I think I love Olivia Gatwood...

I read Atwood's poetry collection a few years back and when I saw she was coming out with a debut novel, my jaw dropped and it was a beautiful moment. I had already checked in past years to see if she was going to publish any more poetry collections, so to have been surprised by a NOVEL was actually amazing.

In this novel we follow Mitty and Lena, two seemingly very different women that come into each other's lives after Lena and her boyfriend move in next door. Both women struggle with their pasts in different ways. Mitty finds it painful to revisit her past, wincing every time her mind flashes back to the incident that forced her to flee her hometown in Arizona. Lena can't seem to make sense of her past. She can't quite seem to conjure vivid memories that hold any weight, and this ultimately leads to her questioning her reality...what kind of person can't remember more than just picturesque vignettes?
As we get to know Mitty and Lena—and they get to know each other—Mitty comes to terms with the sins of her past while Lena starts to suspect her seemingly perfect boyfriend.

Let me just say that the main reason as to why I enjoyed this so much was the impeccable writing. OLIVIA GATWOOD, GIVE ME MORE NOVELS (and poetry, or really anything, I don't care)!!!!!!

The character development was truly top notch. Mitty and Lena both felt so dynamic and palpable

The plot was super intriguing from the jump. There was almost a sinister tone that kept me on my toes. A young man working for an unnamed tech company was murdered. Set in Santa Cruz, Mitty is familiar withe the ever growing and ever powerful Silicon Valley and all its Tech Dudes with their start-ups and their money. This murder has been the talk of the town as people hypothesize as to what danger loomed so large that a man was killed for it. This plot point acts as an important backdrop for Lena's doubts surrounding her identity and her boyfriend, and how those two things might not be exclusive.

The reason I can't give this book 5 stars, however, is that the ending did not do this novel justice. In my opinion, this story was wayyyyyy too juicy and well-constructed to end the way it did. Maybe that's a bit harsh and I shouldn't give so much importance to the ending of a book, but when I tell ya'll that I was scratching my head and shaking my leg as I read this, just itching to find out what was going to happen, well, I hope you can understand why I was hoping for a bit more of a bang at the end.

I seriously cannot wait for any future Olivia Gatwood publication!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Spoilers! Read at your own risk.

After fleeing her childhood home in Arizona, Mitty finds herself spending her 20s in Santa Cruz with Bethel, a septugenarian family friend and housemate. Utterly stuck, Mitty's days anxiously blend into each other as she waits tables, then goes back to Bethel where they sit and watch reruns. But when another young woman and her tech bro husband move into their quickly gentrifying beach community, Mitty finds that she and Lena have more and less in common than she could have ever expected.

It's really hard to talk about this book without spoilers, but I'll do my best. I feel like this book was /almost/ there, but never quite made it.

Another book that's adjacent to this topic came out earlier this year, so i have to compare it to Annie Bot. Before I go too deep, I think Whoever You Are, Honey was a better novel. Both were incredibly uncomfortable in their treatment of sex and control bordering on abuse. While Annie was alone, Lena had Mitty and Bethel. I thought Gatwood's use of a generational lens was deft--where Mitty clearly saw something wasn't right from the way that Lena didn't eat to the way she went (for lack of a better word) on autopilot at times, Bethel saw two young women, both Lena and Mitty, without direction or sense of self.

Mitty is afraid she can't go home and Lena is terrified she isn't real. Mitty goes home, and Lena heads out on her own, but in the end, the conclusion feels unsatisfying, and that's even without mentioning the mentioned but dropped tech CEO murder plot.

Of the books exploring this theme that I've read this year, I like this one the best. But I know the genre has more to offer and more than gratuitous sex scenes and underbaked social commentary.

Olivia Gatwood's debut novel, Whoever You Are, Honey is an intriguing exploration of femininity, identity, friendship, and artificial intelligence. I knew very little about this book going in. Only that it was marketed as a thriller. After reading, it definitely didn't feel like that.

