Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst follows Mickey Hayward who has decided now is the time to speak out. Mickey has been fired for not being an agreeable black woman in her writer’s job for a media company. Mickey decides to write an online letter exposing the racism she has faced in the industry, but she does not get the reaction she wants, and her girlfriend wants to go on a break. Mickey goes back to her hometown but cannot stay away from New York. I requested this ARC because this book was on my tbr list, and the synopsis sounded interesting. However, I am not finishing this at 53%. The audio narration is well done but I am just not vibing with the story. I find Mickey to be a very annoying main character and I just don’t care about anything or anyone in this novel. I am going to rate this 3 stars though as I don’t think this is a bad book and I do think it has promise for other types of readers.

3.5⭐️ rounded up.

<i> Urgent, propulsive, and strikingly insightful, Homebodies is a thrilling debut novel about a young Black writer whose world is turned upside down when she loses her coveted job in media and pens a searing manifesto about racism in the industry. </i>


This first paragraph in the book summary led me to expect a far different book than what I found Homebodies to be. I expected a taught thriller with an incisive commentary on race- perhaps something in the vein of the spectacular Yellowface ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59357120-yellowface )
This was not that. It was, instead, more of a slow character study, following Mickey Hayward through a battle with depression and a return to her hometown, bookended by the above crisis and a very sudden (almost magically so) resolution.

I received an ARC of the audiobook from NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio in exchange for an honest review. The narrator, Marcella Cox, had a pleasant and clear voice and did a decent job narrating, though she did occasionally have an awkward pause mid-phrase, as well as at least one mis-pronunciation, that made the listener more aware of her presence- however, it was not enough to ruin the listening experience.