I’m torn between saying “that’s it?!?” and just sticking with “wow”. I want to read more. I want to know how the next 4 years and the next 40 years go for Josh and Jess, but at the same time this is the perfect ending. I almost can’t ask for more. Overall, this book was amazing. If every book I ever read left me both craving more and completely satisfied, I would never stop reading.

It's meandering and wandering. The plot could have been tighter and the theme is weak. "Would you rather be happy or right?" except she's not really happy but complacent and then it's less right than being affirmed as capable and with a partner who respects your foundational beliefs and worldview. "Who is the audience for this book?" and "where is the editor?" are my biggest questions.

Setting: New York
Rep: Black protagonist

This book is getting a lot of hate and 1* reviews for some bad marketing as the publisher made out that it's a romance. This is not a romance; this is almost more of a character study filled with tension and the end is kind of psycholoihorror in a way.

I neither loved nor hated it. It was meh. I didn't like any of the characters and at points it seemed all over the place and I didn't understand at all why Jess liked Josh.

The description of the book had me weary, but I decided to read it regardless.

The book follows a black woman named Jess who is liberal and feels oppressed within the corporate world around her. Jess meets Josh in her work place who is a total opposite of her, he's white, conservative, and a man.

I just had some mixed feelings from the get-go. I don't understand why politics need to play a role regarding the basis of a romance book. Politics are a sad excuse that was designed to divide the common people and it evidently shows within this book.

Regarding the politics, both characters were racist in their own ways. Yes, Jess grew up in Nebraska and was the only black girl within her community which made her feel like an outcast when she was younger, but she made it her whole personality. Josh was blatantly racist towards Jess and it just made for an uncomfortable situation. In no real life situation would these two people even think about starting a relationship with one another.

I could not find anything remotely like-able about Josh (or Jess for that matter). Throughout the book, Josh's character showed little to no growth through the debates he had with Jess and yet, she still ended up with him even after knowing that both of them had nothing in common. I know there's the saying "opposites attract", but i cannot figure out what even attracted them to each other in the first place.

This book was just not for me and it was just hard enough to make it to the end let alone find a will to write a review for this.

Not what I was expecting. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book. Was not the book for me but not to say book is not well written. Just not for me

I wouldn’t call this an enemies-to-lovers romance. Yes, it heavily features a relationship between two people on the opposite sides of the political spectrum. You could call it a love story; the main characters do fall in love, but the happily-ever-after…

If you liked “Black Buck” or “The Other Black Girl,” I think you’ll like “Everything’s Fine.” If enjoy a gripping story about entering the workforce in a predominantly white industry, this is for you. There’s satire, but not to the level of “Black Buck.” I would even say there are elements of horror -the slow burn and looming sense of doom - but not the outright horror of “The Other Black Girl.” “Everything’s Fine” is a more emotional read.

I picked up this book because I saw some negative reactions on TikTok, and I’m very glad I did read it. I highly recommend reading it for yourself because I think people are latching onto the marketing and are missing what’s really at the heart of this book. There's nuance here.

I did not finish this book. While I loved the author's voice I found it very difficult to buy into the love story this book is about. This felt like it shoehorned in the 2016 election as a gimmick, not as a natural part of the character's arc.

Jess isn't thrilled when she's assigned to work on the same team as Josh, her preppy, white, conservative college sparring partner, at Goldman Sachs. Josh loves to play devil's advocate and annoys her to no end. However, when Jess finds herself the only Black woman on the floor, constantly overlooked and underestimated, Josh surprises her by being there for her in his imperfect way. Gradually, an unlikely friendship sparks between them, with an undeniable chemistry that soon transforms into an electrifying romance that shocks them both.

Despite their differences, their attraction pushes them forward, and Jess starts questioning whether being happy is more important than being right. But in 2016, the cultural and political landscape shifts, and Jess, who is still figuring out who she is and what she wants to be, is forced to consider what she's willing to compromise for love and whether everything is indeed fine.

Racism is not romantic. 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.

Unfortunately, this book has controversy because of its blurb, so I was hesitant to read it. I found that the blurb does a disservice to the author and book as it's not a good representation of the book. This is not a romcom and the ending is not tied up in a nice bow. The story is complicated, and Jess and Josh are very flawed. However, if the reader is aware of all of this before starting, I think it's a worthwhile read. But, I fear this book will fail because it already has so much controversy. Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy.

At first I was slowly getting into the characters and the story when it started to read more like an elaborate outline that needed a lot of cuts. Then it just felt like nothing was happening and the characters were so rude. I started to skim it a little but wanted so bad to enjoy it so I kept trying. There is something just wrong with this book. The story is uncomfortable, the writing is either weak or large sections of dialogue. I felt it had so much potential and then it just lost 99% of me before I hit 25%.
Recommended For: Everything is not fine so I cannot recommend this book.

