Both working within the entertainment industry, Ola and Michael are the definition of ‘couple goals’ amongst their vast social media following. The book is structured around the countdown to their wedding, one month away.
Ola is horrified when ‘The List’ is posted on social media- an anonymous list allowing people to post the names of men and allegations made against them. As current affairs editor of Womxxxn magazine, Ola would usually jump at the chance to write an article publicly condemning these men- but Michael is on the list!
Ola’s world is turned upside down and she is forced to question her relationship with Michael- will the wedding go ahead?
Loved this book and the fact that it is so topical and current to todays world. I found Ola’s reaction to Michael a bit confusing at first but quickly realised how this was a clever display of how different relationships are today as a result of the influence of social media. A reply cover read I feel will appeal to a wide range of readers

Ola and Michael appear to be leading a charmed life. They are getting married, Michael is due to start his dream job, Ola is top of her game at hers. Then "The List" appears. The list has Michael's name on it, It accuses him of being an abuser, harassment and claims he has a restraining order out against him. As the list is anonymous it is difficult for him to prove his innocence to Ola and their friends. .As the wedding looms closer. the pressure is piling up and there is a will they or won't they vibe going on. Michael meets with someone else on the list who has been accused of homophobia and is surprised that the guy admits he is gay, but can't come out due to the industry he is in and that he doesn't want to lose his children.
An interesting book about how much damage half truths on the internet can do and how people jump on bandwagons to be visible on there.

The List by Yomi Adegoke explores topical issues such as social media and cancel culture and toxic masculinity.

Mapping the seemingly perfect relationship between a “feminist writer” and her man - a podcaster & newly hired content creator at a well known media firm after they wake up to his name on a public document accusing him of harassment alongside other notorious men in the creative space, this novel focused heavily on the real life implications of cancel culture and the dark side of social media; exploring other themes such as suicide, grief, sexual abuse, misogyny, and love.

Throughout this book I truly couldn’t figure out if any of these characters were meant to be likeable which I must admit kept taking me out of the flow of the book; the pacing was also off with the story lagging at some points. But most importantly, I found that the book at times teetered on feeding into very harmful rhetorics about women making false accusations for vengeance purposes and that last chapter didn’t help my feelings about this at all!

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for providing my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book which gives the reader a lot to think about.

Issues raised by the book include attitudes towards to the accused and accusers in sexual misconduct cases - does society favour the accused and seek to silence accusers and if so why? Why are male abusers so often not called to account for their behaviour but might even find that the notoriety helps their career?

Some of the issues in the book are not new and have been discussed since at least the 1970s but if this particular book and all the buzz about it reaches and engages a young, modern audience then that that can only be a good thing.

Why do many women fall for and stay with awful men? In this book for example, Ola is a clever, capable woman so why does she fall for the absolutely toxic Michael who drinks too much, smokes too many drugs and is chock full of self pity and whining self justification.. Nothing is Michael’s fault, he thinks only of himself and he has not grown as a person in any way by the end of the book.

Is Michael a perfect description of many unreconstructed men? Why do smart confident modern young women still feel that there is status in being married? Are modern women that different from the many women of the past who endured loveless and unsatisfactory marriages?

To be perfectly honest I found the book a bit exhausting with all the things to think about. But I can see how people less jaded than me will just love it all.

One problem I had is that there are a lot of phrases, expressions, acronyms and musical references that I did not understand and I could not be bothered continually googling them. To be fair though, I don’t think you need to “get” all the references (although you might have a richer reading experience if you do) , all you need is a general understanding of what is going on.

The book is well written and the characters seem authentic. The twist at the end is another point against Michael, he was so sure he knew who his troll was that he didn’t bother to check properly.

I loved the premise for this but was a bit nervous about its execution. It's a compulsive read, first and foremost, and makes many very valid points about social media.

I do, however, have some lingering concerns. We're made to assume that Jackie was a 'psycho' when, in actual fact, she was treated appallingly too. What she allegedly did was totally out of order but perhaps we could have been given better insight into her state of mind, as induced by Michael? The narrative spin at the end of the book is infuriating. Michael says, "She f*cked things up with the only woman I've ever loved." Naw, mate. YOU f*cked things up. YOU did that. Nobody else. And because the stupid, selfish dickhead got drunk and walked in front of a car, everybody is supposed to feel sorry for him now. Nah. Then I read the last chapter and felt for Jackie tenfold! 😤

In addition, it's not ideal that the two men we get to hear about that are on The List (Michael and Lewis), have been put there for malicious reasons. This plays into the tired (and incorrect) narrative that women frequently accuse innocent men. I found that quite disappointing, to be honest. Also, we shouldn't only care about abuse if it happens to ourselves, or to those we care about, which is how I felt about Ola's reaction following Celie's disclosure. I think that with more considered editorial work, and some discussion with real victims, this could have been a better book.

