An incredibly strong first novel from Sash Bischoff! This writer is ooozing talent! This was a fast paced and captivating book. While some of the chapters were unnecessarily long I appreciated the dark and twisty complexities of the different characters - particularly Lila. I was somewhat disappointed by the ending but ultimately that didn’t detract from my appreciation of the book as a whole. Looking forward to Bischoff’s next offering already! Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Twisty, turny, not sure what is real and what isn’t! Captivating at times but confusing at others. Not for me but will be loved by readers who enjoy a multi-layered, retrospective exposed at the end story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!!

What a good book! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I loved the main characters! They had great chemistry and worked so well together. I loved how the book just flowed. My first by this author but will not be my last!!!

I loved this feminist take on Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night! Sweet Fury is the perfect blend of literary fiction and psychological suspense. I was completely blown away by the complex plot and characters.

This story is startlingly in its confrontation of the variability of truth. The different literary formats with the session notes, journal entries, and changing POVs not only create an incredibly immersive experience, but allow the reader to view each character’s own twisted perception of reality, making it nearly impossible to know who’s telling the truth. With the comparison to The Silent Patient, I was already on my guard with certain characters, but the subtle twists and turns kept me hooked from start to finish. A brilliant debut!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was full of twists and turns. I'm still not sure I entirely understand everything that happened. Each character seemed to have so many secrets and so much going on in the background. The only character who seemed a truly good person was Maggie, and she was my favorite part of the book. I'm glad to have had a chance to read it. I definitely want to go read some F. Scott Fitzgerald now and understand more layers of this story.
Thanks to Net Galley for the book to review.

Lil is a strong, multi-dimensional character and I enjoyed the switching back and forth between her Princeton days and the present time. Secrets come out and tensions mount. A very enjoyable read.

I'm surprised now much I ended up enjoying this. I thought some parts were slow, but the twists at the end made up for it. However, if you don't like stories about unlikeable characters, this may not be the best pick.

Lila Crayne and Kurt Royall are about to reinvest Fitzgerald’s classic “Tender is the Night”. Lila, America’s Sweetheart and Kurt, one of Hollywood’s best directors are a powerhouse of a couple. Tender is the Night, is a book about a psychiatrist, Dick who is married to one of his patients, Nicole. Dick repeats this pattern by falling for another woman, Rosemary, who he is trying to rescue/save. Lila begins to work with a therapist, Jonah Gabriel and ends up in a very similar situation as in the novel by Fitzgerald. Lila’s relationship with Kurt comes under the microscope of therapy and Jonah is determined to save Lila. Working on this film is a dream come true for Lila or is it? What is happening in the relationship between Lila and Kurt? Between Lila and Jonah? Who is lying? Who is lying to themselves?

Wow, this is a twisty tale, full of turns and mis-directions. The characters and the dynamic between them is well written. The reader can feel the tension building, knows something is amiss but not quite sure which character is lying. Once, the truth is revealed, it is definitely a scandalous turn of events. A very enjoyable read, I look forward to reading more from this author.

Sweet Fury by Sash Bischoff is a really interesting story. I enjoyed every moment, great story! Great writing.

Thank you Simon & Schuster for the copy of Sweet Fury by Sash Bischoff. I started this book a couple of times and couldn’t get into it. When I finally was able to, I realized that it just wasn’t for me. The story took a long time to get interesting and I hated the chapters from the therapist's notes because they were in some kind of shorthand. Maybe if I had read Tender is the Night first I would have enjoyed this book more, so if you have read it and loved it you might love this book too. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

This was an interesting literary thriller. This is a hit or miss genre for me and I most definitely have to be in the right frame of mind. I think literary thrillers are darker, and a little more plot driven, with more suspense than a traditional thriller. In the case of this book there were a lot of moving pieces, and I felt the precision just oozing off the page. This book was so engrossing. I just felt an innate draw to finish it and get to the bottom of everything. It was a little bit magical to read just how everything came together and panned out. This one was a little tricky because of all the moving pieces and keeping everything in line but so worth it. The writing was well done as well, and I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if it wasn’t so amazing. The ending on this one was pretty predictable, which means it was really obvious because I rarely think about endings before they happen. While I am hit or miss if this is necessarily a bad thing, in this case it wasn’t my favorite and I wish that it came out of nowhere.

I feel obligated to start with an admission; I've never read Fitzgerald’s Tender Is the Night. Actually, I haven't read anything at all by Fitzgerald.
That said, the more he was mentioned the more the dread set in of an inevitable point at which the book would go over my head in its entirety. That never happened! In fact, what happened was nearly the opposite - I know more about Tender is the Night now than I did before finishing Sweet Fury. Without that relief of never having to face FOMO, I couldn't have given this 5/5.

