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Work Nights
**Longlisted for the Center for Fiction 2025 First Novel Prize**
A young queer woman finds herself in a love triangle with an unobtainable intern and a quick-tempered musician in this charming debut that combines Big Swiss with The Devil Wears Prada.
Jane Grabowski hauls herself to her nine to five office job at New York City’s most acclaimed newspaper to sit in stale air under severe florescent lights and mask her rage by sending emails with too many exclamation points.
Luckily, Jane has a reason to keep coming into the Madeline, the distractingly beautiful intern. Madeline has never dated a woman and is uncomfortable with labels but with carefully timed lunch breaks and painstakingly crafted texts, Jane works her way into her life. Meanwhile, Jane’s free-spirited artist roommate tries to keep her from falling for a straight girl by dragging Jane to gay bars and queer Shabbat dinners, where she meets the decidedly uncool and morally righteous musician, Addy.
Caught between Addy’s readiness to commit and Madeline’s alluring unpredictability, Jane is pulled down a slippery path of lies and deceit, leading to a plane ticket that threatens to take everything down in one fell swoop.
A young queer woman finds herself in a love triangle with an unobtainable intern and a quick-tempered musician in this charming debut that combines Big Swiss with The Devil Wears Prada.
Jane Grabowski hauls herself to her nine to five office job at New York City’s most acclaimed newspaper to sit in stale air under severe florescent lights and mask her rage by sending emails with too many exclamation points.
Luckily, Jane has a reason to keep coming into the Madeline, the distractingly beautiful intern. Madeline has never dated a woman and is uncomfortable with labels but with carefully timed lunch breaks and painstakingly crafted texts, Jane works her way into her life. Meanwhile, Jane’s free-spirited artist roommate tries to keep her from falling for a straight girl by dragging Jane to gay bars and queer Shabbat dinners, where she meets the decidedly uncool and morally righteous musician, Addy.
Caught between Addy’s readiness to commit and Madeline’s alluring unpredictability, Jane is pulled down a slippery path of lies and deceit, leading to a plane ticket that threatens to take everything down in one fell swoop.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 17, 2025
49 people are currently reading
9026 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 231 reviews
August 28, 2025
did somebody say the devil wears prada?
in spite of the synopsis, this is not that. but. lately i've been really enjoying books about hard-to-like young women struggling with the societal pressure to settle down into a 9-5 and a relationship. i was blown away by WORRY, and this had traces of the same — unflinching descriptions of banality, clever banter, existential dread.
this is an imperfect book, but i enjoyed reading it in the way itching a mosquito bite is enjoyable.
our whole situation sucks. it's nice to have some relief, even if the awareness may make things worse.
i found this clever and funny and complicated. i never tired of our hard-to-like protagonist's internal monologue or even her string of mistakes — i thought she was relatable and sympathetic, as i found the depiction of being alive and capitalism and the pressure to settle down.
bottom line: the world is bad. books are good.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
in spite of the synopsis, this is not that. but. lately i've been really enjoying books about hard-to-like young women struggling with the societal pressure to settle down into a 9-5 and a relationship. i was blown away by WORRY, and this had traces of the same — unflinching descriptions of banality, clever banter, existential dread.
this is an imperfect book, but i enjoyed reading it in the way itching a mosquito bite is enjoyable.
our whole situation sucks. it's nice to have some relief, even if the awareness may make things worse.
i found this clever and funny and complicated. i never tired of our hard-to-like protagonist's internal monologue or even her string of mistakes — i thought she was relatable and sympathetic, as i found the depiction of being alive and capitalism and the pressure to settle down.
bottom line: the world is bad. books are good.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
August 20, 2025
felt like hour seven under the fluorescent lights at the office when you start losing the will to live but you’re also gay
April 24, 2025
It’s a Gen Z Sally Rooney kind of LitFic, set in the magazine publishing industry in NYC. This book made me laugh uncontrollably in parts- the dialogue is so sharp and ridiculously specific, and so smart. It’s big on dialogue and short on plot. Those looking for a love story or a defined conflict and conclusion will be disappointed, this is a book about conversations and somewhat random. I loved it.
