Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

While I really tried, I just didn’t find myself engaged in this story. I think it just wasn’t for me, but I think many will enjoy.

I was drawn in by the synopsis of Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh, but the execution ultimately fell flat to me. It's a complex topic to try and achieve contemporary fiction/potential romance around.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh!

I liked the sound of this but not the execution. #

The book opens with a meet cute. The characters meet at a party and find out that they have the same last name, and we know from this synopsis that his family at one point had owned her family. They are engaged. There is a lot of wedding planning talk in the early part of the book and It read very early 20s. Her dark skinned “best friend” seemed to get the brunt of the micro aggressions. Didn’t care for this one.

I confess to requesting this book because I thought it was by a favourite author of mine, Phoebe McLeod. But when I dove into this book, which was not what I was expecting, but I'm so glad it found its way to me. Watching Layla struggle with the secret revealed about her fiance Andy's family history made me think, and I'm so glad I read it.

Unfortunately I could not make it through this one. I found our main character's motivations to be weak, her thought process to be overly simple, and the premise not strong enough to support an entire novel.

I loved this novel about identity, race, friendship, and ultimately love.
Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this book.

I had a hard time with this book as I couldn't resonate with the characters, you have a main mixed women who choses to associte with only one heritage. Her best friend doesn't seem like a great best friend. THey decide to research the British slave trade and its history.
It took me a long time to read this.

This was a fascinating story about a woman named Layla McKinnon who has just discovered the secret of her fiancé Andy’s family. His ancestors were owners of a plantation in Jamaica who owned slaves,

As Layla begins to unpack the past of her own family, and own her Black heritage, she begins to question her relationship with Andy.

*many thanks to PRH and PRH audio, and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

A young woman finds herself choosing between her heritage and the man she loves in Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh. Layla, the product of a mixed relationship between her Black mother whose family hails from Jamaica and a white father whom she never knew, meets Andy who is white. He's nothing like she expected and everything she hoped he would be. In fact, he shares the same last name as she does. Oddly enough, this is where the trouble starts.

Layla's best friend Sera who happens to be Black never seemed to gel with Andy yet they tolerated each other. Sera happens to watch a documentary and urges Layla to watch it and research her and Andy's roots. There is a chance that Layla's ancestors may have been enslaved by Andy's family, which opens a can of worms. Layla doesn't know what to do because she's only months away from being married to Andy and cannot imagine whether she should take the leap or not.

I thought this was a unique book as far as the premise goes. It's handled delicately, and there's no easy solution. I found the struggle Layla goes through to feel real. I do think she stumbles many times and doesn't necessarily handle it as well as she could have with both her best friend and fiancé. It almost feels like this puts her relationships with both people in jeopardy. It's hard to believe that she seems to lack as much empathy for what Sera feels as she could.

Despite the somewhat challenging subject, the book is entertaining, and you grow to like Layla. Some of the chapters in the beginning recall her original meeting with Andy and how they became a couple. Andy seems a little lackluster, though, and sort of clueless. I felt that his character could have been imbued with more depth and complexity. Sera is written that way, and I could understand how she felt in this scenario. The friendship was depicted in a realistic manner, and it's hard to know what could happen between the two women.

The title felt a little misleading, too, because the game of dominoes isn't really brought up until the end of the book. It's not really a big deal, but I thought there would be a little more of a relationship between the game, her family, and the whole story. Of course, it points to the delicate balance of marrying Andy and staying friends with Sera, but it's not mentioned until her Granddad plays it, and she talks about it.

I liked this debut book and would like to see what else this author can bring to the table. The subject of the story intrigued me, and I liked most of the characters except Andy, who could have been more fully drawn.

There was a lot of potential here, but it fell flat. The concept was thought-provoking but the execution was not there. The characters can be very annoying, and it is hard to truly like them.

I want to thank Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Random House Trade Paperbacks for an ARC of this book.

As our world gets smaller, in that we have the ability to connect and learn about people around the globe, situations will continue to emerge where we find out information that will impact or affect us personally. In Dominoes, Layla faces tough decisions after learning some facts about her fiancee’s past that had apparent negative implications for her ancestors. An insightful book about race, culture, friendship, family, and identity, Dominoes is a compelling and interesting novel that left me thinking long after I finished it..

What I loved about the book:

1. The writing skillfully portrayed the intricate dynamics of friendships evolving amidst life changes
2. It started with a simple love story and expanded into an exploration of racism, slavery, heritage and identity.
3. It challenges your thinking and makes you uncomfortable, but the exploration is needed and well done.

What I wished was different:
1. It had parts which didn't seem congruent with the rest of the book/theme - as in "is the wedding still going to happen"?
2. Layla was aggravating at many points in the book - wasn't sure if I liked her or not??

Thank You Net Galley and Random House for this e-galley.

I loved this book, and thought the entire premise was so creative and offered an incredibly thought provoking discourse on the modern day implications of the slavery of the past. Andy and Layla are both very compelling and written in depth, so I found myself caring for both of them and their situation.

Excellent contemporary novel exploring contemporary class, race relations, and Britain’s colonial history. Great for fans of Girl, Woman, Other.

When you found someone with same surname as you have (unless it's an extremely common one), you would think if you two are related. Your curiosity would be doubled, when you learnt that you were both from same area. When it's a white man and a bi-racial woman sharing a surname, there might be other hidden implications of it

Layla and Andy fell in love quickly and deeply. Their relationship went from hanging out to wedding bells in short amount of time. Layla had some reservations about families meeting but it was not about anything specific until her best friend started to tell her about her heritage and potential reaches into slavery in Scotland. After that this marriage for Layla turned into a mean to learn about her heritage, herself, and how she processes some news.

I really liked the way race and how impacts of slavery flow from one generation to another were explained. The anger, will to take action, strength to find forgiveness, and courage to change the narrative were masterfully weaved into this story. I cannot experience the exact feelings, but it helped me understand how heavy the burden could be

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would because at first I wasn't really feeling it. The characters were cool and the plot so I'm glad I read it.

“Dominoes”, by Phoebe McIntosh was an interesting and thought provoking book. Based in England, Ms McIntosh tackles complicated and unique quandary of a bride to be.

I was looking forward to reading this as it sounded such an interesting premise, and I wasn’t disappointed. I learned a lot but didn’t ever feel the author was shoving her research in my face. I also felt love rising from the page in the creation of some characters such as the grandfather and Andy.