I appreciate that this coming of age, journey of self-discovery novel had a protagonist in her thirties. I also enjoyed the very real and relatable internal grappling that Lily went through as she struggled to adapt her career and relationships to fit her worldview, needs, and growth. The title is very fitting in that it also applies to how this book read--I felt like I was the ellipsis, waiting for ... what? It seemed like this was a lot of build-up for an outcome that wasn't a surprise to anyone. Although it's fine to have the story be more about the journey than the destination, Lily's journey dragged and was predictable. I also found myself wondering more about Lily's childhood and how that shaped her worldview and sense of self. I also don't believe there was any mention of her parents or other family. While Lily is still relatable, this omission made it harder for me to feel connected with her. The ending was satisfying and fulfilling, but nothing that couldn't have been anticipated from the prologue and first two chapters. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a book about representation-based challenges in the modern workplace (specifically the magazine industry), toxic mentorship, commentary on social media/influencers, and anyone looking for a story about someone who finds her voice and learns to stand up for herself.

This book was memorizing and had great commentary on high society. I enjoyed reading this book and could immerse myself into this world.

I wanted to love this book, I really did, but I really only liked it. I thought it was nice to read, but it didn't really captivate me like I was hoping. I would still recommend this to my library though.

This one wasn't a perfect fit for me, though I really appreciate the concept and having queer main characters. The cover and title are great as well. Overall I found myself wanting higher stakes, more conflict, and more chaos to the relationships, which I think means I'm not the best reader.

Eh, this book was underwhelming and not much happened. I was so excited by the description too. The overall writing wasn’t too bad though, the plot just needed a lot of work.

This just seemed very average to me. I didn’t feel any particular connection to the characters, and the plot line fell a little flat for me.

This book is great for people who crave chaotic, toxic female relationships. It feels like The Devil Wears Prada meets The Talented Mr. Ripley in energy, which is mostly what kept me going. The actual writing felt boring and lackluster– it was full of the author telling me things about the main characters, then showing me through brief snippets of text that felt emotionless and stilted. The pacing was strange and it detracted from my reading experience. I have no doubt this will be successful with its intended crowd, but it was not for me.

Ellipses is exactly the kind of literary fiction I like to consume! It's set in New York City which is already something I always enjoy in a book and we follow Lily, a writer which is also another one of my key reading interests so Ellipses was right up my alley. The characters are a part of the media industry which provided great social commentary about the digital age and how we form and maintain relationships within it. I loved reading about the relationship dynamic between Lily and Billie - it was toxic and yet, intriguing. The complexity and messiness is what makes the book progress. As we follow Lily in this journey of discovering herself, we learn so much about the uncertainty of life and what carving out a life looks like for someone in the digital age. It was a good read and I look forward to the published version which is out in March 2024.

Thank you NetGalley and Dutton Books for providing me with an early copy!

Lily Michaels, a queer, mixed race woman working in the magazine industry as a writer, finds herself in a rut, both in her job writing unfulfilling pieces about social media influencers and in her relationship with her girlfriend Alison. Then she meets Billie Aston (aka B), a queer icon and powerful executive in the cosmetics industry. An older woman in her 50s, B is confident and ruthless in her career and begins to mentor Lily over regular text messages. Lily initially balks at B's unsympathetic and questionable views, but quickly finds that following B's hard-to-swallow advice pays off. Despite Lily's gut feeling that she should end her relationship with B, as the magazine industry shifts towards the digital world Lily finds herself relying on B more than ever.

There's a lot going on in this story, which touches on a range of issues such as sexism, power dynamics and mentorship, microagressions and the dichotomy of a mixed race identity. Lily works in an industry that is rapidly shifting from print to digital media and she struggles to adapt to a world where influencers rule the space. She deals with a workplace that is increasingly competitive, forcing her to deal with coworkers who seem determined to keep her down. She's faced with racial and sexual microagressions that make her workday miserable. I appreciate the way Lily's queerness was approached and her relationship with Alison was the best part of this story.

I despised Billie; given her status as a rich and white Boomer woman, relatively privileged compared to Lily, her advice felt so out of touch and definitely gave toxic vibes. Still, it felt like there was something missing; the fact that this relationship was solely via text messaging dulled the impact of it. I understand why the story was written this way (and the reason is literally spelled out for the reader at a certain point) but maybe I would have enjoyed Ellipses more if B had more physical presence in the story. The execution didn't live up to the premise.

The ending felt completely out of left field, despite being foreshadowed throughout the book. I felt that Lily's intentions were purposely obscured until the last few pages but this only left me confused. Where did this decision come from, when I don't remember Lily having any thoughts in this direction? What exactly made her change her mind when mere paragraphs before she was dead set on a different path? I'm not sure how I feel about the ending and epilogue.