Having said that, there is lots that's good about the book. Yomi Adegoke is absolutely spot on about the hypocrisy of all the #BeKind knobs. It's also a decent exploration of how social media can be abused. I think 'The List' would be an excellent book club read because there is LOADS to discuss. I expect it will be a hit.

Arresting and thought-provoking, this book charts a relationship between a feminist journalist and a content creator through online accusations of sexual harassment. Ola and Michael seem like the perfect couple until ‘The List’ is published online and Michael is named on there as an abuser. Events quickly spiral as the couple’s wedding day gets closer and closer, and the reader is witness to the explosive fall-out from ‘The List’.

Highlighting issues surrounding social media as well as racism and sexual offences, this book is a challenging read but an important one.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with access to this ARC.

I had a lot of hype for this book a I had read a lot of things online! I really enjoyed how it covered certain trendy and necessary topics, but I agree that at times it feels like it's dragged a bit, specially at the start pre-wedding. Overall an enjoyable read!

Ola Olajide and her fiance Michael appear to be leading charmed lives - young, beautiful, successful, and soon to be married. Their engagement photos have gone viral online, they are considered to be "couple goals" for young, aspirational black couples, and they are enjoying the spotlight.

Until, that is, they wake up one morning to a deluge of messages about The List - one viral phenomenon that no one wants to be associated with! Unfortunately for them, Michael's name is on that dreaded Google document, purporting to name and shame abusive men in the creative field.

How will Ola, whose career has been defined by her feminist credentials - partly gained as a result of her online journalism career with feminist website Womxxxn - defend her relationship with an alleged abuser?

Will she do the traditional thing and "stand by her man", or will she take the careful look at Michael and determine whether or not he is in fact who she thinks he is?

This book takes on quite a few weighty contemporary themes. Maybe too many, in fact. But it does a good job of showing how internet celebrity can turn on a dime, how trials by social media are the kangaroo courts of our time, and how a careful curating of your online image can mean even those closest to you may not always feel confident about just how well they know you. In the process, it delivers an entertaining read that a reader can pretty much breeze their way through, so I would give it 3.5 stars.

A blistering account of cancel culture and the MeToo movement, this story about Michael and Ola keeps you guessing right up until the end. Is what is on The List true? If some are being falsely accused, will the true abusers also get off scot free? I wanted to know badly about the repercussions faced and some were upsetting in negative ways and some in positive ways. Thought provoking!

Although this is her first novel, Yomi Adegoke is a successful columnist and broadcaster and that shows in this topical book, rooted equally in African culture and social media. It’s an unusual mix.

The plot is simple. Ola, a successful journalist, is about to be married to Michael who is just starting a new job in media promotion when the List of the title is published to Twitter. It’s a list of people working in the new media who are identified by anonymous people as being sex pests and much worse. Michael is named.

From this point, both their lives implode as the information spreads exponentially is copied, reposted and endlessly discussed. Ola’s entire image is based on her feminist core while the predominant view about Michael is that he might be guilty. Meanwhile, the countdown to their wedding day continues.

The damage done to both of the characters spreads to their friends and family and their workplaces. The book is a cautionary tale about the capacity of social media to destroy people, even on the basis of innuendo. A famous footballer is also caught up in the media storm allowing the author to show that there really is no way out.

This is a self-consciously trendy book. The places people go, the clothes they wear and the things they do all come with labels and, frequently, the book slips into a succession of social media posts and emojis. This might not be to everyone’s taste but it adds to the contemporary immediacy of the story as does the Nigerian and Ghanaian setting.

In the end, most people survive and there is a kind of moral but the toll taken on Ola and Michael is considerable. It’s a good read, perhaps aimed at the trendy London commuter rather than the rural housewife but there’s a lot in it to talk about – even if you just read it as a warning!

I think this book will find its audience, but, it’s not me. I really liked the idea of a popular, attractive couple who appear to be living an idyllic life until one of their names appears on a list and their lives are turned upside down.
However, I struggled to follow the narrative and there appeared a lot of threads; too many for me. I do wonder though if that’s because I’m not the demographic used to everything at 100 miles an hour, so, I’ll give the book the benefit of the doubt and say, an OK read, just not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and 4th Estate/William Collins for the opportunity to preview.

