I really enjoyed my time with this little weird book. Bob (the blobfish?) and Vi’s journey was, of course, strange and surreal, but also incredibly poignant and profoundly relatable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC.

A quirky, unique, and mostly enjoyable read with a deeper message - I would have just liked a bit more character development and exploration as I found the main character rather annoying and flat at times.

This sounded so utterly absurd and ridiculous and utterly, utterly fabulous that I couldn't wait to read it.

As someone who spends 99% of her life at home under a blanket with a book, I'm starting to think that the only way I'll find the perfect man is if I make him out of a sentient blob.

It is such a weird and bizarre book, and I mean that in the most positive of ways. I read a lot of books, we're talking 250-300 a year, thrillers, fantasy, sci-fi, crime, romance, festive - you name it, I read it - except perhaps horror, because I am a wuss. But after a while, you realise that there only so many stories that can be written in a genre, and instead you're looking out for that one thing that makes that whodunnit a bit different to the previous one. But every so often you come across a book that is completely new, and this is that book. I've not read anything like it at all. Yes it's fantasy and sci-fi, a bit weird, mysterious, but for me, its a love story. Yes there is the element of romantic love and lost love etc. but there's more to it than that. It's hard to explain, it's more of a feeling. It's this love Vi has, or doesn't have, for herself, her family, friends, partners, and her life as a whole.

I thought it would be a fun, light and easy-going book, maybe not such a hard-hitting book, because how can a book about a sentient blob be that important really? But it is. It's got so much heart and depth to it that it's really moving. It's written so well; great storytelling, interesting characters - Vi is one of the best protagonists I've read - and it really has that extra edge. It's also really funny. I'm not one who generally laughs out loud at a book, but this one definitely got me the closest. I found myself smiling all the way through.

I read it in less than 24 hours. It was so addictive and I just felt really happy reading it. I even tried to slow down towards the end as I didn't want to finish it so quickly. I'm actually quite sad that I don't have it on my shelf to look forward to anymore.

It is a sort of coming-of-age story, a quarter-life crisis, about feeling like an outsider in your family and work, it's about finding your place in your own story, finding your own place in the world, especially if you don't necessarily conform to what is expected from your age, gender, background, intelligence etc.

It's been a while since I've sat and read a book and just enjoyed it for what it is. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy most of what I read (we can't like every book now can we), but I'm always reading it as a reviewer, what I thought of it, how were the characters etc. it can be hard for me to switch off and just enjoy it. And even though I was reviewing it, and was making notes, I found myself not really thinking about it whilst reading it. I was just taking it for what it was and enjoying it very much, and then just hoping I could remember how I felt about it afterwards.

It is a bit weird, I won't lie. Sometimes a bit uncomfortable and awkward. But it's absolutely brilliant. If this is what Maggie can produce for her debut, then I cannot wait for what she does next. I can see her being one of the new literary stars.

It's an interesting look at what it means to be a person. Is it just to be alive? Or do you need autonomy, to be able to make decisions, to travel, explore, think, eat, drink, want, love? Where is the line? What is the line that makes us who we are.

It's weird and interesting and unique and enjoyable and thought-provoking and funny, but one thing I really didn't expect it to be was emotional. It's really moving. For various reasons and for some reason, that made it all the more joyful. There aren't enough words - although I've tried - to explain just how much I loved everything about this. It will definitely be up there in my favourite books of 2024.

Weird, but strangely inspiring.

Vi as the main character is not your perfect, inspirational narrator - in fact, she's pretty flawed. She's sensitive, insecure, antisocial, has an escapist mentality and more of those things. But that's what makes her interesting.

From her childhood to her college days, and now at her job, we see her doing, um, not-so-nice things on impulse. To an extend, it did made her annoying like ugh why is she doing this and that? But at the same time, it made me root for her to finally do the right things. I guess it made her more relatable in a sense that we all do stupid things sometimes, like when we say something impulsively and regret it later. (Disclaimer: not saying all her behaviours are excusable though)

While some of her actions can be traced back to her back story, it doesn’t really justify everything. When a person get wronged at something, they can either A, come back stronger, or B, seek revenge or run away or do other stupid things. Vi is her very own doing.

Now, the concept. A blob??? That magically and creepily grows human parts? And get moulded into a perfect, movie star-looking dude? It's the most bizarre thing.

While Bob the Blob is a big part of the plot, to me, he’s more of a tool that pushes Vi to confront her own rut. I enjoyed reading the whole interaction with Bob, but I was more focused on Vi in her growth. I feel that Bob could have been made to have a more significant impact overall. Don't get me wrong, he was quite <i>there</i>, but emotionally it just didn't hit it enough for me.

I do hope that the main characters are able to continue finding themselves.

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Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc. This review is my own and completely honest.

