Flawed characters in a messy love triangle which meanders along as they navigate their unconventional relationship. Heavy on introspection. Funny but sad. I really enjoyed the relaxed pace of the story.

This was unfortunately a DNF. I tried restarting it multiple times but it kept putting me into a reading slump. The stream of consciousness did not work for me. I got to about the 25% mark on each reread. It was hard to keep caring about what was going on. I initially requested this because I wanted to try a debut author queer literary fiction book that followed themes of depression, but those themes paired with the constant stream of consciousness with little plot at first hindered my investment in the characters.

Aley Waterman’s debut novel is mostly set in Toronto, centred on a group of people in their twenties striving to be artists or poets but scraping out a living working in bars or restaurants. Everything plays out from the point of view of Sophie, recently arrived in Canada along with best friend Alex, they are inseparable, but although they have sporadic sex, they’re not a couple. Then Sophie falls for seductive aspiring writer Maggie who seems to have all the qualities Sophie wants but doesn’t have. Their budding relationship is then split apart when Maggie and Alex start seeing each other. The plot revolves around the messy interactions between Sophia, Maggie and Alex but also the culture that shapes them, references to writers like Ben Lerner, art and music are plentiful – Waterman is also a musician. There are some great passages and I loved the picture Waterman presents of life on the margins of Toronto’s art scene but I found the pacing a little too slow, and the overall narrative felt slippery and slightly out of focus. But I think Waterman’s a promising author and I’m definitely open to reading more of her work.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Rare Machines for an ARC

I did admire the prose in certain sections of the novel, as it was pretty great writing, but I did find the text to not be as cohesive as I would've liked it to have been. I couldn't really connect with the characters as much as I wanted to, which made it more of a painful read towards the end.

I really... really... struggled to finish this. I think the premise is really good - and somewhat reminds me of Normal People by Sally Rooney?

I think it was me though - just that I wasn't quite in the right frame of mind to read this. When reading character studies - you need to be in somewhat of an atmospheric mood. Upon finishing, I think I just felt grey, and my anti-depressants can only do so much friends... 😂😭

<i>**Thank you to Dundurn Press, Rare Machines & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤</i>

This book was, quite frankly, exhausting and unpleasant to read. It started out well, I wanted to roll my eyes at the self-absorbed 27 year olds but overall I was interested in Alex and Sophie’s dynamic and unique friendship. Then nothing happened except for a bunch of needless drama between three selfish, immature “kids” (except really they are adults but you definitely wouldn’t know it from the way they act). We follow them on this journey in which nothing much happens and none of them seem to grow or mature.

The writing itself had its moments. I can see that the author is talented. I’m sure there are people who will enjoy this and will find something to identify with or root for in these characters. I couldn’t find anything at all. The second star is for the missed potential.

After university, Sophie moves to Toronto from the town of Corner Brook, Newfoundland, ready to start her adult life, move on from her mother's death, to dive into the life of the artist and to become part of the community. She feels uncertain and out of place, but she has her childhood best friend with her, a guy who is unceasingly supportive. She ends up with a job at a bar, where she meets and quickly falls for Maggie. But inevitable complications arise between Sophie and her two lovers, and Sophie is uncertain of her feelings about the things she can't control.

This is a novel about a self-absorbed young woman figuring out what she feels about the people in her life. Coming from a complicated upbringing -- within a few pages she veers from describing how her mother would pour shots for her and her best friend when they were twelve, to reflecting on what a great mother she had -- Sophie constantly assesses her feelings, rewriting her narrative to reflect how she feels about a given person as circumstances change. Waterman almost makes this work and her writing is lovely. Her depictions of both Corner Brook and St. Johns, Newfoundland were vivid and memorable. This novel will certainly appeal to those who enjoy watching a character have big feelings and then think about those feelings.

"𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙. 𝙸 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚗."
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This was a story of love, loss and grief. It felt reminiscent of some indie movies; more revolved around the lives and complexities of each character rather than centred around a main plot. The general vibe of Mudflowers felt so nostalgic which was made more so by Aley's poetic way of writing and I really enjoyed that side of it.
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The thing that knocked the rating down slightly for me was the messiness throughout. The dialogue is written in a similar format to Normal People (without speech marks) but I couldn't get as used to it in this like I could with the former, which caused my attention to waver a few times and so had me confused with what was going on. Besides that, I did like the general writing style otherwise, especially when it came to scene setting.
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I think this was one of those where I did judge the book by it's cover and expected something more from it. It was an okay contemporary fiction but I had hoped to have more feelings after reading it. I still think there'll be plenty of readers that will enjoy this but for me, it was a slight miss.