I was immediately lured in by the premise of a wealthy community, a mysterious couple next door, and the idea of a possible fembot. But what I found was a story with deeper meaning and suspense bubbling under the surface. It was definitely more literary with speculative elements thrown in. My feelings for the characters didn't change much over the course of the story. Instantly liking Mitty and Bethel as the quirky pair living amongst the tech elite, determined not to be bought out of the neighborhood. Mitty's background was intriguing to learn about including her rocky relationship with her mother. The new neighbors, Lena and Sebastian, don't appear to be different from any other couple, until Mitty and Lena strike up an unlikely friendship. As Mitty learns more about Lena and her fractured sense of self, she realizes their marriage is far from perfect. But it also causes her to reexamine her own unsettling past. In the end I felt sorry for Lena and her lack of understanding around her life, purpose, and identity. The way she identified was always through the lens of others, in particular, Sebastian.

I would have liked more unsettling scenes and a quicker pace. The ending was interesting but I would have preferred more of a conclusion with Lena's character. I was hopeful that Mitty would reconnect with her mother.

3/5⭐️⭐️⭐️

For readers who enjoy beautiful prose, slow-burning storylines, upmarket fiction.

"you're perfect, you're exactly what i've always wanted."

what does it mean to be perfect? and what does it mean to be human? what does it mean when you can't identify which parts of you are authentic and which are manufactured?

in her hauntingly relatable novel whoever you are, honey, olivia gatwood explores themes of loneliness and desire, and how the two are so deeply intertwined.

is a life really a life if you can't remember your past? is not remembering better than running from the past you don't want to remember? lina and mitty are each on a journey of self-discovery, searching for the answer.

•••
maybe i'm biased because i've followed olivia's poetry for years, but whoever you are, honey will undoubtedly make its way into my top books of 2024. i received an ARC from The Dial Press and originally rated the novel four stars. but after hearing olivia speak about the novel, her influences, and her process, i couldn't help but increase the rating to five.

i haven't stopped thinking about whoever you are, honey since i finished reading it. i wholeheartedly recommend this novel to every female who has found herself struggling to form an identity outside of the male gaze.

I thought the premise of Whoever You Are, Honey sounded really interesting and the synopsis definitely pulled me in. However the execution didn’t work for me and I decided to DNF at 40%. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free book to review.

This is deeply boring. It’s like a stream of consciousness of this women with a past that obviously contains something traumatic and a set of new neighbors who pique her interest. But there’s just so much detail about nothing I cannot drag myself through any more.

Whoever You Are, Honey is a story with a twist, but the twist isn't the point. You may figure it out early on, but then you realize that it's only part of the larger story. Ultimately, it's a story about understanding and forgiving yourself.

Mitty is a young woman living a senior-citizen-life with actual senior citizen and longtime Santa Cruz resident Bethel. When Sebastian and Lena move in next door, Mitty begins a friendship with Lena and both women slowly reveal themselves to the other. The story moves quickly and really draws you in.

An intriguing mix of genre with a gap left for the reader to make their own conclusions. Olivia Gatwood's first trip into the world of novels centers around a group of people who seem to have nothing in common, only to find they are more alike than any of them would admit. The community Gatwood builds could be anywhere. There are neighborhoods being torn down and rebuilt as we speak that could be Santa Cruz' twins. As you mix the differing classes, whether financial, racial or ageist, ugly truths tend to surface. These women will learn to accept and then lean on each other as the story moves into more personal, individual tales of their journeys.
The story did tend to "lose" me a couple of times when I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have. This is not a book to breeze through, but it's definitely worth reading.

Mitty lives a fairly quiet life with her elderly housemate, Bethel, in Santa Cruz. Over the past decade they've watched as tech bros snatch up all of the local properties, while there own slowly sinks toward decrepitude. But Mitty and Bethel carry on as they ever have, watching local access cable together and fielding the occasional call from Mitty's mother.

But Mitty's life starts to shift when the neighboring home is purchased by a wealthy tech founder and his beautiful -- but slightly odd -- girlfriend, Lena. Despite concerns from Bethel, Mitty begins to form a friendship with Lena. The two women may not have much in common on the surface, but Mitty is haunted by a past she wishes she could forget, and Lena from one she can't remember.

