19 year old Margo Miller’s got money troubles. She’s found herself pregnant with her married college professors baby, who doesn’t want to know. Margo tries to navigate life as a twenty year old with a newborn, and begins an OnyFans in order to make some cash.
This had so much more to the story than the blurb, from navigating life as a single parent, to trying to reconnect with family and addiction struggles. Hilarious at times, and so heartwarming at others. A genuinely lovely book, with very well written characters that added a lot of depth to the story. I rooted for Margo and little Bodhi the whole way through, my heart breaking along with her at certain points. Also, who knew Pokemon descriptions could be so hilarious?!
Thank you to NetGalley and Sceptre for an Ecopy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

It begins with the conception of Bodhisattva, Bodhi for short. Margo becoming pregnant by her college professor is certainly an awakening but not one he sought. Margo keeps the baby and by default not the professor, or her college career. At the beginning of the book we find our FMC pushing a turd out on the birthing table. That's right Margo drops a motherload before motherhood.

There’s an extraordinary fixation with poop in this book but not in a fetish way. In a book with no holds barred, it feels almost prudish to clarify this. Still, perhaps you will not think the number of motions remarkable but regular, and the preoccupation with poop talk rests with me, but I assure you not in a fetish way.

Up to the point where the poop hits the table Margo bases her entire life decisions on ideas and desires so the realities of a world with a newborn come as a genuine surprise. She has no means to provide for an infant, her support system is a narcissistic mom on the make, and a deadbeat dad ex-pro wrestler who can teach you the art of talking (and taking) smack. When we meet Margo she intuitively talks about herself in the third person as a kind of coping strategy as if all this is happening to someone else.

Through this ability to detach from reality, and in dire need of cash, she explores the idea of OnlyFans. Gradually we see Margo become a confident young woman not afraid to defy societal norms and her ideas and desires align with her realities and first-person identity.

The book is hilarious, smartly written, with a cast of babyface and heels straight out of WWE storylines that will have you simultaneously cheering and booing. If you loved Big Swiss by Jen Beagin this will be your cup of mushroom tea! It’s about doing it your way no matter what the world says and making the most of what you’ve got. It addresses cancel culture, slut shaming and sex positivity in the most wonderful FMC you can’t help but want to win. In the words of Ric Flair, quoted by Margo “to be the man, you gotta beat the man” Wooooooo!!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the proving the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book telling of a young lady Margo who winds up pregnant and unable to financially support herself. She turns to an unorthodox way to earn money fast, but will it lead to everything falling apart? The writing was so good in this book, a real page turner which I devoured in less than 2 days. Would read this author again.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Unexpectedly brilliant - honestly couldn't put it down. Enjoyed that it was a little shorter than expected, perfect for recommending for readers who are short on time or need something to grab their attention. Raised some fascinating questions about women, sex work & motherhood - as well as being fantastically written and super creative.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found the changing points of view a little confusing in the beginning until I got used to it but it didn't detract from this interesting read. I really liked the character of Margo and her dad and her friend Suzie.

A witty and sensitive look at single parenthood, pro wrestling and only fans. Equally as funny as poignant.

The further the story develops the more you understand and appreciate how Margo is truly a victim in her relationships and is searching for the love and acceptance she has never received.

Beautifully written, well-researched and moving. I loved it.

This isn’t my normal type of book but I noticed it on the Goodreads anticipated reads list and the premise sounded unique and quirky that I just had to read it. Well…it was fantastic. I really loved it. The characters are really well developed and there were a lot of themes explored in a relatively short book. I read this in 2 sittings and would highly recommend it! I feel like I need to keep an eye out on this author!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story was a rollercoaster! I felt happy, I felt sad, I laughed and I cried (honestly!) The story follows Margo, who after a brief affair with her married professor ends up pregnant and she decides, against everyone's advice to keep the baby. The novel then follows the highs and lows of Margo's life, trying to work out what to do, where to live, where to work, who to live with and find out how these small questions have such big consequences.
I would recommend this book to people who like a Rom-Com but a bit more gritty.

*4.5

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This book blew my mind. Within the first few chapters I was already in love with the main character Margo, I was so invested in her thoughts and her life. This made it so easy to read and I was always excited to pick this up to see where the story went.

This book has a really good mix of characters, some lovable and some not so lovable but all very interesting.

I cannot tell you how many times I gasped, or cheered, or felt sad for Margo. This book truly highlights what it's like coming from a lower income household, privilege, unfairness towards women and their bodies, hypocrisy, and systems working in certain groups favour.

