I will be honest and say that I am just not sure that this was the book for me. I unfortunately had to dnf this book which I try not to do with arcs. I want to say that I am extremely thankful to have been given the opportunity to read this, I just think maybe it was not for me. Something about not having a name for the main character was not something that I could get over. It bothered me way more than I thought it would and I think that is what mostly lead to my decision to not continue.

Thank you to CLASH Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an e-ARC of Lover Girl in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this one hopeful, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite land for me. Lover Girl reads more like literary fiction than romance, following a nameless female protagonist as she attempts to navigate love and identity as a young woman. While that premise had potential, I found myself disappointed throughout and ultimately unsatisfied by the end.

The book lacked a clear and cohesive plot. Any moments that seemed like they might build into something substantial were fleeting and often dissolved before they could develop. With such a short length, there wasn’t enough time to explore or connect with the characters, resulting in minimal character development.

I’m giving it 2 stars because I can see the creative vision behind it, but it just didn’t work for me. That said, readers who enjoy introspective, abstract storytelling in the literary fiction space may find value here—it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

LOVER GIRL is a raw, provocative debut that explores desire, disillusionment, and the emotional fallout of modern love through the lens of privilege and longing. Following a young writer who escapes to the Hamptons to finish her novel, the story spirals into a beautifully messy portrait of intimacy, blurred boundaries, and self-destruction. As she navigates tangled relationships, high-society parties, and the ghosts of her past, the narrator pulls readers into a world both glamorous and hollow. If you're drawn to introspective, character-driven stories about love, power, and identity in the age of detachment, LOVER GIRL is an unflinching and unforgettable ride.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, CLASH Books and Nicolle Sellew for the e-ARC of Lover Girl! I really enjoyed the premise of this short novel. The unnamed protagonist is a sad, hypersexual girl figuring out relationships with herself, men, and other women in the backdrop of the uber rich Hamptons. There are a lot of uncomfortable moments in the narrative, such as when she is taken advantage of by other people, that I feels speaks to the time of life the character is working through. I thought the author did a good job of making us feel like we were in the head of a post-undergraduate just trying to figure life out and I understand why this novel was slotted in the same genre as Sally Rooney and Elif Batuman. However, I unfortunately did not enjoy the writing style of this book. There were some excellent lines here and there that gave me pause, but otherwise, the prose just fell flat. A possible polish could really help make it shine and would raise my review from a current 2.5 stars.

I thought that this was an interesting read. A very honest and thought provoking main character. I thought her views on both relationships and herself hold true to her age but felt quite dark at times. Due to this I did have to take some breaks and read other books to lighten the mood. The toxic relationship with the love interests was fun to read about but I enjoyed exploring the main character.

thank you for letting me read this book

Lover Girl follows an unnamed protagonist who simultaneously is embarrassed by her self-percieved hyper-sexuality, but feels that her behavior and compulsion to performatively exude sexuality is necessary and above her control. Throughout the book we see her swing between these two emotions as she spends time with her on-again, off-again fling, her ex-boyfriend, and hookups along the way. While reading like I was just barely grasping the message that the author was trying to get across, yet missing it at the same time.
This book had a lot of content that I also was not expecting or prepared for, including - but not limited to- fatphobia, eating disorders, self-harm, sexism, explicit sexual content, sexual violence, and rape.
While I understand that the author brought about the above subjects to make a commentary on womanhood and sexuality, I felt at times that Sellew was heavy-handed, and several lines felt unnecessary.

This was a very challenging reading. There are plot points that don’t follow coherence and go into a loophole. The syntax and grammar gets lost somehow. The characters can have more buildup in order to improve the plotline.

A beautiful live letter to love in all its form. Girlfriend, lover, potential partner or admirer. You’ll find all of these angles in this book. It’s an essay on love in its purest form

2.5 ⭐️ - ARC read !!

I think the steam of consciousness messy girl genre is great fun… if you can gel with the voice of the character. Sadly this time I didn’t. Unsure if it was because she was so completely different to me, or if it was something about the writing style that felt disjointed.

I think the ending was meant to feel empowered, but to me it felt quite disconnected and a bit sad? The book was very short so maybe I just didn’t spend long enough with the characters to get to grips with them.

Fascinated by Cam. Would have loved to unpack more from his pov.

Huge thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC of Lover Girl!