This was a little longer than expected but nevertheless a good book that touched on a number of pertinent and timely points.

I enjoyed this book but I found it far too long for the content. The storyline was strong but repetitive. The message of the novel is highly important ( the abuse of women and the role of social media ) and for this reason I persevered to the end. Whilst I respected the outcome of Ola and Michael’s relationship I did feel the twist at the end was a little contrived.

Ola Olajide is a cut throat feminist writer at Womxxn magazine. She is getting married in a few weeks to Michael, a semi well known podcaster and newly turned Instagrammer. Michael is just starting a new job with a huge media organisation, and he can’t believe his luck. Ola and Michael are a black power couple, the IT couple on social networks, inspiration to many other black couples. They are madly in love, and seem to have it all. Their wedding is going to be the dream start to their life together.

Ola, running late for work one morning, arrives to a flood of messages and missed calls on her mobile. Has she seen The List? An anonymous posting online, naming forty men, with varying levels of prominence in the media. Men who have had allegations made against them by anonymous women. Allegations of abuse, sexual misconduct and worse. Ola would usually be the first writer on the case, retweeting the list, writing expose articles on the men featured, getting the men on the list cancelled. Except there is a catch. Michaels name is on the list, and Ola feels like her world has come crumbling down around her at this discovery.

This book made for a very interesting read. We switched between Ola and Michael’s perspectives. Ola is a confirmed feminist, very much of the mindset of a woman should always be believed when she accuses a man. So her conflict at the list, Michaels name being on it, and her disbelief that Michael doesn’t know why he is on the list is completely earth shattering for her. For Michael, who can’t understand why he is on the list, we see what supposedly false allegations can lead to. The loss of a job, career, friendships, a partner.

The society we live in now is one where cancel culture prevails. A person does wrong, or is perceived to do wrong, and proof is not required in an allegation. They are simply ‘cancelled’ and maligned in the media, on social platforms, with little thought to the impact it has on their lives. This book weaves this throughout, along with many other topics, such as sexism, racism, false news, suicide, grief, love and more. It deals with a truly complex topic, through Ola and Michael’s tumultuous journey from the moment of publication of The List up to their planned wedding day, and the decision of whether it should go ahead.

You find yourself really feeling for Ola, put in a position where her morals are what frame her entire professional life and her very core being, yet they suddenly are at odds with who the man she loves and wants to marry is supposed to be. You have sympathy for Michael, but as the story delves deeper, you start to wonder if he deserves his place on the list. You wonder what would you do in this situation? How would you react if someone you love was on such a list? The pacing dropped a little at points, a few pages could have been trimmed to keep it as snappy and engaging throughout. However, it was an unexpectedly thought provoking read, well written and creating an impact. I look forward to how this will be treated as a TV series.

*I received this book from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

I heard a lot of hype around this book before I read it and I think it set my expectations a little too high. I thought the story was powerful and it showed both sides to a tough subject. I was in constant conflict as I read it about what I thought they should do.

The List opens up with only a few weeks to go before Micheal and Ola get married. Both of them are fairly notable online, with Ola being a writer at a prominent women’s magazine, and Micheal about to start a new job with a larger Youtube channel. They have also found themselves quite a following within the black community as a couple. They’re happy.

The next day, The List hits the internet. It names forty prominent figures in the media and lists the allegations made against them, by anonymous figures. Michael’s name is on the list, and the happiness is shattered.

This book is duel perspective, so we see both Michael and Ola’s journeys, and thoughts, as they handle this, and boy, are there a lot of emotions to be had. There’s so many questions, especially for Ola, who has her usual ‘always believe women’ stance challenged now that the accused is her own fiancé. Are the allegations true? Who put him on the list? And can she really still go on with the wedding?

I think the book did a good job at handling something as large as ‘cancel culture’ and online allegations. Things are truly never really so clear cut, for better or worse. People behind screens never know the full story, whether allegations are true or not. It’s such a prickly subject and we touch on a lot of things here - racism, sexism, feminism, internet culture, amongst some of them.

This is a book with a lot of twists and turns, and it can make for uncomfortable reading at some points. However I think it set out and achieved its goal, and that’s not an easy feat with such a complex subject matter. Definitely worth a read.

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the early copy to review.

