Her Golden Coast

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC via NetGalley.

Set in San Francisco before the 2008 Great Recession and moving through the next few years, the novel, ostensibly a Sapphic romance, uses the tech industry and anti-capitalist organizing made visible by Occupy Wall Street, as a backdrop and a metaphor.

Laurie, who comes from a poor family in upstate NY, moved to San Francisco to escape the dysfunction she grew up with. She takes a job at a dot com startup as the admin assistant to the founder. When the book opens she's dating a man who insists on bringing along his male college friend on some of their dinner dates. One evening, the friend brings his own date, Mal, a female tech engineer, who speaks an unacknowledged truth the the two men are in love with one another.

Laurie is forced to deal with the truth, breaks up with her boyfriend, and slowly befriends Mal, taking her in as a roommate. Most of the book then chronicles their growing friendship and closeness as well as Laurie's short affair with a woman and two relationships with men. All the while she refuses to acknowledge that she is falling in love with Mal.

Mal comes from a family of immigrants from India, a family that has expressed their disappointment in her her whole life. But Mal expresses little emotion, even when it comes to her friendship and growing feelings for Laurie.

Trope-wise, this is a slow-burn, friends to lovers romance written entirely from Laurie's POV, almost in places as a stream of consciousness. But it is so much more. The writing is strong and the metaphorical backdrop is so well done. The author writes Laurie's character arc beautifully while including a portrait of Mal's neurodiverse personality.

Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley, for an ARC of this book (out Aug 15)

As much as it pains me to consider this historical fiction, since it's set at this weird turn of the century boom in Silicon Valley, a time of techbros and startups being so rampant, I must admit that as much as I dislike it, the 2000s are indeed a time of historical fiction.

It's hard for me to contain my enthusiasm as a millennial South Asian person working in tech in a predominantly white country for a story where one of the main characters is a very successful and enigmatic Indian woman who enjoys dominating Silicon Valley startups filled with men. Malini (Mal) Kumar is a fantastic character and deeply enigmatic to the reader. We observe her through Laurie's extremely empathetic lens, who is the point of view character. Both women are trying to make careers in predominantly male-heavy companies and environments and both are trying to mould the idea of marriage and love to something they can digest and embrace while being hounded by their families to just take the traditional path and not think too much about it.

Laurie struggles with the idea of being "just an admin" in a culture that raises up technical people, mostly men, above all else, and tosses around new buzzwords every month. Her attempts to find her people and fit in somewhere without feeling lesser than are relatable to most people, but her nature is one of deep empathy and "people skills", which really makes her compelling as a character who always feels on the periphery of her own life.

Mal is focused, driven, a mystery to everyone and completely secure in who she is, or so Laurie thinks as they form a bond despite being of such opposing temperaments, social and financial backgrounds, cultures, and salaries despite living in the same rent-controlled apartment and sometimes working at the same startup. Tech bros like to quote Mal as she leads teams of them into successes while diminishing or being patronizingly encouraging of Laurie in her role as the herder of geniuses and yet, the connection the two have feels authentic, engaging and supportive.

I absolutely loved these characters and this snapshot of a time in tech when startup culture was booming and people were exploring and working out their identities and intersectionality. Absolutely brilliant!

Not knowing the author, I did not expect much from this. I was blown away all the more once I got into it. I do not want to spoil anything, so let me just say that I loved the storytelling, writing and the complex, authentic characters. It is one of my favorite reads of the year so far! :)

Set in San Francisco between 2007 and 2012, Her Golden Coast captures the feel of living as a 20-something woman in a specific time and place: Mortgage Crisis/Great Recession era Silicon Valley. The tale centers around two main characters: Laurie, an artistic soul and whip smart admin assistant who never went to college, and Mal, equally smart, equally artistic, but with the qualifications, promotions, and self-assurance that Laurie can only dream of.

Amidst a sea of our modern take on young adulthood and romance, this one stands out. Told in a style approaching stream-of-consciousness, it's a no-holds-bar exploration of the inner workings of young women with none of the fluff that would warrant a cartoon book cover. But what you trade for a feel-good beach read is real emotion, and really complicated relationships rife with the tumult that comes from being a young person forced to decide between a plethora of bad options.

The writing was sharp, the emotional beats gratifying earned, the characters were so realistic, I felt I saw in them not only myself, but so many of the types of people I've met in real life. As to the time and place: setting felt real, and the callbacks to that era were accurate and added texture to the tale. If you lived through the era, if you are or once were a young woman struggling to find your place in the world, if you're a perpetual underdog or just want a cathartic cry, Her Golden Coast should definitely wind up on your TBR list.

I was sold when I discovered this book is a sapphic romance set in late 2000s (and onwards) and set in Techlandia, aka San Francisco. And it did not disappoint. Despite not working in that industry or that location, I was the same age as the main characters at that time and so felt very nostalgic about many elements and references. If readers are expecting a traditional contemporary romance, this is not it, although there are tropes tucked away - strangers to friends to lovers, workplace romance(ish), mutual pining - but really the majority of the book reads like contemporary fiction dancing around topics such as misogyny, classism, sexuality and more. This was not a bad thing for me but for others expecting more of a linear, uncomplicated romance, this may not deliver. Greatly appreciated the representation in this book - queer, trans, fibroids, neurodivergence - and will be keeping my eye on this author. 4.5 stars.