Too much character development & not enough plot.

Thank you Net Galley & to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me a chance to read this book. I went into readiing this knowing I was not the targeted demographic for this book, however it surprised me by its dark storylines and characters. It was a bit surface at times for me but that didn’t hinder me from being drawn into the story. I did feel like I was holding my breath a lot wishing so much that these college girls weren’t going to do what I felt was coming next.

Kiley Reid writes books about the intersection between adolescence and adulthood and the pitfalls and mistakes that come when we reach the apex and start the downward slide. Sometimes successfully, sometimes just with lessons learned. Reid's writing is fresh, real, and thought-provoking. This wasn't a quick read for me but when I was done I wanted to read it again to savor the "twist" and see if there were any hints of what would happen. Highly recommended to those who enjoyed Real Americans or James.

Some of my favorite quotes from the uncorrected proof:
Ten minutes was never enough time to figure out how to be a person.
“You get a scholarship if your dad is in jail? Wow. Nepotism at its finest.”
The air smelled like cleaning supplies, a tool shed, and a grandparent’s house: a place with trinkets and nonperishable food.
The house felt like a preserved homestead. It looked like the home of some artist or poet who spent their last days writing letters, eating only bread and honey.

This book wasn't for me for a myriad of reasons. It was heavy on the character development-I needed more plot. I'm kind of over college campus stories, perhaps it's my age? There were a lot of themes that were addressed in the book which led to a meandering plot. Overall, by the end of the 400+ page book it had lost my interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the e-copy of this book.

This was VERY character driven and HEAVY on the dialogue, which I really enjoyed. The dialogue makes it very easy to enjoy and continue reading. Was it the best book? No, but it was still enjoyable.

There was a lot of buzz about this book and it didn't disappoint. It is a fun, quick read because it pulls you in and you find yourself making excuses to keep reading--that laundry can wait. Reid is such a great writer and we are better for reading her words.

There's so much detail about the characters but the more you know, the less I care about them. It was a lot of skim reading involved with this book. The plot feels very pedestrian though. Unfortunately, I wasn't the right match for this one.

Totally a case of wrong time for me! Come and Get It was a little too character driven for me which normally I can get behind but I need to escape reality in my reading not read about how much young college girls kind of suck.

I can see myself coming back to this when I’m ready!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I really got to know the characters . I have enjoyed both of this authors books and can’t wait to see what she does next

What did I just read? I kept waiting for a discernible point, but it never came. I enjoyed Such a Fun Age much more than this. I was bummed I stuck it out. I enjoyed Such a Fun Age, but I did not enjoy this book. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

I loved Kiley Reid's first novel, Such a Fun Age, so I was especially excited to receive an ARC of Come and Get It! Set on the University of Arkansas campus, the novel follows a senior RA, Millie Cousins, a visiting professor and writer, Agatha Paul, and several female students living in Millie's dorm. Soon, their worlds begin to intersect in surprising, life-altering ways.

I really enjoy character-driven, slice-of-life stories, and really enjoyed how character-focused Come and Get It was! Readers learn so much about these women and the intricacies of their lives, to the point where they truly feel like real people, flaws and all. Even the details that feel inconsequential at the time, never are—they all create such a vivid picture of each character. The setting was also so well-developed and atmospheric. While my college was overall very different to University of Arkansas, reading about the portrayal of dorm life and the struggles to make new friends and "find your people" felt so incredibly realistic—Reid captures that setting with precision, and I felt like I was there. Her awareness of how college students talk, think, and interact with each other was spot-on in many ways. I also appreciated how she introduced important topics like race and class differences, like she did in Such a Fun Age, and incorporated social commentary into the story. However, I did want more depth from some of the themes in the book. I felt so invested in Kennedy's storyline, for example, but I felt like the way it was handled was a little shallow and disappointing in the end. I also thought (somewhat of a spoiler) that the incident that ultimately caused her to transfer was so upsetting and just addressed in a strange way. 5/5 stars for the writing, but I wished that some of the character development and themes were expanded on! Still, I'd recommend Come and Get It to anyone looking for a character-driven campus novel! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Come and Get It explores young adulthood, socioeconomic status, and so much more. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a miss for me. I found the pacing odd, and never found enough, whether plot wise or theme wise, to get excited about picking this back up. Not for me, but will still read Kiley Reid's next book.