The only reason this was not a 5 star for me was the ending, it just felt like the author wanted to wrap everything up neatly in a bow and it made little sense to me.

Overall this book is very powerful and has such strong and lovable characters driving the story. I would recommend.

I am so struck with confusion for this book.

Share time:
I am a prolific reader having read thousands of books. But I read purely for fun. I read to take me away from my normal life and spend a few hours in an authors imagination or a characters situation. I don’t read to find beauty in literature. I don’t read to spend hours after a book thinking deeply about alternative contexts or to create my own endings.
So that’s why I’m confused by this book.
In its way, it’s completely wonderful. The characters are well built, the situations are relatable even though they’re exaggerated and there’s humour flooded throughout. It’s a perfectly charming story that readers of dramady will adore.

However, I feel like the constant switch between the first and third person narrative and the flashbacks to English literature lessons hinted at a deeper meaning to be interpreted from the story. I felt like there was something I was constantly missing and the intention was to have the reader come away with a revelation.
I also didn’t fully feel connected. I didn’t get an excitement to see where the story led.
Ultimately, I put this book down several times and never feel the urge to pick it back up; to immerse myself back in the story.

Please do pick this book up if you’re looking for a slightly outrageous, witty and heart warming/breaking story.
Personally, it didn’t hit my reader sweet spot so I can’t give it more than 2 stars.

Margo is the result of a one-nighter between a professional gambler and a professional wrestler. She gets pregnant by her college tutor and has trouble paying the bills. She turns to camwork, negotiating running an Only Fans account, the legal process of proving she is fit to raise a child and repairing her damaged relationship with two equally damaged human beings.

It’s an outrageous concept and Thorpe makes the most of it, using American subculture (wrestling, gambling, porn, social media, LARPing) as the basis of a critique of misogyny and capitalism itself. That’s not to say this is a deep, angry novel - it’s one that is broadly comic and often very funny. Margo’s camwork is portrayed as ludicrous, surreal and the concept of what its purpose is, derided.

It’s a novel that matures rapidly and gets rid of its somewhat arch framework, the construction of a novel (Margo is a creative writing student) in the first half of the book. Ultimately though, it doesn’t quite hang together as a comic novel with a serious message. However, it’s one that has already sold internationally and the TV series is already in production, with Elle Fanning as Margo and Nicole Kidman as her Mum… it’s one that you’re going to need to have an opinion on. It’s published by Hodder And Stoughton on July 4th and I thank them for a preview copy. #margosgotmoneytroubles

Original and compelling - loved it!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles follows Margo after she becomes pregnant with her professor’s child. She ends up becoming a single mother as the child’s father wants nothing to do with the child. Being a single mother is harder than Margo thought it would be and she struggles being unemployed and she decides to start an OnlyFans account.

Wow. This is a masterpiece that wormed its way into my brain. I’ve never read a book like it & it speaks so much of the time we currently live in I feel like it could be a book that defines our age. The title & the blurb intrigued me but don’t really belie the majesty between the pages.

I wasn’t immediately hooked. The narrative switches between first and third person which does take some getting used to but once you do it makes perfect sense. As a wrestling fan I got a little frisson of excitement every time a particular event or wrestler’s name was mentioned.

The plot is attention grabbing and I was eager for every twist and turn. It’s extremely believable and I found myself going through every emotion from sadness to exasperation and everything in between. Towards the end of the book I was really rooting for Margo and felt proud of her when she finally started fighting back. She definitely goes on a journey & I went with her. All of the characters have their own set personalities (some likeable, some not) which, combined with the plot and believable dialogue, gave for an almost hyperrealism. By the end I was so hooked I actually let my dinner go cold as I couldn’t put it down.

I’ve never written a review so effusive so I hope that it persuades you to pick up this book. Then I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Thank you to the author, publishers & NetGalley for access to this arc in return for an honest review.

Rufi Thorpe delivered my favorite judgement in the Tournament of Books this year, so I figure it’s apt to review her new book using her criteria. I will not be a fraction as witty or intelligent about it, but I’ll do my best!

Subject: Do I like books about someone having to grow up super-fast when they are faced with being a parent? Kinda? If they’re told right (this one’s told right). But if you fold in pro-wrestling, found family, the metrics and vagaries of content creation/social media cross-pollination, video game references, and characters drawn with heart and wit, well, then (spoiler) I’ll love it.