”I hate Arial,” she said.
“The girl from Armani?”
“No, the font. I wish we could all use Times New Roman and be done with it.”
Our main character is a queer girl from Michigan selling ads in a fashion magazine, she gets promoted to the Luxury fashion team and has flirtations and snarky interactions with colleagues. She is pretty quirky, and has that quality of thinking she is superior to others while simultaneously feeling inferior. She is so funny, so bright and yet so naive.
”Walking at night is the best,” I said, gesturing toward the liquor store and food trucks and garbage bags piled high along the curb. “There’s so much to smell and hear and see.”
“You sound like Willy Wonka.”
“A beloved alcoholic,” I said. “I’m touched.”
Thank you to Gallery Marketing for the ARC. #partner @gallerybooks #gifted
Book to be published June 17, 2025. This is an outstanding debut from a fresh new voice in fiction.
4.5 stars
”I don’t actually like drinking that much. I almost never go to bars. They’re so loud and the musics always bad and no matter where you put your coat, it always ends up on the floor.”
“The thing about dating girls is this; the sane girls are boring and the interesting girls are nuts.”
”I hate Arial,” she said.
“The girl from Armani?”
“No, the font. I wish we could all use Times New Roman and be done with it.”
Our main character is a queer girl from Michigan selling ads in a fashion magazine, she gets promoted to the Luxury fashion team and has flirtations and snarky interactions with colleagues. She is pretty quirky, and has that quality of thinking she is superior to others while simultaneously feeling inferior. She is so funny, so bright and yet so naive.
”Walking at night is the best,” I said, gesturing toward the liquor store and food trucks and garbage bags piled high along the curb. “There’s so much to smell and hear and see.”
“You sound like Willy Wonka.”
“A beloved alcoholic,” I said. “I’m touched.”
Thank you to Gallery Marketing for the ARC. #partner @gallerybooks #gifted
Book to be published June 17, 2025. This is an outstanding debut from a fresh new voice in fiction.
4.5 stars
”I don’t actually like drinking that much. I almost never go to bars. They’re so loud and the musics always bad and no matter where you put your coat, it always ends up on the floor.”
“The thing about dating girls is this; the sane girls are boring and the interesting girls are nuts.”
June 4, 2025
“the devil wears prada meets big swiss” is the best possible descriptor for this novel, and considering i adore both of those pieces of media, this was wonderful
if this pride month you happen to be craving a book featuring a messy office lesbian who makes poor choices essentially every other page then babe this is for you. i was frustrated with her and constantly internally screaming “what is wrong with you, why would you do that” the entire time i spent reading this. i personally LOVE reading books where the main character is absolutely off their rocker so i had a blast with jane.
the pretty expansive cast of characters also adds to the charm of this novel. it’s a bit difficult to keep track of who is who sometimes but i got the hang of it eventually—it’s set in nyc after all.
tl;dr: a book about a messy lesbian who treats two girls like absolute garbage, but like, in a fun way
(thanks to the publisher for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review!)
pre-review:
got my first physical arc and it's QUEER!!!!!!! can't do backflips but if i could i would
if this pride month you happen to be craving a book featuring a messy office lesbian who makes poor choices essentially every other page then babe this is for you. i was frustrated with her and constantly internally screaming “what is wrong with you, why would you do that” the entire time i spent reading this. i personally LOVE reading books where the main character is absolutely off their rocker so i had a blast with jane.
the pretty expansive cast of characters also adds to the charm of this novel. it’s a bit difficult to keep track of who is who sometimes but i got the hang of it eventually—it’s set in nyc after all.
tl;dr: a book about a messy lesbian who treats two girls like absolute garbage, but like, in a fun way
(thanks to the publisher for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review!)
pre-review:
got my first physical arc and it's QUEER!!!!!!! can't do backflips but if i could i would
June 8, 2025
I debated giving this one star because it's objectively pretty unsuccessful in a lot of areas, but I decided to give it two stars because it was fast paced, easy to keep reading, and I did want to know how it would end. Was I satisfied with that ending? No. But I did want to get there.
