Amazing book, easily 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly is a delightful and heartwarming read! The chemistry between the characters is palpable, and their journey is filled with humor and genuine emotion. Reilly's writing is both engaging and witty, making it hard to put the book down. The exploration of friendship and love is beautifully done, with relatable moments that resonate deeply. While some plot points could have been fleshed out a bit more, the overall experience is uplifting and enjoyable. Definitely a must-read for anyone looking for a charming story! 4 stars!

A brilliant debut novel which shows how complicated family can be, yet never shying away from the beauty of it. I really enjoyed Rebecca K Reilly’s writing and the development of her characters and I am looking forward to whatever they write next.

Such an amazing debut!! I absolutely loved this story about two queer siblings and their eccentric Māori-Russian-Catalonian family. It’s a hard task to write a novel that makes you laugh out loud throughout but also makes you cry and also makes you think. Rebecca K. Reilly makes it look effortless.

Unfortunately I could not get into this book - other readers may enjoy it more. I did not finish it in the end

Couldn't finish this - found it to be quite visceral and also dull which is an interesting combination. Such a shame as the flashbacks were way better than the present day framing.

I wish I could’ve loved this book as it had every element I would otherwise enjoy: chaotic life, family, mixed nationalities and multiculturalism, however the book lost me with it’s true lack of plot. As many other people mentioned, this is more about a day to day life story of the mundane, the ebbs and flows of life and nothing really happened in the story, it was like reading a sitcom, which i usually rather enjoy, but this book made me realize, as someone with aphantasia, I prefer my sitcoms to be watched and not read. Nevertheless the characters were very funny so if that’s your thing, you’d definitely enjoy this book.

Greta & Valdin is Rebecca K Reilly’s debut novel, published in New Zealand in 2021 and in the UK in February 2024.

It’s a typical literary fiction narrative, in that it concentrates on the characters, rather than the plot. I don’t mean this as an insult, I enjoyed reading it, but reflecting on what actually happens ahead of writing this review - not a lot, really, Greta and Valdin are brother and sister who live together, and love each other a lot although they don’t always get along very well. Their family roots are complicated, with their father coming originally from Russia and their mother being Maori. This makes for a really interesting study on language, and culture, as well as some excellent running jokes about the complexity of Western, English names and how no-one can remember them as they’re so similar sounding.

Although it’s light on action, the character building and examination makes it a fun read. We get to know the family through both Greta and Valdin, as they navigate through finding out family secrets, complicated relationships and they also get to know themselves and what they want from life. Who they want to spend it with.

Recommended for people interested in managing different cultural references, exploring LGBTQ+ relationships and a slow burn debut.

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for the DRC!

From GoodReads:
I absolutely loved this.
Quirky, wacky, comic, heartfelt, hearbreaking - all from the perspectives of a very unique and lovable brother and sister

Greta and Valdin is easily the most fun book you will read in 2024! Getting to see inside quirky character's heads is one of my favourite things in novels - especially when they're so relatable (idk what that says about me, but anyway) - and it was so fantastic to read a novel set in NZ. I can see this being one of the hottest books of the year and for good reason! Fantastic quirky queer fiction is the best. Looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next!!

LOVE LOVE !!!

This was such a great read I really got into it! The characters were all brilliant and I was sad to finish it!

Greta & Valdin is a heartfelt and humorous story about two queer siblings from a multicultural family and a celebration of diverse experiences in everyday life. It is fun and tender and a joy to read.

This is definitely one for the fans of character studies over plot as there isn't a lot happing, it is more of a day to day family drama, exploration into the families history than action packed narrative.

This was delightful and joyous and just such a fun time, the best kind of chaos. I love a character driven novel, which this was, but the plot and pacing were also absolutely delectable for the most part. G&V were frustrating and hilarious and real and relatable in their own ways - Valdin's anxiety's and overthinking tendencies (the post office scene could've been a journal entry of my own), Greta's self-assurance that's marred by the nagging need for external input, as well as her feeling left in the dark by her family. On the note of family: I adored the dynamics between them all; complex and messy but entirely rooted in love. The social commentary was done so well, profound and punchy but not at all on the nose.

Ultimately I think this was the epitome of queer joy, I just wish the ending hadn't been so rushed, things escalated a little too quickly for my liking which convoluted the story, especially the POV switches right at the end. That being said, I do think the letter was a good finishing point, I just wish there had been a more coherent build up to it. And maybe an epilogue.

