I found this book to be both entertaining and thought provoking.

Layla is set to get married to the love of her life Andrew. Soon she will go from being Miss McKinnon to Mrs. McKinnon. What a coincidence that they already share the same last name.

Enter Layla's best friend Sera. It seems that Sera maybe hasn't always supported her best friend Layla in her relationship with Andrew. One night a few weeks before the wedding, Sera sends a link to a documentary. Now suddenly, Layla is questioning everything about her family history and what this means in her relationship.

We watch as Layla tries to grapple with the information she has uncovered about how her boyfriend's family may have enslaved her own.

This book gave me a lot to think about. Especially about things I don't often do. I liked Layla's character a lot. As the reader, you felt a lot of her emotions along with her. Overall, I am satisfied with the ending of the story, and would recommend this book.

This book is excellent. As a first generation American with parents that are Jamaican, I could relate to Layla in some ways which was pretty cool. The story itself was complicated , raw, and a painful but I admire her journey and the way she came to her decision. I highly recommend.

This book was fascinating. I love a good family drama and coupled with social commentary... It was great. Layla, Sera, Andy, and all of Layla’s family members were such interesting, complex characters.

I want to preface this by saying I am so grateful to have received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, and I in no way want to discourage others from reading this book because I truly think this book has a fantastic premise and that it has a lot to say about past impacting present, race, and ignorance, however this book was absolutely not for me. I am DNFing this book at 10% and here’s why.

First of all, I do not jive with the writing. Every piece of dialogue feels forced, I cannot stand the MC, and the story feels like it’s being told to me like a textbook tells a story instead of a novel if that makes sense. Some people may like this kind of storytelling, but I really don’t. It’s choppy and forced and it feels like the author had an idea of what to say in their head, but it didn’t translate into writing very well. I feel so mean saying this, but I want to be honest— it’s not bad writing necessarily, it’s writing that isn’t for me.

I’ve read a few other negative reviews of this book and I have to say, I don’t find myself excited to read on. Apparently the BFF and fiancé are super unlikable and problematic, and the plot is slow.

Overall I don’t want to finish this book for three reasons: 1, I don’t want to force myself to read something I’m not enjoying, 2, I don’t want to give a negative rating to a book that has a lot to say about important topics when it’s mostly the writing I’m not jiving with, and 3, I feel a DNF is kinder than finishing it and giving it a super negative review picking apart everything I didn’t like about the book when I knew 10% in I wasn’t going to like this book.

I’m so grateful to have gotten an ARC of this book, and I don’t want to discourage others from reading this book, but I feel I have to be honest and say this book wasn’t for me— but it may be for you! I hate to DNF an ARC so kindly sent to me, but for the reasons stated above, I just cant finish it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What should be a happy time for Layla as she plans her wedding, instead becomes a time of extreme stress and complications. As a woman of color living in the UK and falling in love with a Caucasian man, she has to deal with seemingly innocent but blatant racial comments made by her future in-laws. The fact that she and her fiancé, Andy both have the last name McKinnan, is funny and coincidental at first. But these situations may be viewed as minor in the wake of a life changing discovery. Layla’s lifelong best friend, Sera, who has never been supportive of Layla dating white guys, sends Layla a link for a documentary about former British slave owners receiving reparations when slavery is abolished in the Caribbean. Although Layla is torn between her best friend and the man she loves, she digs deeper into the last name, McKinnan and must make extremely difficult decisions, all while Black Lives Matter demonstrations are happening in the US and beyond and her Jamaican grandfather is having health issues.
This is such a wonderfully written and thought provoking novel! While it seemed easy to be upset with Sera for not supporting Layla, she made some very valid points and stayed true to her beliefs. The author did an excellent job of portraying Layla’s emotional turmoil. As a reader, I wanted her to be more communicative with Sera, Andy and her family and it was painfully frustrating that she had to reach her decisions by gathering information and working through things on her own. I loved the wisdom that her mother and grandfather and her other Jamaican relatives shared with her once she opened up and the ending of the book was definitely hopeful. I just really enjoyed the complicated issues that were presented especially the impact that ancestry as well as political climate can have on relationships. This book could really stimulate some great book club discussions. Highly recommended!