~Thank you Netgalley for the free eARC~

Mudflowers by Aley Waterman

Thank you for Dundurn Press for providing me with this e-galley for review purposes. This in no way impacted my review, and my opinions are all my own.

Overview: Sophie is 27, an artist, and grappling with her mother's death. Having moved from Newfoundland to Toronto with her best friend Alex, Sophie is doing a bit of aimless floating through the world. She and Alex go between being completely platonic friends and casually hooking up with, relationship boundaries that match the hazy quality of the rest of their lives. Then Sophie meets Maggie at work and becomes instantly obsessed with her in a way that she can't completely work out where it falls on the platonic/romantic line either. As Maggie gets introduced into the inner circle of Sophie's life, things get messy, and Sophie has to reconcile that even in a small, carefully curated world, things are always going to change. Overall: 3.5

Characters: 3 I like the idea of these characters, lost in their later twenties, making art, and falling for each other in messy constellations. There's an implied emotional intensity between these three people that never quite lands. Even though we spend the entire book stuck in a giant monologue of Sophie's every thought, she still feels very unclear to me, and reflecting back on the book, it's hard to work out how she's really grown from the beginning of the book to the end. The biggest change is Maggie's introduction to their lives, but that doesn't really alter who they are. The connections built with Maggie feel poorly defined and so hot and cold that we never really sink into why we're meant to like Maggie. We're just told that we should. The relationship between Sophie and Alex and how it's challenged is definitely the most interesting character aspect as the bounds of friendship and dating are so elastic and constantly changing between them. There's is a connection that does hold interest in its development.

Plot: 3 If you're looking for a plot, please do not pick up this book. Especially the opening section is almost entirely drifting through the world of Sophie's various thoughts without her doing much of anything. The latter half of the book has a big injection of plot sending Sophie on a quest, but at that point, the choice feels jarring and against the grain of the book. It's very clearly going for that Sally Rooney-esque no plot just vibes approach, but for that to succeed, it requires such powerful characterization, writing, and vibe building that just didn't quite come together with this one.

Writing: 4 I enjoyed my time reading this book, despite how it looks here. Certain passages got a bit tedious, and it felt much longer than 232 pages, but I did have a definite will to keep going and see how this triangle would settle things. There is a charm here that I don't want to discount and a sense of promise. It just felt like it needed a bit more refining to find its footing. Characters and details about them were created and then mysteriously dropped out of nowhere, there somehow wasn't enough time given to providing depth to these characters despite the focus of the book, and it just felt aimless. I'm okay with a certain aimlessness in plot (I'm not a big plot girlie) but then the character needs to scream off the page or the themes need to be a rock solid guiding force.

I had to sadly DNF Mudflowers. I really wanted to like it and the writing style was very dreamy and pretty. However, I just couldn’t focus with the stream of consciousness and it didn’t really grab my attention in all the times I picked it up. I’m sure it will have an audience, it just wasn’t for me. I truly appreciate the opportunity from NetGalley and the publisher to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley & Dundurn Press for providing the opportunity to read this e-gallery!

I wanted to love this book; its description of it was irresistible. The writing is beautiful and I appreciate how Aley Waterman's sentences build line-by-line, creating such a specific mood and tone. Where things felt flat was at the character level. The main character felt over-developed, as though the author had been creating this character's backstory for years, while the other two characters felt under-developed. I am curious about what Waterman writes next and will definitely keep an eye out for her next book.

What to expect;
• A love triangle
• A character driven novel
• Messy characters
• An exploration of grief and friendship
• Beautiful writing.

First line;
"I wanted so badly to love in a good way."

The main character, Sophie, has a lot of depth and complexity. Her inner struggles and emotions feel real and this adds a layer of authenticity to the narrative.

I enjoyed reading Mudflowers, but for me this novel isn't truly exceptional. While the main character is (very) well-developed, the plot feels thin and somewhat underdeveloped. It left me wanting more, because the writing style is so beautiful.

Even though the plot may have its shortcomings, the elegance of the writing and the complex characters make this a worthwhile read.

☆☆☆ - 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for the e-ARC!

This book felt so refreshingly real and raw. Something about it felt different from other books I have read lately. The author writes the characters who feel so human and make mistakes, but through it all, you continue to root for their happiness in whatever form it takes. It shows the ways that love and relationships are complicated between lovers, friends, family, and anything in between.

