3.5, rounded up. This is a slower burn than I had anticipated, but I enjoyed savoring the tidbits Breanne Mc Ivor reveals about Trinidadian society, culture, and economics (mostly because I didn't know much about those aspects before starting this book). I learned a lot, and none of it felt forced or exaggerated within the tone of the novel.

I'm glad she gives Obadiah his own chapters, as he would have felt more villainous and much less sympathetic had she not, but the romance feels superfluous. I would have enjoyed the book even without the budding relationship between Obadiah and Bianca, and it serves to be more distracting than an enhancement of the book (plus Obadiah triggers body image issues in Bianca that are almost unforgivable).

An interesting book.
I liked the narration view of reading Bianca’s journal entries. I was thrown when the voice turned to Obediah because there was no warning.
I understand the author’s reasoning for switching back and forth, but for me, it made the book more difficult.
The theme of refreshing one’s life and starting anew is universal, but I didn’t connect with the main characters.

Thank you to William Morrow Books (publisher) for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review

3.5. Content warning for disordered eating, food restriction and body image issues.

THE GOD OF GOOD LOOKS follows the story of Bianca Bridge, a Trinidadian woman who has become somewhat of a social pariah due to her affair with a prominent government minister. Bianca models to pay bills until she meets Obadiah Cortland, well-known makeup guru and she begins working for him.

What this novel does INCREDIBLY well if portray contemporary Trinidadian society. It captures the current sociopolitical climate in a way I have not seen before. The ugly parts are front and center and the entire story feels like it actually did happen. This is what the author does really well! I think the book really does a good job of illuminating various issues of Trinidad and Tobago, and nothing feels forced.

What didn't work for me so much was the romance in the book. I would have preferred that less, given how terrible Obadiah was to Bianca at the very start, especially his part of play in his body image issues?? I did resonate a little with our deep dive into why Obadiah had become so hardened and the bits on classism and discrimination based on neighbourhood were well-done, but overall I'm bored with women in literature who end up with the mean guy, idk.

Overall, a good debut and I would definitely read more of this author's books.

I didn't finish this book -- and feel guilty that I didn't go on, but admittedly struggled with the focus on disordered eating, body image issues, and just constant discussion of ideas of beauty. Please read more into content warnings in reviews if these are issues for you.

What worked for me
-I loved the Trinidad and Tobago setting -- I loved learning about the culture as well as local issues
-I liked the journal format though admittedly it was a little harder to navigate in audio
-this stunning cover 🔥
-her persistence to use her platform working for Obadiah to raise light on more serious issues in T&T.

What didn't work for me:
-Though the character is kind of thrown into modeling to survive, the constant discussion of body image, dieting/starving herself, looking for affirmation of body, etc. wasn't something I enjoyed. While I can see where the story is set up for her to grow and start taking better care of herself, I really struggled with this. I can also see where her relationship with Obadiah will grow, but it's hard to move beyond his commentary on her weight and his refusal to let her have a drink with a sugar cube in it.

For those who can hang with this book to the end, I have no doubt they'll witness growth and enjoy the read, but I struggled so much getting past these early chapters.

Bianca Bridge has always dreamt of becoming a writer. But Trinidadian society can be unforgiving, and having an affair with a married government official is a sure-fire way to ruin your prospects. So when Obadiah Cortland, a notoriously tyrannical entrepreneur in the island’s beauty scene, offers her a job, Bianca accepts, realizing that working on his magazine is the closest to her dreams she’ll get.

McIvor brings true Island vibes to this incredible work of art. I truly could not put this book down until I had finished it, then all I wanted was more.

Obadiahs character was splendid!! Even before I knew his back story I loved him. He just oozed sophistication and Bianca fell for him hook, line and sinker.

Bianca and Obadiahs chemistry was spot on, it didn't come off as cheesy or either of them too desperate.

Bianca's wealth and back story worked into the script perfectly.

