A Very Nice Girl - Imogen Crimp

Genre: Literary Fiction | Adult Fiction

Release Date: Expected 3rd February 2022

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

When Anna was accepted into the most lucrative Conservatory in London, she imagined her days being full of culture and wonder, under the tuiton of a singer she's idolized since she was a child. But it's not quite as she'd hoped. She's living in a cramped rented room in someone elses house, struggling to make her voice heard in a sea of talent and singing in a Jazz Bar most nights to just about make ends meet.

But in that bar, she meets Max, a financier fourteen years her senior who knows nothing about Opera but she finds herself drawn to him. Her life is suddenly a harsh juxtaposition from skipping lunches to lavish meals in Max's luxurious flat. Trying to balance her passion for singing, and her passion for this intruiging man is proving more difficult than she'd imagined though - but passion is never simple.

A Very Nice Girl is an electric exploration into desire, dreams, and power - brutally honestly and dryly witty. Delving into the uncomfortable realities of life and how often glamour and success always has a darker side hiding somewhere below the surface.

Anna was exceptionally written - I felt her fire and her determination, her fears and insecurities deep in my soul and whilst I questioned a lot of her choices she was a voice that I definitely understood. Her vibrant collection of friends and classmates were wonderful supporting characters, still managing to stand out with their own unique and strong personalities. All of the relationships Anna navigates through are complex and distinct - from her strained family dynamics to her bluntly real best friend. Max and Anna were endlessly intruiging - their relationship laying somewhere between love and hate, obsession and disregard and while bordering toxic, definitely intoxicating.

This was, on the surface, a story about daily life and technically should have been boring, but the storytelling elevated it to so much more and explored every aspect of that life in a curious and inquisitive light and made the most mundane parts of this story something to think about.

If this is Imogen Crimps debut, I definitely can't wait to see what comes next for her.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Imogen Crimp, Bloomsbury and Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

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