My first major gripe with this book is that the first one hundred pages are ROUGH. The pacing in this book, especially at the beginning, is ridiculously fast. There are so many scenes that last only a page. There are so many characters introduced who only get a paragraph of screen time. There is no breathing room to sink into these people or learn anything about them or get attached to them. At the 100 page mark (which is when we're first introduced to the second love interest, btw, which is too late imo), things slow down a bit and there are more scenes that are actually complete scenes. The dates start getting more in depth descriptions, and those moments when the writing slows down and digs deep are the best parts of this book.
Unfortunately, the characters we do get time to see aren't super fun to follow. I didn't come out of this book liking anyone. Everyone was shallow, insignificant, or made terrible decisions with no reasoning behind them. Both romance options were immediately incompatible with the main character so you aren't rooting for either side of the love triangle, and you very quickly learn that the protagonist Jane is a terrible person, so you aren't rooting for her in any area of her life either.
You are hoping that Jane grows as a person by the end of the book, though. Does she? Spoiler alert: I don't even know what Jane wants. She's an intentionally very listless character, but she honestly has no personality and no internality. She has no ambition. She has no charisma. She's very hollow as a character, and it's just not interesting to follow, especially when she's making poor decisions that she hasn't managed to justify.
Also the dialogue was weird. There are so many quirky one liners from random side characters. Was it supposed to be funny? Was it supposed to say something about how we're all strange and complex? Was it supposed to propose deep metaphorical ideas under the guise of comedy? I don't know.
I don't know what this book was trying to say. I don't know what the point of any of it was. I just know that I don't think this book said anything about dating or quarter life crises or discontentment or New York City that other literary fiction books haven't already said better.
My first major gripe with this book is that the first one hundred pages are ROUGH. The pacing in this book, especially at the beginning, is ridiculously fast. There are so many scenes that last only a page. There are so many characters introduced who only get a paragraph of screen time. There is no breathing room to sink into these people or learn anything about them or get attached to them. At the 100 page mark (which is when we're first introduced to the second love interest, btw, which is too late imo), things slow down a bit and there are more scenes that are actually complete scenes. The dates start getting more in depth descriptions, and those moments when the writing slows down and digs deep are the best parts of this book.
Unfortunately, the characters we do get time to see aren't super fun to follow. I didn't come out of this book liking anyone. Everyone was shallow, insignificant, or made terrible decisions with no reasoning behind them. Both romance options were immediately incompatible with the main character so you aren't rooting for either side of the love triangle, and you very quickly learn that the protagonist Jane is a terrible person, so you aren't rooting for her in any area of her life either.
You are hoping that Jane grows as a person by the end of the book, though. Does she? Spoiler alert: I don't even know what Jane wants. She's an intentionally very listless character, but she honestly has no personality and no internality. She has no ambition. She has no charisma. She's very hollow as a character, and it's just not interesting to follow, especially when she's making poor decisions that she hasn't managed to justify.
Also the dialogue was weird. There are so many quirky one liners from random side characters. Was it supposed to be funny? Was it supposed to say something about how we're all strange and complex? Was it supposed to propose deep metaphorical ideas under the guise of comedy? I don't know.
I don't know what this book was trying to say. I don't know what the point of any of it was. I just know that I don't think this book said anything about dating or quarter life crises or discontentment or New York City that other literary fiction books haven't already said better.
June 19, 2025
3.75 ★
"Dating is fun. Falling in love is fun. But it ends. It can't last. Nothing lasts. And when it's gone, what you're really left with is the appalling nature of your own idiotic hope. And that's just the way it is. Because no one is good enough. People mess up. Everything dies."
Works Nights is a super entertaining novel about nothing in particular really. A character-driven novel that follows, Jane, a queer young adult who lives in New York City, works a dull advertising office job for a newspaper, and develops crushes on women like they are going out of style.