Looking forward to whatever Reilly writes next!

If you are very particular about the plot and structure of the novels that you read, it is better to avoid Greta & Valdin. Here, we get a bunch of characters who are at a low phase of their lives, struggling to find meaning amongst the chaos of daily existence and trying to understand how they came to be. We find them striving to get a foothold in their lives, control their careers, find love, support their loved ones, and exist.

A stunning read. So visceral and loved the family themes. Fun and real and honest and raw. Also very pretty cover !!! Great book, think it will be a big summer read

I absolutely loved this book, more than I expected to, and it has shot to the top of my list of favourite books of the year so far. It's funny, touching, likeable and peopled by a cast of characters I wanted to be friends with and wasn't ready to stop spending time around. There's some really good writing comkng out of ANZ lately and this is a great addition to the pantheon, a book I just loved being absorbed in. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I absolutely LOVED Greta and Valdin! This is a cool girl, literary novel full of both fun and relatable moments but grounded in place and stories.

Lush, 4.5 stars

'Casper frowns. 'The first time I brought you round to my parents' house I told everyone to act like regular people and V threw the remote out the window so no one could change the channel from Eurovision, and a squid had exploded on my dad at work.

She sighs and smiles at him. 'Well, you just have to get used to it.''

Greta spends her days contemplating contemporary Russian literature published before 1979, wondering if her master's thesis is pointless, nursing a crush on her colleague and trying to live a dazzling life on a paltry academic's salary. Valdin has turned his back on a career in physics to host a travel show, and convince himself that he absolutely has moved on from the ex-boyfriend who left him to restore a ranch in Argentina. When work sends him to Buenos Aires, Valdin is forced to confront his feelings and the reasons his relationship failed. Meanwhile, Greta is left flailing, wondering why her brother seems to have moved to South America without a word - and if she should take him off the broadband contract.

Greta & Valdin is the story of two twenty-something siblings navigating work, relationships, identity and family from a small shared apartment in Auckland, New Zealand. The narrative switches between the two protagonists and each is brilliantly written, debut author Rebecca K. Reilly establishing the siblings' similarities and their unique idiosyncrasies through their dialogue - both in conversation with each other and when talking about the other to a third party - and through each character's inner monologue. Reilly perfectly captures the way a sibling can infuriate you like no one else, and be the person you turn to in a crisis, because of the depth and longevity of your relationship.

The supporting cast of characters are equally effective. Greta and Valdin's sprawling, complicated, multi-cultural family feels incredibly real, and I felt genuinely bereft when I had to bid them all goodbye at the end of the story; hopefully, since even the peripheral players are written with such depth and nuance, Reilly will be tempted to explore more of the family's stories in future works. I know some reviewers found the number of relatives overwhelming and that it was difficult to keep track of each one, but I adored the different sides of Greta and Valdin that were brought out in their interactions with different family members, and I found their backstory fascinating. The scenes featuring the extended Māori-Russian-Catalan clan are usually absurd, and often mired in subtext and secrets, but always suffused with warmth and humour. I loved how the siblings' family dynamics highlighted the gulf that often exists between how you perceive yourself and how your family see you.

The writing is hilarious, yet there are still poignant moments, and even some pointed commentary on the Māori rights movement, alluded to subtly at first and becoming a more significant plot point later on. This thread - as well as the fact that most of the characters are queer, but not defined solely by their sexuality or reduced to tropes, makes Greta & Valdin an important book as well as an extremely entertaining one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

I have to say I was initially mostly drawn in by the stunning cover, as I hadn't heard of the book before, but since being sent an early copy of this I have seen nothing but glowing reviews for Greta & Valdin, and I can see why. The narrative voices of Greta and Valdin are equally brilliant - both so individual and emotionally raw, depicting their deepest insecurities and fears through a wry humour that is excellently shown to be inherited from their parents, and yet the two protagonists never merge into one another at any point. This book took me a while to read, and normally when this starts to happen I am very quick to give up on a book, but something kept me going until the end, and I'm very glad I did. It's a rare, but welcome feeling to be satisfied in having worked through a book as I did and being certain that it was worth doing so.

Utterly brilliant, a book that races even further than it first promises, blending stories of family, cultural heritage and queer identities with a biting, deadpan comedy that will immediately hook readers. Already purchased and read by my whole book club and one of my top recommendations at the moment!