I was thoroughly impressed with McIvor's storyline and cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

Job superbly done!!

Nuff Respect!!❤️

Praying for a book II 🙏🙏

Thank you,NetGalley\BreanneMcIvor\William Morrow\ For this AMAZING eARC in advance for my honest review. My opinions are of my own volition.

I absolutely love it when a book surprises the hell out of me, and this book has done exactly that.
While I struggled a bit in the beginning to connect with Bianca, once this story gets its feet under it, it covers so many deep and timely subjects, I hardly know where to start. From the beauty industry, to power plays, to corruption, to feminism and misogyny, and all set in a culture I knew little about, Breanne McIvor has created an intriguing story with wonderful, gritty, vibrant characters who grow and evolve in the most lovely ways while unflinchingly examining some of the most fraught issues of this era without coming across as preachy. By the end, I was rooting so hard for Bianca, OC, Dante and Radhika that I wanted to burst into applause.
I chose this book because I couldn't stop looking at the cover. I'm not into the make-up or fashion industry and I know nothing about Trinidad and Tobago. I finished this book intrigued, curious and wanting many, many more pages to the story. Don't let the jacket fool you. This story has tremendous depth. I look forward to more from this talented author.

There was a lot of prose but did not connect for an arc, let alone a story. The journal entry styling of the book did not compliment the story.

Thank you to William Morrow/Harper Collins for a copy of this e-ARC. Mc Ivor's lush but raw and unflinching portrayal of Trinidad was captured beautifully from the opening pages, carried all the way home in the book's triumphant climax. While at first Obadiah Cortland is a tough character to swallow, I loved seeing him grow throughout the course of this book and seeing Bianca bloom as well in his eyes. It's intriguing to me just how much I learned about make-up from this book that I didn't even have the patience for with TikTok tutorials.

Five out of five stars would absolutely recommend this title.

It took me quite a while to get into this book, mostly because I started off hating the characters. Bianca Bridge is a seemingly vapid beauty, who is getting through life in Trinidad and Tobago based on her looks and her father's money. Obadiah Courtland is a makeup artist who dreams of being a beauty icon, but his tough persona and insane perfection make it hard for others to relate to his vision. However, once the surface of the characters is dug a little deeper, they become more than what they seem. Bianca is actually shattered after her affair with a high-profile politician goes public. She has lost what little confidence she had and is drowning in loneliness, unable to get the work she really wants to do as a writer. Obadiah has lived his whole life in the slums of Trinidad, fighting to find his way out, and looking out for his younger sister, Alexandra. He has created a stern and cold persona to survive the cutthroat world of beauty and fashion. Over time, these two characters learn to help each other and to let themselves be helped.

The story is actually nice, and the setting is phenomenal. I have never read a book set in Trinidad and Tobago, and the descriptions of the forests, beaches, and cities were incredible. It turns out Trinidad is similar to the United States in that so many people from all over the world found their way there (usually by exploitation of some kind, like slavery) and there is quite of a mix of people living in modern-day Trinidad. There are references to doubles (similar to puri or paranthas from India) and Bianca's father tells stories of his grandfather who emigrated from China to work in Trinidad. However, there isn't much to the story for the first three-quarters of the book. When Bianca finally starts to wake up a little is when the story comes alive, and I wish I had gotten to read more of that. I was also disappointed that Dante's partner kept being mentioned, but we never met them. I wanted to see how Obadiah Courtland and Bianca Bridge would have styled someone like that!

But maybe the slow burn of the novel makes sense. Bianca and Obadiah are clearly in a depression, and seeing them slowly rise from it, and discover the people willing to help them is beautiful. I especially liked how Bianca's relationship with her father changed so much over the book. This is probably a good vacation read, but it's a little too insipid to take seriously. It doesn't quite live up to its gorgeous cover.

📚 The God of Good Looks by Breanne McIvor @breemcivor 📚

Thank you @librofm for the ALC! And @williammorrowbooks for the ARC from Netgalley!

