I found myself utterly enthralled by Conform, staying up until the early hours to continue reading. I adored Emeline from the start, her naivety and her inability to toe the line unquestioningly just drew me in from the very first chapter. I desperately wanted to know more about every single character, though I’m afraid my curiosity certainly wasn’t sated in this book, so I’m dying to read the next already.

The world Ariel has crafted is equal parts horrifying and fascinating, leaving me desperately full of questions about how everything came to be and why things are the way they are. Whilst I know some readers loathe ending a novel with so many questions, personally, I love it. That feeling of needing more, in a good way, at the end is truly what I look for and I found it here in spades. What happens next? Is Collin who I think he is? Is Hal? Will Lol see consequences? Will someone ever smack the face off of Emeline’s father? What’s Philip’s deal? It’s not even been released yet and I need book two immediately if not sooner!

If you love a dystopian novel, with rich but easy to follow world building and a Handmaid’s Tale vibe, I think you’ll enjoy this one. I most certainly did.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan MacMillan and Ariel Sullivan for gifting me this eARC. My opinions are wholly my own.

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for sending me this arc!

Guys, this book is incredible! Instant 5 stars. I haven't felt SO invested in a story and a group of characters in SUCH a long time and oh boy, what a reading experience this was!

I went into this book completely blind (other than knowing it was a dystopian) and I can't stress enough how fun that was. This book had me up all night, giggling at points and shouting at others, I'm so excited for more people to read this as I want to chat about it asap.

I *need* book 2 more than anything, and I'm just so happy to have found this book!

This is your sign to add it to your October TBR.

You ever read one of those books, where it slowly takes your life apart, make you question everything going and and then leave you in a void where you’re left staring at a wall? Yeah this is one of those books.

I was addicted to this book and I couldn’t get enough. This is one of those books where 6 months down the line I will still be thinking about the plot and the ending. And oh my days what an ending!

I am not an overly emotional/feelings kind of person, but the range of emotions this book has left me feeling. I am going to need book 2 like right now. I need to continue this story, I need to dive headfirst back into this plot, and have the story destroy me.

Seriously, this book kept me awake because I didn’t want to put it down and then when I did it kept me up thinking about what was going to happen next. It loves with you, it buries its way into your brain and takes over, and I loved every second of it.

I cannot really describe what I have just read so I’m just going to say go read it. This is a book that emotionally destroys you and you thank it afterwards.

I cannot begin to put into words how much I enjoyed this book. Seeing an email from the Pan Macmillan marketing team offering me the chance to read this 'because I enjoyed Daughter of No World's' had me super excited - and they were not wrong with linking those two.

In a world where people are placed in society based on their genetics, and that society is separated into varying fractions depending on the 'severity' of defects; none, minor, and major we have a governance that sets all rules and regulations on procreation, mating, and genetic pooling. Not only are there communities of people separated by there status, but they also have a place for the women who have procreated and either been fruitful, or cast out. Our FMC is a Minor defect, but challenges the entire system, causing utter chaos.

The setup of the world is great, and we get time to know all the people and places so that there is an investment for a variety of characters when the story starts leaping into its reveals and actions. By the end, I was left wondering if we really knew anyone, if anything was as it seemed, and how this story would progress.

I love fantasies where there's an overarching power that sets rules, and for the most part, people are compliant ... Except for one or two people, that's start (or are part of) a small rebellion who want to break free from oppression. This is one of those books.

I'm very grateful that Pan Macmillan gave me the opportunity read this (and through NetGally)

Thank you Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to review Ariel Sullivan’s debut novel.

Conform is a sweeping dystomance that will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and The Handmaid’s Tale. In this society, women are valued only for fertility, history is systematically erased, and beauty is curated to control rather than free.

Emeline, once Elite but cast down as a “Minor Defect” because of her heterochromia, is chosen by Collin, the youngest Illum, as his Mate. His decision is as baffling as it is dangerous. Collin is defined by ambiguity: he insists “everyone has a role to play”, yet admits that Emeline consumes his thoughts. His refusal to ever Mate again after her leaves more questions than answers, and every time we near clarity he closes off, leaving both Emeline and the reader unsettled. Hal, a Major Defect and alternative love interest, complicates matters further, drawing Emeline into impossible choices. The love triangle is sharp, tense, and gut-wrenching. There is clearly no good or bad guy - a concept that our Emeline cannot seem to grasp just yet.

Sullivan threads the novel with themes of art and erasure. Emeline begins by sorting and destroying remnants of the old world’s paintings, only to step into a life of curated extravagance: gowns like liquid gold, flower-filled ballrooms, glass towers in the clouds. Beauty here is never neutral—it is political, a reminder of who gets to preserve art and who is forced to erase it.

Side characters shine: Nora, Collin’s twin, fierce and maternal; Gregory, Emeline’s flawed but quietly loyal Elite brother; and the Starlings, cruel observers of the Illum’s games. Each adds depth and nuance to the story’s stakes.

Dark, romantic, and thought-provoking, Conform asks what it means to resist when every choice feels like the wrong one. It’s a story of love and power, of art and erasure, and of a heroine caught between two men, two worlds, and two impossible futures.

I inhaled this in two sittings (well, forced to pause for work!), and it was such an easy read to fall into. Ultimately, I’m invested in this trilogy and desperate for answers—especially where the love triangle is concerned. I know who I’m rooting for, but I can’t wait to see where Sullivan takes us next.