Ellipses is very readable, but also full of cliche and on the superficial side. You know exactly where the book is headed, but not because the story plants the seeds along the way; rather, it's because you've read this book before. Ending is meta wish-fulfillment.

This had potential but didn't know what to do with it. I feel it could work better as a limited series - easier to consume stories about unlikeable people via TV!

This story was interesting, it was original and exciting. I just never felt attached enough to the characters to care.... they were all kind of unlikable. I think it would make a really interesting show, it just wasn't the best book. Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for this ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Good ideas but somehow both too restrained to go anywhere yet as subtle as a California wildfire when it did try to go places.

Not a fan of this one. It felt overwritten, under-plotted, and uninteresting. Didn’t really see the point!

Vanessa Lawrence gives us an in-depth look into the print world of magazine reporting and layout in Ellipses. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this story seems like one I already know. It could be because I’m a social media person (influencer would be too fancy a title). Or because this story has been done multiple times in television and movies as recently seen in The Bold Type television series.

The “romance” angle is also a familiar trope and I am disappointed that Billie became a caricature of what could have been a rich character. This viewpoint could all be me and my own experiences within the print world affecting my response to the story. Read it and let me know what you think.

I felt like this book had so much potential — there was such a great buildup that started at the very beginning, leaving you curious as to how we were going to find our way there from the start of the novel. Unfortunately, as the book progressed, it fell a little flat in my expectations. The the power dynamic held between the two protagonists was fascinating in the beginning, but I didn't feel like it went anywhere. The beginning sort of queued me up for something drastic or thrilling, but the execution didn't quite measure up for me, personally!

DNF @ 2%

The writing in this book was just too pretentious for me. Sad because the plot seemed interesting, but I just couldn't get into the writing style. I think this would work well for readers who are bigger fans of lit fic than me!

This was the most made-for-twitter book I have ever read with the writing and voice of someone who took exactly one (1) 100 level gender & women's studies class.

I say this as someone with a degree in gender & women's studies.

Everything about this book, from it's terrible, on-the-nose writing, to its attempt at creating subversive characters that inadvertently became offensive caricatures and stereotypes of themselves, was bad. I am surprised it has been hailed as both "sharp and witty" because it is as dull and gray as a butter knife left out in the rain. Thinking about it makes me angry all over again and the ending was completely out of left field in a very uninteresting and annoying way.

This is what happens when you order Melissa Broder or Meg Mason off of SHEIN.

(Actual: 3.25⭐) I wish I could love this book more than I actually did, especially given its intriguing premise & its promise of drama, the power toxicity can have in a workplace, queerness through an Asian-American lens; but, alas, I found it simply just "alright." The plot was a monotonous at times (and for long stretches, might I add), while simultaneously feeling way too disjointed, sporadic, and overall just.... unsatisfying as a whole. I kept finding myself wanting and waiting for MORE, for SOMETHING - similar to the narrator herself, lbr - but instead I only found myself with morsels of what could have been.

"ELLIPSES" by Vanessa Lawrence is for fans of "The Devil Wears Prada" but offers a more queer, intersectional, and somewhat frustrating experience. I love the premise: Lily, a disillusioned magazine writer, encounters Billie Ashton, a powerful beauty industry executive. Their professional and romantic connection, conducted entirely over text, becomes a catalyst for change in Lily’s life as she navigates career setbacks, relationship issues with her girlfriend, and her identity as a mixed-race woman in a diverse city.

Lawrence's background in the magazine industry shines through, creating an authentic depiction of a woman passionate about writing and glossy magazines but uncertain of her future. The story was clever in its use of Lily's background to critique the unique beauty industry experiences of Asian women compared to their white counterparts.

Loved the NY setting but at times this felt heavy handed. The ending also left me wanting.

I love a book where one character is being manipulated by another and you have a difficult time believing they don’t realize it’s happening. Think Fake by Erica Katz; completely different plot line on the surface, but vibes are the same. Magazine writer Lily is caught up in the charisma of the enigmatic Billie, a cosmetics mogul, while navigating her toxic workplace and breaking down relationship with Alison. It keeps you on the edge of wondering what will happen next.

Wow! What a great debut from Lawrence. There were certainly times when I thought Lawrence was writing scenes in my life working in media.

Another day, another NYC media book. This one follows Lily, a magazine writer who got her start during the golden days of print media and is struggling to adapt to the rise of digital journalism. As her frustrations build, she turns to Billie, a cosmetics mogul who agrees to mentor her until their relationship grows toxIc.
Without sounding like a broken record (because I feel like I note this every time I read a book set in the media world!), Tloved those aspects. Even though Lily was very unlikable (IMO), I loved the sections about her work life.
Billie and Lily's relationship is told primarily through texts. This got a little too repetitive - wish we had gotten IRL chats. The writing also felt really clunky at times.

Well--it sounded intriguing but the main character was such a 'poor me', 'I'm a victim' person who turns to an older successful for woman for advice on every little thing when she knows what she needs to do and then says it's the older woman who's manipulative. I couldn't wait to be done with that whiner!

I love a book where one character is being manipulated by another and you have a difficult time believing they don’t realize it’s happening. Think Fake by Erica Katz; completely different plot line on the surface, but vibes are the same. Magazine writer Lily is caught up in the charisma of the enigmatic Billie, a cosmetics mogul, while navigating her toxic workplace and breaking down relationship with Alison. It keeps you on the edge of wondering what will happen next.

Thanks to Dutton for providing and advance copy of this book.

Overall, I'm glad I read this book and I think Lawrence has mega potential - someone I'll definitely keep my eyes on for new works. I think this story fell a little bit flat for me because I thought the relationship between Lily and Billie (ngl, didn't love that their names rhymed) was going to be more of the focus of the story but it almost felt like a subplot. There were some interesting points made from the perspective of different generations, media evolution, racism, sexism, etc, but left me feeling disjointed overall. Like some ideas were really fleshed out while others were there just to be included.

I do think I'd read this again to try and dig out some more subtext/to see if my understanding and impressions change.

Intriguing concept, flat execution. The book reads like it was a memoir with major identifiers changed. Lots of dragging, redundant inner monologue; unnecessary details about the scene and food; unbelievable dialogue; boring characters. The identity issues (race, LGBTQ+) explored were the most interesting aspect, but the characters were not written in a way where I cared about their lives or outcomes in the end. It’s not that Lawrence is a bad writer, but it’s not the kind of writing that makes an interesting, engaging novel. It’s long-form magazine feature writing. Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced reader copy of this book.

I really liked Ellipses. I enjoyed watching Lily evolve in her thinking and her confidence throughout the book as she navigated an industry that was starting to see a large transformation. We were able to follow along through her struggles in her career, with her sense of self, her partner, and with a potentially problematic "mentor".

I loved the deep exploration of what being all consumed with work can do to you, even though it's so easy to glamorize that kind of life. A easy read with some laughs, definitely helped me take a step back and look at how much time and energy I've been putting into things in my life--and thinking about how to reprioritize the things that matter most.