TW/CW: 911 mention, depression, anxiety, grieving, mourning, death of parents, death by suicide, death of baby, gaslighting, toxic family relationships, toxic friendships, cutting, racism

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Enka meets Mathilde in art school. Mathilde is a dizzyingly talented yet tortured artist whose star is on the rise—and Enka, struggling to make art that feels original, is immediately drawn to her. The two strike up an intense bond that soon turns codependent. But when Mathilde’s fame reaches new heights, Enka becomes desperate to keep her best friend close—no matter the cost.

Enka quickly falls in love with and marries a billionaire whose family’s company is funding an unconventional technology purported to heighten empathy, which could allow someone else to inhabit Mathilde’s mind and absorb the trauma from her brain. Soon, the boundaries between Mathilde and Enka begin to blur even further, setting in motion a disturbing series of events that forever changes their lives.
Release Date: May 13th, 2025
Genre: Horror
Pages: 304
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Dystopian setting
2. Writing style was good
3. Enka is the biggest villain

What I Didn't Like:
1. "You breathe in and I breathe out" repeated over and over
2. First 20% of book was dull feeling and saturated with boring art stats and styles
3. Some parts felt repetitive at times

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

Enka's obsession with Mathilde is creepy. I can't understand how Enka was able to get into this program. She has no art direction and seems to just copy other people.

This weird world where French people are treated like paras is crazy.

I hate Enka. She ignores Mathilde for years but then she is getting married so she wants her there. It's like why? She gets jealous when people give Mathilde attention when Enka wanted the attention of knowing Mathilde in person. She doesn't make any sense. She says she isn't jealous but she clearly is. She then goes right back to ignoring her after the wedding.

When Enka finds Mathilde and sees she's grieving the death of her child she pretty much dismisses her feelings and tells her to get over it.

Enka even thinks she's happy that Mathilde's child die so she can be there for her kids. What a terrible friend. There was like one moment where I actually felt bad for Enka and that was how Mona treated her and wouldn't let her have a relationship with her child. That's all I am willing to give Enka!

Ahh and then Enka sells out Mathilde and says she is self harming and needs to stay because Enka needs her for her art.

Omg so Enka can actually get worse... When she finds out that Mathilde is kind of like a modern marvel she pulls out the tube for her testing changing the results. I only have one issue with this though since the one scientist saw her scan how would he have not noticed that it changed when he left the room and wasn't what it said before?

Shut up that Logan is actually a clone of his father's dna. I gasped out loud!

Ahhhhhh and now Enka is getting access to Mathilde’s brain and is thinking of taking her talent for her own.

Of course this piece of crap human Enka would tell her husband that he is nothing and not human. How horrible.

I can not believe that Enka gets a happy ending. She gets the husband she ruined. She gets the family and friends. Everyone thinks that Mathilde is dead and now she has woken up enough to ask for pen and paper to draw, but we know Enka hasn't changed and she's going to steal all her art.

Final Thoughts:
Can A24 get on making this a movie yet???

My heart is weeping for Mathilde. She lost everything just because she gave Enka a chance at friendship. She was already so broken and she trusted her only for this psycho to bleed her dry.

I almost quit this book the first 75 pages in because it was art heavy (yes, I know it's what the book was about) but something told me to stick with it and see where it went - I am so glad I did! It took so many turns from a toxic friendship, to a weird dystopian world, and then husband that's a clone. It was such a crazy story. I started with one star, went to three stars, jumped to 4 stars, and ended with this book getting 5 stars, but how could I give it any less!? So much packed into 300 pages.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really tried to get into Immaculate Conception, I promise—but it just didn’t work for me. I had to DNF at 9%, which I know is super early, but I couldn’t connect with the writing or the story. It felt distant and hard to engage with, even though the premise had potential. I’m sure it’ll resonate with the right reader, but sadly, that wasn’t me.

Immaculate Conception was a great read! I love Huang's writing. I liked the characters and the exploration of art, money, and technology.

I liked this! It was a good mix of science fiction and weird chick lit that it felt like a taste breaker but also was right up my alley. I think that it would have benefited from concentrating more on one concept than as many as were commented on because it would’ve added the extra depth that I feel could take this from a 4 star to 5 star read for me.

Everything I need from a literary fiction. My new auto buy author!!! I loved her debut novel and this one did not disappoint - it had that same raw and eerie quality that forces you to reflect.

Are you actually kidding me? There’s no better feeling than reading a book that genuinely feels like nothing you’ve ever read before. This book was.. immaculate. (sorry)

It’s impossible to even review this book - it was truly so captivating getting sucked into the art world in a kind of “near future” with technology we don’t have.

