What do you think?
Rate this book
Other Women: And Other Stories
A slyly subversive bildungsroman about misplaced love, by the author of the lauded novel Nothing Can Hurt You
After dropping out of college, a young woman wanders through New York both invisible and vulnerable, studying the city’s strong magic and longing for a man she knows will never love her back. Salvation appears to arrive when Charlotte Herzfeld, the young wife of a successful businessman, hires her as a live-in nanny to accompany the family on a trip to Berlin. As the Herzfelds begin to crack under the weight of their secrets, she finds herself in a more precarious position than ever before.
Reflective yet propulsive, and told in a voice both ingenuous and insightful, Other Women is a timeless and all-too-relatable tale of unwise decisions and unfortunate fixations.
This volume includes three new short stories and an introduction from Megan Nolan.
After dropping out of college, a young woman wanders through New York both invisible and vulnerable, studying the city’s strong magic and longing for a man she knows will never love her back. Salvation appears to arrive when Charlotte Herzfeld, the young wife of a successful businessman, hires her as a live-in nanny to accompany the family on a trip to Berlin. As the Herzfelds begin to crack under the weight of their secrets, she finds herself in a more precarious position than ever before.
Reflective yet propulsive, and told in a voice both ingenuous and insightful, Other Women is a timeless and all-too-relatable tale of unwise decisions and unfortunate fixations.
This volume includes three new short stories and an introduction from Megan Nolan.
224 pages, Paperback
Published April 28, 2026
5 people are currently reading
615 people want to read
About the author
Nicola Maye Goldberg
12 books160 followersNicola Maye Goldberg is the author of NOTHING CAN HURT YOU (Bloomsbury, 2020). She lives in New York City.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
May 2, 2026
i loved this author's under-read and underrated debut. i guess you could say i'm not like other women.
i planned on writing mini-reviews for each story as is my tendency with collections when i have my sh*t remotely together, but that is somewhat complicated by my discovery (after completely forgetting that this was a collection at all) that the first story is actually a novella called other women and it takes up 75% of the page count.
let's try anyway.
STORY ONE: OTHER WOMEN
as mentioned, i completely forgot that this was supposed to have multiple stories in it — i was consumed by this one. even its flaws or quirks (second person perspective, confusing timeline) charmed me, especially when it fell into the tropes of my beloved young-woman-ruining-her-life genre. i had such a great time that i am nervous and upset to continue with stories that won't be this one. even the title is perfect!
rating: 4.5
STORY TWO: PARIS, 1979
hmm. bit of a non-starter here, in that it doesn't really start.
rating: 3
STORY THREE: ALL GIRLS
my girl nicola loves to play with perspective.
rating: 3.5
STORY FOUR: THE VIRGIN
every woman should get a million dollars and every man should get jail time.
rating: 4
OVERALL
these other three stories are kind of an afterthought in comparison to the full and memorable novella — is four stories really enough for a collection? — but it's still worth reading for that alone.
rating: 4
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
i planned on writing mini-reviews for each story as is my tendency with collections when i have my sh*t remotely together, but that is somewhat complicated by my discovery (after completely forgetting that this was a collection at all) that the first story is actually a novella called other women and it takes up 75% of the page count.
let's try anyway.
STORY ONE: OTHER WOMEN
as mentioned, i completely forgot that this was supposed to have multiple stories in it — i was consumed by this one. even its flaws or quirks (second person perspective, confusing timeline) charmed me, especially when it fell into the tropes of my beloved young-woman-ruining-her-life genre. i had such a great time that i am nervous and upset to continue with stories that won't be this one. even the title is perfect!
rating: 4.5
STORY TWO: PARIS, 1979
hmm. bit of a non-starter here, in that it doesn't really start.
rating: 3
STORY THREE: ALL GIRLS
my girl nicola loves to play with perspective.
rating: 3.5
STORY FOUR: THE VIRGIN
every woman should get a million dollars and every man should get jail time.
rating: 4
OVERALL
these other three stories are kind of an afterthought in comparison to the full and memorable novella — is four stories really enough for a collection? — but it's still worth reading for that alone.
rating: 4
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
April 29, 2026
A novella and three short stories. In the titular "Other Women", the novella of the bunch, a young woman struggling with the end of an affair abandons college and moves to Berlin as a nanny. In "Paris, 1979", a woman stakes out an apartment in Paris, watching as a former actress does...well, not much, most of the time. In "All Girls", a group of middle school girls grapples with the disappearance of one of their classmates. And in "The Virgin", a college student grapples with a crush and an assault.
"Other Women" was previously published as a standalone novella, and I don't think the cover design does quite right by this new version (why does the cover say "a novel" rather than "and other stories"?). But the image is striking and the stories within tightly woven.
"Other Women" is the titular story for a reason. The narrator is young and perhaps depressed and making decisions that are sometimes objectively bad and sometimes just impulsive; she finds herself sleeping with the wrong people and seeking out attention for not the healthiest reasons and making decisions because the option is there and not necessarily because she's thought the decision through.
You asked me why I dropped out of school. I told you: "I thought I wanted to be a poet, but I really just wanted to be a poem." (loc. 92*)
"Other Women" is told in the second person, addressing the man the narrator is infatuated with; a man who is sleeping with her but in a relationship with another woman. This isn't a story about drastic steps: the narrator knows that it is, if not a lost cause, not meant to be. And yet.
I think that if you'd wanted me less, you might have loved me more. (loc. 344)
This is the strongest of the pieces in the book, I think, and well worth the prime positioning as the book's title. A high 4 stars.
"Paris, 1979" sets us in the perspective of a woman staking out the apartment of a former actress. Our narrator has a male counterpart, but he is incidental. My knowledge of 1970s history does not tell me how likely this particular scenario is (the short version is that they are government agents, and the government doesn't trust the actress), but if the actress has secrets, she is hiding them well; very little happens until the story reaches its climax. That is not criticism—I prefer a slow build to something action-packed—but I also found this story to be the least memorable, and it was my least favorite of the bunch. 3 stars.