Strange but captivating - Flubber with a dark side! I love a coming of age story, and thought this one was paced really well and I also enjoyed the writing style. Recommend for an unusual yet and thought provoking read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review

Vi Liu's life is a mess she's recently been dumped and dropped out of college and is now stuck at a hotel job that she hates. On a night out she finds a mysterious looking blob and decides to take it home and manages to turn the blob in to the man of her dreams that she names bob. But is Bob really the answer to her dreams or is he going to cause more nightmares?

I enjoyed this story but struggled with Vi as a character as she's very unlikeable. This wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be but it was still good very fast paced and I managed to fly through this in a day.

This book is nuts but I loved it. It was a really fast paced read and I would not like to be in Vi’s situation 😂 it was great social commentary on the power of media and how to grow as a person.. I did think that Rachel was a terrible friend but Vi was very nice to her. Go Bob!
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read a review.

What would you do if you found a blob in an alley? Vi takes it home, admittedly she was a little drunk.
The blob turns into a human, one that Vi thinks could become her partner.
I liked this, it was a quick and quirky read. However, I wanted it to be longer. To explore more about whay Vi found life so hard and why she did some of the things she did.
I also would have liked more of Bob the blob

Edit: there was a spelling mistake on page 226 where it says 'hdinner' instead of 'dinner' 5 rows down.

‘Blob’ was full of so many emotions, it was almost hard to keep track. The main character of Vi is very hard to love and like while we follow her journey through this mess she calls life. When finding a clear blobfish-like creature in a back alley behind a club, she drunkenly decides to take it home and her life gets a bit more confusing.
Stuck in a job she hates, having her ex-boyfriend blocking her and dropping out of college; she did not think her life could get any better; but she realises that Bob the Blob can transform into anything she tells it to – including an attractive man. But Bob won’t be the answer to all her problems like she thinks, he turns out to just cause a lot more.
I love how bizarre this story is for a start, it is an interesting concept that I do not think I've read about before. I do think that although the story comes across as a romance and almost sci-fi story; the baseline of it all is just really depressing. Vi does not get any wins within this story, other than becoming closer to her family, starting college again and quitting her job. These all seem to happen quickly at the end of the book and we do not get any development about them.
I feel like the moral of the story is to face your past and stop running away from it. Take it for what it is and learn from it rather than letting it defeat you.
While the closest book I can relate to this is ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley, which is not the same at all, but they are both about ‘humans’ being created and then somewhat regretting it a little. I believe Vi does regret creating Bob a little due to how the book ends and they do not end up together.
I gave this book 3 stars, but I am finding it hard to write why I did. Other than the fact there seems to be no real character development with the main character, and I did not seem to like any of the characters involved in this story; we just got to see everyone for their flaws and negative versions of themselves which was a bit deflating.
I would have loved to have seen more character development, and maybe a longer story explaining why Bob was just shipped off with Rachel suddenly, and what happened with Vi after Bob left and all of that would have tied the book up perfectly. The book just seemed to have a lot of open ends than I like to see in a book, I guess.

Once in a while, a book comes up that is completely bizarre. This is one of those books and the story had me hooked.

I absolutely loved the unique concept. However, I really didn't like the main character Vi who just seemed to continuously get herself into a rut. I suppose she did have to get herself into the depths of despair, in order to eventually get out of the mess and get her life sorted.

Blob is a novel about a woman who meets a blob in an alley and tries to turn it into a perfect man. Vi has dropped out of college, is still dealing with her last breakup, and works at the reception in a local hotel, where she tries to avoid talking to her friendly co-worker, Rachel. When she finally gives in to Rachel and goes out with her to a drag club, Vi finds a blob in an alley. Intrigued, she takes it home, where it eats cereal and watches TV, and soon Vi realises she can shape the blob as she wants, so she tells the blob to become an attractive man. However, even the blob resists Vi's control, and she has to face the fact she might have to stop running away from everything.

The blob concept is such a fun one for a novel and I love weird novels like this, exploring a character's constant fucking things up through the lens of something strange. Vi feels like a outsider everywhere and protects herself by ruining things or avoiding what she really wants, and the blob appears as an easy way out, until she realises that it isn't, because the blob becomes Bob, who has autonomy and doesn't want to do what she does. It's like using Frankenstein as a chance to realise you have to actually take control of your life and be better to other people, rather than not putting the work in with them. The narrative does actually give Vi a chance to change, and it's a charming take on a coming of age story.

Blob by Maggie Su has a relatable flawed narrator who keeps messing things up but learns how that is just part of being human as she works her way towards making changes in her life and in how she sees herself. It has a quirky slant to it and I think fans of Melissa Broder, Rachel Yoder and Jen Beagin will also enjoy it.

To be honest, Vi wasn't the most sociable of characters. She was being unkind several times, but somehow I kept rooting for her, you know. All her insecurities, her vulnerability as a character... despite not knowing if I could deal with her as a real-life person. But yeah, hoping for her to find her feet and Bob too :)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.