This is our Feb book club pick and I'm so thrilled we picked it because it is RIPE for group discussion. Reid's exploration of the ways in which money, the exchange of payment in particular, affect our relationships and inform our development, privilege, and choices is the central focus of this quasi-coming-of-age novel. The pace really hits a fever pitch around 2/3 through and I could not put it down. I also really liked the resolutions or lack thereof for some characters at the novel's conclusion.

At the University of Arkansas, Millie works as a resident assistant who develops a complicated relationship with a visiting professor. We follow the story of Millie, the professor, and three of her residents as they navigate issues of class, race, power dynamics, and desire.

I wanted to enjoy this story, but I could never quite get into it. It had a very slow beginning, and by the time the plot came together, it had lost some of my attention. By the end, I did find moments of interesting social commentary, and though I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likable, I was compelled enough to see how it ended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another stunning novel from Kiley Reid! If you liked Such a Fun Age, you’ll love Come and Get It. A character-rich exploration of power dynamics, ethics, race, class, and desire, this book was unsettling in the best ways. It was like a car wreck you can’t look away from.

The main characters include an RA in a college dorm, several of her residents, and a visiting professor. This book felt especially raw to me because of my own experiences as an RA in college. I know I’ll be thinking about this story for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.

Kiley Reid is a master of capturing dialogue, and in her second novel, her sights settle on campus life at the university of Arkansas. The book centers on Millie, a 24-year-old RA intent on scraping up enough cash to put a down payment on a house, and her group of charges, all women who landed in the transfer and scholarship dorm. The focus here is on relationships with money—who has it, who is being gifted large sums by their parents, who takes it for granted. One of Millie's residents, Kennedy, is a transfer who immediately puts off her suitemates with the sheer volume of stuff she has, mostly home decor accumulated from Target. That's all complicated and documented by Agatha, a 27-year-old visiting professor who becomes fascinated with Millie's residents, and eventually, with Millie herself. Come and Get It doesn't have quite the giddy, propulsive energy that Such a Fun Age has, but Reid's sharp character observation carries it through.

"Come and Get It" by Kiley Reid is a deliciously witty and sharply observed novel that offers a fresh perspective on contemporary relationships and society. Reid's writing is both insightful and entertaining, exploring themes of love, race, and privilege with humor and nuance. "Come and Get It" is a must-read for anyone craving a dose of literary escapism with a side of social commentary.

Reid’s debut novel “A Fun Age” was my favorite book the year I read it and I was looking forward to this one. Not going to lie, it took a while for me to get into it because I couldn’t get the characters straight. Reid follows the lives of 4 roomates – Tyler, Casey, Kennedy and Peyton, Millie, Millie’s friends, Collette and Ryland, her bosses, her parents, Agatha, Agatha’s girlfriend, Robin. Okay I’ll stop but you get my drift. It was just a lot of people to keep up with.

I eventually got a handle on who was who and what the backstory was and while I still wasn’t sure where the story was headed, my intrigue was held because Millie lets Agatha stay hidden in her room to listen to the roomates’ conversations as fodder for her new book. Agatha does ask Millie if she is sure it’s okay but Millie is so casual when she says of course it is that I too was like “oh wait, is it?” With more thought, of course it wasn’t okay and because I knew nothing good could come out of it, I was on the edge of my seat wondering how this would play out.

I don’t know how Reid wanted us to see Agatha but she came off as unlikeable to me. I think Reid tried to include layers of race into the story without making it the focal point but I don’t think it ever quite took shape. Any plot that could have led to that was treated casually. Kennedy’s back story seemed to come out of nowhere and it seemed unclear whether we were dealing with a lot more than was led on.

So yes, while I admit that there was a lot going on, I think it’s a book you’d enjoy more if you aren’t looking for a neat ending. Think of it like the show Seinfeld – a show about everything and nothing. It worked for me, but I’d be curious to know what you think

I will say this book was compelling. Even though the plot took a LONG time to come together… it did make me want to keep reading.
However…. It was kind of a mess. MANY characters in this whole college dorm environment.. four RAs, three roommates and then friends of the roommates, oh and a professor. Not a single one of them is really likable. Maybe Millie is a likable character but her behavior doesn’t make sense. No one’s actions really make sense. And it felt like it was all going to come together and make sense and the end… but it really didn’t.

Come and Get It tells the story of Millie Cousins, a resident assistant who has a mucky relationship with a visiting professor and three headstrong residents. All Millie wants is to graduate, buy a house and find a job. When Agatha Paul, visiting professor and writer, offers her a job Millie can't refuse. Thus begins a chain of events that get a bit messy.

