DNF - Althought I was eager to read this book, it didn't end up working for me in the end. I'm sure there is an audience out there who will appreciate the story for all that it holds.

Great story and compelling prose that leaves you wanting more. A good combination of humour and earnestness that endears you to the character.

Thank you for my earc of this book. Though I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, it did feel a little laggy at times and I feel it could have been edited to be a little more concise, but it was still a good reading experience.

An interesting book, but maybe a bit overwritten for me.
The first half of the book felt like it could have been condensed more and was slow paced, making it difficult to read.

An intriguing character study that works with a slow build up before you realise you’re deep in the mind of a character with a very distinctive and clear voice. This character development for me is the heart of the book but unfortunately I found the themes dealt with a little too heavily and the pacing didn’t quite work for me.

Lovely read, really warm and sensitive.

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

4/5

I thoroughly enjoyed Homebodies but at some points I didn’t know where it was headed. I was frustrated with the main character for most of the book, I needed her to act and speak up as that’s what we all want: to be heard. For Mickey to already have a career, this reads more as a young adult coming of age story and once I embraced that I was able to give Mickey some slack and hope for growth past her insecurities.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #Homebodies

a much awaited release that definitely shows promise but ultimately fails to deliver on said promise. the execution was so-so, still i would definitely check out more by this author.

Entertaining, engaging and relatable. A recommended purchase for collections where romance and WF are popular.

A charming read that I read in one sitting. I couldn't put it down and I couldn't stop thinking about it when I had to put it dow

This was a slow read till the last third I'd say, when I wanted to know what happened. Overall I did enjoy it. But the beginning could be condensed.

This started slow for me but ended up really hooking me in the end. The first hundred pages or so did feel like they could be condensed right now, it does at least all come back around though. I enjoyed Mickey as a character, even though she massively frustrated me. Particularly in terms of love. She goes between two ideas of love that are equally exasperating. Overall this felt like it needed more of an edit but I still had a good time reading it.

I lost interest after the first few pages of 'Homebodies', disappointed because I was looking forward to reviewing the author's representation of women in a relationship with women. But I found that the novel was just 'trying too hard'.

I must say I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice easy flowing read and was entertaining.

However I do think that the main bulk of the book could’ve been shortened - from the blurb I expected it to center a lot more around the media scandal and the results of Mickey’s letter going viral, but instead it happened at the very end and we didn’t really learn anything about it. I wish we got to see more of the outcome and got to see Mickey take on a new path!

At times I struggled to like Mickey, but this didn’t make the book less enjoyable. Although I understand that soul crushing feeling of losing your place in this world and just wanting to run away, I felt that her character was lacking personal growth as a result of it all.

I find it hard to rate this book as I did really like it and was definitely engrossed in the story, but the ending just fell short for me. But I must say that Tembe Denton-Hurst writes incredibly well and skilfully keeps a reader’s attention even when the story is following more mundane aspects of real day to day life!! Would definitely like to read more from this author :)

As a full time writer at an up and coming media company and in a stable loving relationship with girlfriend Lex, Mickey Hayward believes she’s living the dream, that is until she’s fired from her job so the company can hire a different black writer.
In frustration and anger, Mickey releases a letter online, exposing the company for its racist behaviour - but when nothing happens, Mickey decides it’s time for a break, and decides to visit her family back home in the hope of repairing her life.

Ok let’s start off on a positive and say what I really did like about this book, and that’s the message and intentions within it. This book opens up a really important conversation about race and sexuality, and I’m certainly all ears for that.
However, this was just a very frustrating read because I was waiting for some actual plot and character development, and then nothing really happened? The letter (or manifesto as it’s named in the book) is made out to be this huge deal, and yet after the first part of the book it’s long gone and forgotten about. Whilst I enjoyed this first part of the book, it soon became a bit of a chore to get through, and I found myself desperately hoping for some narrative that I was interested, but sadly there was nothing.
I think the blurb kind of mis-sells what this book actually is? It’s certainly not ‘intimate, witty or deeply sexy’ and there was so much more that could’ve been written about, so many more plots and characters that could’ve enhanced the story, but sadly for me it was all just a bit meh.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for this book. This book could have been really interesting but it had so many points in the book where it was overwritten and dull for me. I pushed through but I felt it was bogged down with unnecessary stuff.

This is book takes a profound look at racism in the journalism industry and the ways in which social media can influence the impact of a story - and whether or not it makes headline news. Mickey is real and nuanced as a character; she struggles with the injustice of being unfairly fired and then finds herself feeling directionless and despondent in the wake of no longer having a job. She finds her girlfriend, Lex, unsupportive in her time of need, but as soon as she moves back to live with her grandma, Lex seems to be stifling in her wishes to stay in touch with Mickey.

Home plays a big part in this story, in terms of both geography and people. Mickey, like a lot of people, associates moving back home with failure, but gradually begins to see that moving away doesn't always equal success in life, and that those who have stayed living at home are quite content and happy (in a way that she isn't). She grapples with the sudden realisation that she's missed much by leaving her childhood home, and that things have moved on without her. She also realises who feels like a home to her and who doesn't, at first believing that T is her home, but then realising that actually, Lex, her grandma, and her father fill those roles.

I thought this novel was going to be more explosive with the way Mickey's letter goes viral, and that the story would focus heavily on this. But instead, it was a very quiet revelation towards the end of the book and we don't get to see much of the after-effects. I think the letter should have been noticed earlier in the story to give us more time to see the impact of Mickey's words and the opportunities that arise for her as a result. Overall thought, this was a thoughtful, well-written book, with a main focus on the protagonist's growth and emotions.

Homebodies had moments of brilliance, but was ultimately an uneven read.

Mickey has it all: a loving girlfriend who cooks, a gorgeous cat, a journalism career at a trendy beauty publication, the New York dream. Until she doesn’t. As Mickey’s life starts to disintegrate, she is forced to interrogate what she wants and what she’s been running from.

While not the most original premise, the broad plot and cast of characters showed promise. What for me let the story down were issues of pacing and tone. I felt like I read about four stories in one book.

Although this one did quite resonate with me, on a sentence level the story was enjoyable and I am eager to see what the author does next.

Pick up this book up if: you’re a fan of Rosewater, Maame or Scenes of a Graphic Nature

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn’t be more removed from the world of beauty and fashion magazines if I tried so this book fell slightly outside my comfort zone in terms of the world it is set in. It was a risk worth taking though, as I found this novel heart-warming and inspiring. In terms of representation, Mickey is the first black, queer woman to be added to my shelves and I loved her character. Stuck between the present and the future, what decisions will she make for herself?

Three words to describe it. Witty. Emotional. Political.

Do I like the cover? I love it!

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, this is a fantastic debut. But I am going through her columns and her other work that can be found online.

Mickey is living that New York dream so common to modern American novels, working as a content writer for a magazine, seemingly celebrated for her take on Black-related issues but finding herself undermined with microaggressions and direct attacks. Where is her group of other young Black women in the media when she needs them? She writes a letter she hopes will go viral and her relationship with the woman who wanted to be her wife but is now seemingly not very supportive starts to unravel. Off she goes back home to Maryland to stay with her grandmother (the best character in the book) and there she meets her ex-situationship (I recently learned this new word!) and is tempted to go back.

Will her letter go viral? Which woman will she choose, or will the choice be made for her? This was a bit of a slow read and Mickey didn't seem to learn much or develop until near the end. There was a lot of ruminating and I think it could have been a bit shorter. But the Black LGBTQ representation was there and there were some interesting points about home, friendship and families.

Review will be on my blog 10 July