"All Girls" made up for "Paris, 1979" in spades. Here we're in the first-person plural, no one voice rising above the rest: These are, after all, 11-year-old girls, learning to exist as pack animals, filtering whatever they know or think they know through each other. One of their lot has gone missing, she's not somebody that our collective narrators know particularly well, and they find themselves trying to figure out how to navigate this sort of loss of a sense of security when they aren't even sure how to feel about the girl herself. I never experienced such an event (though I'm sure many of my classmates were going through difficult things that I knew nothing about), but there's a tangible sense that these girls are on the cusp of something, that this moment is pivotal in ways that they will only later understand. 4 stars.
"The Virgin" is the last story in the book and one that should probably come with a trigger warning. In it, a girl sees her first year of college as something wide open with possibility—until she is assaulted, and she has to both figure out how to frame that assault for herself (and what to do with it) and deal with other people's reactions and opinions. This is technically well done (in particular, excellent balance of showing and telling), though it felt to me like a story that has been told many times before...although, to be fair, partly because it is a story that so many young women have experienced. 3.5 stars.
Overall, a tightly wrought but not terribly happy collection. I'd recommend a break between pieces to let them sink in before moving on to the next one—but if you can take some darkness in your litfic, this is one for you.
*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
"Other Women" was previously published as a standalone novella, and I don't think the cover design does quite right by this new version (why does the cover say "a novel" rather than "and other stories"?). But the image is striking and the stories within tightly woven.
"Other Women" is the titular story for a reason. The narrator is young and perhaps depressed and making decisions that are sometimes objectively bad and sometimes just impulsive; she finds herself sleeping with the wrong people and seeking out attention for not the healthiest reasons and making decisions because the option is there and not necessarily because she's thought the decision through.
You asked me why I dropped out of school. I told you: "I thought I wanted to be a poet, but I really just wanted to be a poem." (loc. 92*)
"Other Women" is told in the second person, addressing the man the narrator is infatuated with; a man who is sleeping with her but in a relationship with another woman. This isn't a story about drastic steps: the narrator knows that it is, if not a lost cause, not meant to be. And yet.
I think that if you'd wanted me less, you might have loved me more. (loc. 344)
This is the strongest of the pieces in the book, I think, and well worth the prime positioning as the book's title. A high 4 stars.
"Paris, 1979" sets us in the perspective of a woman staking out the apartment of a former actress. Our narrator has a male counterpart, but he is incidental. My knowledge of 1970s history does not tell me how likely this particular scenario is (the short version is that they are government agents, and the government doesn't trust the actress), but if the actress has secrets, she is hiding them well; very little happens until the story reaches its climax. That is not criticism—I prefer a slow build to something action-packed—but I also found this story to be the least memorable, and it was my least favorite of the bunch. 3 stars.
"All Girls" made up for "Paris, 1979" in spades. Here we're in the first-person plural, no one voice rising above the rest: These are, after all, 11-year-old girls, learning to exist as pack animals, filtering whatever they know or think they know through each other. One of their lot has gone missing, she's not somebody that our collective narrators know particularly well, and they find themselves trying to figure out how to navigate this sort of loss of a sense of security when they aren't even sure how to feel about the girl herself. I never experienced such an event (though I'm sure many of my classmates were going through difficult things that I knew nothing about), but there's a tangible sense that these girls are on the cusp of something, that this moment is pivotal in ways that they will only later understand. 4 stars.
"The Virgin" is the last story in the book and one that should probably come with a trigger warning. In it, a girl sees her first year of college as something wide open with possibility—until she is assaulted, and she has to both figure out how to frame that assault for herself (and what to do with it) and deal with other people's reactions and opinions. This is technically well done (in particular, excellent balance of showing and telling), though it felt to me like a story that has been told many times before...although, to be fair, partly because it is a story that so many young women have experienced. 3.5 stars.
Overall, a tightly wrought but not terribly happy collection. I'd recommend a break between pieces to let them sink in before moving on to the next one—but if you can take some darkness in your litfic, this is one for you.
*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
*Thank you to Verso Books (US) and Netgalley for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review*
*spoilers below*
I think this book will appeal to a lot of younger women who currently find themselves unsure of their direction/purpose in life. I'm not sure I fit in the "younger women" category any more but there were a couple of parts within the first story where I could relate to some of the characters (not all of it was pretty) and there are quite a few TWs to be aware of including self harm, cheating, taking drugs/meds, the death of a family member (off-page).
The title story really focuses on misplaced love between the narrator and the guy she has an affair with - it's actually very sad and heartbreaking at times, especially when we get to see the narrator's internal monologue and how she feels when she's had sex, and on learning that he's to be married to his long-term girlfriend, the narrator emigrates to Berlin to become a nanny to a wealthy couple and their two daughters. From there, we follow our narrator as she wonders what the guy is currently up to and what his relationship with Josephine (his fiancee) is like. There are other things which happen involving the mother of the daughters she is looking after and whilst there were some beautiful moments and lines throughout, it's ultimately pretty bleak and depressing.
I'm going to be completely honest here, if you want uplifting and redemptive fiction, this book is not going to be for you - personally I need books with hopeful endings - they don't need to be happy endings per se but I do want something positive hinted at, at least, and whilst we do get it at the end of Other Women (despite the ending being quite sudden), for the other shorter stories within this collection, there aren't any :/
One of the stories focuses on a pair who secretly spy on a retired actress who lives in an apartment over the road, and one day decided to go and visit her because they haven't seen her in a while, only to find she has committed suicide by drowning in her bath.
Another hints at something unsavoury between a girl and her father - the girl having suddenly disappeared from school and who later appears alive and seemingly well after she has been holed up in a motel with her father who has brought her a bright red bikini which contrasts sharply with the full swimming suits all the other girls wear *shudders*
And the final story focuses on a young woman at college who is SA'd by another student :/
As you can see, the stories deal with very hard-hitting and raw topics and whilst the writing at times was beautiful, I did feel a bit burnt out by the end by all of the shit happening to these female characters.
