I’ll start by saying this book is written beautifully and flows in a way that keeps you wanting to read more. The actual content of the book is what’s problematic and didn’t work for me. It’s labeled as Sci-Fi and I wouldn’t call it that at all. It’s barely Sci-Fi adjacent. If Lena was changed a bit, this could’ve been a beautiful contemporary fiction about female empowerment.

Bethel and Mitty are roommates/chosen family and we aren’t sure how they got to be this way. The story of their past is told through flashbacks from Mittys pov, although these focus on an ex named Esme, and eventually we find out how Mitty’s mom met Bethel. I’d rather have had this part told outright because I didn’t feel like there was a great payoff in holding that information to the end. I also didn’t care about Esme or that relationship, and the “big awful thing” Mitty did to end up with Bethel seemed silly.

Now we get to Sebastian and Lena. Sebastian was the more interesting of the two, but this is supposed to be female centric so it makes sense he wasn’t explored more. Lena is lonely and looking for friends so she gravitates to Mitty once she meets her. The “twist” wasn’t a twist for me at all, it was blatantly obvious from the get go, and I actually was more shocked to find out other readers didn’t realize Lena’s situation just from reading the synopsis. Even this though once it was revealed, was wrapped up in a few pages and left open which was completely unsatisfying and made me care even less than I did before.

The most interesting storyline was the murder of Sebastian’s friend and tech co-founder, Pax, and that is barely given a second thought past the funeral scene.

Overall the writing quality here is wonderful, the story is lacking. I’d try this author again in a few books should she release more. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The tenderness and solidarity of womanhood in different contexts and configurations, and the horrors of men in every single one!
"We have to reassure them of their own mortality, while also allowing them to briefly believe that what they're eating is real. And in order to do that? We have to give it blood."
I love this book, I love the exploration of self and identity and what it means to be you in a world where we're constantly consuming content and are so plugged into the opinions of others. It was The Curse meets Annie Bot meets Ex Machina meets Stepford Wives, and so gorgeously written. The prose in this book is just so lovely, you can really tell it was written by a poet.

I'm not sure what to make of this. It's sort of sci fi, it's a mystery of sorts, it's AI and so on but the characters-Mitty, Beryl, Lena and Sebastian- are interesting, This highlights the tension between old and new and the ways that tech can broaden that gap. Or narrow it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

The Santa Cruz waterfront is perfect. All of the houses are beautiful and flawless, just like the couples inside. All of the house, except for one. MItty and Bethal have managed to live secluded for years after a traumatic youth. Now, they have strong Big Edie and Little Edit vibes in their bungalow. They are the last hints at a life before tech.

Lena and Sebastian move in next door. Lena is beautiful, almost floating through life. Sebastian is a tech founder, just like all of the others. Lena is growing a little tired of Sebastian and his control issues, plus, she has a odd spotty memory of her youth. She meets Mitty and the two women form a close bond that helps the other with their healing.

All the while, let us not forget this is in the heart of Silicon Valley. Tech rules everything and not everything is as it seems.
----

That's all I can say. Not everything is as it seems. :)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Whoever You Are, Honey is a beautifully written book that as soon as I started reading it, I felt like I’d known these characters my entire life.

In this story we follow Mitty who’s living with her family friend Bethel in a small seaside neighborhood in Santa Cruz.. While Mitty is running from her past, Bethel seems stuck in hers. Once new neighbors move in and the captivating Lena is dropped into their lives, these characters will question what it means to be and does the path behind us define us.

Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood is a measured character study that explores the relationships between women. This is a recommended debut novel that flirts with being a thriller and science fiction dystopian.

After some incident when she was eighteen, Mitty left Arizona for to stay with an old friend of her mother's, Bethel in her dilapidated oceanfront home in Santa Cruz. She hasn't been home since. Mitty is now in her late twenties while Bethel is in her late seventies. A new couple has just moved into the house next door, Lena and Sebastian. Sebastian is a renowned tech founder and Lena is his perfect girlfriend. Mitty observed the couple after they moved in and soon she and Lena meet and begin to spend time together, forming a friendship.

