Book # 7 of 2024: Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe 💥

I had a lot of fun reading this book and it was hard to put down. It was a 5/5 for me. Whereas I feel that it was mostly a light read, there was certainly some depth to it.

Main points:

-fun
-audacious
-page turner
-well written
-interesting plot
-has just enough depth
-very current and heavy in social media stuff (and interactions)

Margo is discovering who she is and what she wants to do once Bodhi (her son) is born and she faces life as a single mother. Her fling with Bodhi’s father is over, she is in a dire financial situation and decides to give OnlyFans a go. What could go wrong?

I enjoyed seeing Margo navigate life as a new mother and doing so in an unconventional way. Social media is such a huge part of people’s lives these days, the way things unfolded was really on point.

She faced a lot of challenges as she tried to define who she was and what she was doing. Was she a sex worker? Was she a cam girl? Did it matter? Did it define her as a person? Did it make her less of a mother?

She had a unique family dynamic growing up with her father being a professional wrestler and being away either wrestling or at home with his other family. I like how we get to see her relationship evolve with both of her parents after she has Bodhi. I was especially fond of her time with her father when despite his flaws and issues, she was so understanding and selfless towards him.

Margo is a very like-able character and even though she is very young, she makes decisions that are way beyond her years. She reads and understands people in a way they may not understand themselves.

This book is rated R and whereas there are no detailed sex scenes in it, there are certain body parts that are mentioned here and there. This is done well though and did not bother me in any way.

I rate this book 5/5.

THIS BOOK. Oh, this book.
I received this as an ARC and after reading the synopsis, I feared it might be a little 'fluffy'. But I was so wrong. The characters in this book were so nuanced and witty and lovable (even when they would do anxiety-inducing unlovable things). I was so invested in Margo and Bodhi and Jinx through all their struggles. I did not want the story to end!
Definitely my favorite read of the month.
The writing of this book was top notch and I cannot wait to read more from Rufi Thorpe in the future!

I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on June 11, 2024.

"Marco's Got Money Troubles" is the kind of book I want to give all my girlfriends for their birthdays, it's just that good. Clever, hilarious, insightful and engaging, with characters who are actually characters -- like, now that I've finished the book, I'm bringing them up to friends because they feel like people I actually know and miss. I just downloaded Rufi Thorpe's other books to read as well because I need more of this kind of writing and storytelling. Thank you NetGalley, for the ARC. #MargosGotMoneyTroubles #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow press for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I’m calling this one 2.5 stars rounded up.

Margo is a 19 year old college student who finds herself “in the family way” after a brief affair with her married professor. Reality quickly sets in when she realizes how hard being a parent is, not to mention the financial cost. When Margo’s ex-wrestler opioid addict dad comes to live with her his wrestling knowledge somehow leads Margo to exploring work on Only Fans. The story follows her entry into this form of work along with navigating how she manages her personal relationships while parenting.

This story was initially marketed as being “blisteringly funny” but I found it lacking in the humor. Yes, the absurdity of her life is somewhat funny but I honestly felt this story was more sad than hilarious. Coerced teacher/student relationships are inherently not funny. I commend the author’s positive framing of sex work but the whole time it feels like Margo doesn’t really want to be doing it and is just backed into a corner. I was rooting for Margo the whole time but felt really disappointed in this story as a whole.

Margo is real, and she has problems, and I loved how she moved through them the best she knew how. Don’t we all try to do that? At one point in the novel Margo acknowledges she and her family would be known as “white trash”. Thorpe is really illuminating the damage a label like that can do to people.

As real as Margo felt during the reading experience, I’m now reflecting that the feel-good positive outcomes aren’t terrible realistic for someone in her shoes. This story was entertaining and hopeful and I think it needed to be written this way in order to bring her circumstances to life.

In this book, we follow Margo who is 19 years old and having an affair with her professor which leaves her pregnant and alone in the decision of what to do. Ultimately, Margo decides to have the baby and we follow her on her journey of figuring out motherhood at this age, while also dealing with financial struggles and her personal relationships.

I read this book so fast and could not put it down! I love reading books that feel like the characters are real and experiencing real human challenges. I adored Margo and I felt so strongly for her. I just wanted the best for her, and to see her go through all of these obstacles just for her little boy, made me love her and root for her even more! I can’t exactly pinpoint why I connected with this book so much. I think I just read it at the right moment and time. This story will leave a lasting impression on me as something that feels real and honest. I connected with the writing and the characters, which are what made the book for me! I would definitely check this out when it releases in June if you like a fiction book with these types of themes! It’s so worth it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC copy, in exchange for my honest review!

Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a great story about the resourceful ways Margo comes up with to make money after she has a baby.
Margo is in a dire situation that goes from bad to worse but somehow always makes it through while the reader is rooting for her.
I loved her relationship with her father and her one roommate.
I just wish we had had some more info about her mother and what happened there, I felt like it ended abruptly and I wanted more of the writing from the latter half of the book.

Well-written, thought provoking and laugh out loud funny - this was one of the more unique and enjoyable reading experiences I've had in awhile! Describing this cast of characters and premise out loud makes it seem outrageous, but Rufi Thorpe makes it all work beautifully in a way that made me care deeply about all of these characters. My minor issue was that the romance piece felt a little random/minimally flushed out, but overall I really adored this book and think it is going to resonate with a lot of people!

10 stars out of 5!!! Absolutely loved this book - will absolutely be one of my favorite reads of 2024! It’s hard to fully explain why - it’s more than the plot it’s the characters and the way they think. At the beginning I thought maybe it wasn’t for me and by the middle I saw how it all worked and I was obsessed. I put it down for a while at 85% read because I wasn’t ready to be finished.

