I saw someone tag this as "cringe fiction" and I feel like that is a very apt description. Edie makes you feel second-hand embarrassment, but she's supposed to. She's obsessive, insecure, a bit too cavalier with mental illness, and she is a mirror to so many women. As a character study, I found her FASCINATING.

Was there much thrill in the mystery? No. But I'm not sure that this was intended to be a thriller. The plot was secondary to the characters, with the relationship between Edie and Peter acting like a character on its own. The cartoon cover clearly parodies the trend of romance covers and cozy mysteries, but this was not meant to be cozy. Rather this is a look at feminism, performative allyship, and the relationships women have to the world around them.

My main thing, which I've seen a lot of people say: there NEEDED to be trigger warnings. Drug use and abuse, overdoses, eating disorders, suicide (both ideations and attempts), physical abuse...the list goes on. There were a lot of threads that were started but needed to be explored more, like Edie's sexuality and her relationship with her parents.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. Take care of yourself while reading.

This book was so satisfying, so infuriating (compliment), and very fun. A great look at what it feels like to be a woman living in the world today (spoiler alert: it feels bad).

I was left generally confused on what this novel was aiming for. On the one hand I get the social commentary regarding men & privilege and on the other there's a murder mystery element that relies on the MC being hopelessly devoted to her murder suspect male bestie. Huh?

This book started strong and held my attention pretty well. The more the book carried on the more my interest waned. The characters were all terrible people (aside from Alex and Edie’s mom). By the end of the book it seemed the author was bored of the story and just glazed over and rushed its ending. I would have liked to have it feel like a more detailed
ending the way Emily detailed the first 3/4 of the book,

I went into this one based on cover alone and I’m so glad I did.

Edie is struggling but she doesn’t know it yet. She holds her best friend Peter on a pedestal, barely listens to Alex who could help her more than she realizes, and worries about her mom and her work in the tech industry constantly.

And then she meets Anaya on Peter’s first date with her and Edie’s whole world begins to change. Her obsession with Peter soon shifts to Anaya after she is found dead in her apartment weeks after that first date with Peter.

Nothing Serious is a story about obsession, about putting our faith in the wrong people, and about learning to trust and listen to ourselves and the people in our lives who we subconsciously keep at arm’s length.

4.5 stars
This book explores the complexities of loving someone when that person does not live up to your version of them.

We follow Edie as she is unhappily working in tech in San Francisco, watching her best friend Peter’s wild success as she struggles to find a place in what feels like a shallow and cutthroat environment. As the book progresses she becomes increasingly aware that Peter is more selfish and cruel than she knew. She tries to understand if he has changed, if she has changed, or if he had never been the person she thought he was at all. Both she and Peter are difficult to like, both selfish in their own ways, but we see Edie struggle with her own demons and fight to be a better person.

This book was very thought provoking, with themes of feminism, privilege, and the nuances of consent and modern-day dating. I enjoyed the morally grey characters and the mystery at the center created a momentum with the story that kept me invested.

I am taking away half a star though because Edie’s brief questioning of her sexual identity did not feel necessary to me, and the lack of exploration ended up feeling exploitative of the character she was attracted to. If it was meant to show that she was as manipulative and shallow as Peter, than it worked, but otherwise, it felt out of place.

I cannot say I enjoyed it. I could not feel anything for any of the characters. And it is more angsty than I generally like to read. These days I read for pleasure, light heartedness. I received this as an advance copy from NetGalley and am leaving this review of my honest opinion voluntarily.

I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and there were enough twists to make it interesting without being confusing. I can see reading it on a beach vacation where you don’t want a heavy read.

Edie at age 35 is insecure and intelligent. The insecurity is what causes her to be carrying a torch for Peter, her college friend and eternal best friend. Peter is a giant tool bag, terrible to women, drug abuser and pusher, and generally arrogant privileged jerk. It is cringy how she pines for him. Peter is the kind of guy who dates women in their early 20s because women in their mid thirties want to settle down and be in a serious relationship. Honestly, gross.

After 4 dates with Anaya, she turns up dead and Peter is the primary suspect. The rest of the book is Edie trying to figure out what happened and the mystery to solve.

