The following review will be posted as of November 23, 2024 on Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/99549120-hannah

Some books require a slow burn before they fully captivate, but from the fourth chapter onward, I was thoroughly engrossed. The dual perspective between Max and Vincent is executed with remarkable fluidity, allowing the narrative to seamlessly shift between their points of view without disrupting the flow. I found myself deeply engaged in both perspectives, never once feeling detached or disinterested. The author excels in illustrating the subtle dynamics of human interaction, deftly highlighting the impact of casual, often careless conversation and the pervasive, intrusive thoughts that continually shape our inner lives.

“You can fall in love with an outline, you can even make a home with one, but there will come a time when you can’t deny the bones their flesh. No person is fewer than two things.”

What starts as a thin framework of emotional connection must inevitably confront the messy, human layers beneath. The characters can no longer remain content with the outline—they must reckon with their pasts, their insecurities, and the parts of themselves they would rather not face. Dinan beautifully shows how love, in its truest form, requires more than surface-level affection—it demands vulnerability, change, and, at times, the willingness to disappoint and be disappointed.

I loved this book, would read it again. It’s a book worth having on the bookshelf!

I was a bit confused at the beginning, because it was a lot of thoughts being spoken out loud alongside her thought process, but I ended up figured it out. The writing was amazing though. I loved how messy the characters were. It felt very realistic. It's a very great read.

I really, really love Nicola Dinan’s authorial voice. I love the way she writes and develops her characters, makes them complex and fallible and very human. I liked Bellies, her first novel, but I liked this one even more. It felt tighter and more precise. Max, thirty and disappointed with the state of her life, begins a relationships with Vincent, a lawyer, with a much more traditional, heteronormative life. These two are kind and cruel to one another, and are navigating queerness and race and domesticity together. The writing feels very internal, which makes the characters feel very real. This is also just a funny book! I found myself highlighting passage after passage. I’ll keep an eye on whatever Nicola releases in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy!
Nicola Dinan is a master in my mind at creating in-depth, flawed and unique characters. Their messiness in relationships and friendships is so realistic. You really feel for certain characters while growing to hate others. This story is told from two perspectives and two different timelines. It kind of explains present day by slowly feeding you the past which I love in a book. Nicola is an auto-buy author for me so I'm looking forward to grabbing a copy of this when it comes out next May!

Nicola Dinan has done it again. Following her award-winning debut novel, *Bellies*, *Disappoint Me* is another outstanding, witty, and tender coming-of-age story.

Life in your thirties can be a transformative time, filled with both opportunities and challenges. From careers to relationships, financial stability to family dynamics, our thirties are often marked by various expectations— expectations from society, family, and ourselves. When you factor in the cultural expectations surrounding queerness, gender roles, racial and ethnic identities, and millennial ideals, it becomes clear that no one can meet all these demands.

The protagonist, Max, is a disillusioned trans poet who falls for Vincent, a "normie," or cis-het corporate lawyer. Throughout the novel, Max, Vincent, and their peers judge themselves and each other, often adhering to rigid moral standards. However, life and people are far more nuanced; truth often exists in shades of gray rather than just black and white. No one is entirely good or bad, right or wrong.

The characters have complex identities—some are multiracial, have lived in different countries, or identify as transgender and queer. Their lives are shaped by personal choices and experiences. This novel beautifully portrays the journey of growing up and realizing that everyone is human, including our parents, who did the best they could at that time. It explores themes of understanding, nuance, forgiveness, growth, and healing.

I highly recommend this book, but I advise readers to be aware that it addresses transphobia and to review content warnings (CWs) beforehand.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this wonderful ARC. I will be purchasing it when it comes out!

I read Bellies last year so I was excited to get to read an advanced copy of Dinan’s upcoming novel ‘Disappoint Me’. I think this book is much tighter and improved on some of the aspects I didn’t like as much with Bellies while hitting some of the same positive notes. I continue to see the comparison with Sally Rooney in this book with characters who are very internal and thoughtful but also repressed/damaged in ways that make them act badly towards others.

This book looks at characters in their early 30s and examines questions about relationships, marriage, and parenthood from a lens of being queer at an age when straight people seem to all be heading down a certain path.

It centres the idea that people will disappoint you, but also of forgiveness and what it means to be able to move on from these moments.

I did find Max as a character to be quite passive which frustrated me at times, things just kind of happened around her and I didn’t really get a sense that she’s in the driver's seat. And Simone is such a dislikeable character! But it’s not a mark against the book, I do think it’s all realistic and interesting and good characterisation.

first of all thank you so much for the opportunity of receiving an ARC <3

second the review, i cant lie in the beginning of this book i was so confused on what i was reading because it’s a lot of max’s thoughts being spoken aloud along with her thought process and it didn’t take me until a chapter or 2 later to understand. (so thankful for the dual pov to understand more of the story)

however, the writing itself was great & i love that the few main focuses here are forgiveness, growth, identity & relationships. nicola did a great job with situations & issues in the book not being fully solved and instead made a reference of “the world kept spinning” because that happens in life, it’s never a stand still no matter what you’re going though. i personally love that the characters in this novel are messy because it captures the amount of inner monologues they have before speaking, the thoughts they have that are running at miles per hour, it captures the growth aspect of this book well.

the book is a great read but i can definitely see the book not being for certain people & overall nicola’s writing is intriguing and makes me want to read more of her work in the near future :)