After the 2016 election, there were numerous articles and social media reports of couples splitting up after one person in the relationship (usually, let's be real, the man) had voted for Donald Trump. A similar phenomenon occurred when the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. This book attempts to answer the question, is love enough to conquer fundamental beliefs and world views? Can you stay together by just pretending that Everything is Fine?

There was a lot that I enjoyed about this book. I really enjoyed Jess as a character, and how the author pulled the curtain back on a world I'm not familiar with (finance, wall street). I enjoyed the dynamic between Jess and Josh, who are the classic opposites attract /enemies to lovers pairing. And the last third of the book I was on pins and needles waiting to see how it would all turn out.

At the same time, it was hard to put myself back in the mindframe I was in during the 2016 presidential election. Just knowing what would follow gave me a ton of anxiety. I know a lot of people have trouble reading books set during the Pandemic for the same reason. Or it could just be me.

I really disliked Josh and I thought too many of his good qualities were only talked about rather than shown to us as readers. However, overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I will definitely read Rabess's next book.

After finishing this book I am left feeling many emotions. The title is very intentional. It says everything is fine, but as I finished the book my only thought was "it's not fine". The book can be taken in multiple different ways. One can see it and think wow their love is stronger than all other problems, while on the other side one can read this and think there are some things that are stronger than love. So at the end, is everything fine?

I think this book can easily be taken wrong from the surface. Without reading hte book and seeing the nuances, the concept sounds problematic. However, this book exemplifies the confusions and concerns of being a Black women growing up in life. The book does a great job of showing why certain actions and situations are experienced differently as a Black woman than white counterparts. It is similar to feeling as if there is an alternate life being felt. I like the concept of "should they/ shouldn't they", and the open ending the book gives to it. In some ways the book does answer some questions, but then fuels the fire for more to be asked.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This one took me a bit longer than I would have liked to get into. This read follows Jess as she enters the career world after college. At Goldman Sachs she is introduced to Josh, who she remembers as an enemy from college. Of course we end up following their relationship and the unexpected factor of racism the two experience, as Jess is a black woman and Josh is a white male. We watch as each tries to further their careers and the politics associated with that. This book helps illustrate how each person feels and how these different perspectives affect their lives from relationships to career growth.

Yikes. These reviews are so uncalled for-- WHY ARE YOU REVIEWING BASED ON A SYNOPSIS, WITHOUT READING?! Problematic, you say? What about the performative wokeness, which is erasing a Black author's voice and villainizing her for expressing herself in the way she chooses? If you don't like what she has to say, or the story doesn't appeal to you, or if you're not open to reading someone else's point of view, then DON'T READ THE BOOK. I hate it here.

Okay. But aside from that, this book is so well written-- it's at times clever, cringey, and enraging on multiple levels, and that's exactly the point. If you're not feeling something, what's the point in reading? This book feels so familiar to me, as I've grown up a lib in a conservative family, in an ultra-right wing town, and I've experienced first-hand what it feels like to care deeply about someone who has extraordinarily different political views than you. Do you write them off entirely? Do you let it tear your family apart? Rabess's book never strays into the preachy, but it is always thought-provoking, and speaks to modern issues that so many of us face, whether we're in interracial or inter-political relationships, or dealing with sexism or racism or any other sort of prejudice.

I'm genuinely shocked that so many reviewers are so closed-minded, and I really hope that this book is given the chance it deserves.

I want to say thank you to Cecilia Rabess and Simon and Schuster for allowing me to read the arc of Everything's Fine. This story was so entertaining, and heartfelt, with a blazing hot attraction between the two main characters. I have read the Goodreads reviews and I don't just see the story as the enemies to lovers. It was two people from two different worlds learning to co-exist and it led to an attraction that was bound to happen. The comments are a bit harsh and when it comes to topics of race and politics, people aren't open on different points of view. There were scenes that were difficult to read, but it gave way to how both characters cope with what's going on. Jess is black and Josh is white. He's conservative, she's liberal. There were so many instances where Josh and Jess challenged each other intellectually. there were times in society with so many social issues came to light that Jess wondered where she and Josh can have a future together.

I saw Jess as someone who wanted to find out who she is while also wanting to please the people around her. She's an Ivy League graduate and she's wanting to make her mark in the world of finance. She has a lot of growing up and there were instances where Josh needed to not be so uptight and learn to let loose and have fun. Josh is also in finance and both he and Jess started not liking one another due to their different thoughts and views on the world around them. Then once they're at the same job, they grow closer together. Once they grow closer together and learn more about one another, they begin to fall in love.