I found this really charming in a ridiculous way. It does a fantastic job of outlining the human experience; the mundane, quirky, and unique experiences that make life what it is. Like winning plastic vampire teeth in the arcade and wearing them around while talking in ridiculous accents. These small moments that a lot of books glaze over, but you can see happening to you and your friends or coworkers. It almost feels like reading a diary of the main character’s thoughts and experiences. The relationships in here are so toxic (lol) but the kind of messy drama that you love to hear about, just not experience yourself. Kind of like reality television- the characters are all a little nuts, but you love it and root for them anyway. Beware, this does have really looong “chapters” separated by months of time passing.
The ending was a little abrupt, but overall had a fun time! I think fans of Emily Austin will enjoy this.
"It's hard to be a person" I said.
Rudy nodded, big and wise, and we walked together into the windy dark.
Thank you to Erica Peplin and Gallery Books for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Content warnings: alcohol, toxic relationship
"Dating is fun. Falling in love is fun. But it ends. It can't last. Nothing lasts. And when it's gone, what you're really left with is the appalling nature of your own idiotic hope. And that's just the way it is. Because no one is good enough. People mess up. Everything dies."
Works Nights is a super entertaining novel about nothing in particular really. A character-driven novel that follows, Jane, a queer young adult who lives in New York City, works a dull advertising office job for a newspaper, and develops crushes on women like they are going out of style.
I found this really charming in a ridiculous way. It does a fantastic job of outlining the human experience; the mundane, quirky, and unique experiences that make life what it is. Like winning plastic vampire teeth in the arcade and wearing them around while talking in ridiculous accents. These small moments that a lot of books glaze over, but you can see happening to you and your friends or coworkers. It almost feels like reading a diary of the main character’s thoughts and experiences. The relationships in here are so toxic (lol) but the kind of messy drama that you love to hear about, just not experience yourself. Kind of like reality television- the characters are all a little nuts, but you love it and root for them anyway. Beware, this does have really looong “chapters” separated by months of time passing.
The ending was a little abrupt, but overall had a fun time! I think fans of Emily Austin will enjoy this.
"It's hard to be a person" I said.
Rudy nodded, big and wise, and we walked together into the windy dark.
Thank you to Erica Peplin and Gallery Books for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Content warnings: alcohol, toxic relationship
September 10, 2025
I will never tire of reading about intelligent but lonely, lost, confused, and disillusioned young women who are tortured by their desire for meaning, purpose, and interpersonal connection and who have ambivalently tormented relationships with their jobs. I myself read books like this as though it is my job to do so, especially once having had the similarly messy lived experiences of a late bloomer. I LOVED this and found it funny, unique, and moving. The main character, Jane, is sort of like an Otessa Moshfegh or Sally Rooney character except for likable, witty, gay, and with a healthy if motley crew of idiosyncratic found family and friends. In this sense, the book is also perfect for fellow fans of Emily R. Austin.
April 28, 2025
Emily Austen meets Jen Beagin in a lit-fic novel about Jane, a girl working a 9-5 in a job she hates while also juggling two relationships. She is meeting a girl names Madeline, who is afraid of labels and free-spirited and a girl named Addy, who is romantic and ready to settle into a committed relationship.
Like I said, reminded me of Austen and Beagin. Austen's stream of consciousness type writing meets Beagin's dry-humored, insufferable characters. I had so much fun with this. The dialogue was hilarious, brimming with sarcasm and dry humor that had me laughing out loud. Jane was also the perfect main character for this type of book. She was funny, cringy, relatable, the worst person ever... the perfect kind of character for lit-fic lol.
An extraordinarily strong debut. I am excited to follow Erica Peplin's career!
*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own*
Like I said, reminded me of Austen and Beagin. Austen's stream of consciousness type writing meets Beagin's dry-humored, insufferable characters. I had so much fun with this. The dialogue was hilarious, brimming with sarcasm and dry humor that had me laughing out loud. Jane was also the perfect main character for this type of book. She was funny, cringy, relatable, the worst person ever... the perfect kind of character for lit-fic lol.
An extraordinarily strong debut. I am excited to follow Erica Peplin's career!
*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own*
March 31, 2025
Work Nights is both laugh-out-loud funny and cringe-inducing in its portrayal of petty office politics and the messiness of 20-somethings queer life in Brooklyn.