I was thrilled to be able to read/ listen to this book this month before it comes out in May. I have been following the author here on bookstagram pretty much since I joined a few years ago and have been really looking forward to this debut!

I love the writing - I was engrossed from the moment I pressed play, and the characters are so real to me with their fears and passions, and the setting made me feel like I have been to T&T, even though I have not. The topics of the novel are difficult, including misogyny, violence, corruption, sexism, and more, but I was rooting for Bianca and her burgeoning friendships with the O.C. staff, as well as for her difficult relationship with her father.

The makeup aspect of the story was fascinating and it was fun to hear about it from the insider's perspective. This is one of those rare books that is great beach reading (as in you can't stop gobbling up the story!) mixed together with serious societal issues and soul searching of the characters.

The balance of the book comes from getting a lot of the story from two perspectives - that of Bianca and then that of Obadiah. The author's note at the end made so much sense to me! Getting to see Obadiah's story unfold helped me understand him so much better.

The summary for this honestly didn't really intrigue me, beyond the setting in Trinidad & Tobago. That said, this book quickly won me over.

Bianca Bridges is a young woman living in T&T, ostracized from society for a choice she made, having lost her mother at a young age and being mostly estranged from her father, when the book opens Bianca is clearly depressed and unfulfilled, barely surviving as a model after being fired from her dream job as a journalist and freelance writer. Obadiah Cortland is a young up and coming makeup artist, self titled as The God of Good Looks, struggling to make it big as a MUA and running a makeup store and beauty publication.

Obadiah hires Bianca as his personal assistant/content editor for the magazine, Extempo. The book is told in alternating viewpoints from both Bianca and Obadiah. From there, the book shows how they both grow as characters, both misunderstanding each other, but working together towards growing the business and fighting against those who would keep the business and publication from succeeding.

I enjoyed this book for the slice of life on Trinidad & Tobago it presented, books in new places that I will likely never experience personally are one reason why I read as much as I do. As mentioned, both Bianca and Obadiah experience surprising and satisfying character development, and I felt the book wrapped up neatly.

Thank you to Book Club Girl, William Morrow, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

In The God of Good Looks, Author Breanne McIvor really hones in on the well of isolation that is possible when living in a small place where it seems everyone should know and love you but instead everyone knows your faults and you can’t drop a bad reputation.
Narrator Bianca Bridge is a young woman who hasn’t had a great relationship with her father since her mother’s death, but after a stint overseas to study, on her return to Trinidad, she filled his absence with a relationship with an older, married man. The revelation of this affair unleashes far-reaching consequences for Bianca but also opens new pathways for self reflection and growth.
I really enjoyed reading from Bianca’s perspective, admired how she tried to write her mother’s story down as a way to reconcile her past. McIvor uses Bianca to bring the reader on a journey of understanding the effect that men have on women - fathers on their daughters; romantic partners on the women who submit to them, undeservedly or otherwise; and even how other men seen as authority figures can make an impact. In this book, we see how Bianca processes these comments from men long after the speaker has moved on. Mercifully, she grows in her own strength and the transition is optimistic.
Interspersed in Bianca’s narrative is some insight into Obadiah’s character - his background and motives - and it is interesting to see how McIvor urges the reader to seek to understand the man who might be a villain if we didn’t know his full story.
I really enjoyed reading this one - loved the immersion in the world of makeup artistry and magazine publishing and, of course, the experience of Caribbean life.
Thanks Netgalley and Harper Collins Publishers for giving me an opportunity to review this in galley form.

This novel was a toss up. The beginning felt so jumbled and I lost track of what the actual plot was. There was a ton of backstory in the beginning that I felt really unclear on.

