Give Me Everything You've Got: A Novel

by Imogen Crimp

A seductive modern gothic novel following a promising young filmmaker during one sun-bleached July at a famous director’s summer home

In the midst of an unrelenting heatwave, up-and-coming filmmaker Ruby arrives at the summer home of her idol. Ellen, an iconoclastic feminist director known for mentoring other women, has offered Ruby a room of her own while she finishes her screenplay. Hyped as the next big thing, producers are clamoring for a “female story” mined from Ruby’s trauma, and her deadline is fast approaching.

When she arrives in the countryside, Ellen’s house emerges like something out of a dream—grand and imposing, surrounded by sprawling gardens and a shimmering swimming pool. But tension thrums beneath the picture-perfect surface. Ellen’s reputation is under fire after she’s accused of appropriating a story that wasn’t hers to tell. Meanwhile, Ellen’s mercurial twenty-something daughter Lara lounges by the pool under the blistering sun, drawing her mother’s latest houseguest towards her like a moth to a flame.

Trapped between scorched empty fields and waiting for the heat to break, Ruby’s aspirational summer of artistic retreat spirals into an all-consuming affair. Even the house itself begins to feel haunted, and Ruby has the unnerving sensation that she’s not the first promising young woman brought here to fall under its spell.

Hot to the touch, Imogen Crimp’s Give Me Everything You’ve Got is a spellbinding fever dream, exploring the dark corners of ambition, exploitation, and what it takes to be a woman artist.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Adult, Queer, Lesbian, LGBT, Gothic

304 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication July 21, 2026

About the author

Imogen Crimp studied English at Cambridge, followed by an MA in contemporary literature at UCL, where she specialized in female modernist writers. After university, she briefly studied singing at a London conservatoire. She was born in 1989 and lives in London.

Reviews

[Claire Fuller]

This feels like horror without the horror. It's a long hot summer and Ruby has been invited to stay in film director, Ellen's country house for a couple of weeks. There she meets Lara, Ellen's daughter. Crimp is so good at describing the heat, the hazy days, all the unsaid things and insinuations. Make sure you go into it not expecting a big revelation or a horror moment, and you'll love it.
A subtle, claustrophobic, seduction of a novel. I loved its dreamy, hazy surface, and its uncomfortable undertow. 

[SJARR ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I’m not sure this one was for me. I’m disassociating, which isn't my favorite feeling.

I think i'm running the risk of coming off as overly sensitive, but I was a little bit uncomfortable for most of this story.
Some of the topics discussed (and the way in which they were discussed), and some of the behavior by an older mentor toward her younger protégé, just, gave this an overall bad vibe for me.
I know that some of this has to be part of the point, but, I just wasn’t able to enjoy it.

I think the writing style is another place where we went a bit wrong.
I didn’t really feel immersed in the story, as much as I felt like I was watching stuff happen from a very far distance.
The synopsis does refer to this book as being like a “fever dream”, and I can certainly see that coming through. So, you might like this if you enjoy reading things like that.

As for the plot, I'm unsure about it.
I read this in full, but I didn’t really understand it.
I was confused, but I was fully expecting the end to have a massive turning point, or some type of revelation, to give me that “AHA!” moment.
It didn’t come though.

I am really not sure if this is just a case of my specific dislike for particular things plaguing my ability to enjoy a book as a whole, and perhaps it lead me to form a decision too quickly and I stuck with it.
Maybe other people would have an easier time grasping the plot, and would be able to like this more than I did.

Thank you to Netgalley, Henry & Holt Company and author Imogen Crimp, for providing me with the eARC of "Give Me Everything You've Got", in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: July 21, 2026

[Christine Bobby · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be completely honest, there wasn’t anything I enjoyed about reading this book. I didn’t care about any of the characters. I found everything about it to be infuriating and just plain unlikable. Confusing from start to finish. And it just dragged on without any point.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company publishing for the early access.

[Alaina]

Imogen Crimp deftly explores the many facets of what it means to be an ambitious woman in the arts in this slow-simmer of a summer novel. The scene-setting is incredibly effective here; you can practically feel the sweat drip down your back. I also really enjoyed Crimp's keen observations throughout; I'm just coming off a binge of the Neapolitan quartet, and Crimp had many moments here that felt Ferrante-esque in their astuteness. It's a gift, to be able to capture those universal-and-yet-nobody-really-talks-about-it experiences. While I do wish there had been more of a payoff for all of that boiling tension, I enjoyed this nonetheless.