On Sash Bischoff herself - this being her debut novel I feel like it's fair to single her out, apart from Sweet Fury - I was astounded over and over again how beautifully she could convey even the simplest of ideas. Her word choice and phrasing packed a punch, adding to the story itself which is also a knockout. Sash, if you're reading this, did your brain come with a built-in thesaurus??? You have made the list of authors I'm convinced got some upgrade I wasn't privy to.

Throughout the novel, I stopped to make notes over and over again. It seemed like every few pages a point was made or a new perspective brought up that deserved a mic drop after it. This take on feminism is perhaps my new favorite. When Lila said "Kurt's convinced that a feminist adaptation means lending agency to the women - when all he's really doing is lifting the blame from the men"? Bullseye. And how I hadn't thought of this on my own before, I couldn't tell you. Or if I had, I hadn't given the thought the time it deserved. Such a - frankly - badass take on the disservice men/society/culture/history paid women. Almost like a "help me, help you" situation, with everything self serving in the end.

The addition of Jonah to the mix is *chef's kiss*. A few of his therapy notes in, I was reminded of the nonfiction book And How Does That Make You Feel? by Joshua Fletcher. It almost feels like a glimpse behind the curtain, if you've ever participated in therapy yourself. The paranoia I felt during Fletcher's book was very similar to what I felt as a result of Jonah's contribution (at the beginning, anyway).

I have to admit I saw the ending coming from a while away. HOWEVER, there were smaller twists (but still vital to the story, a rarity IMO) that I never would have guessed. The Silent Patient comparison was an accurate one. Similar, but done much much much better. And with an added layer of complexity.

{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Sash Bischoff and Simon & Schuster for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!}

Revenge tasted sweet.  ️ ️ ️ ️ ️

Lila Crayne is the it girl, a starlet. She's engaged to talented filmmaker Kurt Royall, and together they're re-booting a feminist adaptation of Tender is the Night, a misogynistic but renowned classic written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  To prepare for her role as Nicole - a patient who falls in love and marries her therapist - Lila decides to go method and starts seeing a therapist of her very own. As she begins to open up in her sessions, her life quickly cascades into pieces and it's up to accomplished and well-known trauma expert, Jonah Gabriel to put those pieces back together. 

I read Tender is the Night because I wanted some familiarity with the plot while reading Bischoff's re-telling.  Tender wasn't for me even though I typically enjoy reading the themes it carries throughout so I didn't know what to expect reading this, but I was blown away. I cannot tell you how much I loved Sweet Fury. I got totally lost in it. I was absorbed by how she reflected the style of Fitzgerald's writing coupled with the lavish settings and interpersonal relationships. I loved the Gatsby references (duh, my favorite book), the shroud of mystery (who the hell is telling the truth), and the very, very unexpected ending (wow). First book?! How?! So impressive.

For me, this reading experience felt like The Silent Patient (but better) meets Tartt's The Secret History but told through a film lens. If you like either/both of those, you will also love, love Sweet Fury and should read it when it comes out on January 7, 2025! 

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. Lots of topics from mental health to revenge, and much in between. Lila is a movie star in a rather strange relationship with her director of her first film and her latest. It was hard at times to understand the relationship, which was probably the point. There is a lot of behind the scenes of movie making and different POV's which helped in getting to know the characters.

The movie they are making is a feminist version of Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I admit to not knowing the story or being a big fan of Fitzgerald so I had a hard time with all the references to the original work. I am sur if I was more familiar with his work I would have enjoyed the book even more.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

Sweet Fury by Sash Bischoff tells the story of famed actress Lila Crane and fiancé Kurt Royall who are filming a remake of Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. Lila then seeks out a psychologist Jonah Greer. This story is told through a narrative plus the psychologist notes and Lila’s diary. A story that parallels Tender is the Night.

The story kept me reading and wanting to see what happened. It’s a good read but I was utterly confused about the epilogue. Not sure what the author was trying to tell us.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I confess I always rooted for Nicole and “Tender is the Night “and it’s great to see this 21st century reinterpretation. A both satisfying and chilling thriller and literary critique of gender and madness and the male voice.

This is a solid debut. There were twists and turns that I was surprised and delighted by and overall it's a fun read. The Fitzgerald world is turned on it's head a little by looking at his world through the female gaze. The idea of revenge and misogyny is palpable. I did have a hard time settling into it as there were long swathes of dialog and descriptions that I thought dragged the book down. But the story itself is worth a read. I'd recommend this and I would like to see what Sash Bischoff writes next. I think they have a nice career ahead of them. Thank you Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for an early ARC.

4.5 Stars !! What a brilliantly written debut novel. I could not put it down. The F. Scott Fitzgerald references were great to find scattered throughout the book. Lots of important topics discussed in the book like male misogyny and the me too movement. The ending of the book was very suspenseful with twist and turns at every corner. I highly recommend giving this one a read.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

There were some good aspects to this book, I wanted to know what the trap was because something wasn't right. The reference to F Scott Fitzgerald's work was too much for me.