Layla, a mixed race teacher with Jamaican heritage meets and falls for Andy, a white Scottish man with the same last name. Layla discovers that she and Andy share more than a last name. Andy's family may have enslaved Layla"s relatives in Jamaica. Layla's BFF, Sera, a black woman reacts to this, Layla becomes hurt, angry and conflicted about her upcoming marriage to Andy and takes a trip to Jamaica to meet with her extended family and find some.answers. Meanwhile, Andy responds to a social media post with comments that appear insensitive and hurtful about race issues.
I had a mixed response.to this book. Thinking there would be a reckoning for Layla. I was turning pages. Wouldn't she want to have a clear understanding of Andy's thoughts and beliefs before tying the knot? Needless to say. I felt the ending fell flat and seemingly unfinished.
Thanks to Netgalley for the digital copy of this book.

Highly recommend this one!! This is my first time reading one of their books but it won't be the last! This book sucks you in from the get-go and you will find yourself thinking about the characters long after you finish it. Do yourself a favor and get this book!!

Layla is a mixed-race woman a month away from marrying her white fiance. When they first met, they thought it was hilarious that they shared the same last name. But when her best friend (and maid of honor) begins acting strange and sending her links to information about her heritage, it opens up wounds that Layla didn't know she had. She travels to Jamaica to learn more about her mother's family and her own identity.

I loved this book. Even though I am American and we have our own sets of questions and a history that needs to be reckoned with, I thought it brought up very good points that I didn't know with British slave history. I think this would make an excellent book club book.

This was such an interesting read and it was one I was thinking about for days after. The unique premise is what drew me in. Just a month before her wedding to a white man, a mixed race woman of Jamaican descent is confronted with the possibility that her fiance’s family might have been slave owners of her ancestors.

It takes about 25% of the book to really get to the meat of the issue and the rest of the story is much more intense. There was one scene that had me thinking of Harry and Meghan and I’m sure many others have made that connection.
This is a story that really makes you think especially as a white woman. There are no easy answers and it's easy to see as the reader why Layla is struggling. The story brings up questions of race, reparations, privilege, and what the present owes to the past. The book is told solely from the POV of Layla and her anguish was extremely well done. Macintosh did a great job of pointing out how prevalent racism still is, both casual and in your face types.

I really liked that McIntosh didn’t try and settle for the easy answers. I also appreciated the way she acknowledged the open endedness to some of the issues. Layla comes to her choices slowly and with a lot of care. This book will make people feel comfortable and it should because it brings to the front questions that many should reckon with.

This was a fantastic debut and I recommend everyone to pick it up. Overall, it was 4.5 stars from me.

Tragic mixed girl reporting for duty as the target demographic of this debut. I would have loved to see the play and adore the concept as a book as well. Unhinged but accessible, I can't stop recommending this uncomfortably delightful jaunt to my friends and family. You get a little over a hundred pages of full rom com with foreshadowing looming over your shoulder before you're fully jettisoned into the swamp of the reality of reckoning with the history and presence of slavery in the United States. Enjoy this one-sitting wonder.

This was really a good book, yet heartbreaking. I did read it in one day. The characters, I really felt for the main character and wanted to hug her! I would definitely recommend this book.

A fantastic debut that is a thought provoking exploration of heritage and love. The novel delves into the complexities of identity and is more than just a love story.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion

The plot: A mixed-race woman living in London is excited about her upcoming marriage until she finds out that her white fiancé’s family most likely owned some of her family as enslaved people. I read this description and immediately had to read this book. Released in the U.S. in paperback, it’s based on Phoebe’s one-woman show in the UK.

