I would read anything Scaachi Koul writes, so I actually did scream when I got the galley of her reading her new book. Sucker Punch was hilarious, brutally honest, sad and moving and then hilarious again. Painful and tender, thoughtful and funny funny funny in Scaachi’s perfect way.

Thank you to #netgalley and #macmillanaudio for the advanced copy.

Sucker Punch delivers a powerful and reflective series of essays that takes the reader on the run of the gamut. From wanting to laugh out loud at some of her descriptions to instant recognition of a feeling that she describes, this book does it all. Great read!

I really enjoyed this book! I hadn’t heard of the author before but the cover looked interesting so I gave it a listen. It was humorous, authentic, and told a story I wanted to read. As a non white divorcee myself I found this book really interesting. I’m Mexican and not south Asian but the arguing theme had me clapping yes while I laughed.

This was my first introduction to Scaachi Koul's writing, and I will definitely be going to back to read her first book. Exploring her marriage and subsequent divorce, Scaaci dives deeply into her relationships with both her former partner and her family, putting all of the details on the table including her responsibility for the end of the marriage. She does so with vulnerability, brutal honesty, and humor. While you expect that her divorce is the "sucker punch" alluded to in the title, you instead get a much deeper view of a traumatic relationship and a challenging view of the world to go with it.

I listened to the audio narration of this book, read by the author herself, and found it very engaging. She made the trauma, the vulnerability, and the humor in the writing very evident in the way she voiced the narration, and that definitely added to my experience of this book.

These essays were powerful, poignant, emotional, funny, and just so damn good. I was hooked from the first essay and did not want to put it down. I haven’t read anything from Koul before; but I will absolutely read more now.

I read Sucker Punch after first reading Scaachi Koul’s debut, and I’m glad I did—it provided useful context, as this book explores the unraveling of a relationship chronicled in her earlier essays.

While the writing is raw and emotionally charged, I had trouble connecting with it. Many of the themes, particularly the struggles of navigating a public breakup and the weight of social media perception, didn’t resonate with me. As an average person without a public platform, I found it difficult to relate to the unique pressures Koul faces.

The millennial woman perspective felt familiar but didn’t offer anything particularly new. That said, if you’re already a fan of Koul’s voice and style, you’ll likely appreciate this collection. For me, as someone without a strong connection to her beforehand, it didn’t leave a lasting impact.

Rounded up on stars for the audiobook as I always appreciate an author-narrated memoir.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've been a big fan of Scaachi for a long time and this book is such a treat. It's more emotional than I expected, and I loved it.

This was my first time with Scaachi Koul’s writing and wow. In Sucker Punch, she discusses her divorce, growing up in an Indian family, and how she processed her rape when she was 18 while she was in her 30's. I really related to quite a lot of this book and appreciated her candor and how she approached each of these difficult topics. I also listened to Sucker Punch as an audiobook, which Scaachi narrates, and I highly recommend the medium. She narrates her stories superbly (of course) and brings an extra dimension to the fantastic words on the page. Be prepared for an emotional journey and you will be happy to have spent the time with her.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy.

SUCKER PUNCH-SCAACHI KOUL-Publishing MARCH 4TH, 2025 BY
KNOPF CANADA.

Sucker Punch is a memoir of essays. This is Koul’s follow up to her best selling book of essays, “One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter.” (2017). Her first collection tackled topics such as race, body image, love, friendship. This collection of essays touches on similar topics. When COVID happened, and everyone was in lock-down, Koul lost her job, her mom got cancer and her marriage fell apart. Koul examines the fights she had with different people in her life and uses it as a theme in her relationships, and writing. This was an audio book. The author read it herself. I loved Koul’s voice and her talking speed. Koul’s writing has such unique humor.

Deadly book. 🔥 MARK IT DOWN MARCH 4!!

#scaachikoul #knopfcanada #books #booksaredeadly #bookstagram #audiobook #netgalley #bookreview

Scaachi Kohl's sophomore memoir and she did not disappoint. There is a candor to Scaachi's writing that I always appreciate. She is honesty, abrasive and very much a Millennial just trying to get through life. Through in a divorce before she was 30 and you have a recipe for relatable story that is easy to connect with.

Since Scaachi narrates the audiobook she makes it easy to connect with. While I had to wait 8 years for this, I think it was worth it and I will continue to support Scaachi in anything she does.

Scaachi Koul recounts stories from her life in a collection of well written, sometimes humerus and raw essays. Koul recounts her younger years growing up in an argumentative family and how that would impact future relationships as well as how the marriage she desperately wanted would fall a part shortly after it began. Koul speaks very directly about how her body image and eating disorder altered her view on the world and was reflected in relationships. Many of us in larger bodies understand this reality and Koul dictates the experience perfectly.

I was unfamiliar with the name Scaachi Koul before starting this collection but by the end of it I felt very seen as she talked about her experiences openly and honestly. This collection felt like I was on a facetime call with a close friend, making it all the better.

Fighting was a love language for Scaachi’s parents because they were fighting for the same thing: their marriage. But when Scaachi and her husband fought, it was something altogether different. In this book of humorous and yet poignant and often sad essays, Scaachi discusses the end of her marriage, her mother’s illness, COVID, and more. The author reads the audiobook wonderfully, delivering it with energy and wit. I quite enjoyed listening to her share her truths, and it caused me to think of some things differently.
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #SuckerPunch for review purposes. Publication date: 4 March 2025.

this is truly a sucker punch of a book. i have read scaachi koul's writing for a long time, but have never read her book (it's been on my want-to-read list since who knows when).
when i went into this book, i didn't know what to expect, other than who the author was. this book read like how i experienced taylor swift's ttpd, strangely. i don't know how to explain it, but it was maddening in a very good way. it's awful the things people experience in public life.
she talks about body image and disordered eating, terrible and/or painful relationships with people we love (including ourselves), and just her sense of self (which somehow felt like my sense of self?) in absolute honest and raw ways. overall, i did not have fun with this book (as i expected i would), but it was a great book, that i would think a lot about.

Scaachi Koul's Sucker Punch is a raw collections of essays that reflect and grapple with the author's divorce, rape, mother's illness, and sense of self. Her raw rendering of her deepest thoughts and feelings were deeply affecting like talking to a life long friend. Her narration further adds to that effect. While this book isn't a laugh a minute, it is a beautiful memoir and collection.

A personal collection of essays in which Canadian writer Scacchi Koul shares her experiences with divorce, rape, body image, disordered eating, life during the pandemic and more. This was good on audio narrated by the author herself but I'm not sure I liked it quite as much as her first book. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!