so so good ! also we learned a lot about the moderator job
narrated by the author herself.

thank you netgalley for the copy

I don't really know what exactly I was expecting with this novel but God did I love it. I love how it became a character study of girlie, of eldest daughters, of falling in love. I have this thing where when I loveeee a book I can't fully explain why and i feel this way about moderation. PLS READ!!!!

I'm fully blown away by this book. I requested the audiobook because I thought the cover looked quite interesting and also already heard great things about it online and oh my, this took me on a ride. I thought it more of a weird lit, sci-fi/tec story but the twist that it took storywise had me hooked. There are so many things happening in here - dealing with themes of social media and vr, the absolut brutality of peoples words/actions online towards one another, misogyny, race and class, sexism and more. I wasn't aware at all about romance playing a big part in it but I'm totally here for it. The audioboo is read by the author Elaine Castillo herself which I loved! Highly recommend listening to this (also already ordered a physical copie too because I loved this so much).

An odd but enjoyable read. If you’re into weird girl titles this is definitely the book for you! Loved the narrator and the storyline and kept me entertained throughout

An excellent book written and read by Elaine Castillo, the first I have read by this author. I was attracted to this book by the synopsis having recently read Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (her inside story at Facebook).
Girlie is a wonderful character, an absolute delight, she is a real survivor, a family person, a hardworker. She starts work for a social media company, as a moderator, removing unacceptable content. It's a horrendous job, one which not well paid, but Girlie is very good at it. Girlie works hard and is offered a new position with a much better pay and benefits package.
Girlie, her cousin and her colleagues are all very well written characters. Her story covers so many serious subjects, but it is hopeful, and written in such a way that it leaves an impact.
Highly recommend and I will certainly look for other books by the author. Great narration too.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publishers for a audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever given consideration to the people who moderate social media for all the flagged content? I don’t think I had, but what a horrific job that must be, and that’s where we meet Girlie, she’s great at her job, past trauma has desensitised her in some way and it means that she’s stuck around longer than most moderators. When a new company takes over Girlie is recruited into moderating VR technology, used for gaming, therapy etc. this to me was quite fascinating, and gives the reader some great insight into big tech and the big money machine it generates.

I must have completely missed the part about this being a romance novel, but I checked the synopsis and it’s clearly there, so the element of surprise was completely down to my own stupidity but it threw me off completely, and it took me a hot minute to warm back up to the story after the initial spark.

I really enjoyed the writing of Girlie, I appreciated all of the messages that Elaine Castillo was sending the reader but I really would’ve liked something a bit more, the story leans towards dystopian fiction but it also feels like it pulls back from itself, too much is left unsaid.

I enjoyed the audio narration 🎧

My thanks to W F Howes LTD and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧

“He was also desperate to skip ahead, get there faster, wanted to be early for the future that had never once been promised; not even imagined. "Nice to meet you," she agreed, reaching for him, meeting him there.”

*swoon*

I did not show an iota of moderation or control when it came to listening to this in one sitting this evening nor did I have Moderation pegged to hold a love story yet here we are! It definitely reminded me a lot of The Very Nice Box but was one of the most character rich books I’ve read in a long time. Having the audiobook narrated by Elaine Castillo added to the experience itself, so I’m grateful to W.F. Howes for allowing me the opportunity to experience it this way. 5 stars.

I’ve just preordered my own copy and I can’t wait to re listen to it at a later date! This is being marketed for fans of tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow but I personally enjoyed Moderation more. There were parts where I lost track of things, particularly in the tech portion of the book but I never lost track or grew bored of Girlie, Marisol or William. 4 stars.

Thank you so much to W.F. Howes, Elaine Castillo and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to the ALC before it is published on 10th July 2025!