This was a good read - the cast of character pulls you into the story, and the writing is great. Four stars from me because perhaps I expected more after her previous novel, but eminently readable!

Agatha is a visiting lecturer at the university of Arkansas and also researching weddings for her forthcoming book. She enlists Millie, a resident assistant, to help her set up interviews with the residents. The book is told from both their POVs as well as Kennedy's, one of the girls living in Millie's dorm.

Agatha's requests to Millie start to get slightly more peculiar but the money is pretty good so! Things start to get messy because of the other RAs, dorm residents and Agatha's estranged wife, Robin.

Okay I get why people aren't sold on this, the plot is light for a long time and there is mostly a lot of mess and gossip. Which is why I enjoyed it so much. I love mess and gossip! Reid is a really sharp and funny writer, I think she nails how girls that age speak to one another too. The entire bit with Ryland's search history? I was truly cackling.

I just had a great time reading this!

Agatha, a Black lesbian journalist, is scouting out sources for a book she's planning to write on weddings, and ends up at a dorm at the University of Arkansas, talking to three white female undergraduates. At once, she becomes so fascinated by their attitudes to money, and how frankly they speak about it, that she starts planning more of a micro-ethnology of their lives and attitudes. Jenna, in particular, is a goldmine of information: she tells Agatha about her 'practice paycheck' from her dad's orthodontist which turns out to be a a way of giving her an allowance while reducing tax, and the 'fun money' she gets from her actual job. Asked to define her use of the word 'ghetto', she says, 'So the glass on my phone is all smashed, but I can't get another one till my upgrade. So whenever I can't click on something, I'll be like "Ugh, my phone is so ghetto right now."'. ' "Exactly",' one of the other girls chimes in. '"Jenna, that's really good."' Determined to find out more about these girls' lives, Agatha strikes an unethical deal with their senior resident assistant, Millie: she'll sit in Millie's room, which adjoins their suite, and record their conversations through the wall.

Perhaps the major problem with Come And Get It, Kiley Reid's sophomore novel, is that it takes so long for this basic premise to get established. For some reason, rather than setting this up and then expanding on the lives and backstories of Agatha, Millie and the suite's residents, Reid lets us flounder for chapter upon chapter with no idea where the book is going. However, it's to her credit that despite this total structural disaster, Come And Get It is still never less than riveting. Like Agatha, I was completely drawn in by her close observations of this tiny world, a kind of thick description of these girls' social circle plus Millie's connections with her fellow RAs. Reid has a genius for the brief, telling line - telling about both the narrator and the observer: 'Agatha wasn't planning on saying anything. She was an only child; she could entertain herself for days'; 'Kennedy wasn't sure why, but Tyler seemed like the type of person who needed one tiny tampon to last her for hours.'

In my review of Reid's hit first novel, Such A Fun Age, I wrote: 'its writing is uneven; it feels unusual and original when Reid imagines the three-way relationship between Emira, Alix and Briar, fun but trashy when she skewers Alix’s corporate world, and awkward when Emira is hanging out with her group of black and Hispanic friends, who feel uncomfortably stereotypical'. I think Reid solves this issue in Come And Get It by dialling everything up to eleven, so rather than this jarring switch between modes, we get out-and-out satire. Nevertheless, I would disagree with other reviewers that these characters are shallow or flat. Despite the full-on dialogue and spelt-out accents, Reid finds depth in her young cast and challenges our immediate assumptions. This novel reminded me alternately of Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep in its explicit dissection of class signifiers like balayage and lavender lattes, and Sittenfeld's least-famous novel The Man of My Dreams. The college years sections of the latter especially reflect one of the students' plot-lines in Come And Get It. Kennedy's story is perhaps the most painful, car-crash-TV can't-look-away, as, having transferred from the University of Iowa, she tries to make friends in an environment where all the markers of social status are different, and where her coffee cart, inspiring posters ('For like ever'), mini-chandelier and other treasures from Target mark her out as an object of derision.