Overall, the writing was engaging and Lily's experiences felt very relatable to me, as a fellow introverted woman of color in the corporate world. Still, I wish there was more to the relationship between Lily and B, and the ending left me with mixed feelings.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy.

The premise of this sounding really intriguing, but the execution unfortunately did not follow through.

Theoretically, this book is about a young writer, Lily, who forms a strange on-off professional friendship with a beauty executive, Billie, whom she meets at an event. The story follows Lily over a tumultous period of her life both professionally and personally, during which she carries on this relationship, entirely over text. There were some interesting threads here which I think weren’t pulled strongly enough, and the author did a great job with expressing Lily’s stagnation and frustration in a compelling way, but I didn’t love this overall. I felt like the toxicity of the central relationship wasn’t really convincing, and there was a lot of telling, not showing, at points where some showing would have been more engaging and effective.

I'd be interested to see what the author does next, and if you're looking for a more internally-driven character growth arc (and not a book about a toxic queer professional friendship) you might enjoy it, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for.

Thanks to Dutton and Netgalley for the advance copy!

Ellipses is a book where I at times was lost at who to root for. I was rooting for Lily and then against her. It felt as if Lawrence wanted us to not like Lily but the more I read I got a better understanding. Lily has worked in a field where looks and see through personalities are in. All climbing to get a better view of whatever’s coming next and willing to step on others to secure themselves. Yet, when she meets this charming executive named Billy, it throws Lily off her axis. Jeopardizing her relationship with her girlfriend, Alison as well as her sense of self. You start to see that eventually Lily doesn’t care about the view at all but instead wants to create a whole different one. I really enjoyed this book. The relationship been Lily and Alison and was one that takes you on all its normal ups and downs that more books should showcase. I also enjoyed the insight I got behind what it’s like working for a fashion magazine. Reading Lily’s constant train of thought was complicated but honest and made me want to read more. I’ll leave you with this quote from the book. “Because to be forgotten, one had to exist in the first place. And that was itself an achievement.” Thank you to NetGalley, Vanessa Lawrence, and Penguin Group Dutton for my advance copy.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing this ARC for my voluntary and honest review!

Overall an easy read but all of the societal issues the author tried to tackle felt a little forced; it would have been better as a series of essays. The plot also felt a bit redundant - woman shuts out partner, seeks advice from toxic mentor, then gets mad when advice isn’t what she wanted to hear. Wash, rinse, repeat.

"Ellipses" by Vanessa Lawrence is a debut novel that delves into the complex world of identity, ambition, and the impact of digital connections. While the plot holds promise with its exploration of a young woman navigating the challenges of her professional and personal life, I found the narrative to be somewhat hampered by repetitiveness.

The exploration of Lily's struggles with identity, both as a mixed-race and bisexual woman, is a compelling aspect of the novel. Lawrence delves into the complexities of microaggressions in the workplace and the challenges of maintaining authenticity in the face of societal expectations. The themes of forging one's path and navigating the digital landscape are timely and resonant. However, the novel falls into a repetitive pattern that dilutes its impact. Lily's perpetual suspension in an ellipsis, waiting for Billie's messages, becomes a recurring motif that loses some of its potency over time. The constant revisitation of this dynamic slows down the narrative and at times feels like a reiteration of the same emotional beats.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. My first ever, actually! And a great first one at that.
I was immediately invested in this novel within the first ten pages. One of my favorite parts of this book is how the author deals with topics such as queerness in different contexts, race, gender, interpersonal issues, and overall the reality of dealing with owning who you are and going after what you want in a world inherently designed to see you fail. It is rare to find a book that addresses these issues in a way that feels relatable and makes me want to keep reading this book. And the answers aren't always easy, and the choices aren't always what I would want - but they are probably what the choices I would make if I were in Lily's shoes. I loved that Lily had a girlfriend and that the book didn't center around her romantic life, and also that the book had queer characters in a way that didn't scream "THIS IS A QUEER BOOK FOR HETEROS!" They were queer and as a reader, I didn't feel queer-baited. That in and of itself was a huge appeal for me. Even the not wholly centering of Lily's romantic relationship allowed space in the plot for other parts of her character and life to comet through, and I loved it.

I read this book in two days, mostly because I had other things I had to do and so unfortunately couldn't read this book in one sitting. I wanted to. I definitely give this a 4 stars and recommend this book.

Earlier this year I read Under the influence [ my review <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5767185012">here</a> and this book feels like a spiritual sibling in so many ways. Though I did find myself enjoying this one a little more, as there didn't seem to be the same constant dismissal of red flags...

Here we are following Lily as a chance encounter with Billie Aston brings the two women into a pseudo mentor/mentee relationship. Lily is working at a magazine and struggles with a series of microagressions and not feeling like her contributions are respected as much s they should be and Billie offers often questionable advice.

I appreciated the way that their relationship played out and how while it always felt distant Lily was still pulled back into it.

The book itself takes on an almost meta commentary about itself almost from the beginning that is certainly struck home in the final pages.

It's a book I can see benefiting from rereads and Vanessa Lawrence is a person I would like to read from again. Particularly in a book that really dug into some of the topics that felt more like a mention in passing.

I did not finish this book. I got about 1/3 in and gave up. The writing was not engaging and the entire thing felt shallow and 2 dimensional. The first few chapters failed to capture my attention or tell me anything about the character.

I really liked the premise of the novel. Lilly was a good protagonist and her relationship with B was intriguing.

I wish the novel had pushed things a bit further with the relationships and conflicts. New York City is very much a character in this novel but it feels like it overshadows the plot at times.

Still, it was a good story with a likable protagonist and a satisfying conclusion.

Set in the New York magazine scene, our main character Lily, crosses paths with Billie, an older high-powered business mogul. With Lily feeling stuck in her personal and work life, Billie reaches out to mentor Lily. This follows the story of Billie and Lily’s relationship which may develop in to toxicity.

This book starts with such promise! In the end, it really didn't click with me. I felt like the story was very repetitive. It goes; Lily texts Billie after a situation at work and then Billie texts back with some
tough love that Lily doesn't agree with. I think that if we had more in-person moments between the two it would've broken up the monotony of just the texts. I felt that the relationships in this book weren't very compelling to me. I did find Billie as a character the most interesting. If we had dual POVs with Billie and Lily it would've been SO GOOD. I wanted to see more of Billie’s thoughts and to fully flesh her out more. I really wanted to love this book but it didn't work for me. If you like books like Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney you may vibe with this.

"Ellipses" will appeal to readers who are really into the magazine, fashion and publishing industries. So much of the text describes in detail the inner workings of the New York scene. I found those parts a bit heavy and boring. What I enjoyed most was experiencing the relationship between Lily and her two very different love interests.

The ending left me a bit cold, because Lily's self-discovery/empowerment did not resonate with me. I found it immature, whereas the reality of women working together, especially queer women with such an age differential, is much more nuanced and complicated.

3/5 stars

Write what you know, they say. Well, Vanessa Lawrence had certainly done that. She may have just done that, though, in a way that leads the reader to primarily wonder how much of the novel is autobiographical.
Well, you decide. From what can be readily found online, Like her protagonist, L, Vanessa is an Asian-American native New Yorker with liberal arts education and years and years of experience writing for women magazines covering fashion, beauty, etc. I mean, when you slice that close to the skin, why not just write a memoir? Those are all the rage these days.
But then so are these “serious” women fiction novels that tackle (or attempt to) all the serious modern topics: race, sexuality, fairness, career choices, love choices, etc.
[So the author here chose to go with the fictional direction, resulting in the fashion writer writing about a fashion writer, who (wouldn’t you know it!) writes a novel about a fashion writer.
META? You bet. In its own way.
But here’s the thing: Lawrence can actually write. In fact, she can write so engagingly that she’ll almost make you forget about the shortcomings of the story she is writing. ALMOST.
But then when you step away for a moment, you realize that what you’re reading is a story about someone who has actively chosen to pursue a very superficial and vapid career (and to an extent lifestyle) desperately struggling to justify her choices (mostly to herself) while striving for some imaginary/projected profundity. In other words, it’s kind of a joke. L is kind of a joke.
She thinks herself superior to all the social media celebs and NYC pretty darlings she has to cover when in fact they all worship at the same superficial altar, and she merely has less money/popularity.
Tragically, L isn’t even as clever as she thinks. She spends nearly the entirety of the novel obsessed with a beauty mogul named B who basically gives her canned career advice via text. The rest of the time, L obsesses over herself, navel-gazing exhaustively into her life choices, and meditating (also exhaustively) on the significance of her race/gender/sexuality as it informs those choices.
In other words, L wallows. L is a wallower. Not the most dynamic or engaging characteristic in a protagonist.
But yeah, you can easily see how this book sold. It has all the right buzzwords. It’s practically tailor-made for the modern generation. At least with Lawrence, she did use what she knows. But anyone else could just Google “what sells a novel these days” and come up with the same list used in this book.
And that’s all fine. Sure, let’s discuss heavy topics. But can we wrap it in a stronger novel, something more than a walking talking cliché that seems straight out of those movies and TV shows L mocks in the book? Can we lower the estrogen levels so that it remains literature without veering into women’s fiction or, worse yet, chicklit? Can we level things out without the laughably hyperbolic declarative nonsense of the opening scene? Can we actually make the characters diverse and original without making them seem like cardboard cutouts someone decorated as diverse and original? Because buzzwords can only take a novel so far, it seems.
Anyway, it’s readable. It’s all very readable. So much so it makes you wonder what it would have been like if the quality of plotting matched the quality of writing. And wondering you’ll remain … Thanks Netgalley.