The narrative revolves around Mitty and Lena, their friendship and the secrets they both have. Mitty is hiding a secret and is hesitant to make friends because of it. Lena is uncomfortable with her uneven memory and the control Sebastian has over her. The plot is rather slow paced, basic, and Lena's secret is very predictable early on. I kept reading because the quality of the writing is excellent. I was expecting the pace, tension and action to increase and wanted to know Mitty's secret.

Whoever You Are, Honey would have benefited from more action, progression in the plot and the inclusion of more science fiction elements to build up tension while keeping the poetic language. What we have is beautiful, lyrical language about loneliness, friendship, memories, and seeking perfection. The inclusion of AI is very basic has been done before and with much more intensity, credibility, and caution. This wasn't a good fit for me. Thanks to Dial Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley . My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Whoever You Are, Honey is a bit of a difficult novel to explain.

In this story, we follow Mitty, a young woman who lives in a house with her elderly roommate Bethel. They’ve formed a good friendship and quiet life over the last 10 years in the last house that hasn’t been taken over my tech-bros. Their world is about to change though when a young couple moves into the house next door. Sebastian is a tech founder and his girlfriend Lena just floats along in their lifestyle. She starts to become weary of her surroundings, her memory is spotty and she doesn’t like the way Sebastian closely controls their lives. As Mitty and Lena become friends, they start to confront their troubled backgrounds and make sense of the world they’re living in.

I had a tough time with this one. This story is a slow burn and very much a character study. The plot is thin and it’s more about the characters themselves. I wanted a bit more story for this one. in the end, it felt like it didn’t amount to very much and it ended fairly abruptly without much being answered. I heard this book is being adapted, but I think it is going to a tough adaptation.

I didn’t hate what we are given here, but I just wanted much more than the author gives.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC.

Mitty and Bethel live in a run-down house on the beach in Santa Cruz, California. They are one of the few original houses on the block, flanked by newer, more contemporary homes for the Silicon Valley tech giants.

Through the story, readers are taken back to Mitty’s beginning and the reasons for her departure from Arizona. Mitty is several decades younger than Bethel, and Bethel provides a safe place for Mitty. At the same time, we meet Lena and Sebastian. They have moved into the glass house on the street. He works in the tech industry and we learn that his close friend was murdered.

I was confused reading Whoever You Are, Honey. There are multiple storylines in the novel, and I thought there was going to be some connection between them all. Mitty and Lena develop a friendship, and it appears that she is finding herself in a situation similar to why she left Arizona. I thought the murder of Sebastian’s friend was going to reveal something about Sebastian. The ending didn’t bring ideas together and left me feeling more perplexed. I appreciate Olivia Gatwood’s poetry, but this book was a miss for me.

I just couldn't connect with this book. Even from the synopsis you can tell there's not much in terms of actual plot. This is a character-driven novel, which I sometimes appreciate, but this book just lacked plotline and lifeless characters for me. Also, I felt this book was hard to understand, and I read a lot of novels every year, so this was a shock for me. The best thing I can say is I REALLY like the cover art. It is striking and beautiful. I just wish the actual story delivered for me. I can't think of one thing I liked about this story. It was boring and underwhelming.

3.75 Stars

Whoever You Are Honey was a beautifully written book about the intensity of female friendships, with undertones of sci-fi horror. Mitty lives in a dilapidated old house with her elderly friend Bethel, when Lena and her Silicon Valley rich husband move in next door. As they befriend each other, Mitty reflects on the past she can't forget and Lena struggles with the past she can't remember.

The strength of this book is the characters. I am always a fan of books with a kooky older woman so I was very fond of Bethel. Both Mitty and Lena were well-rounded characters and I enjoyed following both of their POVs. Mitty's story regarding the past actions she was fleeing from was intriguing and kept me engaged. While maybe not to the same extreme, it would be relatable to anyone who had a dramatic friendship break up in high school.

Lena's story added a bit of more of the sci-fi/horror elements as she struggles with feeling that none of her memories are real. I was very interested in the story, but I wish it had leaned into those elements a bit more. It was very subtle throughout and the resolution seemed a bit rushed compared to the pacing of Mitty's story.