Absolutely loved the debut novel from Breanne Mc Ivor. In some ways, it felt like if Awaeke Emezi's YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY and Mia McKenzie's SKYE FALLING had a baby. It has a slow burn romance running through it, but it also takes on timely societal issues and true personal transformation of its main characters. I really loved hearing from both Bianca and Obadiah--it granted both characters depth and helped their chemistry build to a sizzle.

Mc Ivor portrayed Trinidad & Tobago with vibrancy, and she really placed us there as she created the setting. The contrast between the haves and the have-nots was well developed and loaned further depth to the narrative, character development, and conflict. I really enjoyed watching the characters grow, relationships build, and their subsequent belief in the possible expand as their connections deepened. The book is a testament to the power of human connection and in how simply being present and listening can change our experience of the world. I appreciated both the portrayals of loneliness (and the decisions that stem from there) and how loneliness can be eradicated--but only through vulnerability and presence.

I tore through this book in a day--it is so compulsively readable and fast-paced. My only disappointment in finishing so quickly is that I don't get to hang out with these characters or in their world any more. It was a delight.

Content warning for disordered eating and parental death (both moderate).

When Bianca Bridge goes back home to Trinidad she is a stranger in a strange land. Her mother passed away, her dad has a new family and after years away at college overseas she is lonely. Falling into an affair with a married man she feels seen and desired. When everything is found out she is a social outcast. Landing a job at a magazine she finds herself in a new world where she can find her footing, write, and make friends. Obadiah Cortland her boss known as the "God of Good Looks," sees something special in her and together they find their way to better understanding of their lives and circumstances. I loved this book so much. I haven't lived in Trinidad for decades but so many things remain familiar. The island is quite small and people stay in each other's business. I felt for Bianca who is a beautiful woman but alone, and trying to make her way in the world. Obadiah is a man trying to make his way out of no way and the struggle for him was something that was quite understandable. I loved the look into contemporaneous Trinidadian society there is so much richness in the life and culture of the island and it made me miss it very much despite the problems.

Minor Spoilers Below!!

In my opinion, this book took way too long to draw my interest. I found myself skimming a lot of the pages because I didn’t really care what was going on. I couldn’t get into the story until about 35% which is around the 100-page mark. That’s a long time of me being bored out of my mind.

This book is very informative, and the author does a great job of keeping the reader invested in the plot while also bringing awareness to heavy topics. I love how we get an insight on Trinidadian foods and culture which was ones of the main reasons that drew me to this book.
I love how Mcivor educates the reader on social class and the perception of others based on their appearance and the uniqueness of OC Beauty portraying crime through makeup and educating the community on crime rates as well as highlighting the struggles in the modeling world such as fasting and starving to meet a certain weight goal.

I also love the scandal of Eric Hugo and how he ruined Bianca’s reputation essentially portraying the message of men holding all the power and women being belittled and used unless they have a high social class and family status. The letter Bianca writes to women to know their worth and follow their dreams was beautiful and possibly one of my favorite scenes.


I feel like this book would have benefitted and gotten a higher rating from me if the format was different. I loved the self-interviews, but the journal entries just didn’t fit for me. I would have preferred her to just have POV chapters. Her journal entries are targeted towards an audience, but the book is written as if the author is unsure of herself at times. There are several moments where she puts information in parentheses to further explain her points as if she knows that the reader is lost. They didn’t feel authentic in my opinion.

Bianca jumping between telling stories of her past with Eric, her present day to day at OC Beauty and trying to tell the story of the relationship between her parents before her mother’s passing just felt overwhelming and got confusing at times. I hated the inclusion of her attempt at trying to write a book about her mother and then ditching it. I get the message that she was trying to portray but it just came across as a waste of time to me.

I really enjoyed Obadiah’s POV chapters and a grew a strong relationship for his character, but I didn’t really care about anyone else.

I would recommend this book to those who appreciate the art of makeup and readers who enjoy the high of a slow burn.

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of THE GOD OF GOOD LOOKS by Breanne Mc Ivor in a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thanks for the early look, and have a safe and happy weekend!