This was such a layered and interesting read. I found myself thinking about it and talking about it for weeks afterwards. Even though I didn't understand a single choice that the character made, the journey into her thought process and choices were very interesting. Really well done book.

Put off reviewing this one as I know there was a lot of controversy online regarding the marketing. However I unfortunately just did not enjoy this book, but didn’t want to leave a negative review as it already had so many!

This book didn’t work for me. I felt that it was very repetitive and also very boring. It all felt just like words on a page with no real purpose.

It is the age-old question of whether love is really enough. This book explores that theme in a stunning debut novel. Jess and Josh are loveable and relatable characters that you can't help but root for. I loved their story and can't wait to see what else the author comes out with soon.

I should have picked this one up sooner! It explores so much in a way that makes you think properly about where you see or overlook behaviours in real life.

Genius. I can’t believe this is a debut it is so assured and confident. Brilliantly realised, every page fizzes with the anxiety, hopes, excitement and bewilderment of youth. I felt 21 again.

'Everything's Fine' is funny, smart and political. It made me laugh out loud on several occasions. It's easy and enjoyable to read. I was completely engaged and invested in the characters.

This novel poses some interesting questions and portrays the head vs heart dilemma. The chemistry between the characters is sizzling and helps the reader understand the predicament the protagonists find themselves in.

The balance struck between humour and serious subjects such as racism and sexism at work is handled perfectly. 'Everything's Fine' is an entertaining social commentary that I really enjoyed.

Thanks to netgalley for providing this advanced copy for the purpose of review.

I really enjoyed this and found it to be really well written. I found it really insightful and it also made me laugh in places. I thought it was a perfect balance.

A enemies to lovers read. Gave insight into the world of finance. An easy and enjoyable read that had me laughing. I would recommend.

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NORTHERNBIBLIOPHILE
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Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC
Synopsis: When Jess first meets Josh at their Ivy League college she dislikes him immediately: an entitled guy in chinos, ready to take over the world.
Meanwhile Jess is almost always the only Black woman in their class. And Josh can't accept that life might be easier for him because he's white.
After graduating, Jess and Josh end up working together in the same investment bank. As they lunch, spar and pick each other's brains, Jess begins to see Josh in a different light.
Soon, their tempestuous friendship turns into an electrifying romance that shocks them both, and Jess finds herself questioning who she really is and whether she's willing to compromise that for love.
Everything's Fine is an utterly original and deeply moving take on an age-old question from a dazzling new voice: what have you got to lose when you fall in love?
I really enjoyed this debut and felt invested in the main female character she felt completely believable and you could understand how she was by the way her backstory was described.
It raised interesting ideas considering if personal politics can make or break relationships. However, if the personal politics involved are problematic/racist it becomes less of an interesting idea and more of an uncomfortable reading journey. I don't want to give away spoilers but let's just say I was rooting for a happy ending for Jess that didn't involve Josh.

In all likelihood, this will be one of my books of 2023, if not my favourite book of 2023. I read it on the beach (which always helps, obviously) but I finished it in less than 24h and I absolutely adored it! I liked both of the main characters and found the portrayal of sexism and racism issues in the workplace to be very plausible, if depressing. I was also fully convinced by the sexual chemistry between the two characters and at times, certain lines made me laugh out loud. I can’t see a UK paperback release date for this yet, but I’ll be disappointed if there isn’t one because this is a book I’d very much like to have a copy of on my shelves.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to read this before the deadline. I am definitely going to buy a copy though as it’s got great reviews.

I really liked this book. It's a love story about Jess and Joshua who start off not liking each other, but end up falling in love. The book covers different topics like racism, gender inequality, and corporate issues, making it a modern and thought-provoking read. I'm from the UK and didn't understand some American words, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story.

This was a very entertaining, romantic read with an easy flowing style of writing which I liked. It illustrates Jess and Joshua’s love story, beginning at college when she disliked him intensely to when they worked together, arguing and lunching, and the change I their relationship to love. There are so many aspects to this love story….racism, male female inequality, corporate issues which make it a very modern , thought provoking , compelling read. Being a UK reader, I wasn’t familiar with some of the American terminology but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the novel.
Many thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this ARC.

An exceptional debut - funny and searing in equal measure, with fully-realised and relatable characters.

A fabulous book. A modern love story set in New York. It’s about struggling to fit in (Jess’s musing that at the highly competitive bank where she works ‘someone will always think they have a better idea than me, matter what I say’ really resonated with me), how loss & grief can trigger you to reevaluate your life, the supposed ‘non-judgemental’ nature of true love and finally, making the right choices for you.
Plenty of sex and politics to keep the pages turning.
At the end of the book, I wasn’t sure that Jess had in fact made the right choice. Will other readers agree?

Featuring on many lists as one of the most anticipated reads of 2023, Everything’s Fine is the debut novel from Black author Cecelia Rabess and it is a brilliant, compelling read.

Unfortunately, this book has been sabotaged by review-bombing - people coming to Goodreads having read a blurb on tiktok and assuming that this book endorses racism and reinforces white privilege. It absolutely does not.

It is heartbreaking to me that a really sharp piece of social commentary such as this has been sabotaged by a baying mob who haven’t even read the book. It more closely resembles Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid than an “enemies to lovers” breezy romance as some have framed it.

Everything’s Fine is an incisive look at systemic racism and the absolute blind spot so many people have with regard to racism and their own privilege.

Jess and Josh are math majors who clash in college and meet again when both are hired by Goldman Sachs. Jess, a liberal Black woman and a talented trader is worn down by casual racism and daily micro-aggressions. Josh, a white conservative man is a hotshot trader and the golden boy of finance who can do no wrong.

As their professional careers take off in different directions, and the social and political climate heats up with the appointment of Trump as Republican nominee, Rabess explores the impact on their friendship and budding relationship.

Entertaining, clever, somehow fizzing with chemistry but also with a boiling-point feeling of dread, this is a hugely thought-provoking and page-turning novel.

The ending is sensational, you find yourself knowing how it’s going to go but unable to look away. A summer must-read and a brilliant choice for a book club. I’m dying to discuss it with someone (there’s one scene in particular that I read two or three times, it was that good). Deserves to be read and discussed widely. 5/5⭐️

*Many thanks to the publisher @picador for the arc via @netgalley. Everything’s Fine was published this month. As always, this is an honest review.*

Did NOT enjoy this! I understand what the author was trying to do, but WHY?! So frustrating to read - I think this is a book for white readers tbh.

I‘m embarrassed to say that I was dissuaded from reading this by all of the Goodreads reviews calling it out as ‘racist‘, so I‘m glad that a friend persuaded me to give it a go so I could make my own mind up.

As a book, it‘s just a soft pick for me; nothing special as a story and a bit clunky in places, but it doesn‘t deserve the controversy aimed at it. I actually checked out the author as I thought she must be white due to the vitriol sent her way so I‘m not sure how she can be ‘excusing racism‘ if she‘s telling her own lived experience? If that makes it difficult to read, either as a black or white person then so be it. Sometimes we need to have our shiny little bubbles popped and to see that life isn‘t all kittens and flowers.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This is one of the best books I have read this year. With a love and friendship theme running throughout, the author manages to deftly interlace aspects of racism, corporate greed and economic inequalities that form the backdrop to the lives of Josh and Jess. It is engaging, thought provoking and entertaining all at once. I was so sorry to come to the end. It is Love Story for our times yet makes you think throughout. I will be buying this for my friends