Like I said at the beginning of my review, I think this book will appeal to a lot of younger women who may possibly be able to relate to some of the content in here - it is realistic and blunt and very "contemporary", and whilst I personally didn't like most of the endings, I can appreciate the important themes and topic matters discussed.
*spoilers below*
I think this book will appeal to a lot of younger women who currently find themselves unsure of their direction/purpose in life. I'm not sure I fit in the "younger women" category any more but there were a couple of parts within the first story where I could relate to some of the characters (not all of it was pretty) and there are quite a few TWs to be aware of including self harm, cheating, taking drugs/meds, the death of a family member (off-page).
The title story really focuses on misplaced love between the narrator and the guy she has an affair with - it's actually very sad and heartbreaking at times, especially when we get to see the narrator's internal monologue and how she feels when she's had sex, and on learning that he's to be married to his long-term girlfriend, the narrator emigrates to Berlin to become a nanny to a wealthy couple and their two daughters. From there, we follow our narrator as she wonders what the guy is currently up to and what his relationship with Josephine (his fiancee) is like. There are other things which happen involving the mother of the daughters she is looking after and whilst there were some beautiful moments and lines throughout, it's ultimately pretty bleak and depressing.
I'm going to be completely honest here, if you want uplifting and redemptive fiction, this book is not going to be for you - personally I need books with hopeful endings - they don't need to be happy endings per se but I do want something positive hinted at, at least, and whilst we do get it at the end of Other Women (despite the ending being quite sudden), for the other shorter stories within this collection, there aren't any :/
One of the stories focuses on a pair who secretly spy on a retired actress who lives in an apartment over the road, and one day decided to go and visit her because they haven't seen her in a while, only to find she has committed suicide by drowning in her bath.
Another hints at something unsavoury between a girl and her father - the girl having suddenly disappeared from school and who later appears alive and seemingly well after she has been holed up in a motel with her father who has brought her a bright red bikini which contrasts sharply with the full swimming suits all the other girls wear *shudders*
And the final story focuses on a young woman at college who is SA'd by another student :/
As you can see, the stories deal with very hard-hitting and raw topics and whilst the writing at times was beautiful, I did feel a bit burnt out by the end by all of the shit happening to these female characters.
Like I said at the beginning of my review, I think this book will appeal to a lot of younger women who may possibly be able to relate to some of the content in here - it is realistic and blunt and very "contemporary", and whilst I personally didn't like most of the endings, I can appreciate the important themes and topic matters discussed.
April 27, 2026
“Other Women: and Other Stories” is a novella and three short stories that dive into some of the experiences of young women. This is definitely a sad girl book. Not weird girl lit necessarily, but sad girl lit most certainly. This is for the enjoyers of Ottessa Mosfegh (mainly “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” specifically), “Acts of Desperation” by Megan Nolan, and others of a similar ilk.
The titular novella “Other Women” was by far the standout here. It follows a college-aged woman entering an affair with a taken man a couple years her senior. The relationship consumes her, and the astuteness in which she notices her partner is almost heartbreaking. The relationship comes to an inevitable end, after which the narrator spirals and becomes a nanny for a family moving to Germany. I think the narrative lost itself a bit in the middle when the narrator moved to Germany, but I still really enjoyed the story as a whole. I almost felt nostalgic, in a way, while reading this novella, bringing me back to my own university days: where everything felt so all-encompassing and everlasting, where everything felt like an individual experience because it’s all you know. The university almost becomes its own sphere of reality which swallows you whole, until you come out the other side, not necessarily unscathed but with the understanding that, regardless, life continues on. The subsequent three stories follow different struggles surrounding women, including the bonds of girlhood, parental relationships, and sexual assault. There’s nothing at all wrong with the stories—I just don’t think they necessarily added anything, but I didn’t not enjoy them either. “Other Women” is definitely my favorite, though.
I was really surprised to see that “Other Women” was originally released in 2016! As I said, I would highly recommend this for the readers of the ~sad girl lit~ genre, and I’m shocked I haven’t heard more about it. This re-publication of “Other Women” with the three stories attached will, I hope, bring more attention to this novella and to Nicola Maye Goldberg as an author. Her writing style was incredible! It’s pretty stream of consciousness, but Goldberg does it in a way that there’s never a lull—I always wanted to continue reading. Her style was a bit detached, which may not be everyone’s favorite but I really enjoyed. And lastly, as I mentioned earlier, the narrator of “Other Women” noticed all the complexities and minutiae about her partner, and it was so touching while also harrowing. I felt this novella in my chest.
Overall, I highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and Verso for the advance eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The titular novella “Other Women” was by far the standout here. It follows a college-aged woman entering an affair with a taken man a couple years her senior. The relationship consumes her, and the astuteness in which she notices her partner is almost heartbreaking. The relationship comes to an inevitable end, after which the narrator spirals and becomes a nanny for a family moving to Germany. I think the narrative lost itself a bit in the middle when the narrator moved to Germany, but I still really enjoyed the story as a whole. I almost felt nostalgic, in a way, while reading this novella, bringing me back to my own university days: where everything felt so all-encompassing and everlasting, where everything felt like an individual experience because it’s all you know. The university almost becomes its own sphere of reality which swallows you whole, until you come out the other side, not necessarily unscathed but with the understanding that, regardless, life continues on. The subsequent three stories follow different struggles surrounding women, including the bonds of girlhood, parental relationships, and sexual assault. There’s nothing at all wrong with the stories—I just don’t think they necessarily added anything, but I didn’t not enjoy them either. “Other Women” is definitely my favorite, though.
I was really surprised to see that “Other Women” was originally released in 2016! As I said, I would highly recommend this for the readers of the ~sad girl lit~ genre, and I’m shocked I haven’t heard more about it. This re-publication of “Other Women” with the three stories attached will, I hope, bring more attention to this novella and to Nicola Maye Goldberg as an author. Her writing style was incredible! It’s pretty stream of consciousness, but Goldberg does it in a way that there’s never a lull—I always wanted to continue reading. Her style was a bit detached, which may not be everyone’s favorite but I really enjoyed. And lastly, as I mentioned earlier, the narrator of “Other Women” noticed all the complexities and minutiae about her partner, and it was so touching while also harrowing. I felt this novella in my chest.