I really enjoyed this book! Not only does it address important topics like generational trauma, family history, and how to address “bad” history in the modern-day, it’s also a great character study of the main character, Layla. We rarely hear about issues like this from people other than historians, pundits, and politicians. It was nice to read, even if fictional, the reactions of people involved in the issue. Layla’s growth through the novel—and her relationship with her activist best friend—is especially compelling.

McIntosh narrates the audiobook (I LOVE when actors narrate), and she’s terrific. Layla’s Grandfather is Jamaican, and McIntosh switches accents effortlessly. I read parts of the gifted eBook (thanks, @NetGalley and @randomhouse!) and listened while I was in the car.

If you like coming-of-age stories—ones about people of color and some serious themes—give this one a try. It’s paperback too, so it’s not too expensive. But I really liked the audiobook, too!

4.5, rounded up. As much as I wished Andy and Sera had both done more to explore the gnarled nest of issues within Layla's identity, I loved the thoughtfulness with which Phoebe McIntosh tells her story and the way she explores her family history. (Speaking of family, I adored everyone in Layla's extended and immediate family!)

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This novel brings up a new story line for me - a mixed-race British woman finds out that her fiance's ancestors may have enslaved her ancestors just a few days before her wedding. The story begins 29 days before Layla's wedding. She is Black, Jamaican on her mother's side and white on her father's, living in London and her fiance Andy is Scottish and they both have the last name MacKinnon. Sera, Layla's best friend, isn't so sure about it and Layla marrying a white man. There are tensions between Layla and Sera and Sera prompts a friend to do family research. Then the shocking news surfaces that it is extremely likely that Andy's ancestors enslaved Layla's and this is what has lead Andy's family to the wealth that they now enjoy. This then takes her to Jamaica to meet family for the first time. After all this information, Layla needs to decide in a very short time period will she marry this man and the history she knows or can she find a way to go forward with Andy. Although the reading felt long to get to the point, this novel brought up interesting issues and although white families now may have different views on race, how do we process the generational wealth or lack thereof due to the choices of ancestors. I would highly recommend this for a book club as interesting discussions are sure to come out of it.

Dominoes was a really unique debut novel that explores complicated themes of race, identity, and the relationships that connect us. I was really intrigued about the conflict created by the author for our main character Layla and to see how her relationships changed throughout the novel with her fiancé and best friend. As a reader, I had very complicated feelings towards Layla’s best friend Sera, understanding her concerns came from a good place, but also frustrated with how she went about raising those concerns. I thought the author did a great job of centering Layla though and incorporating her familial background as she navigated this difficult situation. There were certainly parts where I was frustrated with characters, but I also believe that was the intention of the author to create imperfect characters. Overall I would definitely recommend this one!

I tried my best i really did but this just did not spark my attention like i thought it would. The slave owning ancestry part doesn’t even happen until well into 30-40% of the book. Idk if this was a more character driven book and that’s why, but unfortunately the premise was great but the execution i didn’t like.

Dominoes was a great debut novel. The premise is original and it is a book you want to discuss with others. Layla, a British-Jamaican woman living in London, is quickly approaching her wedding date to Andy when her best friend drops a heavy weight onto her heart - her fiancé's ancestors may have enslaved her own ancestors. The thought is one that digs deep into Layla's mind and will not let up until she finds out more. The process is painful and the answers she does find aren't the most clear or the easiest to deal with - but the journey that Layla takes throughout the book is well worth the read. Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

This looks like a romance from the cover to the initial description. Underlying all of it is a secret that involves long ago deeds of ancestors. When Sera drags Layla to a party, Layla is determined to stay for a short while and then head home for a late night dinner and tv binge. Instead she meets Andy and begins a love story. When Sera seems apathetic about their relationship, Layla thinks it is simply jealousy. This light hearted beginning gets more and more complicated. Will Layla and Andy make it to altar? Or will their families' secrets lead to heartbreak.

This was a pretty solid debut novel. I found it very thought provoking with how it addresses how slavery plays into modern day relationships. I had never really thought about the fact that some interracial marriages could have ties back to slavery and how that impacts the couple, as well as their ancestors.