It kills me that because romantic comedies are the top selling genre in the US, publishers put the wrong cover on it. If you’re expecting a book of millennial malaise (and why wouldn’t you) you may be disappointed. Also/ who named this book “Nothing serious”? It’s literally about EVERYTHING serious- addiction and drug abuse, sexual assault, overdose, suicidal ideation, eating disorders. It is a book that looks like it will deliver a happy ending, which it’s definitely not.

For a debut author; this is some really strong prose. The cultural observations are really intriguing and this book is intensely readable. I read it in one sitting. If you like mysteries with a FMC and feminist themes and are okay with some triggering subject matter, you will enjoy reading this book.

Thanks to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the ARC. Book to be published February 18, 2025.

#booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #booklover #arcreview #booktok #netgalley #bookrecommendations #Nothing Serious

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I found the main character to be too unlikeable to truly fall in love with the story. I wish she had been clever or funny or something but hating yourself as a personality trait seems to be overdone in literature nowadays.

This is a character heavy book. If you’re looking to follow a character and not really a plot, this book is for you. This book was on the shorter side but still left a punch. I really liked this one a lot.

The premise of this book had me intrigued and I was so excited to start it. Let's start with the fact that it's written in 3rd person -- which I do not prefer. Secondly, Edie was not a likeable character and Peter was supposed to be her best friend but he wasn't likeable either!

Edie couldn't mind her own business. Peter couldn't keep it in his pants or stay sober.

It was a struggle to get through this one. The only character I really liked was Edie's friend Alex who she basically brushed off throughout the whole book.

It was sad how Edie pined for Peter, when there were very few redeeming qualities about him -- the main things Edie mentioned were that he was tall, rich, and fit.

Huge thank you to William Morrow for the gifted ARC.

As soon as I saw this cover and read the synopsis, I knew I wanted to read this. The synopsis sounded so unique and I expected in to be a cozy mystery with a little romance on the side possibly, from the description.

This one is short and reads really quickly which is a definite perk. Things started out really well the first 30% and then it just got...weird. I'm not sure what it was trying to be, but ultimately I just wanted it to end after the halfway point.

I wish I had more positive things to say, but sadly it wasn't for me!

2.5 stars rounded up

The title gives this book a cozy, romance feel but it’s anything but that. Murder, obsessive behavior. I wanted to like the main character but she was just not likable.

The title of this book might make you think this is about one-night-stands and casual hookups. There is a degree of Tinder-type-dating situations happening, but there are also a lot of serious issues as well. Namely, how white men with money wield their power against women. Because of that, parts of this were tense in a tough-to-read sort of way.

Edie is one of the few female engineers at her tech company. She’d worked at a nonprofit for years, which was fulfilling, but things happened that meant she needed to make more money, and now she works for an app business she can’t stand. She’s 35 years old and freezing her eggs because not only is Mr. Right not anywhere to be found, she can’t even find Mr. Mildly Acceptable. Maybe her friendship with Peter is clouding things. When he ends a long-term relationship, she wonders if this could be her chance. But he immediately hooks up with a gorgeous feminist professor. When that professor ends up dead after a date with him, Edie becomes obsessed with finding out what exactly happened.

I liked the female characters in this, and the situations were complex, which I appreciated.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES FEBRURARY 18.

I flew through Nothing Serious way too fast! First of all let me shoutout @goodreads for the giveaway win. And also thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an approved egally as well!

Nothing Serious is a unique read and focuses primarily on the relationship of characters. Throughout the book, you get to see how the FMC makes excuses for her “best friend” and finds out he’s anything but perfect. A lesson can be learned here, to really view someone at face value and not what you want them to be. I enjoyed the characters and the writing style. Thank you to @emjsmith for this wonderful read! Would love to read more. 💕

#netgalley #goodreadsgiveaway #nothingserious #bookstagram #ARC #4stars #booksbooksbooks

I really wanted to like this one because the cover was so relatable. I get that this is kind of a coming of age story, but at 35 still being a pick me girl is just so sad. Edie’s character lacks so much emotional maturity and her relationship with Peter is sooooo inappropriate. And don’t get me started on Peter, keeping Edie in his back pocket as an ego boost. Like I totally get what the author is trying to do but it was painful to swallow. I feel for Edie because I was once just like her. The writing is really good and captivating, and the book really made me feel something. Even if it was aggravation and anger.

Nothing Serious is my first thriller/mystery book in awhile. There were moments in time where I noticed that we weren't going anywhere plot wise, kind of in a circle. The story ends with little to none satisfactory solution which, in my opinion, is needed in a story like this.

Sometimes, we don't get an answer from the people that we want it from the most. Sometimes, it may just be us that cares a little too much.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Nothing Serious.

For a title called Nothing Serious, the themes of this book are deadly serious.

TW and CW: eating disorders, alcoholism, domestic abuse, sexual abuse and violence, drug addiction, to name a few.

The main character, Edie Walker, is like so many female protagonists in many books I've been reading, regardless of genre; pathetic, lacks confidence and self esteem and needs a man to feel fulfilled, namely her BFF.

She idolizes and lusts after Peter, a handsome (natch) and wealthy tech bro who made bajillions and just sleeps his way through life.

When a woman Peter is dating is found dead under suspicious circumstances, this sets Edie off on an obsessive quest if Peter is responsible.

But what will she do if he is?

There's nothing darkly comedic or amusing about this narrative; there are so many triggers here even I felt disturbed and it takes a lot to do that.

First, there's nothing redeemable about Edie; she's pathetic, she's a loser, and I couldn't stand her.

She makes the right decision at the end but it's not enough to get me to like her.

I understand the blind eye she turns to Peter is partly based on her abusive father and traumatic upbringing she has refused to acknowledge and face.

Still...I wanted to shake sense into Edie and had to remind myself she was a middle-aged woman, not 22 because her thoughts and actions are incredibly immature.

Second, there's nothing redeemable about Peter; he's a druggie, he treats women like garbage, and is not a good person.

I know we stay friends with certain people for a long time because we're accustomed to them, we're used to them and their quirks and it's hard to find new friends. But Edie's obsession with Peter is something else she needs to examine in relation to her poor relationship with her dad.

Third, my biggest issue with the book is: what's the point?

What's the point of Edie's obsession with Peter and turning a blind eye to his flaws for so many years?

Are we to blame her childhood for that? Once again, someone shirking accountability and responsibility for their mistakes?

What are we supposed to learn from this narrative?

That no one wins and the bad guy gets off scot-free and people like Edie wander around delulu, miserable, and unable to change?

What's the point?

Or maybe there is no point and that's life.

Nothing Serious ended up not entirely being what I expected and I had a hard time figuring out how that detracted from what I liked about it, but what it really came down to was a lot of the plot is actually the main character just being obsessive and indecisive. There isn't really a mystery here, it's more of a suspenseful novel about will she or won't she do the right thing.

Nothing Serious focuses on Edie, a single, 35 year old white woman in San Francisco whose only true friends are Alex, a lesbian woman she met through work, and Peter, her college friend who beat up a man who was raping her. Edie is deeply obsessed with Peter in a way that goes well beyond friendship and the traumatic experience in which she met him. Peter and Edie share significant details about their sex lives (or lack thereof) with each other which contributes to their unhealthy dynamic. After Peter breaks up with his long term girlfriend, he invites Edie to meet a new date of his, a woman named Anaya, who Edie transfers her obsession to. Anaya is reciprocal in their friendship however shockingly, she ends up dead a few days later after a date with Peter. This sends Edie on a spiral of obsession trying to figure out what happened and trying desperately to exonerate Peter.

All throughout this book I was waiting for something shocking or some kind of surprise reveal to happen and it never does, which makes the plot drag. Much of the plot focuses on feminist topics such as how women are treated in the workforce, women being gaslit by men, women experiencing abuse and rape, and even how many women may need to freeze their eggs. I found the exploration of these topics to be interesting and I like authors that take on issues such as male supremacy and rape culture. What detracted from this was Edie's behavior although perhaps the point the book was making is that men can act in truly off putting ways and get away with it whereas women cannot.

This is not at all a classic whodunit kind of book, however it is absolutely worth considering, particularly for folks interested in feminism.

Many thanks to William Morrow and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This review is my honest opinion.