5/5
Follows the codependent main characters through their growth in artistry and the use of new technology. This novel brilliantly delves into the complexities of friendship, ambition, and identity.

This is a phenomenal book that will leave readers pondering for a long time! Whereas Natural Beauty's horror was more direct and on-page, Immaculate Conception's horror resides in the mind of the readers as they consider the implications living in the world that has been brought to life. Enka is a flawed MC and it is difficult to be in her mind, especially when she makes terrible choices that lead to terrible consequences. Yet I have sympathy for Enka as I try to pinpoint where exactly she went wrong. Ultimately, I think the path that Enka embarked on was set for her once the buffers were erected and communities were separated into Better (Enclave) and Lesser (Fringe). Enka's art and (mis)actions in this book are informed by the trauma of being marked as Lesser, and I see every bad decision she makes as a result of her attempting to prove to herself and anyone that she can be Better.

I don’t even have a joke to make about this, it was SO good! I loved the author’s writing style, subtle humor, and subversion of expectations. I was truly surprised where this went and had my jaw on the floor the entire back half of this book. This story made several interesting points about art, AI, capitalism, classism, race, etc. If you remember my review of Yellowface, nothing excites me more than unhinged women cutting throats and stabbing backs to get ahead in the art world.

Thanks so much tNetGalley, Ling Ling Huang and publisher Dutton for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is set to release May 13, 2025 and is absolutely worth the quick read time.

can people make good art without trauma? this is a simple question, yet this one question provides the foundation for huang's 2nd novel. like many people, natural beauty was one of my favorite reads of last year. however, here, the premise becomes muddied due to the large amount of exposition in the first 1/3 or so of the novel as well as the lack of character nuance. the characters who have interesting relationships just don't spend enough time together to warrant the emotional payoffs huang is going for. however, the ideas explored are interesting and shows good understanding of the issues around "good art".

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this arc! This is a great read. I devoured it!

I enjoyed Huang's second novel but her first was my favorite if I had to compare the two. The second novel is full of an exploration of the art world, and I found myself lost. I thought the character development of the two women's main characters took too much time to hook me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

<b>If you don't want to spiral into an existential crisis or two (or five), don't read this book. But also, you suck then. Sorry, I don't make the rules.</b>

Is there such thing as an original thought? Do you <i>really</i> want to know the ones you love as fully as possible? What's the driving force in creativity, and how can it be harnessed? And at what point can - or better, should - that creativity be considered genius? Those are just a handful of the questions you'll be left to ruminate on thanks to Ling Ling Huang's Immaculate Conception.

Ling Ling Huang blows my mind, once again. I had been putting off reading this ARC because my hopes were so high I was afraid to be disappointed. Lemme tell ya, I wasn't. As in her first novel, Ling Ling Huang manages to write the hottest of takes beautifully. The clarity with which she described each piece, the imagery was unmatched. I read some of Sirens & Muses (also largely focused on the art world) and struggled at times with visualization. There was no such problem here.

To say I'm a layman in the art world would be an understatement; I was googling artist names, names of pieces, names of museums mentioned, more often than I'd like to admit. Yet I never felt left out or (very) intimidated by the author's immense knowledge on the topic, my comprehension of the whole wasn't hindered by ignorance of the finer details. My preference of Canva-made graphics to aged, fine art could remain intact.

Dare I say I prefer this to her debut novel, Natural Beauty? I'll be picking up a paper copy on pub day, 5/13/25!

{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Ling Ling Huang and publisher Dutton for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!}

Huang’s debut was one of my favorite books of last year so obviously I’ve been eagerly anticipating this one, and it did not disappoint!

It starts off a little slow as we’re getting pulled into the art world with lots of exposition, but PLEASE stick around until the 25% mark where things start to pick up. it takes a <i>Black Mirror</i> type of route, with a really interesting sci-fi element. it becomes a fantastic and surprisingly emotional literary horror story with well written characters and unexpected twists along the way. Huang has quickly become an auto-read author for me!

Gosh, unreliable narrator tropes are so fun! I honestly couldn't tell for a while if she was <i>meant</i> to be, at first, but as the story goes on it becomes apparently clear that Enka was just... incredibly selfish in so many of her choices. Poor Mathilde, poor Logan. These characters are such superficial interpretations of themselves, seen through Enka's eyes, that as the reader you're almost not fully invested in how badly she treats them until others begin to say something. Overall, while I don't know that this would be a book for everyone, I know exactly the type of people that I should recommend to to.

Needs some grammatical editing, encountered a couple typos and repeated sentences about halfway through the book.

I wish I could scream from the rooftop about how much I loved this book! The characters may not always have been perfect or incredibly likable…but the story as a whole was soooooo perfect to me!!! I did NOT want the story to end!!

I wish I could give this 10 stars…but a 5/5 will have to do!!!

Thank you to the publisher for an early review copy of this book!!!

If there's one thing about me, I'm going to be reading a book about a toxic female friendship. The sophomore novel of Natural Beauty's Ling Ling Huang follows best friends Enka and Mathilde and their ventures in the art world.

I think that books about art (visual, music etc...) are extremely difficult to write. Not only does the author have to write well, but they also have to have interesting ideas about other artistic media. I ultimately found the descriptions of art in this book to be a little bit trite. The story relies on Mathilde's genius, and I couldn't help but feel like it was flat.

Additionally, I wasn't very convinced by the relationship between Enka and Mathilde. They became close very quickly, and their conversations just seemed awkward.

The later on plot elements about empathy technology really set this book apart from others, and I am curious about the exploration of these themes, but I just couldn't get there. To me, this only really works if you buy into Enka and Mathilde's initial relationship, and I just couldn't push past that.

I liked this book a lot !It was intriguing, and kept me hooked from the start, There were a lot of twists and turns here, and i loved being on the edge of my seat. The friendship themes and the storyline in addition to being so thought provoking was so good and such a good mix

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and especially the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review of the book!!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was an incredible story. I had no idea where it was going but I devoured it. The characters were intense and deep, the concept unique and fascinating, and the twists constant.