I loved this gossipy novel and its anthropological attention to what young women spend their money on and how they present their identities to the world. It's much more complex and ambitious than Such A Fun Age, which ultimately devolved into cliche. Is it a hot mess? Yes. But give me something like this rather than a tidy, familiar plot-line any day.

I feel very conflicted about how I feel about this book. I felt so tense reading it and honestly had no clue what was going to happen next.

The cast of characters is… huge and at the beginning it felt incredibly confusing.

The plot was interesting and slightly nerve wracking at times. The ending wasn’t as satisfying as I would like and kind of felt flat after the tense middle.

I enjoyed this book but I wouldn’t say I liked it.

I had mixed feelings about Such A Fun Age, but I wanted to read Come and Get It because I'd heard it was a campus novel, a genre I really can't resist. I felt similarly about this book, though. Kiley Reid is such a smart, observant writer who captures interesting (and slightly weird) social dynamics, delves deep into her characters, and writes dialogue that feels totally authentic. But, narratively, I thought this book was just a bit of a mess. I didn't like the ending at all, but even before that there was a lack of clarity to the story, plus a whole lot of implausible events, that I didn't really enjoy. A shame, because her writing is very good and I did really like reading about an Arkansas university campus; it felt very different to the usual American lit I consume.

Another fabulous story from Reid, a story of what it means to be an American college student and how we can manipulate each other. We can live so close to people and not know what they are going through. Be sidetracked and blinded by love. Fantastic writing, one to recommend.

Come and Get It is the highly anticipated latest release from Kiley Reid, follows the success of her previous book, "Such A Fun Age." Fans of Reid's distinctive writing style and compelling character development will find satisfaction in this new offering. The narrative centers around Millie, a dedicated resident assistant striving to graduate and save for a house downpayment.

When Agatha, a visiting professor, presents Millie with an unconventional opportunity for extra income, Millie seizes it, even if it involves questionable actions towards the students under her care. The students, a diverse group of mean girls and anxiety-ridden transfers, navigate complex relationships within the dormitory. Agatha, intrigued by their behaviors and attitudes, particularly regarding money, examines these dynamics, reflecting on her own strained relationship with her dancer wife, Robin.

As the intricate web of character relationships becomes increasingly entangled, the storyline takes a tumultuous turn with dire consequences. Amidst this complexity, it becomes challenging to provide a comprehensive review, as the novel promises a gripping exploration of ethical dilemmas, interpersonal dynamics, and unforeseen repercussions.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc. I was really happy to be approved for this as I loved Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age.
I struggled to get into this at the start and couldn’t quite work out where the plot was going. I wasn’t hugely invested in the characters either which meant it felt quite slow although it did pick up a bit and I enjoyed it more towards the end when there was a bit more drama .

Come and Get It is the hotly anticipated new release from Kiley Reid, whose previous book Such A Fun Age was a huge success. Fans of that book will be pleased to know that Reid's writing style and character work remains as strong as ever in this new release which tells the story of Millie, a resident assistant who is working hard to graduate and saving hard to make the downpayment on a house. When Agatha, a visiting professor offers Millie an unusual way to earn some extra cash she jumps at the chance even if it involves some unethical behaviour towards the stuents in the dorm that she is supposed to care for. As for these students , they are a mixed bunch of mean girls and anxiety ridden new transfers and relationships between them do not always run smoothly. Agatha is fascinated by thier behaviour and attitudes, especially towardsa money, something which has been a frequent cause of friction in her relationship with her dancer wife Robin. As the relationships between the characters intersect more and become more and more complicated things begin to spiral out of control with terrible consequences.
It is difficult to review this book because in terms of plot not a lot really happens,though if you are paying attention you will see how the seeds cleverly sown through out the book flower at the end. This is definitely a book for readers who value characers over plot, and while I do not usually consider myself in such a catergory I still found his book really caught my attention and held it, most likely because of how much I liked Millie as a character, especially in the first half of the book.
This is going to be a marmite book ,readers will definitely be divided in their reactions but I enjoyed it. I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher,all opinions are my own.