This book is an interesting character study of these two women. There is very little in the way of plot, but the reader will be intrigued to know what sent Mitty into exile a decade earlier and what lies at the root of Lena's quirks. However, readers need to be prepared not to receive all of the answers to their questions.

This is one of those books that is difficult for me to say whether or not I liked it. It was an interesting read, very slow at times, but with well-drawn characters. It is definitely more of a lit fic book than a mystery or sci-fi.

And confession, I picked this book for its cover. That is one gorgeous cover.

This review week be posted to Goodreads and Instagram (@goodquietkitty) on July 14, 2024.

I understand what the story was trying to do but it just didn't get there. I thought the twists were obvious and I was bored most of the time. Personally I think this would have been better if the story only focused on Lena and how she navigated her new reality.

3.75/5
Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood is a tale of friendship and secrets with a touch of mystery and sci-fi.

Mitty has been living with her elderly roommate, Bethel, since her mom dropped her off a decade ago. They're an eclectic pair plodding along in their eclectic home. Mitty is curious as always when she notices new neighbors moving in.

In their beautiful beach community of Santa Cruz, tech moguls come and go, but something seems different with Sebastian and Lena. Mitty can't help but be drawn to Sebastian's seemingly perfect girlfriend. It's not long before the unlikely pair become friends, sharing secrets they haven't dared to share with anyone else.

Whoever You Are, Honey is a book of secrets. Why is Mitty living with Bethel? What is Mitty hiding from? And what's with the new neighbors?? It was an interesting read, but I wanted more. I don't want to give away anything, but I find Sebastian and Lena's story so intriguing. I'd also love to know more about Pax - his back story, his relationship with his business partner, and how he ended up where he did. I have so many questions!

Read this if you like:
•  MCs with a dark, questionable past
•  Dual timelines
•  Books with a little sci-fi twist
•  Books that delve into female friendship

Available today! Many thanks to The Dial Press for the digital ARC!

The setting is a dystopian landscape, high technology and as AI infiltrates our world, so too do emotions and relationships. The themes explored here are how are we connected and what does our past represent? It is a more female-centered version of the TV show "Her." That said, I did find it a bit hard to follow. I re-read sections often as it was difficult to remember the "rules" of the universe. Mitty and Bethel are roommates, the new couple next door is Sebastian and Lena. Over a slow burn, we realize more about their past and their memories. It was tough to grasp that the author is making parallels between how women alter themselves to best suit culture and society with how AI does this by algorithm. Really interesting descriptions like, "her hair was the color of oysters." (girl- what). And commentary like "Do women have to like each other to be friends?" (wow- no...?)
Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book! The writing style is very interesting and ominous. Felt as though the first half didn’t have much going on, almost like there’s almost too much happening to make sense of what was really occurring but enough for it keep me interested to figure out the endgame. The ending left more to be desired and was too rushed. When everything came together towards the end, it was like the buildup took up 90% of the book and then 5% of the characters trying to digest what happened and then the rest was just the wrap up for the entire book.

🎬 Read this if you like:
Made for Love
Dead to Me
⏰ Best time to read:
After a trip to Santa Cruz, or, if you’ve forgotten where you came from, anytime
📝 Themes:
Female Friendship, Big Tech Gentrification, AI, Coastal California, LGBTQ+, Dual Timelines, Adult Coming-Of-Age
👍 What I liked:
Santa Cruz, CA (where the book is set) is my favorite place in the world. Santa Cruz is like its own character in the book, and Gatwood nails it.
❓ Synopsis: Mitty and Bethel are roommates living in a ramshackle home on the Santa Cruz coast. Their neighbors are usually vacationers, but a new couple with tech money from AI moves in next door. Mitty and stay-at-home girlfriend Lena become friendly and, together, they learn to face their pasts and the things that brought them to Santa Cruz in the first place.
📣 Review: Gatwood’s love letter to Santa Cruz is a lyrical warning against the rise of tech. The kooks irrevocably changed San Francisco and are threatening to do the same to Santa Cruz, but how much has tech changed us as human beings? And why do we now hide the things that make us most human? When do we become tech ourselves? These questions and the relationships in this book captivated me. Gatwood’s character-driven novel also has one of the most beautiful conclusions I’ve read.

