Loved, loved, loved Green Dot by Australian author, Madeleine Gray! Green Dot is a highly nuanced love story told from the perspective of Hera, who is the ‘other woman’, the mistress, if you will. It’s the first book I’ve read with a lead character giving this POV, so it was really interesting. But I mainly loved it due to the fantastic dry, witty writing style of Madeleine Gray.

Green Dot has one of the most succinct opening sentences I’ve come across in a while in terms of plot summary. The above is indeed what this story is all about: Hera Stephens, our narrator, and her relationship with Arthur. Her older, married colleague. She often talks directly to us through the story, which really works to draw you right in.

Set in Sydney, Australia (and a little in London) in 2019 and later 2020 where the pandemic is woven really effectively into the story (something Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld also did so well – and yes, if you enjoyed that book, you’ll love Green Dot). We first meet Hera when she is job hunting after her PHD. Having rinsed academia for as long as she can, she now has to face the horrors of finding a job to pay the bills.

Hera’s world consists mainly of her dad, her dog, Jude and friends Sarah and Sophie. When she does get a job as a comment moderator on a newspaper, she ends up sharing a bank of desks with Arthur, a journalist. Due to the aforementioned forced nature of her taking this role, she looks for anything to make the days more interesting and sparks up (mainly through the internal message system) a friendship with Arthur.

Their friendship develops and while her move into mistress isn’t unwitting – she finds out Arthur is married and still continues – she is in too deep when the truth is revealed to her, so you can see why she keeps believing Arthur when he says he will leave his wife.

The reason Green Dot works so well is that you are so invested in Hera. Despite her character being in morally ambiguous territory with a lot of her actions, how she flexes her behaviour – love delusion, basically – for Arthur, and is so aware of the insanity of what she’s doing but does it anyway, is actually such a relatable trait. And the reason you are always on her side. She finds herself in this situation but it is ultimately a cumulation of all areas of her life.

Side note: I love that Green Dot has a pop-culture reference to the Murder on the Dancefloor by Sophie Ellis-Bexter video which is amazing timing as surely this would have been written way before Saltburn made the song viral? I also think if you enjoyed Saltburn, you will love Green Dot. There are lots of other great pop-cultural refs scattered throughout too, case in point: 'I’ve been re-watching Fleabag but haven’t we all'.

I laughed so many time when reading, this is such a funny, clever, heart-warming and heart-breaking book. You’ll fall for Hera’s story – you’ll be so frustrated by her, want to help her, want her to stop and want her to succeed in equal measure. She is absolutely someone I would love to go for a drink with. Green Dot is a fantastic exploration of a complex love situation. And a woman working out just what she really wants from life. Loved it!

Dark, witty, hopeful, hopeless. This book will remind you of every doomed love affair you ever had and how hindsight is wisdom we could so often do with to offer us clarity when we actually need it.

Gray's novel felt concurrently intriguing and predictable, relatable and redundant, timely and stereotyped; in this Fleabag-saturated cultural milieu, "Green Dot" does not really reflect on the themes it raises or offer any comment on contemporary issues.

𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗗𝗢𝗧
—𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘆 | 𝟯.𝟳𝟱🌟

“𝘐𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯?”

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲:
✨Literary fiction
✨POV from a mistress
✨Age gap
✨Transition into adulthood
✨Very millennial
✨Morally dubious MC
✨Dark humour

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
This book is for the modern day new adult: somebody fresh in their twenties who is searching for stability and intimacy in a capitalist world that continues to take from a burnt out generation. The main character, Hera, is entering a transition period where her friends have started their careers and Hera is stuck in an perpetually melancholic and disassociated state that seems fuelled by corporate life. Whilst the audience for this book seems narrow, there were certainly moments where I found the introspections completely relatable, so although I am older than the intended audience, I didn’t feel shut out, instead, due to the large amounts of subterfuge in the book, I felt in on a secret.

Hera, our morally dubious main character, has an affair with a married man. She falls (or more accurately: spirals) deeply in love which was accompanied by a level of emotional background pain which was dull enough to ignore for the sake of the affair in the beginning, but soon became sharp enough to rise to the forefront of Hera’s circumstances. During this affair, Hera has repetitive existential crises whilst the prose uses witty introspection to balance the emotional weight of the novel with some truly dark humour. Despite the fact that I did not like Hera’s decisions, I did find myself rooting for her, Gray has created a character so clever, deep and so consumed by love, that even I, a morally white poster child, hoped for a favourable outcome.

