This is the kind of novel that feels glossy on the surface and quietly feral underneath—a sharp, unsettling portrait of what happens when attention becomes identity, and relevance becomes a kind of addiction.

What makes this story so compelling is Grace. She’s messy, vain, lonely, deeply self-aware in flashes, and heartbreakingly trapped inside a version of herself built for public consumption. There’s something almost hypnotic about watching someone chase validation long after it has curdled into something hollow. You may not always like her, but you understand her—and that recognition is where the book quietly cuts deepest.

The novel’s greatest strength is how accurately it captures the strange violence of spectatorship. The way audiences build people up only to delight in tearing them apart. The way fame becomes a marketplace where intimacy, grief, humiliation, and desire are all commodities. The way the internet convinces people they know you—and that they own a piece of you.

And beneath all that sharp cultural commentary is something darker and sadder: a woman unable to separate who she is from who she performed herself to be.

There’s a surreal unease running through the story that works beautifully. Reality feels slippery, obsession hums beneath ordinary moments, and even the quieter scenes feel charged with instability. It creates that delicious literary discomfort where you’re never fully sure whether you’re watching a breakdown, a reinvention, or something far more dangerous.

Clever, biting, and unnervingly recognizable, this is a razor-edged examination of fame, loneliness, and the exhausting hunger to be seen. It’s uncomfortable in exactly the right ways—and that’s what makes it linger.

Advanced reader copy received through netgalley.
After Care is a wonderful debut novel that tackles emotional contemporary themes. We follow Grace as she navigates life after being a contestant on a reality TV show, struggling to balance her true identity with the version assigned to her by the public. The novel explores the fear of being truly seen versus the curated image actively projected.
It also examines how social media encourages people to follow societal formulae rather than forming meaningful connections and how consuming the need for attention can be, regardless of how it is acquired, through pity or love, whichever you can get most readily.
At the beginning, Grace embodies the desperation of chasing validation from a man who does not deserve her attention, simply because he is the one on her mind. In reality, we find they are replaceable by the next person to come along, yet we, along with Grace, constantly search for signs that the feelings are reciprocated, despite knowing that they are not.

We witness what happens when Grace starts to acknowledge her reality and starts to crumble after holding strong for so long only for this vulnerability to be seen as pathetic. As she attempts to rebuild her image, whether for the genuine reasons or purely survival, the novel highlights how little control she has over her own perception.

At times, the writing felt very literary with heavy use of metaphors. Occasionally, instead of building up the description, i was focused more on the language being used. Overall this did not detract from the novel.
I found After Care relatable and I was surprised by how accurately it captures the impact of social media and the reality TV genre on our generation.

We see girls like Grace on social media everyday & I love that she comes across as a kind of anti-hero.

We consume these girls with fervour then shit them a week after the series finale.

It’s an uncomfortable look at the desperation, loneliness & voyeurism of social media.

Absolutely stunning prose.

Firstly… it’s honestly hard to believe this is Divya Maniar’s debut novel because After Care felt incredibly confident, sharp, and emotionally raw.

What I loved most about this book was just how raw and uncomfortably honest it felt. The exploration of fame, loneliness, validation, and internet culture felt painfully realistic at times, and honestly… it hit close to home in certain ways. Grace is messy, flawed, and at times frustrating, but that’s exactly what made her feel so human.

I also really appreciated how the book captures the way social media and online audiences can completely shape someone’s sense of self worth. There’s this constant tension throughout the story, where Grace is chasing approval while simultaneously being destroyed by it.

The writing itself is incredibly immersive too. It’s emotional without feeling overdramatic, and the atmosphere shifts so well from the chaos of online attention to the isolation of the cabin setting.

I also loved how morally messy the characters were. Nobody feels perfectly good or bad, and that added so much realism to the story and relationships.

Overall, such a strong debut. Emotional, unsettling, and painfully relevant at times. I genuinely cannot wait to see what Divya Maniar writes next.

ARC, thank you VERVE and NetGalley.
Four stars.

An enjoyable read with a strong literary feel. I appreciated how it looked deep into the fear of being important on social media, whether for good or bad, and the fear of being truly seen over the curated image being put out. I liked the balance of the main character both experiencing the hate before and then how the feelings switched with the new show — but equally how it affected her mindset and health.

Maniar cleverly brings across how obsessive and compulsive social media can be. Especially for Grace who is trying to get through life as an ex-contestant on a reality show. While I personally didn’t like Grace (and suspect I wasn’t meant to), I thought what she valued came across well, even if the real Grace didn’t - which added to the entire novel for me.

I did want this to go weirder, which I think is more of a me thing than the novel itself. The writing style was strong and one I like, and I enjoyed the use of bits of script throughout it too - and the nods to the production of the show and how it all comes together in the edits.

Four stars out of five.
I’m excited to see more from this author.

"After Care" was an excellent read that felt both contemporary and uncomfortably believable. I was already aware of ongoing conversations and controversies around the lack of meaningful aftercare provided to contestants of reality TV and dating-based unscripted shows, and this novel uses that premise incredibly well. Rather than treating fame and online popularity as glamorous, it explores the instability and emotional damage that can emerge when very young people are suddenly turned into public commodities and nor receive any meaningful guidance that is often contractually promised.

What I appreciated most was how convincing Grace felt as a protagonist. She is not particularly likeable, but she does feel real. Her choices, insecurities and fixation on relevance and influencer popularity all made sense, considering her age and the fact that most of her formative experiences revolve around being a contestant of and winning a reality dating show. There is a kind of arrested emotional development to her that the novel captures very effectively, especially in the way she struggles to separate genuine feelings from performance.

The plot itself was also extremely well executed. The situationship between Grace and her co-winner Cal is messy, unhealthy and consistently concerning, but in a way that feels intentional rather than melodramatic. The novel does a great job of showing how media companies and audiences alike feed off that instability, turning emotional confusion into profitable content, all while pretending to care about the people involved.

Overall, a sharp and psychologically convincing novel about reality television, online identity and the commodification of personal relationships. It managed to be entertaining while still leaving me with a lingering sense of unease.

The Story looks at the life of Grace a young woman who has been part of a TV reality show speed daters which she has won . We first meet her depressed and alone after this television series has finished and her relationship has.fallen to pieces. She’s approached by the producer he wants to do another virtual reality program with her and her ex partner Living together in a remote log cabin.
Great, first chapter really grabbed my attention and held it
Perhaps it’s because I’m an old fart but I did find quite a lot of difficulty liking these characters perhaps are deliberately unlikable
The novel looks at the effect of social media and reality TV programs on the young people who are both watching on participating in them
It’s kind of horrific in its way as you watch what is obviously about to happen happen
You can’t help thinking that this reality show has made a monster of both the participants
This is a very tense cerebral novel
The books says something about the difference between truth and reality
You begin to think that she has imagined the stranger that broke into her flat and hugged her in reality
The author has a clear flowing easily Read writing style the book is an enjoyable Read
I read a copy of the novel on NetGalley UK in return for an honest review. The book is published in the UK on the 22nd of October 2026 by verve books.
This review will appear on Net Gully UK, Goodreads, StoryGraph, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com. After publication will also appear on Amazon and Waterstones