I found this book very intense. The writing is a cross between stream of consciousness and lyrical prose, with no punctuation to denote speech, a stylistic choice I usually abhor but didn’t mind so much here.
Story follows Sophie, a deeply flawed and self conscious MC, as she navigates life and relationships. After a betrayal, Sophie finds herself rebuilding the two most important relationships in her life, while reflecting on why these people are so important to her.
To be honest, this book got to the point of self absorption too often for my liking. Sophie has BIG feelings, but she acts as if her feelings are more important that anyone else’s - they are certainly more dramatic.
I did like all the twists and turns. I didn’t actually see the first twist coming, let alone the rest!
The prose in this book is just gorgeous, if the main character is a bit bougie the book makes up for it with stunning writing. I buddy read this with a group of girls from Canada and we really enjoyed it.

Mudflowers is the story of Sophie, an artists in her 20's who seems to be generally struggling with life. She's struggling to navigate friendships and relationships and she has lots of feelings that are expressed in quite a meandering, inner monologue style text.

It's quite reminiscent of Sally Rooney, Naoise Dolan, and Coco Mellors. Quite a lot of 'no plot, just vibes', and creative people being quite unrelatable.

I think personally I'm just a bit over sad/messy girl fiction, and that's probably due to being quite oversaturated with the stuff. So if that's the kind of book you're looking for, you may really enjoy this!

Mudflowers follows Sophie in the aftermath of her mother's death. She is a young woman learning her grief through her messy relationships with her childhood best friend Alex and a new connection, Maggie.

As stated by many other readers, Mudflower is extremely reminiscent of Sally Rooney (heavy no plot just vibes which I usually love, but I Do Not like Sally Rooney). It's more character study than story but even then I struggled to connect to the characters. I love feeling like I'm reading the narrator's diary but prose just didn't do it for me.

Mudflowers is very clearly a debut but there is some great writing within it and I hope the author continues to find her voice. I know this book will be enjoyed but unfortunately it didn't work for me.

Thank you to Dundurn Press/Rare Machines and Netgalley for the ARC

Confusing, Different, Slow.

I really liked and was intrigued by the blurb when I read it for this book. However, when reading this book I felt no connection to the characters which made reading of this book awfully slow. I thought the characters were very individual. I would have preferred more information on Maggie and Alex at the end as I felt it was a little unfinished for them and the baby. I do know this book is definitely a favourite for someone but unfortunately it didn't click for me.

This week’s headline? Self-involvement doesn’t mean self-reflection

Why this book? I liked the title, cover, and synopsis

Which book format? ARC

Primary reading environment? Couch and train

Any preconceived notions? Maybe? I have a idea of how this could play out as there’s similar books out there

Identify most with? “breaking the fourth wall”

Three little words? “cute and desperate”

Goes well with? Long conversations

Recommend this to? People in their 20s who like reading about messy 20 somethings

Other cultural accompaniments: https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/debut-novel-about-friendship-love-and-rebuilding-after-grief-announces-a-new-writer-to-watch/article_1964cdbb-9285-5f63-86f3-e7c743cb0d63.html

I leave you with this: “Desire is like fear in that they both take up what hasn’t happened yet and let it consume the present.”
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I really wanted to love this one. I’m actually a little disappointed that I didn’t. What I did appreciate was the stream of conscious writing, but the characters felt hollow, formless. It’s like having acquaintances; you know some things about them but never truly get to the core of their being. And then you wonder, do you even want to?

Mudflowers will be available on October 17, 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rare Machines Books for sharing this title~

Mudflowers follows Sophie, a twenty something woman living in Toronto in the aftermath of her mother's death. She is a young woman who is coping with her grief through her messy relationships with both her childhood best friend Alex and a new connection, Maggie.

As many of the reviews have stated, the story and characters and themes are extremely reminiscent of Sally Rooney (heavy on the no plot, just vibes). The book ends up being more of a character study than a story anchored in a detailed plot line. I happen to love books like this so, that, wasn't an issue for me at all. I like stories where it feels like I'm sort of just reading someone's diary, but with better prose. There was some fantastic writing in this. It also is very clearly a debut and I have no doubt this author will continue to find her voice.

With that being said-- I enjoyed it while reading it, but it will probably not stick with me forever.

dnf! 😔

I got maybe 10% into this book and I’m not sure what I was expecting (sometimes i think covers are pretty when i request ARCs and don’t read the description) but I don’t think this book is the right fit for me. That doesn’t mean it won’t be for you so check it out!

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC!