If the US cover of Sophie Kemp’s Paradise Logic appeals to you, the book won’t let you down. It’s upsetting, it’s funny. It’s not NOT a tragically accurate depiction of what dating in New York in your 20’s will do to your psyche.

Think of it as the weird girl fiction final boss. Like any final boss it’s demanding, it will it fatigue you. But I think this book accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, so anything less than 5* would be wrong.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing this e-arc.

I'm not sure if this book wasn't meant for me, or if it was truly garbage. The narration was jarring, as the protagonist was less of a person and more of an alien in a human body trying to feign humanity. "Reality" was less of a 23-year-old girl and more of a receptacle for male desire. The only desire that she expressed with sincerity was belonging- because being a girlfriend gave her a sense of belonging. It was also fraught with drug use and a general disregard for hygiene that made me nauseous.

Well, what the hell was that? To call this book a fever dream would be an understatement, but with that said, I loved what it set out to do. Reality's mission to be the best girlfriend, before she even has a boyfriend, is a great social commentary on how we idolize relationships, especially ideal relationships, to the point of commodifying everything relating to the acquisition of that relationship. Go into this book with an open mind, and I think you will be rewarded deeply.

Thank you to Sophie Kemp, NetGalley, and Simon and Schuster for this eARC for my honest review.

What a fun, wild ride! Reality is trying to navigate the turbulent waters of the Brooklyn dating scene to become the BEST GIRLFRIEND EVER. Reality's delusion was on a housewife level and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her perspective. You can judge a book by the cover, it matches perfectly.

reality's mission is simple: it's to be the best girlfriend she can. make of that what you will.

for some people, this will resonate so so much, but the robotic characterization makes it hard to get to know reality and when that development comes, it comes much too late. imagine going on a roller coaster where it's fun all the way up, but when that drop comes, that's it. that's the end. if characterization wasn't the goal, i wanted more of an exploration of gender roles and dating for gen z, but it just wasn't there. i did have a good time though and sped through this one quickly.

Omg. What a fever dream. But honestly “fever dream” is like my favorite sub-genre.

Reality Kahn is a quest to become the best girlfriend in the world, and so as a first step she must find a boyfriend — leading us to Ariel, a very smart and intellectual adjust professor of Assyrian cultures.

Reality makes it her ever-loving job to care for Ariel while also furthering herself to be the best girlfriend ever, which leads her to obsess over “societal” expectations from her favorite magazine “Girlfriend Weekly,” fawn after other girlfriends, and jump into psychopharmacological experiments from evangelical TV doctors. All totally normal stuff right??? lol anything to stay outta Mount Nothing and that annoying voice narrating her every move in her head… lol

Keep an open mind with this book, girlfriend and remember that Existence is meaningless and random. YOLO.

Note: I’m still trying to figure out if any of this book’s plot was real, or just a drug-induced nightmare, but boy oh boy, am I a subscriber to weird fiction. So very well done.

I am so thankful to Simon Books, Sophie Kemp, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this book before it hits shelves on March 25, 2025.

This novel is a wild, genre-bending ride through the highs and lows of love, self-discovery, and the relentless pursuit of perfection. Reality Kahn is a protagonist unlike any other. Earnest, ambitious, and guided by the mysterious wisdom of Girlfriend Weekly, she embarks on an absurd yet deeply relatable quest to become the ultimate partner. From starring in waterslide commercials to joining a bizarre clinical trial, Reality’s journey is as hilarious as it is poignant.

The writing crackles with sharp humor, surreal twists, and biting cultural commentary, making every page a delight. The novel expertly balances satire with sincerity, exploring the absurd expectations placed on women in relationships while delivering a truly unique love story that isn’t just about romance but about self-worth and the limits of reinvention.

Brilliantly original and compulsively readable, this book is perfect for fans of offbeat, thought-provoking fiction that challenges conventions while keeping readers entertained.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ummm where do I even start? Or maybe what dimension do I start in? Because Paradise Logic didn’t just take me out of this world—it blasted me across other universes, heaven, hell, and a few fever-dream suburbs in between. This is hands-down one of the most bizarre and hilarious books I've ever read in my life.

At the very start, it was chaotic—kind of made me feel shy and nervous. What am I doing here? Where is this going to take me? But then it hit me: it was Aquarius season, baby. And this book? Pure Aquarius energy.