This was a bit of a mess. It really needed better editing - it felt like Reid had just taken all of her character notes and back stories and thrown them together, without thought to a coherent plot.

The ‘plot‘, such as it is, centres around a visiting professor eavesdropping on students (very bizarre) and, whilst some of the plot points are tied up at the end, many of them aren‘t.

Rather disappointing.

I feel fairly torn about how to rate Come And Get It. On the one hand, I loved the writing, which managed to keep me gripped even though nothing really happened. But on the other, well, nothing really happened! Each character felt frustrating to me, like I couldn’t quite believe they were real and having real reactions (not helped by the fact they often make absolutely baffling decisions - what on EARTH would possess an academic to collect data in such a completely unethical way?!). I think Reid has got such a lot of talent but this book just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the ARC! I was thrilled to be approved for it.

This will be the last book I finish in 2023 and it's very close to my favourite. I am way too old to stay up until 2am to finish reading a book, but, alas, in this case I had no choice in the matter. I was completely hooked. I agree that the book feels a little "plotless" at first, but if you pay attention, seeds are being sown and you can tell the payoff will be well worth it. It was. By the end my hands were in fists and my teeth gritted as I waited for the inevitable explosion. When it came, it was still a surprise and didn't happen in the way I'd predicted. And the novel ends on a believably hopeful note, which I appreciated.

I'm a big fan of multi-pov stories and Kiley Reid used the device to brilliant effect, creating a kind of Rashoman effect. The characters themselves were brilliant. She has a brilliant ear for realistic, entertaining dialogue and social observation. Each character was distinctly individual and believable. They were all so REAL and recognisable. I went to college with these people. I remember them clearly and how awful they were. What I love about Come and Get It, though, is that even the "nice" characters, the reasonable, well-meaning kind ones, were deeply flawed in believably human ways. I can totally relate to Millie making irresponsible choices due to being overwhelmed by romantic obsession. I can understand Agatha abusing her position of power out of boredom and insecurity. I felt so much sympathy for poor Kennedy and the way Reid portrayed her social isolation struck home hard.

And the mean girls, gawd, I loathed them, even as I recognised them. Reid has her finger on a particularly American way of being... Well, whatever those girls were. Narcissistic. Mean. Spoiled. Shallow, Lacking in self-analysis. Young. Real.

The book demonstrates in a variety of ways how flippantly brutal people can be with each other's lives, out of boredom, out of haste, out of thoughtlessness. Just absolutely spot on social interactions between the characters, and I loved how their backgrounds fed into that, the clashes and the cliques. The cultural ephemeral surrounding the characters made everything even that much more real, even if I didn't get all the American references. I googled a lot and it was fine.

Two concrits:
One: As much as I love how the constant descriptions of what characters were wearing on a day to day basis fed into characterisation, there was too much of it, especially as 80% of the time the description was "X wore shorts and a t-shirt". It started distracting me after a while. Why do all the charaters constantly wear shorts? No dresses? No jeans, other than a single instance?
Two; There are still a LOT of typos in this book and I really hope the publisher cleans them up before it's released, and a book this wonderful deserves to be clean.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really enjoyed Kiley Reid's debut novel Such a Fun Age but Come and Get It didn't really live up to it unfortunately.

There were a lot of things that I did like. Firstly, this book dealt with a lot of interesting themes such as money, class and race and it mostly handles these well, I think. The characters were well rounded, even if many of them weren't particularly likeable. This could have been a great book.

It fell flat for me because the novel was so character driven that it took a long time for the plot to get anywhere and in the middle half of the book I was just quite bored. However, the plot did pick up towards the end. As well, the cast of characters was perhaps just a bit too big, some of whom didn't really add much to the story besides from, at times, making it more difficult to remember who is who (especially as the point of view changes chapter to chapter) so it just didn't quite work for me personally.

Overall, this book absolutely had the elements for it to be a great read, it just didn't bring it together in a way that was right for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book ahead of its release.

