Early Thirties by Josh Duboff was a delightful friends to lovers story.
I fell in love with this book almost immediately. I was not expecting the story to be what it was. But it sure did captivate me. I read this novel fairly quickly, which I believe speaks to the flow and the novel. I wanted to keep reading as I was getting more invested and drawn into the story by the characters and their development throughout the novel.
A cut, funny and entertaining debut!

An interesting view at romance, with an ensemble cast that reminded me of 'Love, Actually'. A real page-turner that had me on the edge of my seat from the very start. Melancholic and angsty, I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Josh Duboff’s Early Thirties is an introspective, sharply observed, and deeply relatable novel about the shifting nature of friendship, ambition, and self-discovery in your early thirties. With humor, heart, and a painfully accurate portrayal of millennial anxieties, Duboff crafts a story that resonates with anyone who has ever questioned their life choices while navigating the complexities of adulthood.

At its core, the novel follows Victor and Zoey, best friends for a decade, as they wrestle with careers, relationships, and the realization that their once-effortless bond is beginning to fracture. Victor, a celebrity profile writer, grapples with professional and personal doubts, especially in the wake of a personal tragedy. Zoey, immersed in the chaos of a fashion startup, is forced to confront her own uncertainties—both in her career and engagement. As they drift apart, ignoring texts and avoiding hard conversations, the novel becomes a poignant meditation on how friendships evolve, sometimes in ways we least expect.

Duboff’s writing is immersive and filled with keen observations about modern adulthood, particularly the way friendships shift as priorities change. The depiction of career struggles, social circles filled with influencers and “It girls,” and the ever-present existential dread of being in your thirties feels so true to life. The book isn’t heavy on plot—it’s more of a slow burn, introspective character study—but the emotional depth and humor keep it engaging.

While most of the story unfolds through Victor’s perspective, leaving Zoey’s inner world somewhat underexplored, the novel still succeeds in capturing the nuances of their relationship. It’s not a romance, though it has romantic elements; rather, it’s a love story about friendship—the kind that defines us, grounds us, and sometimes, heartbreakingly, grows distant.

Early Thirties is a beautifully written, sometimes bittersweet, but ultimately heartwarming novel that speaks to the uncertainties of adulthood. If you love New York City settings, existential millennial dread, and stories that make you reflect on your own friendships, this one’s for you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

Thank you to Josh Duboff and Gallery Books for the ARC of Early Thirties!

Early Thirties is a book about people who are successful (or want to be) and their struggles to find connection as they move into a new era of their lives. It primarily follows Victor, a celebrity-focused journalist, and his best friend Zoey, who's helping to launch a celebrity fashion-focused app. Through relationship challenges, work drama, and even other side character chapters, we see flashes of their lives, moments here and there.

This book wasn't really for me, but it was for people who love reading character-focused stories with messy people. Bonus points if you'd be interested in a peek behind the scenes of celebrity culture and those in similar circles.

Here's the thing: Early Thirties phrases itself as being about friendship, being a relatable story about this less than glamorous era of your life. However I don't think I've ever read anything less relatable, and if I ever had a friend like any of the characters in this book, I would cut it off immediately. Everyone is immature, most characters seem legitimately narcissistic, and even the therapist in multiple chapters was absolutely terrible. That therapist would make me need therapy.

The whole thing felt like a commentary, but I have no clue what it was trying to comment on. There's character growth at the very end, but I'm still unclear why the characters decided to make changes and improve their lives. In the POVs for characters, I often found that I hated them MORE - which normally is what happens when you're not in their head, understanding their actions.

It was very confusing, but I did want to keep reading out of this sense of morbid curiosity, mostly. I know that these characters were not meant to be polished, I just deeply struggle with the summary blurb being used to market this story. This is kind of like if all the Magnolia Parks characters were in their 30s. But with more of a focus on the friends and less of a focus on the romantic relationships. (I didn't like Magnolia Parks)

In spite of the things I struggled with, I can acknowledge that the dialogue was written in a very human way, even if I found the logic of conversation flow jarring. The thought processes were also very human. I simply don't surround myself with people who consistently act on intrusive/impulsive thoughts, and every character in this book did that.

At the end of the day I'm glad I read it and I hope someone whose interest is piqued by this will pick it up. It's polarizing, and that's okay.

Thank you again for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

DNF @ 10%. I couldn’t get past the whiplash of starting off with the main character, Victor, in the hospital for an attempted suicide, to talk of celebrities, and then his inner monologues of not being able to move past his best friend being engaged. This was just not for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was a refreshing and captivating experience, and I found the writing to be both engaging and accessible. The story flowed smoothly, making it easy to stay connected to the plot and characters without feeling lost or overwhelmed. The author struck a perfect balance, keeping things interesting while still making the content feel approachable. Overall, it was a wonderful read, and I would definitely recommend it to others who are looking for an enjoyable and easy-to-digest book.

DNF. I struggled connecting with Victor's character. I had a hard time getting through his POV. I wasn't the biggest fan of his character and thought process. I requested this book because I was intrigued by Zoey and Victor's relationship. Their friendship fell flat. I just wasn't invested in their relationship. I thought the writing and character development felt shallow. Overall, this book wasn't for me. Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC 😊🩷

Quick read!
I turn 31 this year so i found this book relatable at times.