We follow 23-year-old Reality Kahn on a quest to become the greatest girlfriend of all time. Think zine-making, aspiring notary vibes, and the very very best waterslide commercial actress on the Eastern Seaboard. Oh, and she gets life advice from an ancient, otherworldly ladies' magazine called Girlfriend Weekly.

I know that this book isn’t going to be for everyone but it absolutely is for me. Open your mind, maaan. This book is what I imagine K3t@m!n3 feels like. Freaky, hilarious, insightful, and dreamy in the best nightmare kind of way. I have no clue what was real and what wasn’t—but I do know I’m a different person after reading it.

Paradise Logic is available March 25, 2025. YOLO. Read on, man..

ok wow this was really interesting and i quite liked it. very much a sorta thing KINDA like works by ottessa moshfegh or mia ballard but Reality, unlike many others, doesn't seem to be self-aware. or very aware at a,l. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

you know the clip of trinity the tuck saying ‘girl I don’t know what the fuck she’s saying but I’m living’ on drag face?? perfectly sums up my experience with this book. not really sure what just happened but was thoroughly entertained. bizarre, confusing, fever-dreamish, chaotic…kind of the dream weird girl book. also can’t wait to see what this author writes in the future because I have no idea what’s going on in her brain.

It was a fever dream. A trip. A hotmess but, YOLO lol
The cover? please leave it, I love it! Loved it

Personally, I couldn't get on with this book, but I can see its appeal for the right kind of reader. I appreciated its surreal energy and it's definitely original!

Wow. I felt like I was having a stroke while reading this. It was a fever dream. A trip. I loved it. I don't know why I loved it, because it made little sense and the characters were weird and the whole thing was unhinged. But I deeply enjoyed it. I really liked our odd MC. The cover is wild. Life is meaningless and random. YOLO.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.

ABSOLUTELY BONKERS. I've never read anything like this before. Kemp has a singularly unique voice, and her writing is such a trip. The story is out of this world and while I didn't follow 100% what was happening the whole time, I had a blast on the ride.

This book is hilariously twisted. I loved every second of this fever dream. I’ll be honest, I think I was a little too dense/close minded when I started reading it and didn’t appreciate or fully grasp the first 20% of this book and need to go back and reread it. The main character is somehow simultaneously relatable and fully untethered from reality (ha). What a fun read. A film adaptation would be nuts (in a good way).

Honestly, this book was complete and utter bonkerballs and I loved every second I spent with it. It's almost impossible to talk about and be coherent (I've tried several times while reading) bc any description you give sounds like you're describing some fucked up fever dream Zillennial nonsense? Idk. I loved it, will read it again, and can't wait to see what Kemp writes next.

I really enjoyed this book but I think it is going to be one that most people will not enjoy. I know there is an audience out there for it and I will be recommending this to friends and customers but not without first making sure they know what they're getting into. Excited to pick up a copy when it gets published and really pick apart everything in a second reading.

I was surprised when I received an ARC of this book, since this is not something I usually gravitate towards, but it made me curious enough to accept.

I had fun with this, even though at about 85% I just wanted it to end.

Overall, a good time, but it was missing something for me.

I really enjoyed reading this book - which I ran through in about 2 sittings - but I'm not exactly sure it was for me - which is ok! and good even. I think it's very interesting but would only work for the right reader. This is one of those times that I think maybe I'm too old to give a proper review of a young person's writing (I'm only 36 but still). The narrator is great and the pacing/format is fun. There are some phrases such as "doing sex" that really pulled me out of the text because they felt a little too twee (like "furious jumping" from Poor Things) or too forced/overdone (like a Borat joke). This aside, I would recommend the book to the discerning young person - it's incredibly Gen Z and I don't mean that in a bad way. I particularly liked the last stretch of the book in which [spoiler?] our narrator walks through a desert to pull a jewel encrusted sword from a stone. I read this book right after finishing Sally Rooney's latest and I found them both to be wonderful endorsements of the search for love *and* self-love or at least the maintenance of a sense of self throughout the search for love. It was a great one-two punch. There has been such an aura of hetero-pessimism in the last ... decade? and I appreciate a story of a woman wrestling with this and offering something well, completely different.

Not going to lie, this was a difficult read. But it was a solid piece of writing. Sophie Kemp absolutely stuck to her voice and wrote a work that should be used in high school classes. Well done.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.