Jane is a fun character to view the world through because she is both relatable and the worst. Jane doesn’t necessarily feel connected to the concept of being a person in the world, and so she avoids things like buying curtains (using towels instead) and responding to texts. She has a borderline masochistic crush on a ‘straight girl’ interning at the paper she works at as a planner in luxury ad sales and is ready to devote herself to being brushed off and ignored by her because they often get drunk together and sometimes kiss.
This book was honestly one of the funniest I’ve read in a long time, and it completely nails dry humor and sarcasm in a way that reads simply but is so difficult to get right. I think I especially loved it because it was so reminiscent of my early twenties, dating people I didn’t like being mean to the ones I did (hey, we’ve all been 22!!), romanticizing the grime of every dive bar in Bushwick, and not realizing your friends and community will always matter more than some hot girl who probably doesn’t care if you live or die. The office scenes were hilarious, too, with that specific yet universal vibe of all offices, with their pointless hierarchies, forced camaraderie, and that one printer that never freaking works.
Jane is a fun character to view the world through because she is both relatable and the worst. Jane doesn’t necessarily feel connected to the concept of being a person in the world, and so she avoids things like buying curtains (using towels instead) and responding to texts. She has a borderline masochistic crush on a ‘straight girl’ interning at the paper she works at as a planner in luxury ad sales and is ready to devote herself to being brushed off and ignored by her because they often get drunk together and sometimes kiss.
This book was honestly one of the funniest I’ve read in a long time, and it completely nails dry humor and sarcasm in a way that reads simply but is so difficult to get right. I think I especially loved it because it was so reminiscent of my early twenties, dating people I didn’t like being mean to the ones I did (hey, we’ve all been 22!!), romanticizing the grime of every dive bar in Bushwick, and not realizing your friends and community will always matter more than some hot girl who probably doesn’t care if you live or die. The office scenes were hilarious, too, with that specific yet universal vibe of all offices, with their pointless hierarchies, forced camaraderie, and that one printer that never freaking works.
April 21, 2025
I loved this book.
It reminded me so much of Emily Austin’s writing- had me laughing out loud and tearing up in the same sentence.
My favorite part was Laurel and Jane’s friendship.
Thank you Gallery Books for the ARC!
It reminded me so much of Emily Austin’s writing- had me laughing out loud and tearing up in the same sentence.
My favorite part was Laurel and Jane’s friendship.
Thank you Gallery Books for the ARC!
December 23, 2025
Mixed thoughts on this one. It presents a very realistic look at both corporate working life and the tempestuous nature of young lesbians. Yes, the characters are not always the most lovable, nor do they make the best decisions, but that all ties back to the authenticity of the story.
Our protagonist Jane hates her job, pines away for a straight girl Madeline, and often sabotages what could be a good relationship with the far better choice, Addy.
Alas, Jane's story isn't always the most... interesting... sometimes it feels like the book lacks a point. This tale probably skews younger and will resonate better with a younger audience.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Gallery Books in return for an unbiased review.
Our protagonist Jane hates her job, pines away for a straight girl Madeline, and often sabotages what could be a good relationship with the far better choice, Addy.
Alas, Jane's story isn't always the most... interesting... sometimes it feels like the book lacks a point. This tale probably skews younger and will resonate better with a younger audience.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Gallery Books in return for an unbiased review.
April 26, 2025
Work Nights is a fast, funny, chaotic little book about being young and stuck and trying to figure it all out. Jane’s working a soul-crushing advertising job, writing fake smiley emails 🙃, barely holding it together, and her love life’s somehow even worse. She’s caught between a beautiful, possibly-straight intern and a sweet but sorta boring musician.
The writing is sharp and addictive, I tore through it without even meaning to. It’s not trying to be super deep, and honestly, that’s what makes it work. It just nails that weird, lonely, messy feeling of your twenties. If you like authors like Anna Dorn and Marcy Dermansky or books about people making bad choices, you’ll love this one. P.S. I thought Karen from Jane's office was hysterical. She’s middle-aged and often comes back drunk from her lunch breaks, loudly complaining about everything.