Overall, I highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and Verso for the advance eARC in exchange for an honest review!
May 4, 2026
Genuinely the worst shit I’ve ever read. Reads like a desperate outsider trying to tell everyone on their autofiction dimes square substack that they’re desirable and important. Just unbelievably vapid and trite.
May 2, 2026
Really enjoyed reading about a girl I absolutely would’ve hated at that age. But seeing her perspective I could understand the urge and her choices. A very interesting and new perspective added to my understanding of womanhood.
March 23, 2026
do not read if your frontal lobe has not been fully developed. i would have completely spiraled if i read this between 18-22.
the novella is the true star of this book, felt like a mix of the guest and my year of rest and relaxation. i really loved the diary like prose and how authentic the narrator felt (but she will piss you off)
the short stories were just fine.
what this book does really well is place you exactly where the characters are in their lives. a lost 20 year old, a naive 11 year old, etc. i loved how hyperfocused and zoned in it was.
thank you netgalley and verso books for the digital arc
the novella is the true star of this book, felt like a mix of the guest and my year of rest and relaxation. i really loved the diary like prose and how authentic the narrator felt (but she will piss you off)
the short stories were just fine.
what this book does really well is place you exactly where the characters are in their lives. a lost 20 year old, a naive 11 year old, etc. i loved how hyperfocused and zoned in it was.
thank you netgalley and verso books for the digital arc
May 8, 2026
Thank you Netgalley, @versobooks and the author Nicola Maye Goldberg for my free electronic ARC. Reviews are my own.
Other Women is why I request ARCs. Without an access to ARCs, I might have never seen this beautiful collection of stories on being a human, being a woman.
Some of these stories made me feel bittersweet, some angry, some made me lose hope. Sometimes the story resonates and brings back fragments of a past life. Love, obsession, disappointment are all mixed in these stories, waiting to be read in a quiet time. For me it is 3.5 stars, and given I rate Dostoyevski and Agatha Christie five stars, it is not average 😄. Recommended for women fiction readers, I think you will like it, a lot.
#reklam Kitap tarafıma elektronik ortamda ücretsiz olarak iletilmiştir.
Other Women is why I request ARCs. Without an access to ARCs, I might have never seen this beautiful collection of stories on being a human, being a woman.
Some of these stories made me feel bittersweet, some angry, some made me lose hope. Sometimes the story resonates and brings back fragments of a past life. Love, obsession, disappointment are all mixed in these stories, waiting to be read in a quiet time. For me it is 3.5 stars, and given I rate Dostoyevski and Agatha Christie five stars, it is not average 😄. Recommended for women fiction readers, I think you will like it, a lot.
#reklam Kitap tarafıma elektronik ortamda ücretsiz olarak iletilmiştir.
May 12, 2026
I picked this book up at random at a bookstore and I’m mad at myself for choosing such a miserable book that hardly even makes sense. It gets a 2 because it was so incredibly short that I was able to read it in a day, otherwise I would have dnf.
March 8, 2026
Incredibly shallow across the board, and deeply underdeveloped overall; choppy writing that didn’t establish anything in terms of form other than endless pretentious quote-bait. Felt like a book written by an angsty teenager who spent too much time on Tumblr in 2013 and thinks the whole world revolves around romanticizing self harm and partying with drug addicted man-boys.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
When was the last time you read something that wasn’t a thriller but a slice of life that kept you up at night reading but also thinking? Feeling?
Good writing is when even if the book is short (and kindle tells you it’s only under 3hrs long to finish the book), it keeps you engaged. The words hit home, have you nodding along, makes you angry when sleep catches up and you realize you have to continue it TOMORROW! Almost 24hours later! Making you wish you had no work, so you could cozy up and finish the ride, or has you finishing up work real fast so that you can make time to finish this.
Other Women was one such book, I requested the ARC, firstly because of the cover, I’m weak for covers like this but also, the description. I was overjoyed when I got approved and got started on it.
It’s essentially a love letter, in the disguise of writing to the ‘one’ , ‘the one that got away’, but in reality, a letter to oneself. It’s about love, dealing with the aftermath of heartbreak, aimlessly living, grief that strikes out of nowhere, remembering the heartbreak, career, dreams, just life, wandering, living, as a woman.
It’s in second person POV and this is right there along with couple of other books I’ve read in second person and loved, because it’s not something every writer can do well, but Nicola does it beautifully.
The writing is very intimate, raw, relatable but also reflective. It makes you want to put on some music, immerse yourself in it and just think, dissociate, float away.
We’ve all had our moments, where we’ve felt like penning a letter or writing numerous emails to that friend, or lover, or someone that was once special, to tell them what they meant to us, and still do. What their absence does to our lives and how moving on from them would take great strength that I can only explain it by quoting from the book:
“I never really wanted to be free from you, but now that I was, I would have to build a home inside myself, and I would never invite you in.”
OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5
Good writing is when even if the book is short (and kindle tells you it’s only under 3hrs long to finish the book), it keeps you engaged. The words hit home, have you nodding along, makes you angry when sleep catches up and you realize you have to continue it TOMORROW! Almost 24hours later! Making you wish you had no work, so you could cozy up and finish the ride, or has you finishing up work real fast so that you can make time to finish this.
Other Women was one such book, I requested the ARC, firstly because of the cover, I’m weak for covers like this but also, the description. I was overjoyed when I got approved and got started on it.
It’s essentially a love letter, in the disguise of writing to the ‘one’ , ‘the one that got away’, but in reality, a letter to oneself. It’s about love, dealing with the aftermath of heartbreak, aimlessly living, grief that strikes out of nowhere, remembering the heartbreak, career, dreams, just life, wandering, living, as a woman.