Oh - you want to know what it’s about? Well - as you may have guessed from the title, Margo has some money troubles. She just had a baby and dropped out of college. She ends up stumbling into the idea of starting an Only Fans account - and using the knowledge from her dad’s career in professional wrestling to grow her fan base. I love these characters. I want more of their lives. I want to see Margo five years later.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

Rufi does it again! Thorpe is incredible at creating flawed but sympathetic characters. To paraphrase Nora Ephron, Margo is the heroine in her own story, not the victim. Though no Pollyanna, her scrappiness, ingenuity, and decency will endear her to any reader.

I absolutely loved Knockout Queen, and was not expecting it to be so good.
The entire premise of Margo's Got Money Troubles is a fun one: Margo has an a affair with her junior college professor, becomes pregnant, keeps the baby, and realizes, she needs help! Margo is the daughter of a waitress and an ex-wrestler, named Jinx who while tormented by his inability to still wrestle, and was never around as a full fledged parent, has a heart of gold.

Margo, on the verge of becoming evicted, finds out that she can make her income by joining Only Fans. A story about young mothergood, making ends meet, parental relationships, and friendships, I found the book heartwarming and funny.

However, I was bored midway through. I ended up skimming through to the end.

Looks like Nicole Kidman will be turning this into a series, so it should be interesting on casting choices and wrestling humor!

I had trouble following with the all over the place writing with the changes of first person versus third person.

WOW!

Everything about this book is perfection! It's smartly written and plays with perspective - weaving between first, second, and third person, all depending on how Margo needs to tell her story. Somethings are too hard to tell first person, so she tells us these scenes from a detached perspective. And then there are times when Margo needs to address the reader directly, to ensure we, the reader, understand the context of what she's telling us.

But let's put aside this ingenious choice and talk about the story and characters. Margo starts out naive and ignorant. She makes choices and learns from them, she grows as a character and has agency in directing her fate. Sure, those choices she makes aren't ones everyone would make, but they're hers. Then there's the story, which if you've read the synopsis I don't need to sell you on because it's a great premise. Her professional wrestling father, Jinx's involvement is both bitter and sweet. His wrestling background adds to the worldbuilding.

There were so many lines I highlighted for their wit and wisdom. But my favorite scene was when Margo and Jinx discuss the parallels between "fake" wrestling violence and "fake" OnlyFans sex. Father and daughter are two sides of the same coin.

Mostly I loved how real Margo's situation was. Being a single mom at 20 with zero safety net and no way to financially support yourself is a really bad idea. A really, really bad idea.

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Story: 5 stars
Character Development: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars

Margo had had sex with two other boys before Mark came along. One was her high school boyfriend, Sebastion, "who had absolutely the best dog, a shepherd mix named Remmy, whose head smelled vaguely of peanuts, and whom she definitely loved more than Sebastian." (I totally get that!)

Before we go any further, I must warn you that the book is filled with constant swearing. To the point where I wanted to tell the characters "ENOUGH!!! You're being lazy! Use your WORDS!!!" The other odd thing was that the book sometimes went back and forth between first person and third person. There must have been a reason for that but I never figured it out.

Having said all of that, I want to say that parts of the book made me smile. Some made me laugh. And others made me roll my eyes. Oh, and I learned more about OnlyFans than I ever wanted to know. I liked Margo's Got Money Troubles. - it was unlike anything I've ever read!

Many thanks to both #WilliamMonroe and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Margo's Got Money Troubles. The expected publication date is June 11, 2024.

I saw this one on a few different lists of anticipated 2024 books and was intrigued by the premise. A teen mom starts an OnlyFans, utilizing what she has learned about pro wrestling from her dad as a way to build her followers. I struggled with the first 20 or so pages, but then became completely engrossed in the story and the characters. One of my favorite reads of 2024 so far.

4 stars-Margo takes a college course and ends ups sleeping with her married professor. They are only together for 6 weeks, and Margo is pregnant. She turns to social media and OnlyFans to support herself and her son Bodhi. What I love about this book is the depth of the characters. Jinx, Margo’s long lost dad, a wrestling promoter, turns up and ends up becoming a roommate. Margo and her relationship complicated relationship with her mom, and JB, and his dog Jelly Bean (they let a kid name it.) I found myself rooting for Margo and Jinx throughout the whole book. Life just kept throwing them curves, but they make such a great team. This is a very realistic look at what it might look like to be in financial struggle, and a very honest look at sex work. The topic is handled very carefully and does not in any way condescend or shame sex work. It’s a job, and one that allows Margo to be home with Bodhi. I will definitely look for more from this author, I really liked her writing style! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Lovers of sad girl or traumatized girl fic lit, please read this story. It is heartbreaking and you may want to check trigger warnings prior. This was the perfect mix of melancholic and hilarious. I learned a lot about how only fans works … but this isn’t necessarily a spicy story.

The female main character will absolutely touch your heart - as a woman, mother, or naive young adult.

I read Margo’s Got Money Troubles with high hopes for a good read and a good sense of humour. Neither really came through for me. I found all of the characters annoying and unsophisticated, I saw where it could have been funny but for me it fell flat.
I do recognize that I may not be the target reader and will be buying a copy for the library as I am sure it will be popular.

This was such an easy enjoyable book!

I couldn't put it down and found myself just blowing through chapters. It wasn't quite what I was expecting when I requested it. I found it strange/odd but in the best ways. It was funny, eclectic/quirky and so much more than the cartoon cover!!