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘢. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.”

Although this is character driven, the actual plot is really frustrating, however it reads like a car crash I simply could not look away from.

𝗞𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵 | 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆

I loved and hated this book at the same time. The writing was witty and punchy and kept me engrossed, but there was something lacking. Sadly relatable yet irritating protagonist, would love to know more about relationship with her mother

I had seen so many mentions of Green Dot on Twitter, raving about how wonderful it was so I was thrilled to received an e-arc on Netgalley and it shot to the top of my reading list.

Set in Sydney, Australia, Green Dot follows Hera as she enters the world of work after delaying it as long she can by staying in education. Her first job is as an online content moderator at a newspaper where she meets older journalist Arthur and begins an affair.

From the start I was completely captivated by Hera's voice and world. The parts when she begins work are so relatable and humurous as she builds relationships with those she works with and contemplates the soul crushing tiredness of the daily commute. As her affair with Arthur begins and continues throughout the book, you, like Hera's friends, know it isn't going to end well.

This is the kind of book where you want to be back in its world when you are not reading it. I read it over 24 hours, I couldn't wait to get back to it. I'd recommend it if you have read and enjoyed Love and Virtue by Diana Reid, it reminded me of that whilst having a unique voice.

I love, love, loved this!

So smart and funny and painful and true.

A really interesting portrayal of 'the other woman'. This other woman is so witty and relatable and loveable and yet she is doing something so wrong. She knows it's wrong but she's compelled to continue.

An intimate journey exploring love, youth, friendship, sexuality and relationships.

This book was a bit of me and I absolutely cannot wait to read more from Madeleine Gray. She is one to watch.

I enjoyed this to begin with. It was depressingly real and honest and familiar, and she really explored that age when you've finished studying and you're trying to figure out what you want to do as a job, if you want a family, a spouse, if you can afford a home etc. And Hera felt very familiar and I saw parts of me in her, and so I had high hopes. The first quarter, third, really drew me in and I thought it was really quite good. But then I got bored. I didn't like it, I didn't dislike it, it felt very vanilla. It became annoying rather than enticing. And a big thing that put me off was the lack of chapters, which is a big no-no for me.

The protagonist of this story is Hera, who strikes me as a perfectly typical young woman. Mid twenties, no real ambition or drive, aimless in love and life, selfish (and aren't most of us quite selfish at that age?), quite unconcerned with the life that happens around her. What makes Hera slightly different is that she has a couple of degrees but no job. She lives at home in Sydney with her father and dog, Jude.

This book is written long after the action takes place and she admits, quite openly, that in her mid twenties she gave herself heart and soul to a married man, turning herself into whatever he wanted so she could have him. But then she starts talking about the rest of her life and I thought - oh, no - go back, tell me about that.

Thankfully she does and what follows is an account of her affair with Arthur, who she meets at the first job she's held down for any length of time. It seems clear that Hera has (despite obvious clues) no idea that Arthur is married but even when she does she continues with the affair.

Don't think for one instant that this is some salacious story about the young femme fatale luring the hapless husband from his cosy life. It is a thoughtful, often funny, touching and salutary tale that, if you are thinking of taking up with a man who already has a wife, you might want to read. Having had friends who have had such affairs and known men who have embarked upon them I can tell you that this book is very close to the truth.

The writing is great. I could see Hera and her friends very clearly. It's a great little book that I really enjoyed (despite shouting advice at Hera - a lot - during it). I'd definitely recommend this novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing for the advance review copy.

I thought this novel was excellent. Although I am of an age described by Hera, the main character as a boomer, I could understand her plight and the way she felt about her relationship with a much older man ,whom, of course, she doesn’t realise is married. She puts her life on hold , waiting for it to begin, as if this man can start it all for her. It is a confronting book in some ways, but excellent and engaging. Thank you to Orion Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

All the blurbs are right in about this one - I loved Green Dot and devoured it in one night. If you’ve ever been young, in a dead end job and in a relationship you know isn’t the right one - but you just want to live…this book will speak to you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

Hera, a bright 24-year-old with three arts degrees, is absolutely dissatisfied with her life until she takes a new job and falls in love with her much older (and considerably more married) coworker, Arthur. We follow her as she initiates an affair with him, fantasises about a future with him, and deals with the consequences of their affair.

I truly enjoyed this book. I was pretty sure I could foresee the finish (we all know how these stories go), but I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it.