It’s in second person POV and this is right there along with couple of other books I’ve read in second person and loved, because it’s not something every writer can do well, but Nicola does it beautifully.
The writing is very intimate, raw, relatable but also reflective. It makes you want to put on some music, immerse yourself in it and just think, dissociate, float away.
We’ve all had our moments, where we’ve felt like penning a letter or writing numerous emails to that friend, or lover, or someone that was once special, to tell them what they meant to us, and still do. What their absence does to our lives and how moving on from them would take great strength that I can only explain it by quoting from the book:
“I never really wanted to be free from you, but now that I was, I would have to build a home inside myself, and I would never invite you in.”
OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Verso for the eARC.
This is the packaging together of 'Other Women', a novella originally published way back in 2016, along with a few (much shorter) short stories. I must admit that it strikes me as a bit strange that the cover nor the blurb state that the bulk of this packaging is 10 years old. I also question the point in attaching the three short stories with the novella, as it really is long enough to work as a standalone, and the inclusion of the short stories just distracts from this main work. All in all, I'm just confused.
The titular novella is fantastic. It follows along a young female narrator who has taken academic leave from her college in an identity crisis anyone who's been in their young 20s can appreciate. Amidst this identity crisis, she begins seeing someone who is in a relationship, and this understandably just seems to worsen said identity crisis.
But really, the plot isn't the main attraction here, as Goldberg's prose is what really stands out. Her sentences have this enchanting quality that had me reading an order of magnitude longer than I had initially planned on my first sit down with this; really, I feel I would have read the entire novella in one sitting had it not been for that annoying necessity called sleep.
My main critique of 'Other Women' is that there wasn't more of it. I would have liked to sit with the characters a little bit longer, and taken in more of Goldberg's writing. My only other problem would be that some of the characters seemed a bit lacking and/or inconsistent throughout, these mainly being the love interest as well as Charlotte (again, this could've been solved by just fleshing the novella out into a novel).
As for the short stories, they were also solid, but again didn't quite fit in alongside 'Other Women.' 'Paris, 1979' follows a pair of French investigators staking out an American actress; 'All Girls' covers the disappearance of a young girl at an all girls school; 'The Virgin' follows a freshman at college who is, you guessed it, a virgin.
TL;DR: (Mostly) Great writing, confusing packaging.
This is the packaging together of 'Other Women', a novella originally published way back in 2016, along with a few (much shorter) short stories. I must admit that it strikes me as a bit strange that the cover nor the blurb state that the bulk of this packaging is 10 years old. I also question the point in attaching the three short stories with the novella, as it really is long enough to work as a standalone, and the inclusion of the short stories just distracts from this main work. All in all, I'm just confused.
The titular novella is fantastic. It follows along a young female narrator who has taken academic leave from her college in an identity crisis anyone who's been in their young 20s can appreciate. Amidst this identity crisis, she begins seeing someone who is in a relationship, and this understandably just seems to worsen said identity crisis.
But really, the plot isn't the main attraction here, as Goldberg's prose is what really stands out. Her sentences have this enchanting quality that had me reading an order of magnitude longer than I had initially planned on my first sit down with this; really, I feel I would have read the entire novella in one sitting had it not been for that annoying necessity called sleep.
My main critique of 'Other Women' is that there wasn't more of it. I would have liked to sit with the characters a little bit longer, and taken in more of Goldberg's writing. My only other problem would be that some of the characters seemed a bit lacking and/or inconsistent throughout, these mainly being the love interest as well as Charlotte (again, this could've been solved by just fleshing the novella out into a novel).
As for the short stories, they were also solid, but again didn't quite fit in alongside 'Other Women.' 'Paris, 1979' follows a pair of French investigators staking out an American actress; 'All Girls' covers the disappearance of a young girl at an all girls school; 'The Virgin' follows a freshman at college who is, you guessed it, a virgin.
TL;DR: (Mostly) Great writing, confusing packaging.
April 10, 2026
Thank you to Verso Books (US) and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!
The titular story focuses on a college dropout unable to move on from someone who is in another relationship. With little keeping her tethered to New York, she agrees to become an au pair and moves to Berlin, where little cracks in the perfect family are shown.
This book relies heavily on the reader being able to relate to the narrator in order to enjoy the novel: 20-something year olds stuck in a ‘humiliationship’, that feel very, very lost. It’s an overdone concept but one I enjoy. However, ‘Other Women’ took a too-shallow approach for my liking. I liked the detached, almost floaty tone of the narrator and the use of the second person address but I wanted more from what it tried to say about the relationship between women and the concept of being in love. Sad Girl Prose is a pretty common theme in bookstores, and I don’t think ‘Other Women’ offers something unique to the genre. I also found it surprisingly lacking in atmosphere considering the setting.
I much preferred the other short stories featured!
‘Paris, 1979’ focuses on a pair of detectives spying on a spiriling actress, ‘All Girls’ is about the disappearance of a schoolgirl, ‘The Virgin’ details the assault of a young woman. ‘All Girls’ stood out to me in particular and I think fans of Dizz Tate and Eliza Clark would like it. I wish this was the longer novella!
The titular story focuses on a college dropout unable to move on from someone who is in another relationship. With little keeping her tethered to New York, she agrees to become an au pair and moves to Berlin, where little cracks in the perfect family are shown.
This book relies heavily on the reader being able to relate to the narrator in order to enjoy the novel: 20-something year olds stuck in a ‘humiliationship’, that feel very, very lost. It’s an overdone concept but one I enjoy. However, ‘Other Women’ took a too-shallow approach for my liking. I liked the detached, almost floaty tone of the narrator and the use of the second person address but I wanted more from what it tried to say about the relationship between women and the concept of being in love. Sad Girl Prose is a pretty common theme in bookstores, and I don’t think ‘Other Women’ offers something unique to the genre. I also found it surprisingly lacking in atmosphere considering the setting.
I much preferred the other short stories featured!