📖FROM COVER

Ola Olajide, a high-profile journalist at Womxxxn magazine, is marrying the love of her life in one month's time. Young, beautiful, successful – she and her fiancé Michael are the ‘couple goals’ of their social networks and seem to have it all.
That is, until one morning when they both wake up to the same message:
‘Oh my god, have you seen The List?’
It began as a crowdsourced collection of names and somehow morphed into an anonymous account posting allegations on social media. Ola would usually be the first to support such a list—she’d retweet it, call for the men to be fired, write article after article. Except this time, Michael’s name is on it.

REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Told in the 3rd person we hear from Ola and Micheal’s , The lead characters,POV as they deal with the fall out from the list in the lead up to their wedding ( or the red wedding as one of characters rightly describes it) and the after.

In the early chapters the story moves quick perhaps a little too quick to really engage fully with Ola and Micheal relationship, there was a lot of missing bits and loose ends in regard to this for me, this made it hard to really feel anything for either of them. I’ll be honest I didn’t like them both. As the story processes you do get more background information as this does help the reader engage and relate more to the characters. As much as the plot moves very quick in the beginning there are parts that are really slow in the middle I feel it would have been better to have more background in the earlier stages rather than the duller slow parts that don’t really add anything. That being said the book flowed well outwith the slower parts and I liked how we heard from both sides. It was interesting to read about the same events interrupted by different characters. It sort proved the point of the book what is the actual truth? Nothing is black and white in life!

My biggest bug bear with the novel was a lot of the dialect and culture references I had to google a lot of both. Perhaps that was age thing more than anything and coming from Scotland.That of course is a personal thing and by no means takes anything away from the story suppose it could be argued that it adds a authentic feel to the characters I personally just found it slightly off putting

This book asks so many questions and makes some amazing points, we should all be thinking about the issues brought to our attention in this book. Firstly she asks the questions a lot of writers are asking presently about how we live our life a bit too open and the paradox of living your truth, if both Ola and Micheal didn’t have such open social media would the list have effected them. It questions how we would react in the situation, all for the witch hunt until it’s you, the hypocritical nature of humans. It examines how the system is completely broken that even after Me2 there is no outlet for reporting things, that victims are blamed and we still have to relay on keyboard warriors for some sort of justice. It highlights the utter faults of this as it asks us should we have a cancel culture? Is a trial by media fair? Are all papers just red tops now looking for a witch hunt? Is there no smoke without fire?

This is a relevant insightful smartly written book. It explores the deep issues we have in society today, micro racism, sexism, cancel culture to name but a few. The way the writer has Ola’s friends reaction is very black and white and while that might seem a bit straight forward it highlights the full question of the book. There is lot of what I would call racial bias and stereotypical characters but again for me that empathises the issues the author is highlighting. These are just some of the ways the author expertly addresses and make her point. Very accomplished writing with great flair and style. That being said she does need to work off the flow of her plotting and characters.

Overall this a good book with an interesting plot and a underlaying bigger story. It made me think and stayed with me after reading however it did lack something for me.

I see it has been optioned as a tv series and I think it will work better in terms of plot and flow in this format.

If you like Candice Carty Williams and writers like her you will inhale this book in one sitting.

An interesting book, that will make you think how a life can be so quickly turned upside down. I liked the plot and the characters, but overall I thought it was a bit too slow for me and I didn't rush to go read it.
Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this ARC.

Ola is engaged to be married to Michael and their wedding is weeks away and they are both very excited to start married life together. Then the drama starts. Michael’s name is on a list on Twitter which list says that the people on this are abusers, rapists or harass women. The list is for all to see and regardless of whether the list is true or not it leads to problems for Ola and Michael. Michael tries to convince Ola of his innocence. Ola starts to investigate and is convinced that his name should not be on the list as his employers will have done a DBS check and if his name was linked to a restraining order the check would have been denied. Eventually they work out the reason for him being on the list and it should not have been but the damage has been done. Should they get married or not that is the question Ola continues to ask herself even when finding out the truth. Ola tries to carry on at work, she does not mix socially with her work colleagues as a general rule so they do not know that Michael is her fiancé. Consequently the talk round the water cooler is crushing for her. The book continues to get across the fact that some men (and women) are accused without evidence but also some get away with causing hurt. I thought it was well written and makes you think about how difficult it is to prove or otherwise innocent people with their names are out there in the media. I thought the characters were easy to like and also I liked the “banter” between Ola and Kiran. A good read