Special thanks to Gallery Marketing and Simon & Schuster for my very first ARC copy! 🎉
The writing is sharp and addictive, I tore through it without even meaning to. It’s not trying to be super deep, and honestly, that’s what makes it work. It just nails that weird, lonely, messy feeling of your twenties. If you like authors like Anna Dorn and Marcy Dermansky or books about people making bad choices, you’ll love this one. P.S. I thought Karen from Jane's office was hysterical. She’s middle-aged and often comes back drunk from her lunch breaks, loudly complaining about everything.
Special thanks to Gallery Marketing and Simon & Schuster for my very first ARC copy! 🎉
February 14, 2025
Work Nights by Erica Peplin jumps you from page to page with its sharp one-liners and lovingly observant view of its characters and the world around them. Erica takes her time with each character and relationship until it all comes to a messy yet satisfying head. A strong debut that reveals the desire to find touch, understanding and connection between cubicles and barstools. I loved it.
July 2, 2025
soooo i really enjoyed the author’s writing style and her earnest descriptions of new york city culture and characters. i would absolutely read another book by her, but this just wasnt the one for me. there were definitely parts i enjoyed, but overall i wasn’t compelled by the plot as a whole. it was like the separate elements were strong, but they didnt come together to make a cohesive whole. but erica peplin’s observations of nyc and bushwick are very real and made me laugh and i liked that alot
May 9, 2025
a classic “nothing happens and everyone is terrible.”
i didn’t /like/ it, but i did enjoy reading it? felt sort of like a nature documentary, watching all these new york lesbians struggle through life as new york lesbians. personally i’m not a fan of books that are /so/ new york either, so i may have been predisposed to judge this one harshly 🤷♀️
i can definitely see the market for this one, i’m just not it.
i didn’t /like/ it, but i did enjoy reading it? felt sort of like a nature documentary, watching all these new york lesbians struggle through life as new york lesbians. personally i’m not a fan of books that are /so/ new york either, so i may have been predisposed to judge this one harshly 🤷♀️
i can definitely see the market for this one, i’m just not it.
June 27, 2025
Chaotic in the way that gays have trademarked.
June 20, 2025
this book was so badly written it felt like all the characters were just having conversations with themselves. insufferable main character and insufferable love interest and way too many irrelevant characters in every scene. so many unneeded detours from the plot, way too much time spent at work (i get its called work nights but the work scenes are so hard to get through) where were the editors ??? also this shouldve been written in short chapters not 50 page long separated by months (which has nothing to do with the pace of the story at all)
May 2, 2025
When I saw this compared to devil wears Prada I thought it would be a fun rom com vibe in the fashion world and it was not. Every single person in this book is insufferable and learns absolutely nothing at all. They all need therapy immediately. I marked it as fast paced because technically the mc is ping ponging around doing various things quickly but actually plot wise nothing happens at all. The depiction of the queer nyc scene was very negative and made everyone seem like vapid assholes. I never had a good time and wasted 3 hours trying to find something enjoyable in this.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 18, 2025
Erica is a delightful friend and writer. I am lucky she likes me and I am lucky I get to hug her whenever I so desire
Read
August 12, 2025queer girl w a bad attitude from suburban Detroit living in brooklyn … i wouldn’t know anything about that.
June 16, 2025
Work Nights by Erica Peplin. Thanks to @gallerybooks for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jane Grabowski forces herself to the office every day just to see Madeline, the beautiful intern. Madeline doesn’t believe in labels. When Jane meets Addy, a romantic musician, she gets caught between them.
This one started very strong for me but didn’t quite finish as strong. I know a lot of readers loved it and I definitely see the appeal. It’s witty and funny, and true to life; especially the office antics and social life. For some reason I had a hard time keep in the characters straight but maybe it was my mood at the time.
“Our laughter was loud and maniacal, but that was one good thing about being heartsick. It made us giddy enough to think that being miserable was the same as being alive.”
Work Nights comes out 6/17.
Jane Grabowski forces herself to the office every day just to see Madeline, the beautiful intern. Madeline doesn’t believe in labels. When Jane meets Addy, a romantic musician, she gets caught between them.