Like so many others I was instantly in love with this cover and I’m so glad I did because this book is a beautiful masterpiece. I will say if you go into this wanting high Sci-fi elements personally I think you will be disappointed. To me this made me think Black Mirror lite. This really focuses on women’s relationships with both themselves other females. We switch povs between Mitty who living with an older woman in a beach town that has been over run with the techie elite living in minimalist glass houses and Lena who lives across the street with her controlling boyfriend. I fell in love with these women as they start their journey of self discovery. This story had me feeling horrified and heartbroken at the same time. I will say if you like solid answers this book might disappoint you but I enjoyed that a lot is left up to your imagination. I this the Weird Girl book girlies will eat this one up!!! Thank you to NetGally and the Publishers for the advanced copy for review.

Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood is an intriguing debut novel.
The writing is excellent, and while not exactly a page-turner, the book kept me interested.
I thoroughly enjoyed and was hooked for the entirety of this story and can only commend the author on writing a superb book.

Thank You NetGalley and Random House | The Dial Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

For 10 years Mitty has lived with her elderly roommate, Bethel, on the Santa Cruz waterfront. They’re the oddball pair in a dilapidated bungalow, the last vestiges of a town taken over by the tech elite. A new couple, Lena and Sebastian, move in next door and, as Mitty and Lena form a close friendship they are both forced to face their pasts.

This book is rather strange and unusual as is the cover but I was totally immersed in it. We know from early on that both Mitty and Lena have secrets and their pasts are slowly revealed. The writing was lovely and the characters were interesting but, other than Lena and Mitty, not fully developed. I found I wanted to know more about Bethel than Mitty. And that ending ... once again I'm left scratching my head. Still, it was enjoyable and I'll be on the lookout for future novels by Olivia Gatwood.

I actually didn't notice until after I started reading that this book is classified as science fiction, a genre I rarely read, but obviously I need to start thinking outside the box! I didn't get much of a sci-fi vibe from it in any case.

My thanks to Madison Dettlinger, Penguin Random House, via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: July 9, 2024

Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood is the story of Mitty, a young woman made a victim of the worst thing she feels she’s ever done, who lives lightly in Santa Cruz with a mysterious family friend amid multimillion dollar homes that often remain empty. One day while engaging in her practice of looking in other people’s windows, she encounters Lena through the glass. Lena, a perfect looking oddball and her techpreneur boyfriend, Sebastian have fled the bustle of San Francisco following some unpleasantness and mystery. The enmeshing of Mitty and Lena’s lives reveal a dark examination of technological progress, feminine identity and loneliness. Gatwood, primarily known to me as a poet, crafts beautiful sentences that are perfectly paced for each moment. The author crafts a dangerous narrative with characters with beating hearts and humid bodies who need to know with their whole hearts that the world is a forgiving place as long as you find a way to move through it. Whoever You Are, Honey is a thrilling read for fans of looking in people’s windows and for readers who feel one or two steps outside of time.
Thank you to Random House/Dial Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this title!

"Whoever You Are, Honey" is an entrancingly dark tale that weaves a story of unexpected companionship and unsettling transformation. Mitty, a troubled young woman, finds solace living with Bethel, her mother’s elderly friend, in a quaint house by the sea.

Their serene life is disrupted when the dazzling and affluent couple, Sebastian and Lena, move into the ultramodern mansion next door. The narrative explores the stark contrast between Mitty’s introspective world and the glamorous facade of her new neighbors, unraveling a dystopian journey of self-discovery for both Mitty and Lena.

Perfect for readers intrigued by the uncanny and profound, this novel offers a uniquely strange yet compelling experience. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | The Dial Press for this eARC! I had been seeing bits and pieces about this book, and it's so relevant in this digital age, especially regarding AI. This was such a fascinating book, with eery/sci-fi elements mixed with Stepford Wives vibes. I really enjoyed this book! I can't wait to read more fiction from Olivia!