I was really looking forward to Come and Get It, especially after loving Such a Fun Age, but unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me. From the start, I struggled to make sense of the plot and where the story was headed. The conversations between characters felt mundane, and without a strong plot or character development to back them up, I found myself losing interest quickly.

It seemed like Kiley Reid was trying to explore themes of race and class, but those elements felt too subtle and underdeveloped. The characters were also a letdown—they didn’t resonate with me, and their lack of likability made it even harder to stay engaged. Overall I felt disappointed and feel hesitant to recommend this one. Regardless, I was so thankful for the opportunity to read an ARC of this one and hope Reid's future releases are more in line with the quality I found in her previous work.

I enjoyed Kiley Reid's first book Such a Fun Age and I also like her writing style. But this book didn't really do much for me. It felt like nothing really happened for the majority of the book and then so much got crammed into the last 20%. And some of the events that took place felt a little out of character for the characters that had been established.

I think I'll read more from her in the future. I just hope that for her next book, I can connect with the characters and the story a little better.

Very disappointed with this book, especially because I really liked Such a Fun Age. Throughout reading this book, I could not make heads or tails of what the plot is, where it's going, where the characters are going, and what point the author was trying to make. I understand a lot could be gleamed from mundane conversations if they fit within the context of a bigger plot or character arc, but none of those things were happening here. This "story" fell hugely flat in and not only did it not get the author's message across, but was incredibly boring to boot. The hints of what the author was trying to do re explorations of race and class were way too underdeveloped and subtle, and it didn't help that the characters were all unlikeable and boring. Overall quite a disappointing sophomore novel and would not recommend.

Thank you Penguin Group (Putnam) for the early review copy. This review alludes to some minor spoilers.

Kiley Reid develops incredibly rich characters. In the surface, I “disliked” all of the main characters because they were almost too real — each acted so selfishly but authentically. The internal struggles and willful ignore to be taken advantage of by other characters is the side of human behavior we don’t like to admit. Each of the women in the book’s POV had a unique voice and also unraveled in nuanced ways.

At the same time, this is also the reason it was difficult for the book to grab my attention. Each POV change I felt frustration when it felt like a slog to make it through the events and backstory. There were crumbs dropped that finally began to align and eventually crescendo (e.g., the frequent mentions of wanting to down a dog only to realize how triggering that would be to another character by the end of the book), but it was almost too late after I’d stopped “rooting” for each of them.

By the end of the book, I felt so unsettled by the lack of individual growth from each character after big events. Though, at the same time, this is also really authentic, and if the novel is a commentary on human behavior and a microcosm of conflict, I understand why the book ended the way it did. I will be thinking about this for a while.

Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!

This story follows a bunch of characters set at college. We dive into their world and are introduced to a bunch of characters. These characters have different backgrounds and stories that make them who they are. There are many subjects discussed in this story that are important to today's society. I feel like they are not talked about enough. This story also brings them up and leaves you contemplating them more which I really enjoy. I feel like i was missing a bit more from the story. The ending felt a little bit abrupt and a few characters I was wondering what exactly happened. I really enjoyed the author's first book so I highly recommend checking that one out as well.

Read if you enjoy:
College setting
Diversity discussions
Difficult topics
Contemporary lit

Come & Get It is a book about power, money, privilege, ethics, and how race intersects with those. It's smart, but also dramatic and compulsively readable

i did not finish this book
I will try it again in the future but the subject matter did not grab my attention when I tried to read it and I didn't connect with the characters.

For anyone who loved Such A Fun Age, Come and get It delivers. Kiley Reid does it again in this novel as she tackles the intricacies of race, class, and social dynamics, as well as how relations of power enact upon us all even in the most seemingly benign interactions of our daily lives. Reid is a master in dialogue and capturing the essence of conversation and power. The conversational moments of this novel feel so real, feel so intimately depicted, that you (as a reader) feel like you are in the room with the characters like a fly on the wall. The characters are fun and flawed and wonderfully portrayed that they stay in your mind long after you finish the novel because you come to feel so close to the characters, so attached to their lives. Come and Get It is smart and provocative and well worth a read.