My critique basically comes down to "I wish this had been longer because I wanted more of this story" so I would still recommend reading it, especially if you are someone who prefers subtler narratives and open-to-interpretation endings.

by Olivia Gatwood. This was a tough read for me. I had no idea what was going on and kept waiting for something to happen other than some voyeuristic sex scenes that were, I think, supposed to indicate a controlling relationship. Maybe if the writing had drawn me in I would have gotten more into the story, but sadly I think this was not for me.

Well...what the heck was that book? Slow , oh so slow and then abruptly ends. Just wasn't for me I guess.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5
olivia gatwood the woman you are <3
I've watched olivia's performance of her poem "ode to the women on long island" probably 200 times. she has such an incredible way worth words and what a TREAT that she's brought her talents to the novel.
I absolutely devoured this and have very few complaints, except that I often find these slice-of-life/unwell women/quiet but heartracing books to end abruptly when really I want olivia to hold my hand and please tell me everything that happened and will happen.
but, at the very least, you should read it. and then maybe we can talk about it together.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House | The Dial Press and NetGalley for permitting me to read this work prior to its publication date.

I was stoked to read this novel, as I've been a fan of Olivia Gatwood's poetry for several years and it did not disappoint. It was a beautiful exploration of what it means to be a woman, what it means to exist and to be "perfect".

Mitty and Bethel are roommates in a California beach town that is quickly being overrun with IT guys. Lena and Sebastian move in next door to them. Sebastian is handsome, older and successful. Lena is his live-in girlfriend and seemingly flawless, sexually available to Sebastian, never seems to eat or menstruate and doesn't have any imperfections. She also can't seem to remember a life without Sebastian. It's almost like he made her up...

This is speculative fiction at its finest. it was so subtle that it crept up on me and then left me wide-eyed and stunned.

A tale about the interpersonal relationships of three women, Mitty, Bethel & Lena, couched amid the backdrop of a growing tech start up market, and a recent murder rumored to have involved an AI cover up.

As fun as the speculative elements of the story are, and they can truly be engaging, the focus of page real estate, and the heart of the story, lies with the simple, internal lives of the female leads, their relationships with one another and the truly great dialogue.

The story explores themes of disassociation, memory, identity, abuse and self forgiveness. It's character and atmosphere focused, preferring to exist in a space more focused on feeling and atmosphere, which it does quite well. This does fall into the category of fiction who's intent isn't to explain everything or tie up every thread in a bow, preferring to leave some things vague and open to interpretation. Subjectively: I would've liked a couple of more answers. Objectively: That wasn't the point.

A very enjoyable read, and one I'm sure to come back to and speculate about.

*ARC provided by NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group*

I kept waiting for something to happen... Anything! Unfortunately, the only allusion to something interesting occurs far too late. 2 Stars.

DNF -- I've been a fan of Olivia Gatwood's poetry for such a long time, so it saddens me to say I couldn't get into her first novel.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This book was so interesting and I’d say it’s definitely prime weird girl lit fic 😂 it was also quite bingeable! This book has grit, sexuality, friendship, and navigating womanhood. I enjoyed following the monologues of Lena & Mitty but I wanted more from the plot by the end. 3.5 ⭐️

Fun and freaky feminist, sci-fi/speculative fiction. Definitely a “Stepford Wives” the 21st-century. He writing crackled, and I found myself calling friends and reading them passages I loved so much! Ms. Gatwood, bravo, you will be a must-read forevermore!

Whoever You Are Honey drew me in almost immediately. Olivia Gatwood creates an incredible sense of place in this novel with precise sensory details. I can't put my finger on how she does it, but the novel's sci-fi eeriness shines through descriptions of even the sunniest of places. The relationships between the core characters are the heart of the book for me. Warm but gritty, tender, tested by histories only sometimes known to each otherthat unfold to the reader as the plot progresses. This is exactly the kind of novel that I want to read all the time.
(ARC received from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group. Thank you!)