If you’ve ever hit your 30s and thought, "Wait, am I doing this right??", this book will hit home. It’s messy, emotional, painfully relatable, and basically a love letter to the friendships that shape us—even when life tries to pull us apart. Victor is a celebrity profile writer who’s kind of successful but stuck in that existential what-am-I-doing-with-my-life spiral. A personal tragedy throws him even further off course. Zoey is his best friend since college, navigating chaotic fashion startup life, relationship struggles, and that feeling of ugh, am I making the right choices?

They’ve been inseparable for years, but as their careers, personal lives, and priorities shift, their friendship starts to crack in ways neither of them knows how to fix. And honestly? It reminded me so much of one of my closest guy friends—the kind of friendship where you don’t need to talk every day, but when life gets messy, you realize how much that person has been part of your foundation. The way Victor and Zoey’s relationship ebbs and flows felt so real, and I saw pieces of my own friendships in their struggles to hold onto something that once felt effortless.

I really liked how friendships in adulthood were describe, especially how they shift. It was PAINFULLY accurate. Also, this was peak millennial anxiety – If you’ve ever questioned your career, relationships, or entire life path (so, all of us), this book GETS IT.

It was a bit slow at times as the story is more introspective than plot-driven, so if you’re looking for a page-turner, this isn’t it. I did not mind because I was vigorously nodding my head in agreement. I felt seen. I would have liked to see more of Zoey's perspective, most of the book is in Victor’s head, but I wanted more from Zoey’s perspective.

All in all, it was a beautifully written, deeply relatable novel about friendship, ambition, and growing up when life doesn’t look like the plan you had in your 20s. If you love NYC settings, existential millennial dread, and books that make you FEEL, this one’s for you!

This was an okay book. It was a slow start for me and I found myself having to really push through to finish it.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun book. I enjoyed it a lot!

I liked this cutsie friends to lovers story, and it was definitely fun and messy in the best way. what an amazing debut novel to release 🫶🏼 definitely would recommend!

It’s giving self deprecating humor about life and the uncertainty of juggling friendships, career goals, and the familiar question: “Am I where I’m supposed to be?”

The conversational writing style felt relatable, and the humor kept me engaged, but overall, the plot and what we got felt a little ehhh, it was different than I thought it would be I guess, and maybe a little dry. I found myself wishing for more depth in certain moments.

That said, it’s a fun, reflective read for anyone who’s ever felt stuck between who they are and who they want to be and if millennial humor and existential crisis vibes are your thing, you’ll enjoy this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts!

A beautiful, subtle, and sometimes painful exploration of adult friendship.

I was so sure of how I felt about this book, ready to DNF at 40%. I’m glad I stuck it out. While the book begins slowly, the characters start to develop around the halfway mark.

Entertainment writer Victor Harris is at the heart of this story. I don’t think he’s a groundbreaking character, but I know I’ll be thinking about him for a while. In many ways Victor of most of us, the parts we keep hidden: our insecurities, need for validation, the propensity to self-sabotage, etc. In a world increasingly focused on outward perception, it’s easy to lose track of what’s important, including friendship.

This is a theme throughout the book, not just with Victor, but also with Zoey and the other, more minor characters. I initially found these minor narratives to be extraneous, but upon reflection, I think they serve a purpose. You can be so many people at once—the person that others perceive, the person you put forward publicly, the person you hide away and keep to yourself. It’s not a question of whether one version is more valid than the other, but rather an acknowledgment that humans are multi-faceted and none of us are as polished as we lead others to believe. The more minor narratives allow the reader to see the characters from multiple perspectives; to see how someone can be a farce and successful, both at the same time.

While I was incredibly moved by the end of this book, I couldn’t give it a full five stars due to the slow first half. I understand that, in a book that focuses on characters over a strong narrative arc, a baseline has to be established to demonstrate growth. I wish that baseline had been established a little bit faster.

I also need to address the fact that the galley copy I received was marketed as Romance. This is a disservice to both the reader and the author. If readers go in expecting romance, they will be disappointed, which will (and already has, it seems) lead to poor reviews. The book has romantic elements, sure, but it is not a romance.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advanced reader copy of this book, provided in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

not a big fan because of the wrong expectations set by the cover and blurb but a decent read for the content and story in the book

This book is not what I expected. I 100% judged it by its cover and thought it was a rom-com. It is not. Because of this it took me a little while to get used to the writing style The story itself was intriguing and as someone about to be in their early thirties pretty relatable. None of the characters are good or bad. They just are. In that sense, I don’t think I really liked or was rooting for any of them. It felt like they didn’t need me too. But, I did overall enjoy it and wanted to know how it turned out in the end. I think this book is ideal for people who like Sally Rooney or Gabrielle Zevin. It’s a good debut

EARLY THIRTIES by Josh Duboff is such a messy, hilarious and absolutely relatable story about friendship and growing up, and I absolutely loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advanced copy!

This book started in a really dark place, but the overall tone of the book still managed to be lighter while handling some heavy topics — a balance I thought made it really readable. This book promised a look into the importance of friendship, and how friends can be a love story in their own. And I definitely think it followed through on that. True to the title this was an insight into the way that life and relationships shift during one’s early thirties, in a way that felt so true to life.

I’m unsure what this book wanted to be. The description doesn’t match what we got in the end. I think there were inklings of a story about how friendships evolve (sometimes for the worse) as we age, but it was bogged down by so many subplots and extraneous characters, it was hard to tell.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the writing style but the book just didn’t hold my attention. Maybe because of the time of year I read it but this one just didn’t keep me coming back