The friendship between Enka and Mathilde was fascinating to experience. This was truly a masterpiece, start to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Immaculate Conception isn't like any book I read before. It is horrifyingly steeped in AI and technology advances whilst showing us all too human frailties. Brilliant.

Set in an alternative future where people in the US are segregated into Enclave or Fringe and physical barriers have been set up to stop the two mixing. Enka is Fringe and set to stay that way but her art is just enough to get her a place at BCAD (an art college) where she meets the brilliant Mathilde.

As Enka and Mathilde form a friendship, Enka begins to realise she will never have Mathilde's vision and her envy grows while she becomes ever closer to her. Enka decides to take her own path and marries Logan, a multi millionaire with connections to the tech art world. Her life seems complete until an increasingly reclusive Mathilde disappears and Enka has to mine her memories to find her suffering friend.

I can't say any more because I'll give away the plot. The novel itself packs a huge punch as Enka tries to make herself and her art in the image of Mathilde. But nothing in this novel is quite as it seems, including the characters.

There are some extremely shocking examples of technology gone insane and what may constitute art in the future. But under all the tech is the simple human emotion of jealousy. Enka's envy of Mathilde leads her down some very dark paths. Ling Ling Huang certainly delves deep into the psyche of the person who knows they will never be a great.

You could liken this to the relationship between Salieri and Mozart but Enka's revenge is couched in an all consuming love for her friend. The lengths she goes to were certainly shocking but it is compelling reading and I could barely put it down.

There are serious issues addressed in this novel such as segregation, self-harm, AI, clone technology and death of a child.

I really need to read more by this author.
Highly recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Penguin Group for the advance review copy. Very much appreciated.

A novel that mixes technology and artistry, and the nuances of human relationships, I knew from the blurb alone that I had to read this book. It is a book filled with heavy themes, such as trauma, religion, codependency. This book is character driven (mostly by a horrific, obsessive character) but the plot is so interesting that it keeps the story moving forward. Really enjoyed this one which is surprising since anything relatively technological or sci-fi ish is usually not my flavor.

Thanks to Dutton for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Not quite what I expected but still appreciated and enjoyed the story. I have not read NATURAL BEAUTY before picking up Huang's sophomore novel, but I will go back to read her debut. Enka and Mathilde's friendship was toxic as hell and really unsettling to follow. There is a lot of commentary on the art industry with technology and generative AI that is very applicable to today. I felt unsettled and left me at the edge of my seat during the last third of the novel. Highly recommend for fans of Huang's debut novel.

Ling Ling Huang pushed the edges of grotesque beauty and wellness in Natural Beauty, and now she does the same with art and technology. Absolutely genius, and Huang is now an auto-buy author for me.

Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang is a speculative novel built around a bold, fascinating premise—one that blends futuristic science with questions about autonomy, motherhood, and creation.

While I loved the concept and found the science and philosophical underpinnings genuinely thought-provoking, the execution left me wanting more. The characters felt flat, the relationships underdeveloped, and the emotional stakes never quite landed. There were moments of intrigue, but overall, it felt one-note.

I was so grateful to receive an eARC of Immaculate Conception from NetGalley and Dutton because I loved Ling Ling Huang's previous novel "Natural Beauty." I found the concept of "Immaculate Conception" to be really intriguing exploring AI, dystopian near future, and female friendship. This follows Enka and her best friend Mathilde who meet in art school. The story is told from Enka's point of view and how much she equally loves Mathilde and is jealous of her talents. We explore trauma and response and what happens if something can be implanted into a brain to have others take some of your trauma away? I enjoyed the writing in this book and really found it interesting to see Enka's point of view, but would have really loved to get Mathilde's as well. I don't agree that this is "horror" at all, and I would say, yes it's a bit dystopian, but it also felt a bit 'vanilla' and thought it could go even further into the dystopian or horror category. I would recommend this if you enjoyed Huang's other books and want an easily digestible dystopian novel.

This was such a timely read!

I enjoyed the different themes throughout and emphasis on mental health and motherhood. These are such important topics to consider and explore more in literature, that feel so realistic, even in a dystopian setting.

I found myself reading more and being surprised by some of the characters overtime. This was good!

📚 Arc Review 📚

Massive thanks to @duttonbooks @violingsquared and @netgalley for the e-ARC.

Immaculate Conception
By Ling Ling Huang @violingsquared
Publisher- @duttonbooks
Pub Date - 5/13/25

Ask yourself this….. If you could erase all the past trauma from your life, with no memory of it ever again, would you? Forever gone.

I can’t even fathom the perfect review for this, because what this is … is above and beyond my intelligence. I was in awe of Huang’s work. The writing is eloquent. Exceptional. Mesmerizing.