There is one thing that I've learned and it's that this author isn't for me. I really struggled to get into this one and found the characters to be a bit immature. They felt more like college freshmen instead of juniors and seniors. Had they been younger I would have said that these characters are well defined and complex. In fact, they were but it just didn’t match the age they were. I couldn't get into the story either.

I tried to listen to the audiobook of this one, but sadly, it was a DNF. I loved Reid's first book Such a Fun Age and did the audiobook for that as well. I really enjoyed the narrator, but found that not much was happening in the plot. I think maybe if I read it it would have been a different experience. I thought about switching, but some others had told em that the plot doesn't really pick up.

I really like Kiley Reid’s character driven novels. the way this played out was fascinating and i’m really glad i picked this one up! I love how complex this story is tackling themes of race, class, ethics, grief, and more. The description of college was very vivid. These characters have stuck with me since I finished this book. I can’t wait to see what Reid writes next!

Thank you to Putnam Books & Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 Stars ⭐️

Thank you to Penguin & Net Galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book was very intriguing to me. I initially requested it because of the cover I also really enjoyed the synopsis. This story like most Kiley Reid stories were very character driven and this was enjoyable to me! No plot just vibes kind of book that kept me glued to my kindle the entire time.

Kiley Reid does social commentary SO well. I was often cringing over the scenes that played out in this novel- they were expertly crafted. I really enjoyed the dorm life setting and the ethical dilemmas. While I didn’t love it quite as much as Such a Fun Age, I still found this to be a page turning character study.

Books like this remind me of my undergrad English Lit classes. We read and discussed many books with little to no plot. I dreaded every moment of reading this so I decided to put it down. I wish I read more reviews of this before requesting. It's not the book it's me.

I enjoyed this strange fly on the wall book following three friend groups of women as they deal with relationships and college and money. This book didn’t really have much of a plot and felt very slice of life but I was there for it. I really enjoyed the characters in this story they felt so real there were times I adored them and times when I was like what the heck are you doing. I have another book by this author on my bookshelf can’t wait to pick it up after this one. I really liked this authors writing the pacing was great I flew through this book. I would like to thank net galley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

A residential assistant who wants to graduate and buy a house gets entangled with a professor and three unruly students.

I usually don’t read reviews too closely before starting a book but in this case I was glad that I had. I went into this knowing it was a very character driven slow moving story. I think knowing that, I was able to enjoy how all the characters were fleshed out and how it all came together as things got incredibly chaotic. Reid’s writing is incisive and the dynamics she created are deliciously uncomfortable. I do think the right reader for this novel will have to have some interest in college age girl talk and all the bad decisions that come with that and be ok with unlikable characters. I also think this could have been a bit shorter, allowing the story to progress faster.

I found this book easily digestible and enjoyed the characters but the plot was lacking. I’m all for a character-driven novel but when the plot thickened I wasn’t that impressed and it felt a bit over the top to me. I enjoy Reid’s writing but I won’t be recommending this one as much as Such A Fun Age.

While the topic of this book is not of interest to me, the writing is very good. We meet a lot of characters. College students, their parents, RAs, a professor, and more. The setting is u of Arkansas. Fluid sexuality is explored. Those who are privileged and those who are dealing with socioeconomic challenges are a large part of the story. There is a lot of social anxiety. It’s worth a read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Synopsis: Millie is a RA at the University of Arkansas. She becomes entangled into the world of a professor, and 3 college students. Millie is working hard to save up money to buy a house, graduate, and ultimately land a job. Her involvement in the lives of the 3 colleges students, along with lending help towards research the professor is conducting, finds Millie in some unusual, and complicated circumstances.

For me, Come and Get It, did not stand up to Reid's 'Such a Fun Age'. In 'Come and Get It', Reid once again created such realistic, and complex characters, that I continued on to learn how their stories would end because I was so invested in them, however I didn't feel like the climax in the book really amounted to much. I was left wanting more, and I didn't feel satisfied with the ending.

While lacking plot, the characters in this book had such layers, and dimension. They truly came to life. I laughed aloud several times while reading, and I found the interactions between the characters to be vibrant, and real.

Reid did a great job drawing attention to race, micro- and macro-aggressions, and I wished we would have gotten more out of it in the ending.

I sincerely thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing an ARC, and allowing me to share my candid opinion.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I would give this a solid 4.5 stars, I wish we could make half ratings! The story and characters and well built and written in a way that hold your attention throughout, even when not much of substance is going on. I enjoyed following the characters through living in college dorms and all the teen angst and drama that can feel like the end of the world. I would definitely recommend if you like YA fiction with lots of drama and mainly female characters!

Loved this one! I think we will be seeing it as a highly-sought after pick for a lot of book clubs. I highly recommend this unique story. It was even an Aardvark pick!