I’m a huge fan of loser girl literature but i think this one fell flat in some areas. I enjoyed having the tidbits from the other perspectives but i felt the plot didn’t interest me enough to counteract the awful main character. Just not my cup of tea.

An at this moment peek into a broke wouldbe writers life and the not always right decisions to protect her heart. What starts as an adventure looking after, a casual flings, house in the Hamptons, soon turns dark and emotionally turbulent. It's a look into relationships today when you're wealthy and privileged and how it can be when restraint is avoidable.

The main character in Lover Girl was an insufferable brat, mean to everyone and everything. Her entire relationship was an unhealthy burden, and I found so many inconsistencies throughout the novel that it was difficult to finish. She was flat and one-dimensional.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

At times I enjoyed reading this but I found that I just couldn't connect with it. I found myself questioning if it was amazing or a complete dud.

The main character is not likeable. I'm not sure if she was written to be this way or if certain details about her life were left out. Her life is a mess and I have no sympathy for her. She was a pick me girl who thought she was above everyone else free loading off Lucas's (also awful) genorosity.

I think this has a lot of potential to be great if it were a bit more polished. Maybe provide more detail and character building so we can get a sense of who these characters really are.

A similarish setup to Emma Cline’s The Guest with the chattily cynical inner monologue of Marlowe Granados’ Happy Hour. I was interested but not totally persuaded—it almost felt like a literary fiction b-roll of a reality TV show where people just hang out in a house, but the boys are difficult tot tell apart. I think the banality might be part of the point and it was a quick read, but I did feel like it was a bit thin.

Thank you, NetGalley, and especially the author, Nicole Sellew, for giving me this wonderful opportunity to read your work in exchange for an honest review !

Basically, it’s about this girl who started living in a house with a guy she knew from high school, whom she met again right after college and well, ended up sleeping with. They had a lot of tension, but never really made it a big deal considering the guy was out of town and was simply being an arsehole by sleeping around— specifically not with her. Another evening of being left alone at the house, she came home from a drunken state. It was only this time that it was someone else who showed up, someone she used to have feelings for. Things started to get messier, and they found themselves tangled up in each other, but that, unfortunately, turned out to be confusing too. He kept doing the whole push-and-pull thing, which really frustrated the main character. However, what really got me was how she always had these thoughts, that guys don’t really want her for who she is, only for her body. All they do is get with her without making the effort to truly see right through her, which was heartbreaking to read. In fact, there were more than a few things I found relatable that made me feel closer to them.

The writing was easy to follow and surprisingly fast-paced, even though it dragged a bit toward the end. BUT !! the ending made up for it because that’s when she finally got her freedom that she never knew she needed. And although It might be a little weird for others, personally, I liked it more than I expected it to be. With that, I’ll be more than happy to give it 3.5/5 stars !!

this was a really quick easy read. I enjoyed it and it didnt take long for me to get into the story. I wish there was a little more depth or conflict but overall really enjoyed!

Depressing as hell, but also too interesting to put down. Fleabag meets Catcher in the Rye with a perversely sexy nihilism.

This book simply was not for me, and that is okay. There will be a person who will adore it!

My personal issues; While I really tried to like the unreliable narrator, Lover Girl, I was not her biggest fan. Some of her one liners were absolutely spot on but the chapters and takes on sex and intimacy felt repetitive. Similarly, the messy girl aspect of it all just felt flat and expected rather than elaborated upon throughout, which really was a turnoff for me.

Again, this will be for someone out there, but it was not for me. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book though!

A picaresque debut of forbidden desire, in which a young woman escapes NYC to work on her novel in the Hamptons, falling into a downward spiral of lovers and other destructive behaviors. In the closing days of summer, ‘lover girl’ arrives at the sprawling, neglected home of her wealthy friend, Lucas. What to him is an empty house is to her an act of generosity that comes with blurry expectations. The arrival of an ex-boyfriend, Cameron, makes things even more complicated. How can she give both men the things they assume they can take from her? What she calls ‘love’ will take her to the bedrooms of New York City, the decadent parties of upper-class America, and, eventually, to Paris. Lover Girl is a lesson in the schooled indifference and the complicated dynamics of the super-privileged and the meaning of real love as a twenty-first century girl.

I struggled a bit to read this book. I couldn't connect to the main character, and everything just felt so messy. The story just felt a bit incomplete.

Thanks for the opportunity to read it though!