Thank you to MacMillan audio for the wonderfully narrated Green Dot by Madeleine Gray. I have to say that the narration from Sasha Simon perfectly captured to me the underlying wit, intelligence, and humor in Gray's writing.
It's a funny book, a main character who is so flawed, and yet to me to not flawed because she is so young and the 20s are really just a mush of confusion with adult roles, the dismay of being young but now in an adult world, and the uncertainty of identity and relationships. It's easy to understand how Hera, who isn't super sure she likes work, gets caught up in a relationship that we all can see is wrong and yet... understand how she can get caught up in it. Gray reminded me of how really young my 20s were, how it is a tough time, and reminded me of what it feels like to be young today, in a world filled with a lot of uncertainty, new ways for relationships to form through technology and communication, and that it can just be a lot.
I love a coming of age story and while I hesitated with a story that involves infidelity, this is done thoughtfully and in a way that really does bring to light the struggles of being 24, newly in the working world, and unsure of what comes next day to day. Great read!

I didn't like everything about this but I really grew to like the main character. She has a lot of problems, to say the least -- her obsession with a married man is just one of her problems. But her family, her dog, and her friends left an impression on me, they felt so real and important. The narrator was also really good -- it couldn't have been easy to get the right inflection when getting sympathy for a problematic main character.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

This one just wasn't for me. A young bisexual millennial lands their first office job only to find herself falling for an older journalist who also happens to be married. What follows is an angsty love affair told with humor and wit and perfect for fans of books like The Rachel incident by Caroline O'Donoghue or Old enough by Haley Jakobson. I had nothing against the writing itself, I just don't love an infidelity story. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start by saying, Sasha Simon was an immaculate choice for narration. Her voice, tone, and EVERYTHING fit the story incredibly well.

Now, I will say that I LOVED this story. Although Hera was simply not making good choices, it was hard not to empathize with her. She was frustrating yet so endearing. I mean, who DOES want to work? When you’re a twenty-something, love and logic do not coexist. This was captured perfectly.

SPOILER??

Heras growth was endearing and I was so proud of her.

Hera is 24 years old, has three art degrees and lives with her single father. She finally has conceded that she needs a job to provide for herself. She gets hired as an online community moderator. She’s been bored with her life, struggles somewhat with her bi-sexuality and longs to have contentment. Then enters a romantic interest who is married. This is not a romance though, it’s a character driven story about a young woman making all of the choices that had this older woman simultaneously wanting to shake her and be her friend at the same time.

The novel has wonderfully sarcastic and smart humor throughout and I laughed out loud many times. Hera is such a great main character. She’s wildly funny, but she unfortunately gets involved with Arthur and it’s sad to see this intelligent girl start to accept so much less for herself than she deserves. “He would care if I died! It’s a low bar but I’ll take it.” Watching her go down this cliched rabbit hole was frustrating and heartbreaking.

I thought this was so well written. Hera was bored with her life until she became obsessed with Arthur and the imaginary life she fantasized the two of them having. I felt Hera’s frustration, but at the same time I wanted this brilliant girl to open her eyes. We all know how these affairs almost always end up and which party gets hurt. What I felt the author did so beautifully in this debut was to take a tale as old as time and make it modern, fresh and unique. The audiobook production is outstanding and the narration by Sasha Simon is perfection.

Thank you to @henryholtbooks @madeleine_gray_ for an advance reader copy of this absolute gem and to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for an advance listening copy.

“A green dot tells me he’s online.”

Turns out that binge reading a book about someone obsessing over something reallllly sucks you in!

I was right there with my bestie Hera as she struggles finding her place in her post-uni life (relatable) and then meets Arthur, a married middle-aged colleague who brings excitement into her life (not relatable to me *personally*, but this entire book is written in such a realistic and vulnerable way that makes it so easy to picture this unfolding). The anxiety of communicating through social media is captured SO well - many of us know that fun feeling of being so distracted by waiting for the next text or response from someone that everything else is secondary, and our girl Hera really goes through it. I don’t normally enjoy fiction/tv shows/etc that weave in the Covid pandemic (I think it just feels too soon for me?) but it was done well here and actually lended something to the story.

This book is funny, tender, heartbreaking, and so very real. Would recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing this ALC!

I have mixed feelings about this book. At times I wanted to scream at Hera to wake up and see what was really happening and other times I thought back to being 24. I remembered how you can convince yourself that despite the million red flags that you think everything will work just like you imagined. Hera and Arthur are both not good people for continuing their relationship but Arthur is the most despicable. He is older and should know better but he is just trying to have his cake and eat it too. Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook

3 stars

Ugh. Hera is really doing 24 in the worst way possible. Is she alone? No. Is she tough to read? For me, yes. She was.

Hera, the m.c., is navigating the complexities of mid-20s existence, and this includes but is not limited to her financial situation, living environment, workplace, and especially love life. Her most naive and unfortunate decisions happen in the latter when she begins an affair with an older married guy. Instead of _Green Dot_, this should really be called Red Flags. Let me tell you. As a reader who is (thankfully) no longer 24, that was nearly all I could see while reading about this poor girl's misadventures and scandalous choices.

As my peers may expect, things don't go smoothly for Hera and the creepy object of her affection. A number of obvious complications arise, but don't worry; they'll be more obvious to you than they will be to her.

This novel is a great snapshot of a time that is truly challenging in many people's lives. If you're the kind of person who has some feelings over that time in your life and/or you have some major secondhand empathy struggles, well, buckle up.

This was an unexpectedly painful read. The narrator understood the assignment, and she showed me how infuriating it can be to be deceived, and how maddening it is to see a young woman fall for a man’s bullshit, and how painful it is to think your love is reciprocated, and that a difficult journey is worth it. I knew what would happen in the end, but I was still riveted throughout this whole novel. I couldn’t stop listening to it. I did feel like including Covid was unnecessary to the story, and with all of the mom stuff teased so much, I expected to actually find out what happened between them. But overall, I loved this book. I also adored all of the allusions to things millenials love, like Bridget Jones, Romy and Michele, Clueless, Bojack Horseman, and books like To the Lighthouse. I will definitely read more by Madeleine Gray.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC!

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Madeleine. I found her writing to be funny and flowed very well. The narrator was fantastic as well!

I would definitely read more from Gray in the future.

Since Hera is 24 I wouldn't consider this a coming of age story, but in a way it kind of feels like one. Hera seems very immature and ends up falling for an older man at the office. I didn't go into this book with any expectations so I was happy to follow along with Hera's story and to the inevitable conclusion. I like these kind of stories, where the MC is obliviously hopeful that things will work out and only with hindsight do they see where things could have been different. I think Hera is relatable and carefree while also being naive and impulsive.

I liked the way this book ended even if it isn't what I expected (in a way). There were times where I wanted to shake Hera and say "wake up" and I'm sure her friends felt the same way.

The narrator, Sasha Simon does a wonderful job voicing this story.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Madeline Gray for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, but I kind of despised the protagonist!

Look, we know from the beginning that she's going to be hard to like - she's actively engaging in an affair with a married man, that's the whole premise. But she's doing it from such a place of insecurity and self-hatred (think 'Queenie') that it's not to hard to empathize with her, not in a 'I could do that' way but in a 'oof she deserves better' way. Like when we watch her withdrawing from her social life, making herself smaller to fit into the tiny place he has for her in his life? Oof. Wanted to give the girl a hug.

HOWEVER once the wife is pregnant and she's still looking at the affair through a whiny 'why won't you leave her for meeeeee' way, all woe-is-me instead of woe-is-HER, she absolutely lost my empathy. GIRL. GIRRLLLL. Gah.

I listened to the audiobook, which was just lovely. Excellent narration!

📚 Series or Standalone: standalone
📚 Genre: women's fiction
📚 Target Age Group: adult
📚 Cliffhanger: no

✨ Will I Reread: maybe
✨ Recommended For: fans of 'Queenie' and 'Luster'

💕 Characters: 4/5 (for realism and being interesting, but 1/5 for likability)
💕 Writing: 5/5
💕 Plot: 4/5
💕 Pacing: 4/5
💕 Unputdownability: 4/5
💕 Enjoyment: 4/5 (in an I need to sit this protagonist down and *lecture* her way)
💕 Book Cover: 4/5 (being plus size is a big part of Hera's self-definition but the cover doesn't make it clear that she's a larger woman)

Thanks, NetGalley and Henry Holt, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was so not for me.. I'll admit it right up front - I am Gen X and have very little patience for the whining of Millennials. From the blurb I thought this was going to be something other than that though, so requested it anyway figuring it would be a snarky easy listen. Like a number of other reviewers, I was so drawn in by the brilliant line "adrift in her own smug malaise" in the blurb so I ignored my instincts, hoping to revel in the snark and witticism that I expected.

I did not expect an utter lack of remorse and comeuppance or the overall disdain for anything that wasn't to Hera's advantage in the moment she was considering it... I got annoyed quickly and realized that, clever blurb aside, this one wasn't for me.

Incidentally, I do feel that the narrator was paired very well to the story - in a positive way - and feel that she reflected the essence of the character well in her narration.

Young girl meets older married man who happens to also be her coworker,,, a tale as old as time...

The way that I lovvvveedddd this book. The witty commentary... the relatable content... the gorgeous one liners... I loved this. It made me laugh and it made me feel some deep feels... Gray really nails it with the employment search struggles, workplace woes, and "relationship" blues. I can't imagine someone not relating to at least pieces of this. Unfortunately for me... I related to a whole hell of a lot LOL

This narration was great. I thoroughly enjoyed the tone and mood that this narration brought to this awesome novel.

I was really excited for this one and I think overall I was a little disappointed. I love coming of age novels, I love people with messy lives, and I love people who are finding them selves. But I don't love people that continuously make the wrong choices over and over knowing that choice will cause them pain. Hera kept making poor choices and I really liked her and was annoyed that she used to date women and the first man she dated, she suddenly will just trusts anything he says and will keep him at all costs. Stay dating the women, don't fall for it!