[Maddie Marriott · Rating 2 out of 5]

good and then it all went to shit about halfway through. how many times can you “suddenly realize” something you’ve “always known?” i’m tired

[Christina Pace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big thank you to Henry Holt and Co., Netgalley, and the author for providing an ARC for review!

2.5, rounded up to 3 for the descriptions and the prose.



Give Me Everything You Got started out promising for me. Female and sapphic obsession, unhealthy fixation on a personal idol, creepy vibes, weird actions/reactions, and a creepy house? Okay, you got me! However, as it went on, I began to realize how meandering it is.

I loved reading the descriptions in this book, and the way Imogen Crimp describes the malaise of a heat wave is so perfect. I could easily envision the setting in my mind. The main cast -Ruby, Lara, and Ellen (lol) - and how they played off each other was something I couldn't wait to see evolve further, as well as their views on film as 'feminist' filmmakers, but then... it just stopped. There is a specific point in the book where you can feel the narrative tension sputter out into pages of hallucinogenic freeform. I'm not completely opposed to a stream-of-conscious style of writing (I really liked Brittany Newell's Soft Core, for starters) but there are so many bizarre red flags that pop up at the beginning to pique your interest, only to never be further interrogated. Maybe they were supposed to be red herrings, maybe not, maybe it's answered in some subtext I didn't pick up on, but regardless it's still unsatisfying to read these plot threads come up, only to be dropped in favor of obsessive, dream-like angst.

I'm also trying to remain spoiler-free, because this book won't be out until July 2026, but BIG BIG BIG content warning for one sequence in the book that involves animal death - specifically that of a chicken. It's not super graphic but it's so luridly detailed that I started skimming, and the character reaction to it adds to the nausea of the sequence.

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seductive writing, amazing dialogue, and a stunning plot - this book has it all. I was consumed and did not want to step away from the world inside this book. The feelings between Ruby, Lara, and Ellen drew me in and had me in awe. The feminine vibes oozed from the pages and the setting itself was like walking into a beautiful painting and living inside of it. At times haunting, this book is truly a work of art. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kristina Bulovic · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish it. It's a personal thing, but I don't enjoy reading books that have no quotations. Especially if it reads like run on sentences in long paragraphs. And most especially when they say the names of the characters over and over.

It's impossible to tell who is talking, who they're talking to, and if they're really even talking at all...

That said, if you like Sally Rooney you'd probably like this one. I was curious about the setting and the dynamics, I just couldn't do the massive dialog with no quotes.

[Jaimes_Mystical_Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read. This book was well written, and told a unique story but was a bit slow to unfold. As intriguing as this book’s concept was, I failed to relate and feel for the characters and between that and the pacing there were times where I struggled to want to continue reading. I think this book had some good moments and had a lot of potential, but I’m not sure I would categorize it as a horror. Overall, I’m not sure what I thought of this one.

Thank you to Henry Holt for sending me this gifted copy.

[asa ave · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book, I wasn't too sure what I was getting myself into. I found myself annoyed that none of the dialogue was in quotations.

But before I knew it, I got sucked into the summer haze that the characters found themselves in. I got wrapped up in the drama and eventually paranoia that Ruby found herself in. I couldn't stop reading, I finished the book in less than two days. I'm going to be thinking about this for some time to come.

I was provided with an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Elle Spohrer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this entire book during layovers at PDX and Sea-Tac on my way back to school from winter break, which probably impacted my experience with it in some capacity, though I’m not sure how. In any case, it kept my attention amidst the horrors of air travel in early January.

The best way I can describe Give Me Everything You’ve Got is horror without the horror. The story is filled with tension—Ellen, Lara, the house, her impending script deadline, the heatwave, and her place in the world are all sources of anxiety for Ruby. The tension never breaks, though. It just sort of dissolves incrementally. There’s no big reveal or climax, and there isn’t much resolution at the end. Still, I kind of liked it. The writing style is very dream-like, and the setting is incredibly vivid. In tone and energy, I would describe this book as Saltburn (2023) meets Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975).

The strongest part of this novel is the depiction of the toxic relationships Ruby has with Ellen and Lara. Ellen is an influential director who prides herself on making room for other women in the industry, and Ruby, along with many other young female filmmakers, is enamored with her. Ruby wants to be Ellen and wants to be admired by her; she wants to be her lover and wants to be her daughter; she is afraid of her and obsessed with her. In addition, Ruby finds Lara’s cold, aloof demeanor both off-putting and intriguing.

Crimp’s writing, told in first person from Ruby’s perspective, paints a clear picture of who these women are, and the power dynamics between them, through their interactions with each other. All three are deeply flawed in different ways, and could be quite unlikable. While I did enjoy reading about them, I suspect that if I had read this book over several days rather than all at once I would have grown tired of their melodrama.