‘Paris, 1979’ focuses on a pair of detectives spying on a spiriling actress, ‘All Girls’ is about the disappearance of a schoolgirl, ‘The Virgin’ details the assault of a young woman. ‘All Girls’ stood out to me in particular and I think fans of Dizz Tate and Eliza Clark would like it. I wish this was the longer novella!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
** Thanks to Netgalley and Verso Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review **
This book primarily follows a female college dropout struggling to make sense of her life while agonizing over the guy she has been having an affair with. Three more very short stories follow, touching on mental health, possible abuse, and sexual assault, respectively. They are all quite melancholic and pack in some real heaviness.
In the first story, I found the FMC's thought processes and limerance to be reminiscent of most females before their frontal lobe is fully developed. I think we have all been infatuated and heartsick. Sometimes she veered quite dark and I was expecting her to turn out like the character Fred in Virginia Feito's Victorian Psycho. She also reminded me of the FMC from Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation. If both of those books were your jam, then you will likely enjoy this.
The remaining stories felt so brief, were incredibly heavy, and had next to no closure, which just left me feeling so emotionally drained. I do think there was quite a lot of romanticism around trauma and self harm in the stories and it felt like reading an early 2000s Tumblr blog. There was a time this book may have been more up my alley, but not anymore.
This a high 2 stars, closer to 2.5 as it did evoke a lot of emotion and had some very highlight-able quotes.
This book primarily follows a female college dropout struggling to make sense of her life while agonizing over the guy she has been having an affair with. Three more very short stories follow, touching on mental health, possible abuse, and sexual assault, respectively. They are all quite melancholic and pack in some real heaviness.
In the first story, I found the FMC's thought processes and limerance to be reminiscent of most females before their frontal lobe is fully developed. I think we have all been infatuated and heartsick. Sometimes she veered quite dark and I was expecting her to turn out like the character Fred in Virginia Feito's Victorian Psycho. She also reminded me of the FMC from Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation. If both of those books were your jam, then you will likely enjoy this.
The remaining stories felt so brief, were incredibly heavy, and had next to no closure, which just left me feeling so emotionally drained. I do think there was quite a lot of romanticism around trauma and self harm in the stories and it felt like reading an early 2000s Tumblr blog. There was a time this book may have been more up my alley, but not anymore.
This a high 2 stars, closer to 2.5 as it did evoke a lot of emotion and had some very highlight-able quotes.
April 12, 2026
this was great! the prose is absolutely beautiful and immediately drew me into the title story. it‘s very introspective and not particularly plot-driven, but the protagonist‘s inner world and character development felt so real that i didn‘t want to stop reading. the very short chapters also contributed to this and made it so digestible, i wish more books did this! i’ve seen a couple of reviews saying this relies on readers identifying with the protagonist‘s experience of unrequited love and situationships and would actually disagree with this. i think it‘s more the intensity of emotion with which you experience your life in your late teens/early twenties that this story captures well, so i was able to resonate with it even though the actual facts of the story weren‘t particularly relatable to me.
the other stories that followed this were equally strong and explored similar themes, so i think they worked ver well as an addition. i was initially a little confused when we dive into another story immediately after other women (i‘d kind of forgotten this was a short story collection cause other women reads like a novella and k was so immersed in it), but once i got over that, i was absolutely hooked and liked every single one!
the other stories that followed this were equally strong and explored similar themes, so i think they worked ver well as an addition. i was initially a little confused when we dive into another story immediately after other women (i‘d kind of forgotten this was a short story collection cause other women reads like a novella and k was so immersed in it), but once i got over that, i was absolutely hooked and liked every single one!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book truly touched my heart, it's the saddest one I've read this month, leaving me speechless and reflective on how to rate it. The story begins with a girl who has dropped out of school and finds herself in a complicated relationship with someone who already has a girlfriend, who's about to be engaged to someone named Josephine. She then travels to Berlin to work as an au pair for a wealthy family, and through her journey, she shares the stories of all the women she meets, each contributing to her understanding of herself and the world. I found her story so engaging and relatable that I couldn't put the book down. Despite everything she's been through, her sincerity shines through, which I really admire. I also appreciated the other three stories woven into the book, though I felt some closure was missing from the first one.
I'm really grateful to the publisher for allowing me to read this wonderful book. I appreciate how it's written and the thoughtfulness that went into it. I just wanted to mention that the book contains numerous trigger warnings.
This book truly touched my heart, it's the saddest one I've read this month, leaving me speechless and reflective on how to rate it. The story begins with a girl who has dropped out of school and finds herself in a complicated relationship with someone who already has a girlfriend, who's about to be engaged to someone named Josephine. She then travels to Berlin to work as an au pair for a wealthy family, and through her journey, she shares the stories of all the women she meets, each contributing to her understanding of herself and the world. I found her story so engaging and relatable that I couldn't put the book down. Despite everything she's been through, her sincerity shines through, which I really admire. I also appreciated the other three stories woven into the book, though I felt some closure was missing from the first one.
I'm really grateful to the publisher for allowing me to read this wonderful book. I appreciate how it's written and the thoughtfulness that went into it. I just wanted to mention that the book contains numerous trigger warnings.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Verso books and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the title novella Other Women. It follows a young woman who was dropped out of college and is going through an identity crisis. She starts to date a man in a relationship and then gets a job as an au pair in Berlin, and everything stems from there. It unpacks themes of obsession, desire, misplaced love etc.
Honestly the plot of the story isn’t what I enjoyed most about the book, it was the lyrical writing. I read the entire book in one sitting. I found myself highlighting a lot of quotes in the text. I think a lot of young women can relate to the themes in this novella. I really feel that the characters and the end of the story could’ve been fleshed out more, and this would’ve made a perfect novel.
The short stories were okay for me. I didn’t like them half as much as the title novella, I found them to be extremely short with little to no closure. They felt a little misplaced and didn’t really add anything for me personally.
There are some dark themes throughout the main title and short title so just be wary before reading.
I really enjoyed the title novella Other Women. It follows a young woman who was dropped out of college and is going through an identity crisis. She starts to date a man in a relationship and then gets a job as an au pair in Berlin, and everything stems from there. It unpacks themes of obsession, desire, misplaced love etc.
