How to Fall Out of Love Madly

I feel like this book would have really resonated with me had I read it a decade ago! Like the protagonists, I'm in my early 30s - and while you'd imagine that would make them relatable to me, I agree wholeheartedly with another NetGalley reviewer who said they felt younger. Reading about them brought me back to my early 20s, but not in a particularly entertaining or illuminating way. Their dynamics, both inter- and intra-personal, felt overly familiar in the sense that reading an old journal might. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the experience, but it wasn't new or especially interesting.

For a novel about women, it revolved around men; I'm not confident it would pass the Bechdel test, though I get that it was in large part the point. I do think that Casale did a really nice job building up the character of Theo - his relationship with Joy felt realistic and nuanced, and I understood why she gravitated towards him. I also liked how Joy and Annie's friendship ebbed and flowed throughout the book - their dynamic was a little bit messy, and that felt authentic. Celine, to me, felt like an afterthought - while I probably liked the writing in her sections the most, she didn't feel quite as believable or fleshed-out to me as Joy and Annie did.

Overall, 3.5 stars for me, rounded up to 4. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group—The Dial Press for my ARC.