3.5 stars
The way in which grief is depicted and explored was particularly well done but there were a few things about this that stopped me from giving it a higher rating.
I definitely struggled with the second person narration of this book. The amount of times that I had ask myself again and again was the 'you' in question her father or her ex really took me out of the story.
I also found it difficult to understand or warm to the main character, which really puts me off enjoying a story fully.
I did sympathise with her and her situation but didn't really or fully agree with her views or how she behaved most of the time.
However, the moments and scenes between Mathilde and Constance were by far my favourite, by contrast. I enjoyed seeing their bond and almost felt a lift when reading those particular passages.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was different to ones I usually read, I did enjoy it and would give it 3.5 stars. There was good humour throughout and the characters were just the right amount of quirky but then there are times when it is really deep and you can see a character struggling with her past and the demons that it she is left to battle.
It was interesting to see Mathilda's life evolving throughout and she finds herself following a more spiritual path and its interesting following the journey.
I would only say that sometimes I struggled to follow Mathilda's thinking, she talks about you and I was left thinking now is this her dad she is talking about or ex boyfriend but apart from that it is a great read and I am really glad I got the opportunity to read it.#
Thank you to Abigail Bergstrom, Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this opportunity to read this book as an arc

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and a good mix of funny, sad and heartfelt. You dont often read novels of female friendships that ring true, but this one did.

I find myself lately reading books ‘I wouldn’t normally read’ which is odd as I’m pretty open with my reading choices. In this debut novel we meet Mathilda. Her Dad has recently died, her partner has left her - and she has had to go and live in a spare room at her best friend’s house. Oh - and her best friend thinks she’s cursed. I must agree that the start of this book is a little confusing, and we don’t really understand a lot about Mathilda. Her friends Eden, Georgia, Ivy & Ekua are all wildly different & beautifully written characters. Mathilda decides to eventually follow their advice and seeks spiritual guidance to cleanse herself of this ‘curse’. It is ultimately a story of bereavement, grief, loss, moving forward and facing our demons. I cannot stress enough how absolutely beautiful the writing is in this book. The author’s descriptions are capturing & almost poetic. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite some of it being melancholy, because it feels raw & it feels real. A wonderful debut.

I found it hard connecting with this book and engaging with the character of Matilda. I am not sure wether this was because I am a man, however, I have never struggled with Bridget Jones and books alike. I found the character quite dour at times and there was a rawness to her loss. However, I am still giving this book three stars as I am aware that this is still a well written book and although it wasn't to my taste I am sure it will be for many people. There were also a couple of laugh out loud moments.

This is definitely a beautifully written book and an impressive debut, but, gosh I found it hard work and confusing at the beginning. It's a raw book about grief and pain and it's a no holds barred read. However, if you stick with it, it's a powerful debut read, just, not one for me.

I feel strongly about being balanced and fair with my reviews and as such I'm afraid this was a 2* OK read for me as, although I can appreciate it's beauty, it genuinely was just OK overall for me as I almost gave up many times.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to preview.

A very poignant story of how a woman unravels very well written and is funny in parts especially as her friends try to help not always successful.
Enjoyable read and different to most stories.

This is witty and a little bit gritty story of real life and love among a group of twenty-somethings in London. It's so page-turning and feels very authentic and of the moment - sure to reflect and console readers for its evocation of the life, work, love, and friendship, the challenges of self-acceptance during this time of life and sort of finally growing up!

I read this book slowly, dipping in and out rather than gobbling it up but such is the voice that it never took more than a paragraph before I was immersed again. As a White Millennial Sad Girl novel comparisons to Sally Rooney are probably inevitable but What A Shame is a better-humoured book with a far bigger heart than that!

This sadly wasn't really my cup of tea. It Nearly ended up on dnf list as I didn't connect or even care about any of the characters. It did get better but the only character I really liked was Constance

Personally, this novel wasn't for me. The premise was interesting, but the characters had a quality to them that didn't seem believable, and I found them irritable most of the time. The dialogue seemed a bit forced and not natural flowing, for me

Mathilda is a complex character but you'll stay with her as she discovers why she is like she is and who she wants to be. Funny, heartbreaking, hopful.

What a shame is a story founded in grief and loss, however I found this book rather difficult to get into and after 50 pages in I gave up. The narrative isn’t clear and the dialogue seemed forced.

I don’t know if the issue is that I didn’t get far enough into the book to have a better opinion, so my advice would then be to hold on a bit longer than I did.

I love a messy-woman-in-the-city story so this ticked a lot of boxes for me.

This book is written in second person which I found quite confusing at first cause it’s directed at two other characters, but about half way through I settled into it.

I like this book a lot except for the last 50 pages or so when it becomes quite spiritual which wasn’t really for me, and I found some of the end a bit twee. I also expected a bit more darkness from the “curse” mentioned in the blurb.

4 stars

Excellent modern voice.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

Once I got into it I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the concept of Mathilda being 'cursed' and the strange ways she tries to remove the curse, Mathilda as a character is very funny and witty, but you can feel the pain she is going through and I just wanted her to start feeling better about herself. The way the author writes about loss felt very fresh and original. I enjoyed this book, but it did take me a while to get into it, I think because of the 2nd person narrative and the fact there are two 'yous'. But overall a great read.

Bergstrom reworks the "coming-of-age" novel into an original story about a thirty-something woman beginning to confront the trauma that has so fundamentally shaped her adult life so far. Most effective was the stark contrast throughout the novel between the protagonist's professional, polished persona and the profound pain she was experiencing behind the scenes.

I absolutely loved this book, it was enthralling from the start and I was dissapointed when it finished, I would definitely recommend this book, one of the best I have read this year

Definitely beautifully written but too confusing for me. I really wanted to like this book and the story of Mathilda resonated with me in so many places but still the whole journey was too bumpy for me and I could not fully enjoy the ride. The issues which are touched on are worth highlighting and just for these this book does deserve a read, it was just not for me.

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.