Honestly the plot of the story isn’t what I enjoyed most about the book, it was the lyrical writing. I read the entire book in one sitting. I found myself highlighting a lot of quotes in the text. I think a lot of young women can relate to the themes in this novella. I really feel that the characters and the end of the story could’ve been fleshed out more, and this would’ve made a perfect novel.
The short stories were okay for me. I didn’t like them half as much as the title novella, I found them to be extremely short with little to no closure. They felt a little misplaced and didn’t really add anything for me personally.
There are some dark themes throughout the main title and short title so just be wary before reading.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
3.75 rating
Woah, what a debut!
I think this really captures what it’s like to a be woman in your early years right after high school when you’re still figuring out who you are as a person and as a woman. I believe this will really resonate with many young women, especially if their frontal lobes have recently been developed or have been developed. It’s just that you can clearly see how these characters are so young and being taken advantage of and we’ve all been young and done things to get noticed by others.
I really enjoyed the first short story and genuinely think it could’ve been a novel because lord knows if done and felt the same about a boy who could not have cared less. That one hurt. The author does a phenomenal job in bringing the reader into that mindset that the character is in, whether it be 20 years old, 18 years old, etc.
Thank you to Verso Books publishing for the ARC.
Woah, what a debut!
I think this really captures what it’s like to a be woman in your early years right after high school when you’re still figuring out who you are as a person and as a woman. I believe this will really resonate with many young women, especially if their frontal lobes have recently been developed or have been developed. It’s just that you can clearly see how these characters are so young and being taken advantage of and we’ve all been young and done things to get noticed by others.
I really enjoyed the first short story and genuinely think it could’ve been a novel because lord knows if done and felt the same about a boy who could not have cared less. That one hurt. The author does a phenomenal job in bringing the reader into that mindset that the character is in, whether it be 20 years old, 18 years old, etc.
Thank you to Verso Books publishing for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for review ✨
Honestly, I didn't even realise this was a collection of short stories until I read other reviews.. I don't know if this is a lapse in concentration on my part, the lack of structure in my e-arc or what.
However, I did enjoy reading this, even though it covers so many layers of dark, sad girl vibes that you walk away feeling hopeless and a little bit traumatised. The writing is sharp, evocative and hits you in all the right places but I did feel like it was a little bit structurally jumbled and hard to follow.
There is no sense of hope in the ending of the book and that might be the point, but it makes it a very dark and disturbing read about coming of age as a young woman. The prose is powerful and punchy and it's worth reading for that alone but please be warned this isn't a happy book.
Honestly, I didn't even realise this was a collection of short stories until I read other reviews.. I don't know if this is a lapse in concentration on my part, the lack of structure in my e-arc or what.
However, I did enjoy reading this, even though it covers so many layers of dark, sad girl vibes that you walk away feeling hopeless and a little bit traumatised. The writing is sharp, evocative and hits you in all the right places but I did feel like it was a little bit structurally jumbled and hard to follow.
There is no sense of hope in the ending of the book and that might be the point, but it makes it a very dark and disturbing read about coming of age as a young woman. The prose is powerful and punchy and it's worth reading for that alone but please be warned this isn't a happy book.
April 24, 2026
I do judge books by their covers so when I found this ARC in a Little Library down the road from me, I knew I had to check it out. This book is like if Lena Dunham’s Girls was darker and more depressing and in a book format. Fascinating look into the lives of thin bored rich white people! On one hand the depression and heartache were depicted well, on the other hand I was rolling my eyes at these bored rich white people problems. And kind of hated how every single character would just waste away into “gorgeous” thinness as they spiraled into depression and heartache. Lol! I did enjoy the writing though, it had a haunting feeling and it pulled me in. The book just wasn’t written for my brown ass with a powerlifter ass and that’s ok, this book’s definitely for all the sad skinny New England/NYC white girls
May 11, 2026
Rating: 2.5 / 5 Stars
The writing itself is polished and engaging, however the execution of this collection left much to be desired. Other Women & Other Stories is structured as a series of short stories, but many feel more like unfinished fragments than cohesive narratives.
On several occasions, just as a story began to build momentum and find its stride, it would end abruptly, often in what felt like the middle of a thought. This jarring transition to a completely different and unrelated story happened multiple times, making the entire reading experience feel disjointed and incomplete. While the individual sections show promise, the lack of substance and the sudden endings made it difficult to feel truly invested in the collection. Because of the fragmented nature of the storytelling, I wouldn't recommend this one.
The writing itself is polished and engaging, however the execution of this collection left much to be desired. Other Women & Other Stories is structured as a series of short stories, but many feel more like unfinished fragments than cohesive narratives.
On several occasions, just as a story began to build momentum and find its stride, it would end abruptly, often in what felt like the middle of a thought. This jarring transition to a completely different and unrelated story happened multiple times, making the entire reading experience feel disjointed and incomplete. While the individual sections show promise, the lack of substance and the sudden endings made it difficult to feel truly invested in the collection. Because of the fragmented nature of the storytelling, I wouldn't recommend this one.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I did not expect to love this but oh wow, this was incredible. The obsessive, dark, poetic prose was, in itself, worth obsessing over and I was hooked within the first few pages. It’s shockingly truthful; Goldberg doesn’t sugarcoat anything and is completely untamed in her portrayal of the human experience. And yet, whilst the subject matter focuses on unrequited infatuation and misogyny, her writing is at times laugh-out-loud funny, which really caught me off guard.
In terms of the ending, with ten pages to go I couldn’t fathom how this story was going to end, and I worried it might feel rushed. But rather than an explicit resolution, we’re left with a much more mellow and reflective ending, but one that feels perfect for this story.
In terms of the ending, with ten pages to go I couldn’t fathom how this story was going to end, and I worried it might feel rushed. But rather than an explicit resolution, we’re left with a much more mellow and reflective ending, but one that feels perfect for this story.
April 25, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy. All thoughts are my own.
