This novel explores obsession, friendship, and the blurred lines between identity and codependence. The story follows Enka, an artist grappling with her sense of self, as she becomes entangled in a toxic bond with Mathilde, an enigmatic, rising art star. From the outset, the novel masterfully captures the intense emotional pull of their relationship, portraying Enka’s struggle to find originality while being irresistibly drawn to Mathilde’s talent and troubled mind.

The book takes a dark, unexpected turn when Enka marries a billionaire whose family funds a groundbreaking technology designed to heighten empathy. This unusual element gives the novel a psychological sci-fi twist as Enka explores the unsettling possibility of inhabiting Mathilde’s mind to absorb her trauma.

In exploring complex female relationships, the novel navigates the fine line between admiration and obsession, support and control. Both Enka and Mathilde are deeply flawed yet fascinating characters whose dynamic keeps readers on edge. The escalating tension in their relationship, coupled with the technological intrigue, ensures the book is impossible to put down.

This haunting, intense read will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers with a speculative twist. It is a powerful reminder of how the bonds we form with others can simultaneously build us up and unravel us.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

uniquely gorgeous work about the art world, AI, the way technology and social status plays into ones interpretation of art, and identity. I love Huang's work, and this one was fantastic

This novel was like nothing I've ever read, and nothing like I expected, and I am reeling from the intensity of emotion and questioning it evoked. I'll be thinking about this story and these characters for a very long time.

I owe a huge thank you to NetGalley, Dutton, and Ling Ling Huang for allowing me access to an ARC of Immaculate Conception in exchange for my honest review – thank you so much!

When I saw that Ling Ling Huang was publishing a new novel – I RAN (not walked) to get access to a copy. After being absolutely smitten with her debut novel, Natural Beauty, I knew that Haung would be one of my favorite authors.

Immaculate Conception did not disappoint. The novel revolves around our main character, Enka Yui-Dahl, as she navigates through her early adulthood and eventually into her forties. Desperate to make it as an artist, we first are introduced to her during her art education in university. She quickly befriends the effortless performance artist and fellow student, Mathilde, who Enka is enraptured by. Desperate to soak in the the artistic genius that is Mathilde, Enka goes to great lengths to care for and support her during their friendship. The friendship is rapid-moving, devoted, passionate, and all-encompassing, at least for Enka. Despite Enka’s surface-level success as a mother, wife, and artist, she is driven with a hunger to emulate the brilliance that shines off of her best friend. A key piece of this puzzle is their separate buffers in which they both grew up. The buffers were introduced during both girls’ childhoods – designed to keep upper-class, wealthier neighborhoods barred from lower class, working family inhabited neighborhoods separated. Thus, parts of the Internet is barred from specific individuals, certain museums become exclusive, and cultural understandings are dramatically different. Enka comes from one of lower division and Mathilde comes from one of higher division – a major difference in their understanding of art is born of these circumstances.

I am determined not to get too specific in this review as I do not want to spoil anything. BUT I will say that Huang is extremely gifted at taking a plot and winding it in paths you never expect. It is so refreshing to see a main character that does not fall into that tricky “good-for-her” trope that tends to pop up over and over again. (Don’t get me wrong, I love a “good-for-her” type beat, but it is so exciting to see something more sinister dwelling.) I know that the toxic best friend dynamic can feel a bit contrived in recent medias but Immaculate Conception takes the concept and reimagines its limitations. Huang is masterful in composing such a nuanced relationship in a way that feels real.

The themes of saviorism, sins, repentance, jealously, consumerism, greed, and punishment are potent in this novel and I am so here for them. These are layered in such a way that every moment of this novel packs a hard-hitting punch. The ending had me in a chokehold.

This novel’s expected publication date in May 13, 2025 and I highly recommend this book!

It's rare that I rate a book five stars-- and truthfully, this is probably a 4.25 as a whole, but I'm rounding up because even being on the fence means it's deserving, and while it's not perfect, there are so many things I did absolutely love about it.
First, <b>Ling Ling Huang's ability to write about art is in itself an art</b>. It's clear she's not just paying lip service, mimicking art critics, but truly understands the nuance of creativity and criticism. Her descriptives are simultaneously detailed and oblique, encouraging the reader to envision each piece. The language in general is beautiful, with so many thought-provoking passages that my whole book is now highlighted.
Second, the wide swath of themes explored is astounding, and furthermore, Huang's ability to weave them together so as to make them coexist in a coherent manner is incredible. Creation, motherhood, grief, memory, artistry, imagination, talent, loss, love, friendship, humanity, technology, nature, reality, consumerism, and the list goes on.
Third, the originality of the piece, both thematically and in its plotting, feels fresh and keeps you on the edge of your seat. There's a twist about 2/3 of the way through that I absolutely did not see coming.
Lest this be an unrealistically glowing review, I should point out that there were definitely some parts where I lost interest or became confused. I kept having to remind myself which characters Monika and Mathilde were, and then there's another woman introduced with an M name that made it even more confusing. There were definitely points where I struggled to follow what was going on, as the story line is complex, especially as the story progresses from the more grounded focus on art to the more science fiction focus on technology. I would say that the first third and last third were exceptional, with the middle becoming a bit swampy. But to anyone reading-- stick with this book!

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.