to what is going on in todays world! Highly recommend.

I couldn't believe that this was a debut novel! It was such a page turner and I really enjoyed it. This was a opposites attract story but done in a unique way. I really enjoyed it and will keep my eyes open for anything else published by this author!

While I loved the concept of this book I did not enjoy it due to it being written in 3rd person. Everything was very hard to follow. I could not connect with that characters.

Enjoyable book about a very timely subject. This a story many have seen play out in their lives since 2016 and it’s told in a very realistic and entertaining way,