This is a story about friendships, love, the world of art and the jealousy that divides them. I would classify this as several genres, speculative fiction, mystery, literary and contemporary fiction. It’s broad. It expanded way beyond my mind’s comprehension. The reveals left me speechless. 🤯

I cannot elaborate further beyond what I have mentioned. You will have to discover it for yourself. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking. Shocking and tragic.

Immaculate Conception is a character driven slow burn that I absolutely loved. I purchased my own copy from @aardvarkbookclub . Isn’t she stunning? Be on the lookout for my wonderful friends @gymgirlreads and @lchangthewriter for their upcoming reviews for this. We had so much to talk about!

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was VERY good.

A dark literary/science fiction novel where two girls, both talented artists, build a codependent friendship over the course of their lives, one always more envious of the other, and eventually they get a surgery where their consciousness is connected and the whole thing is WILD.

The writing in this was fantastic, the sci-fi elements were woven in in a way that was easy to grasp if you aren’t a big sci-fi reader like me. You’re constantly questioning the ethics behind everything, there’s some good AI conversation that could be had from this. Definitely a great potential book club pick.

Highly recommend picking this up!

Thank you @netgalley and @duttonbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The book overall had an interesting plot but was poorly executed. The concept weakened under pressure and felt unsupported in the world building. The pace as at times slow and then sped up drastically as we neared the end to a point where I stopped caring about the stakes. The characters were generic and forgettable. The book felt very amateurish and forced.

I throughly enjoyed this! I haven’t read Natural Beauty yet, but I had heard great things about it and really wanted to read something by this author. I was very excited to get the opportunity to read this and it did not disappoint.

This book tackled so many themes without it seeming overwhelming. Huang explores the chasms created between those with opportunities made available to them and those without. This book explores loss and grief, jealousy and envy, love and codependency, friendship and abuse. There’s commentary on the art world and on ethics and boundaries within science.

This is written in first person in the POV of Enka. This was an interesting choice by the author, but it worked. Enka is a morally ambiguous character who struggles with her immense desire to make something of herself in the art scene, her “friendship” with Mathilde, and her increasing feelings of envy and jealousy. For most of the story she is very unlikable, but by putting the story in her perspective it does create some empathy for her. It was also easy to see throughout the story how all of her actions, even those that outwardly seemed selfless, stemmed from deep selfishness and her need to be desired and respected artistically.

I really appreciated Huang’s ability to write a story that trusts the reader enough to not have to explain every little thing along the way. Sometimes things were revealed more as the story went on, sometimes it was left slightly ambiguous.

I’m not exactly sure how this book was classified. There are definitely some horrific things that happen but this is not a horror story. There is some science fiction, but I don’t think this is a science fiction story either. Maybe more of a speculative fiction. Regardless of how it’s categorized I think it was an excellent book. Definitely check trigger warnings as there are some tough things that are dealt with throughout the story.

I recommend this and I look forward to reading her first novel.

***Thank you NetGalley, Ling Ling Huang, and Penguin Group Dutton for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.***

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Enka and Mathilde are best friends and artists. However, because of AI, Enka’s art is rendered obsolete and redundant whereas Mathilde’s art is original and masterfully executed.

The novel is basically “Single White Female” but with more technology involved. I’m not a fan of the obsessive, brutal, and competitive friendship’s between women as I see it as a trope and untrue due to the patriarchy. There’s no real message here except to love yourself and your own talent I suppose. The jealousy and envy that Enka has for Mathilde’s talent is so overdone that I’m tired of reading about women being pit against each other. And for what? So that one can kick the ladder out from under them once they reach the top of a patriarchal society? Which one character most definitely does this very thing. This book isn’t feminist.

Maybe I missed something, but I was not a fan. Some random pacing and storylines were thrown in for whatever reason and that was confusing as well.

Ling Ling Huang's writing in Immaculate Conception is nothing short of stunning. Every sentence feels intentional and poetic, creating a rhythm that pulled me in from the very beginning. The language is lush without ever being overly ornate, beautiful in a way that lingers long after you’ve finished a chapter.

What truly captivated me, though, was the depth with which the novel explores human relationships. It doesn’t shy away from the messiness of love, longing, and envy, and the way those feelings can shift and warp over time. The emotional intensity between the characters felt raw and real, and I found myself constantly reflecting on the choices they made and why.

This book made me feel, think, and want to immediately seek out more from this incredibly talented author. I can’t wait to see what Ling Ling Huang writes next.

Thank you Netgalley and The publisher for the Advanced Reader's Copy of Immaculate Conception.

I had to DNF. I am not the right audience for this novel as I find a lot of commentary on art very pretentious. And while this novel does argue that it's the whole point, that art is subjective, it also just not my jam. It felt like it would have been a great novel for someone else, just not me.