Is it drugs? Did I need to set an alarm on my phone to tell me lunchtime is over and pls to put the book down and do some work? Yes, I did. Was I unreasonably upset to be woken up by a bored cat at 6 a.m. because I’d stayed up too late/early reading it? To my shame, yes. (The cat has no clue I was upset, and it’s probably entirely my own fault for naming her after an anarchist from a video game in the first place)

Gay: It’s fairly straight, tbh, but so are many (thankfully not all) books and that is okay. If we consider that pro-wrestling and drag queens share some ineffable DNA then it’s a smidge gayer than it may seem at first glance.

Cerebral: Will you learn something from this book? IDK, I mean, I learned a ton about social media engagement strategies and pro-wrestling. I know someone who has an OnlyFans and I’ve somehow never talked about the nuts (heh) and bolts of it with him or with my friend who helps him with it. There are some really fun sections set in an English Lit class with a dude called Derek (there is always one, and they are often called Derek which is possibly nominative determinism but also possibly some sort of cosmic coincidence) being spectacularly, monomaniacally, bone-headed in a way that both cracked me up and gave me acute second-hand embarrassment.

Characters: I don’t have to like the characters in a book, but I do have to believe in them, be able to easily tell them apart, and be interested in them/curious about what they’ll do. This one soared over that low bar and into the firmament. Even baby Bodhi is a fully realized character, he’s never a mere prop or (worse!) an inconvenience, even when he poops so hard it runs down his mom’s arm. No character is predictable, and all inhabit that wonderful grey and entirely human wonderland of being decent and terrible in varying measures, all of which are eminently understandable.

Plot: There are plotlines aplenty here and they all work perfectly together. I didn’t have any of those annoying “huh?” moments where something seemed to come from nowhere or where a thread was dropped and not picked up again later. Even the switching between first and third person (which, in lesser hands could be annoying) was explicable and somehow added to both plot and character in a way that Derek would probably theorize about endlessly and declare pointless (he would, you will be shocked to learn, wrong).

Does it vibrate strangely? I have told my boss to read this book, I babbled at my sister about it, I told folks in a non-book related Discord that I was reading and loving it. Does the book vibrate strangely? Heck, I am vibrating strangely after reading it so those are some strong, transmissible vibes. They’re the vibes equivalent of a video of an adorably floofy kitten trying to corral their little body into pouncing on another adorable floofy kitten with no background music other than loud purrs from an approving parental kitty who remains off-camera lest they distract from the pure dopamine of playful kittens.

Thank you to Sceptre and NetGalley for the proof copy. In case it's not clear, I genuinely love this book!

I was so excited to read this from the moment I first heard about it and I wasn’t disappointed. Margo is a fantastic character who I was rooting for from the start. I loved the supporting characters too, particularly her dad. There’s so much in this novel that I haven’t read in any other novels and it make me think about what constitutes work, and the kind of work we value, venerate and disparage. Plus it made me laugh out loud. A total banger.

Margo is 19 and pregnant to her tutor Mark. The thing is Mark is married with 2 kids already. She decides to have the baby without Mark's help. It can't be that hard to raise a baby and work part time as a waitress can it? Soon she loses her job and one of her flat mates move out. Margo has to find a way to come up with money to pay the rent. She discovers Onlyfans an easy way to way money. Her ex wrestler dad moves in and helps with Bodhi and her only fans page takes off. An enjoyable funny read.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles follows Margo after she becomes pregnant with her professor’s child. She ends up becoming a single mother as the child’s father wants nothing to do with the child. Being a single mother is harder than Margo thought it would be and she struggles being unemployed. Her estranged father Jinx comes to live with her and she decides to start an OnlyFans account.

This was fine but honestly not what I was expecting. I thought there would be more focus on when Margo was pregnant but the majority of the story took place when Margo had given birth. Then there was a huge focus on her OnlyFans account which didn’t do much for me. I’m giving this 3.5 stars rounded up to a 4 and I would recommend this for fans of Green Dot by Madeleine Gray.

This one is an energy ball of modernity; TikTok, OnlyFans, wrestling, complicated relationships, being a parent, being a mother, financial struggles, imperfect decisions, the admitting to making wrong decisions.

The dynamic POV was a massive plus for me.

And what I liked most was the book was not taking itself too seriously, hence it met my expectations. The read was engaging, the characters were weird and entertaining.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance copy.

The story follows Margo, a young woman who is struggling her way through life with a young baby.

I didn't expect to love this as much as I did. The characters were well written with great development. I was truly rooting for Margo the whole way through. I loved her personal arc of understanding life and getting things sorted. The characters felt real and their lives were coming off the pages.

I also really loved Jinx and Suzie. They were great additions to the dynamic. I felt the empathy shown through the writing of the difficult dealt scenarios within this was refreshing.

I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a coming of age, authentic and personal growth novel.