I saw two people learning to love one another and find ways to work together and not have a care about what their friends and family think about them together. With Josh, he needed to understand that not everything is resolved around numbers and facts. With Jess, she needed to learn that not all men were the same. She learned to accept who she is and want what she's passionate about. Reading this novel with what was going on, falling in love, two people couldn't help but feel strong feelings, and I was clutching my invisible pearls.

There isn't a book written like this before and I enjoyed reading it. Regarding interracial relationships, there are topics of racism and there'll be times when people will disapprove of two people being together where there is so much hatred and one-sided POVS on how two different races can't and shouldn't be together. Politics played a huge role in their back-and-forths with debates, and Celilia gave us a touch of that with Josh and Jess in the wake of the 2016 presidential debate. To be honest, that was the most nerve-wracking presidential race I have seen. The reader is seeing a black woman survive and work to make her mark in a business that's dominated by white men and I loved every minute I spent reading this novel. I laughed, cried, and was applauding them for coming to the crossroads and learning to coexist as one. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It was a great read and I loved how the story unfolded and ended. I'd like to know how Josh and Jess dealt with the first 4 years of Donald Trump as president and where they are now, but that's just me. I'll be adding the book to my library when it comes out in June.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this title!

While I was initially drawn in by the synopsis, I realized about 25% in that this book just wasn’t for me, the style of dialogue, the subject matter… I couldn’t relate to any of it- especially the characters. (I tried, I really did!)

Thank you again, and I apologize for this most unhelpful review.

I loved it and I hated it all at once. Not sure how exactly I feel about this book. I’m glad I read it as it opens up another perspective for me about how confusing it can be to try and fit into this world. I see the struggles and difficulties around me and it’s sad that we as a society have to face these things. Thank you for this book

Cecelia Rabess’s novel Everything’s Fine is an interracial love story between a black woman who is a liberal and a white man who supports Donald Trump. Let me preface this by saying that I’ve read quite a few romance novels that had unique stories. One in particular involved a Neo Nazi falling in love with a black woman. She shared his feelings later on in the story. I didn’t think much of it because that type of relationship rarely happens in real life. The thing about Everything’s Fine is that it’s more realistic. There are people who are married to partners who have different political beliefs. Some Black women are married to Republicans but they are lifelong Democrats. How does that work? Your guess is as good as mine.

There are a few things that I liked about this story. I liked the fact that both Jess and Josh met in college. They were friends before they started dating. Josh pined for her from afar and wasn’t pushy. I also, liked that there were layers to each character. Josh is nice, thoughtful and caring. Jess stands up for herself. The idea of having NYC as a setting was a plus for me. Also, I liked Jess’ dad and Barbara

As for the things that I did not like, Jess is not a likable character in my opinion at first. She’s impulsive, naïve and reacts before she thinks. There’s a scene , where Jess ghosts Josh. That annoyed me to no end. Yes, she was mad with him after the fight but at least hear him out. As for Josh, he convinced her to leave her job and work for him. Then she gets fired. His political beliefs are pretty much his personality. No, he’s not browbeating anyone with them per say but they are still problematic.

I rated this book 3 stars out of 5. Thank you to NetGalley for approving my request for this book. It was an easy read.

Pride and prejudice this is not. Jess doesn’t over come her prejudices or pride and those her biggest faults. She doesn’t take responsibility for her actions, she literally blames all her problems from racism to geography. She get fired and she blames it on being a black women and office politics, when she was told multiple times the company’s expectation of their employees community participation. Josh even warns her multiple times. The company gives her opportunities to volunteer within the office, she is told multiple time about this opportunity. She blames not participating because no one told her it was interacting with black kids.

Josh seemed to be the most dynamic character. His opinions change, or sees more of the nuances of the arguments. His view of Jess’s character depends and and he come to love her as a more rounded character and drops his prejudices against her. Jess sees Josh as one thing through the whole book. He does things that surprise her, that she sees would be out of character for him. Her prejudices towards him hold through the whole book, what changes? What makes her sudden love him as much as he loves her? She wonders if love will be enough and her question is never answered.

The book did hit on that we (as a country) are having two different conversations about the same topics. There is a lot of political tension, and I was fun. For Jess and Josh the resolve; strength where you’re strongest and the most vulnerable, and let others take their shots at what may look like your weaknesses.

On a personally note the names of Jess and Josh were too similar, starting with J and the third letter a S, I would get half way down a page and not know who was doing what 😂. The way I read I wasn’t comprehending the names and had a hard time connecting them to actions. I had to reread some pages, or slow down as I read.