This one started very strong for me but didn’t quite finish as strong. I know a lot of readers loved it and I definitely see the appeal. It’s witty and funny, and true to life; especially the office antics and social life. For some reason I had a hard time keep in the characters straight but maybe it was my mood at the time.
“Our laughter was loud and maniacal, but that was one good thing about being heartsick. It made us giddy enough to think that being miserable was the same as being alive.”
Work Nights comes out 6/17.
June 24, 2025
Simply written, too many characters, chaos, and a strange end.
July 9, 2025
Wildly succeeds in a microgenre where most efforts fail and piss me off indescribably. So genuinely funny and smart, and biting without disrespecting itself or the reader
September 21, 2025
God, this was so boring. The mc is useless, dirty and messy (emotionally and otherwise). This book is probably riveting to people who can relate to being incredibly selfish, immature and terrible to their parents for no reason.
May 29, 2025
Ugh I wanted this book to be good so bad. I was on my hands and knees, begging and praying that something interesting would happen. But, unfortunately, it didnt. Jane is extremely boring and judgmental. You can have an unlikable protagonist that’s judgmental and nuts but Jane was sooo boring I had no choice but to genuinely dislike her, instead of disliking her and secretly rooting for her. I felt like the big build up of her making a choice to leave her job didn’t hit either because she wasn’t doing it for herself. There was no growth and nothing interesting happened. Of all the boring, self-pitying bisexuals I know in Brooklyn — Jane is the worst.
December 6, 2025
Work Nights follows Jane as she navigates being a 9-5 worker in a mundane job and her crushes on a straight girl and queer girl. This was a very stream of consciousness novel looking at ~7 months of Jane's life. I had a little trouble following the writing style as it felt very journal like.
Seeing Jane's conflict between Addy and Madeline felt like a quintessential queer person experience. Falling for a straight person who isn't able to commit but also having the option of a queer person who is ready to have a relationship with you. Because of the writing style being so new to me, I had trouble enjoying the book as it was basically just a laundry list of what happened to Jane. 3.5/5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Seeing Jane's conflict between Addy and Madeline felt like a quintessential queer person experience. Falling for a straight person who isn't able to commit but also having the option of a queer person who is ready to have a relationship with you. Because of the writing style being so new to me, I had trouble enjoying the book as it was basically just a laundry list of what happened to Jane. 3.5/5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
August 12, 2025
characters felt shallow, plot was all over the place, ending was unsatisfying :/
August 19, 2025
This book was mainly Brooklyn lesbian cringe, so it pains me to admit that I’ve found myself in a number of very specific situations written about in it. #wakeupcall
June 12, 2025
reading this sitting in my little office cube really hit
I ate through this, reading most of it in one day once I actually got into it
Jane is kind of awful in the way that she acts on most of her thoughts (but not so irredeemable and crazy that I was not able to sympathize with her) and experiencing her life in my current mental space was so freeing in some ways. I was just along for the ride as she dealt with a lot of the stuff I have been feeling as a queer twenty-something trying to figure out my place in the world.
I also LOVED the narration and the way that time is not easily discerned. I love this style in general, but I think the overall vibe of the story really works with it and Peplin crafted it so well.
10/10 would recommend
thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster, and Sapph-Lit for providing me with a free and advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review!
I ate through this, reading most of it in one day once I actually got into it
Jane is kind of awful in the way that she acts on most of her thoughts (but not so irredeemable and crazy that I was not able to sympathize with her) and experiencing her life in my current mental space was so freeing in some ways. I was just along for the ride as she dealt with a lot of the stuff I have been feeling as a queer twenty-something trying to figure out my place in the world.
I also LOVED the narration and the way that time is not easily discerned. I love this style in general, but I think the overall vibe of the story really works with it and Peplin crafted it so well.
10/10 would recommend
thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster, and Sapph-Lit for providing me with a free and advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review!
July 2, 2025
4 stars. This was such an enjoyable break from my reality lol. This reminded me of big Swiss mixed with hbo max Girls. Lots of dry humor. A very character driven book if you don’t like that, idk if this one is for you. Messy lesbian vibes. This made me actually giggle out loud. As always, thank you to the publisher for the earc.
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