I've been meaning to read this book for a very long time. It wasn't fully what I was expecting but it was unique, interesting and the main character was strong and compelling. I particularly enjoyed the ending of the book and i look forward to reading other books by this author.

A slow start, but I'm glad I kept at it because I enjoyed it in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very slow going and I struggled to carry on with it most days. I didn't really enjoy anything about it and nothing actually happened until the last 25%. I can see what the author tried to do but it was just too long and drawn out with a bad inconclusive ending. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book.

I just actively did not like this book. I tried to read it four times which is a LOT, but kept not finishing it. I know there was a lot of hype about this and I'm happy for the author! It is an intriguing premise and I didn't find that when I read it the writing was bad. I just couldn't get into it in any way shape or form. I thought it dragged. I wasn't interested. It felt like it was trying to suck me in and it just failed. I didn't like the characters at all.

There was so much hype around this book and I am here for it! An excellent thriller - I got through this in one sitting.

A whip-smart thriller that’s funny, compelling and also a searing look at race in an office environment. Saddle up for a highly entertaining ride that will make some waves this summer.

The Other Black Girl was definitely a book of two halves for me. The majority of the book is a slow paced, realistic thriller set in a publishing house with a real sense of unease running through it. After years of trying to promote diversity in her workplace, Nella struggles when a new black girl is hired who doesn’t seem to share the same ideals as her but is also winning over the bosses and undermining Nella at every opportunity. I really liked the portrayal of black issues that are at the forefront of this part of the book.

By around 80% of the book, I was still very unsure where the story was going and not much had actually happened. There’d been a few warning notes at Nella’s desk demanding that she leave her job but I really think this section could have been edited down considerably. There were also a few chapters written in other perspectives but these were confusing, I didn’t really understand how they related to the story and as the plot was so slow and they didn’t move it on at all I found myself very frustrated with them.

There’s a bit of a genre flip as well at this point, which added to my up and down liking of this book. Overall a book with a lot to say and a good read, I just with that the message hadn’t been bogged down towards the end.

meh i honestly had such high hopes but I don’t really think it exceeded any expectations. a book that started off great but it kind of failed to pick up the pace.

The Other Black Girl felt very slow I took a couple of breaks from reading beause nothing really happens until the very end. the main similarity to The Devil wears Parada is that its set in a toxic office. other than that theres no other similaries.

The Other Black Girl was a fabulous read and unputdownable. I thought Zakiya Dalila Harris was so clever to make it a thriller, and the description of it being a cross between The Devil Wears Prada and Get Out is a good one. My only issue was that some of the bits about the resistance group were confusing, and at times I lost the thread of what was going on.

This had so much promise for me but i just didn't gel with the writing fully. I did like Nella as a character and thought she was set up well but the writing felt as a block to getting through to her character properly. I think the premise and idea was good but it just didn't work it entirely how i wanted it to.

Sucked in by the comparison to The Devil Wears Prada I felt a little cheated by this book.

The rivalry and goings on, plus the redoubtable boss do indeed resemble The DWP book, but it stops there. This goes much deeper and is very dark, not a light hearted read by any means.

The book began with a character I didn't recognise from the blurb but I plodded on and soon found my way into the book. Then the flashbacks began to feature characters doing things unrelated to the main story and I got a little confused. Around 60% into the book the penny dropped about what was actually happening, but then I had to suspend my disbelief too.

I do think the book went on far too long with the scene setting and long drawn out descriptions of days in the office. The action took place in the last 25% of the book. Otherwise it was an imaginative storyline that definitely highlights issues not only in the publishing industry but in the world at large.

Be prepared to stick with this until the end for the pay off and to expect a rather out there plot line. I admit being intrigued about how this was all going to end. I did have to read the ending twice just to make sure I had understood the last twist - not the ending I was hoping for, but a good ending non the less.

As someone who works in the publishing industry, albeit in the UK, I was intrigued by the premise of this book, and totally recognised the very white environment that was described in the US, as also applying to the UK. The main character is an editorial assistant in a publishing house and is super happy when another black girls comes to work there. But is the new girl all that she seems? There's a lot of intrigue in this book and the author is good at keeping you guessing.

The main character is quite a bit younger than me, and American, and black, and so I didn't get quite a lot of the references she made, although that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book, in fact it was good to get a difference perspective and learn new things.

I thought the writing was strong and I quite liked the main character, and found her easy to empathise with, particularly in the situation of being a lowly editorial assistant and wondering how to appease her boss, or make things right when she made mistakes (been there!). And also wondering if the new girl was doing better than her and making more of an impression at work.

I was a little disappointed with the ending though, although maybe it's because it wasn't at all what I was expecting (not sure what I was expecting to be honest!) but it seemed a little out there and I finished the book feeling somewhat deflated.

I must admit that I had quite a hard time to get into this story. Mostly because of the language and some not so known to be jargons . Plus there’s the race and workplace trope that I was really looking forward to be explored more but I don’t think I’ve got what I wanted in the end unfortunately. It was too slow and maybe even dragging in the middle of it all.
Overall it’s an interesting experience but one that left me wanting more or something else altogether.

I didn't find this a particularly enjoyable read to be honest. Too long, too dragged out, a plot that only happens in the last one third of the book and was (to me anyway) very far fetched. I liked the story of Nella and the competitiveness between her and Hazel, but that fell away to something altogether more unbelievable. I would have preferred for the author to have explored more that relationship between Nella and Hazel and made it a little more thrilling and edgy.

A thriller with a book bases around race.
I've seen thus book in bookshops and the cover is very inviting. When I realised I already had it from netgalley I was really pleased.
A slow burner with a good story.

Found this really hard to get on with, I really wanted to like the unusualness of the story but it was just so slow - it basically got interesting 80% in. In trying to be a twisting thriller it ended up just being confusing.

An interesting read about race in the workplace. Might not appeal to everyone as quite specific to US publishing with much jargon. However, it is very well paced and reads like a thriller.

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dahlila Harris is an ideal thriller for any bookworm, set as it is in the not-so-glamorous world of publishing in a shiny New York high rise.

Nella is a hardworking assistant at Wagner Books and tension sparks at the arrival of another Black girl, Hazel, in their otherwise all white office.

At first, Nella is relieved. But after a humiliating experience with an author and some threatening notes, Nella spirals and becomes twitchy and paranoid.

This book is a slow-burner for sure and it keeps you in the dark about how the characters relate to each other until the very last minute.

It kept me interested in the mystery of it all and the whip-smart writing meant that I was always hanging on for the next moment unfurling, the next cringing tension to simmer.

Overall, a sturdy and engaging thriller with an imaginative social commentary undertow about what it’s like to feel isolated and overlooked in the workplace. A solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I very much enjoyed the first half of this book, finding it uncomfortable and challenging in all the right ways. I read this prior to publication, and I noticed the marketing campaign emphasised the "for fans of Get Out" angle, which was a good idea, as the final third took a turn I wasn't expecting and I'm not sure was necessary. The creative office environment was wonderfully pitched, showing moments of humour and worked as a great character study as well. I found the thriller sub plot less interesting. Fantastic cover, really well done..

The Other Black Girl has stayed with me even months after reading it. I feel that this is what sets it apart from so many novels. It highlights the tensions of office politics and dynamics we face in the workplace. It begins with Nella Rodgers being the only Black employee at Wagner books, that is until Hazel arrives. Nella and Hazel unite that is until Hazel becomes the Office favourite. Leaving Nella to question everything; including the unidentified person leaving notes on her desk telling her to leave.
The twists and turns of this novel leave the hair on your neck standing up and unable to put it down until you finish it.