This is such a refreshing take on a familiar topic, one that has Fleabag overtones and will keep you in the sweet place between laughter and tears the entire time.

Babe! Your new favourite Sad Girl™ lit just dropped!

Huge thanks to NetGalley for the E-ARC of this gorgeous book. Green Dot finds Hera, a protagonist in her mid-20's, being sucked into an unfortunate affair with a married man, who also happens to be her (senior) colleague. Hera is flawed and complicated, and I related heavily to her throughout. Gray explores the darker underbelly of being in your mid-twenties; isolation, hopelessness, obsession, the doom and monotony of the workplace — whilst also offering a fresh perspective on 'the other woman', a topic she handles with nuance, intelligence and comedy.

Gray's tone is so smart and assured, it was sometimes hard to believe that this is her debut novel. One for the chronically online girlies, with dry humour, excellent dialogue, and culture references that landed with pinpoint, yet casual accuracy. Gray perfectly captures the complexity and mess of adult relationships, with particularly great commentary around power imbalances (Hera constantly tries to convince herself that she is the one in control), and the increasingly online nature of today's relationships, the 'green dot' that people are reduced to. There were many pages that had me laughing out loud, and some that totally gutted me.

Overall, an excellent read that I flew through. — I highly recommend! Very excited to see more from this author.

In the last year or so, it feels like I have read a lot of novels about a twenty-something woman who has gone through a breakup or crisis. Some have been brilliant reads and some haven’t - this is definitely one of the brilliant ones and, not only that, it feels fresh and original. Hera is funny and smart and completely bored in her life when she meets Arthur at her unfulfilling job. She fantasises about him long before they embark on an affair. When consumed by the affair, Hera just obsesses about Arthur and becomes a rubbish friend and daughter. Whilst this is utterly believable, there was a risk at this point that I as a reader would get fed up with Hera and her choices but Hera herself acknowledges this is how people must see her and is why she can’t face her friends anymore. At this point, I was on her side and just wanted a resolution for her. I loved the style of Gray’s writing - so witty and razor sharp - and I cannot recommend Green Dot enough.

I LOVED this book. Bridget Jones meets Fleabag, it was so funny yet so sad in places and I didn't shut up about it for a good two weeks after reading. I can't wait to see all the noise that will be made about this one next year, where I'll be able to say 'I told you so' as everyone raves about it!

I enjoyed Green Dot and the humour reminded me so much of Fleabag. It was hilarious and Hera’s witty puns and inner monologue made for a fun read. That being said, it was very slow and stayed quite stagnet. I wanted to slap sense into Hera and also give her a massive cuddle. Despite being incredibly funny, the pace was just far too slow and it felt like hard work to power through at times. That being said, I loved the writing and Hera is certainly going to be a memorable protagonist. A 3.75.

I wondered if I’d be the right age bracket to truly relate to this book, steeped as it is in pop culture references, but actually this novel perfectly captures the universal experience of being young, and so much in love you don’t know what to do with yourself.! I really loved Hera, and I think this book deserves all the positive praise it’s getting. I practically read it in one sitting

Hard to believe this is a debut novel and especially not by such a young author. I inhaled this in a couple of days on holiday and I have been raving about it since, it deserves every bit of the considerable acclaim it's getting in advance notices. Funny, clever, empathetic and dripping in pop culture references that draw the reader in and make the novel feel like a conversation with a friend. Hard to imagine this won't be the novel of 2024 even at this stage and I couldn' recommend it more highly. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Quite readable but I fear I’m the wrong age group to truly appreciate this book.
I found the protagonist self indulgent and the fact that she was wasting her life so depressing. .

I am overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time. Started out really strong but ended up very weak for me. Green Dot illustrates what it’s like to be so maddeningly in love and it does this in a way that makes you want to cry. I don’t know, the relationship between Arthur and Hera wasn’t even righteous to begin with, but Hera’s inner monologues about wanting to be loved and chosen (by him) made me think and reflect.

Not a big fan of love and all that stuff so I was just always saying, “Love and people in love are stupid,” during the entirety of this book. Madeleine Gray’s writing is very ✨✨ like why is it always these Aussie writers that make me feel sad and lonely? I wasn’t expecting anything as I dove right into this book because of its setting and the mention of popular culture but this is one book with those kinda things I’m definitely gonna recommend to people as soon as it’s out.

Two words: we yearn.