I so badly wanted to love this. I found the authors first novel, Such a Fun Age, so brilliant but this one really fell flat for me. I actually didn't even end up reading the whole thing. Nothing happened and I wasn't enjoying it enough to stick with it so I gave up around the half way mark.

Another excellent book by Kiley Reid, and a worthy successor to Its a Fun Age. This one follows a year in the life of a professor, Agatha, who is using her tenure at Arkansas University to study and write about - unauthorised - the lives of a handful of students. Reid’s characterisation and eye for social details is undeniably excellent, and make for an utterly absorbing read. My only criticism is that it left me with a feeling of cold discomfort - Reid doesn’t seem to like or cherish any of her characters. I like to feel like an author has her arm around the shoulders of her creations - no matter how abhorrent or unrelatable they are - and these women are neither of those things. And yet, they are very judged. Nonetheless a brilliant book

3⭐

After really enjoying Such a Fun Age a couple of years ago, I was really looking forward to reading this next novel from Kiley Reid. The premise was super intriguing. The characters and storyline had a ton of potential, and I really cared about some of them. But I came away feeling a little disappointed. I really wanted to love this book, but I think where it fell a little short was trying to squeeze too much in — there were so many people and plotlines to keep track of, which would have been okay if they had all come together, but I felt like there were so many loose threads left dangling — we learn so much of each character's history, barely any of which really connects with what's happening in the present. I feel like with a bit more editing and shaping, this could have been great. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to whatever Reid comes out with next.

So this book is getting poor reviews and there is simply no reason for them. This is a perfectly enjoyable read and yes, you need to be in it for the long haul but it pays off wonderfully when everything goes wrong at the same time. Wow.
The character development is extensive so I get why people thought maybe this wouldn't go anywhere and yes, everyone had a lengthy bad story.
Agatha is a professor who takes a teaching job at some crappy university. She meets the student RA Millie who is an all round nice person. The same cannot be said for the girls staying in Millie's student accommation. Cue multiple backstories, different motivations and BAM.

This isn't a slog but it is long and unless you're willing to go with it, you won't get to the good part.

I was very excited to receive the ARC for come and get it. Kiley’s debut novel, come and get it was outstanding and I was very exited to see what they did next. Come and get it did not disappoint, a thoroughly enjoyable read

Kiley has become an auto buy author for me now, following Such A Fun Age and now this latest release. I absolutely adore the way she creates characters and takes you along on a journey with them. I love her writing style, it’s so engaging and interesting and real. I feel as though I’ve met this bunch of characters. As a 20-something, the focus on money throughout made sense and felt very apt for me right now. Very excited to see more!

I had read and enjoyed this authors previous novel, Such a fun age and was pleased to see this. on NetGalley, UK it went to the top of my to be red list.

The novel is set in the USA at the present time, and looks at the lives and relationships of a group of women living in a university Hall of residence.
There’s something inherently amusing about one of the characters, being a writer, eavesdropping on teenage girls in a university dorm, as this is exactly what the author of the novel has clearly done at some stage in her life, and saved up the snippets of touching reality for this novel
Also has a useful fresh way of writing and I really did feel that I was inside the head of the young girls understanding what made them . The book is full of a cast of entirely believable characters. The majority of women I felt by the end of the novel, but I knew them well and that they had all had opportunities for their characters to develop within the Story.
I enjoyed reading the novel. It was a relaxing, energetic, Read and it kept my attention from the first paragraph onwards.
This is very American novel, and as a British reader, I recognised the setting from watching a lot of television series set in similar situations .
They’re where some relatively
difficult topics touched on such as mental health/self harm, and the older female character was using her influence and seniority for dubious reasons. Despite looking , the author managed to do this with subtlely and lightness making the book an enjoyable, read.
I recommend this novel to those who, like primarily relationship driven novels. I probably put the novel within the category of women’s fiction
Hi Regina, copy of the novel on NetGalley UK the book is published on the 30th of January 2024 by Bloomsbury publishing plc
This will appear on NetGalley, UK, Goodreads, and my book blog bionicsarahsbooks. wordpress.com.

After publication the review will appear on , Amazon, UK