The main story this book revolves around was by far the best. It felt so intimate, like I was reading somebodies diary. The writing made it feel like I was being told the story in a conversation or a letter. It flowed very well and really drew me in and once I stated I didn’t particularly want to stop.
However the short stories were fine, I didn’t particularly care for the Paris or the school one but I thought the last one was very well written and whilst it was very hard hitting it felt real and the response was very realistic.
These stories weren’t easy reads, the topics was difficult but it felt real and the writing around these topics worked very well
The main story this book revolves around was by far the best. It felt so intimate, like I was reading somebodies diary. The writing made it feel like I was being told the story in a conversation or a letter. It flowed very well and really drew me in and once I stated I didn’t particularly want to stop.
However the short stories were fine, I didn’t particularly care for the Paris or the school one but I thought the last one was very well written and whilst it was very hard hitting it felt real and the response was very realistic.
These stories weren’t easy reads, the topics was difficult but it felt real and the writing around these topics worked very well
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I’m such a fan of how this story was told with its light humour, quippy tone and quick pace. Although I wanted to shout at the main character for self sabotaging all the time, I did find her likeable and in some ways relatable. The novel really made me angry about the things we do, all for a boy we like the idea of. My criticism would be that the story was far from finished and I needed more, the ending isn’t ambiguous it’s just too short !!
I was very interested in the short stories at the end, but they felt quite misplaced ?
This whole collection is the OPPOSITE of hope core
Thanks to Netgalley & Verso Books for the ARC
I was very interested in the short stories at the end, but they felt quite misplaced ?
This whole collection is the OPPOSITE of hope core
Thanks to Netgalley & Verso Books for the ARC
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I love a story about a complicated woman(!!!!!), Nicola Maye Goldberg delivers this beautifully. The centerpiece novel isn’t overly plot-driven, instead guided by the protagonist’s emotional growth. As she moves through the novel, she shares the stories of the women around her; some equally as complex as her own, all connected by an underlying theme of womanhood. Each of them influences her worldview and how she understands herself. One reviewer described it as “a wound slowly starting to heal itself over time,” which I couldn’t agree with more. I only wish it had been longer.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Really loved this collection. Other Women, the titular and longer story, was a standout, I especially appreciated its fragmented style and how things unfolded in small, vivid snippets. The section set in Berlin was a pleasant surprise. It’s a deeply relatable piece and it's filled with clever observations too. I didn't find it overly dark or like it was trying to hard which was a relief too. The other short stories left me reeling and I didn’t want any of them to end as well. Each one is relatable in its own not-so-obvious way.
Overall, a great collection!
Overall, a great collection!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A great collection of stories about women who end up feeling defined by other men. The centerpiece novel is wonderfully written and reads like a wound slowly starting to heal itself over time. The other three stories also offer up a various scenarios in which women bear marks and stigmata they have little agency in choosing and wrestle between oblivious and hyper self-aware, which uncomfortably begs the question: which is worse?
March 15, 2026
3.5
"This woman wasn't even pretending to give a shit about me—wasn't that her whole job? I was hurt by her lack of artifice."
What struck me as odd about this book is that the title page labels it “A novel,” as so many works of contemporary fiction do now. The first section certainly feels like a novel in its own right, with a fully realised narrative and voice. Yet after it ends, the book abruptly shifts into a series of short stories. It left me wondering why they were included at all. The main narrative could easily have ended where it did, or even continued for another hundred pages. Instead, the short stories feel tacked on, almost as if there weren’t enough words to fill the book otherwise.
For that reason, I’m going to focus on the main story, which spans most of Goldberg’s book and which I found myself tearing through. There was a time when the “sad young women” genre felt ubiquitous, and after a while I grew tired of it. But this is the first novel of that kind I’ve read in a while and I found myself unexpectedly enjoying it.
The narrator is a kind-of college dropout who had been studying continental literature (a detail I appreciated) especially the references that appear throughout the text. Too sad to continue her studies, she leaves and moves to Berlin, where she becomes a nanny for a wealthy family. The premise has the potential for a lot of atmospheric wandering, and I did find myself wishing the novel had lingered more in its settings. Both New York and Berlin are promised in the description, yet the narrative rarely pauses long enough to fully explore them.
What kept me engaged instead was the narrator’s voice. She is bearable and at times I even found myself pitying her. She places far too much trust in her wealthy employer, a woman who barely seems to notice her existence. The imbalance of power becomes increasingly clear: it’s a toxic dynamic, one where emotional attachment to an employer can only end badly.
The narrative structure itself is interesting. It reminded me a little of Fleabag, but instead of breaking the fourth wall, the narrator directs her thoughts toward a man with whom she once had an affair. It creates the same sense of intimacy — as if the story is being confided rather than simply told.
This is not a happy novel. It’s tragic in the quiet, ordinary way life often is. Yet there is also something beautiful within it, particularly in the tenderness the narrator shows toward the children she cares for. Those moments of care and responsibility give the story a kind of fragile emotional centre.
It’s also worth noting that the book comes with several trigger warnings.
Thank you again to NetGalley and Verso Books for the opportunity to read and review this title.
April 30, 2026
ARC courtesy of NetGalley!
Really enjoyed the novella, which I found compelling, visceral, and gut wrenching, especially the exploration of her role as the other woman. However, I feel like the short stories weren’t as strong, though I did enjoy the last one quite a lot (The Virgin). Overall, worth a read, but I wasn’t crazy about the shorts
Really enjoyed the novella, which I found compelling, visceral, and gut wrenching, especially the exploration of her role as the other woman. However, I feel like the short stories weren’t as strong, though I did enjoy the last one quite a lot (The Virgin). Overall, worth a read, but I wasn’t crazy about the shorts
May 7, 2026
This book so clearly captures the pain of being 19 and the process of moving on from your first love. Several times it made me question am I unique at all or are these fibers of familiarity (even in fiction) what knit us together as a human race?? anyway love this writing style and I couldn’t put it down. I did not know there would be other stories and was so caught off guard!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews