I love Linh, even with all of her quirks and fears. This was unexpectedly one of my favorite reads of the year. Just a simple yet perfect book.

After enduring a childhood with a hateful and verbally abusive alcoholic father, Linh becomes overly protective of her divorced mother. Her mother starts dating a coworker, and Linh is determined to find evidence that he is not good to her mother by spying on them. Meanwhile, her life is going nowhere, with no real friends or relationships. When a shooting happens at the university where she is employed, she becomes even more obsessed with her mother's dating life.

The obsession with her mother is a distraction from her lack of fulfillment, and her anxieties cause her to engage in intrusive behaviors. She is 100% relatable due to the struggle of letting go. She has detached, and her Vietnamese heritage in a white, rich town plays a role in her inability to trust or connect with anyone. The author wrote a poignant story emphasizing the importance of personal growth, self-actualization, and accepting your past. It explored the complicated aspects of human relationships, empathy, and forgiveness.

The narration and sound quality of the audiobook was fantastic. It added to the bluntness of Linh's quips.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Tantor Audio.

Thank you GetRedPRBooks, Thao Votang, Alcove Press, and Tantor Audio for my #gifted copies of Linh Ly is Doing Just Fine! #linhlyisdoingjustfine

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐡 𝐋𝐲 𝐈𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐨 𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: 𝐄𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐠
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

4.5★

There is so much to love about this debut novel by Thao Votang! It was such a unique read and I loved Linh’s character so much. Votang used humor and honesty to create such a relatable main character.

Linh Ly is dealing with trauma from her past and her present. When her recently divorced mother starts dating a coworker, Linh will do whatever it takes to make sure he is worthy of her mother. After seeing the men she has dated in the past, and knowing what her father was like, she is determined to make sure her mother gets it right this time. Her desire to help her mom quickly turns into an obsession, and gives her something to focus on, especially after a university shooting at her work. Over time, Linh starts to realize there might be differences between the mother from her childhood and the woman she is getting to know as an adult.

I love how this book explores themes of family trauma, family dynamics, Vietnamese heritage, self-discovery, and mental health, to name a few. This book reminded me in some ways of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and I think fans of that book will enjoy this one.

🎧About halfway through reading the physical book, I realized that my absolute favorite Eunice Wong was narrating the audiobook so I had to make the switch. It’s no surprise that Wong delivered a stellar performance. I will forever be in awe of how well she brings every single character to life. I could listen to Wong all day long. You can feel so much emotion and heart in her voice and I truly loved my time listening to this audiobook!

Posted on Goodreads on July 9, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around July 10, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on July 23, 2024
**-will post on designated date

Living in Texas I enjoyed those references. I can’t imagine Linh watching her mom date.i found this one hard to get into.

This story is all over the place. First of all, the protagonist is not consistent. The story has lots of good elements but lacks unity all together.

A Vietnamese family broken apart by addiction and mental health. Yet it didn’t feel like a cultural experience. This book tried to be like Eleanor oliphant but was not as good. The story kept one upping itself with traumatic experiences and honestly was kind of boring. I did not like the characters, I think that was the biggest downfall.

What a fun listen. I was lucky enough to be able to review the audio book version of this book. I enjoyed it very much. I’d recommend it to all fiction lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

Whelp. I had plans today. Thought to myself, just listen to a chapter or two. Listened to the entire thing in a day. Nothing got done that I had planned and I'm okay with that. This book was everything I needed at the moment. It was so well written and honestly Linh could be all of us. I particularly relate to her internet stalking. However my favorite quote is "friends come with obligations". God this book was so good.

Thank you Natgalley and tantor media for the free ALC. My opinions are being left voluntarily. This staeted off well if you read pineapple family and loved it or tje maud series. Definitely character driven

I am a huge fan of the narrator.

3.5/5