Unfortunately, this book was very tedious and slow. There was very little character development, and my impression at the end was that most, if not all, of the seemingly high-stakes issues in the story were fabricated in Ruby’s mind. The majority of the narrative is just living in the head of a woman with low self-esteem, and I’m not really sure what that accomplishes.

I was also confused by the broader message. What I got from it was “people want women to tell stories that are autobiographical” which… okay? I guess? I’m not sure how much that’s supposed to resonate with a larger audience of mostly non-filmmakers. There was a little bit about media fetishizing women’s pain, which was more coherent, but is not exactly a fresh topic in feminist discourse. The commentary on class discrepancy I thought was a bit better; it was incorporated into the narrative and made sense, though again, felt a little stale.

One final thing, which I didn’t mind, but I know some readers can’t stand: Crimp doesn’t use quotation marks or standard indentation formatting for dialogue in this book.

All in all, I thought this book was fine. It kept me entertained for about five hours of a nineteen-hour travel day, so I can’t be too harsh, but if I had put it down and then gone to sleep, I’m not sure I would have been excited to pick it up again the next day.

I would recommend this book to readers who like reading about the idyllic English countryside, the negative parts of the film industry, and women who make bad choices.

***Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.***

[Abby Soghomonian · Rating 1 out of 5]

First, thank you to Matt and Shawnee from ‘The Bookstore (and Get Lit Wine Bar)’ in Lenox, MA, for trusting me to read their advanced copy of “Give Me Everything You’ve Got” and provide my honest feedback. If you find yourself in Lenox, you’ve got to stop by their store and have a glass of wine while you read a new book! Brilliant place and wonderful people who thought to combine two of my favorite things!

Grimp’s upcoming novel follows Ruby, a struggling film maker, as she spends part of the summer at the private home of her idol, Ellen.

Ellen is a feminist film producer, and Ruby imagines that the short retreat will include Ellen mentoring her and even envisions the two of them strolling in the garden, glasses of wine in hand, while exchanging ideas. However, once Ruby arrives, the situation becomes increasingly unsettling. Ellen’s house appears glamorous and idyllic, but beneath the surface there is tension and manipulation. Ellen pressures Ruby to turn her personal trauma into art for commercial success, while Ellen’s daughter Lara draws Ruby into complicated emotional and sexual dynamics. Over the course of the summer, Ruby realizes that she may not be the first young woman to be drawn into Ellen’s orbit and used for artistic or personal purposes.

While many reviewers remark about their frustration with Crimp not using quotation marks, I found my frustration and utter disgust rooted in Crimp’s glaring dichotomy of feminism…

In the book, Ellen embodies a contradiction at the heart of performative feminism. Although she is celebrated as a feminist filmmaker and mentor, her treatment of Ruby reproduces the very power dynamics feminism seeks to dismantle. Rather than empowering Ruby as a young woman entering the film industry, Ellen manipulates her ambition, pressures her to commodify her personal trauma for artistic gain, and positions herself as the gatekeeper to Ruby’s success. This dynamic reflects how hierarchies can persist even within spaces that claim to support women, suggesting that simply placing women in positions of authority does not automatically create feminist environments. Through Ellen’s exploitation of Ruby, the novel critiques the dangers of “performative feminism,” revealing how feminist language and identity can be used to mask systems of control and inequality rather than challenge them. Especially in our current political climate, my sincere hope was that Ruby might even challenge Ellen, or point out her misogynistic behaviors, but Crimp failed to resolve this inconsistency, leaving me feeling completely frustrated and disheartened. This tension highlights a key theme: feminism can become hollow when it is used as branding rather than practiced ethically.

I gave this book only 1 star. While the story started off slow and took awhile to grab my interest, I had hopes that it would pick up and some sort of resolution would occur. The book ultimately left me feeling like I was stuck in the middle of nowhere and the day would never end. I’m not sure if it was Crimp’s objective to force the reader to look into the ways that women suppress women, but this was the overall message I took away from this story, a message which felt defeatist to say the least.

#bookstoreinlenox.com #notreallyfeminism #books andwineinoneplace #twoofmyfavoritethings #lenoxmassachusetts

[Julia DeLuise · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Instead, she was looking intently at my hands. I was cutting a cucumber. I wondered if I was doing it wrong.”
That single moment captures the quiet, creeping unease at the heart of Give Me Everything You’ve Got by Imogen Crimp.
Ruby, a young and deeply insecure filmmaker, enters the orbit of Ellen: a celebrated, confident director who leads a workshop Ruby attends. Ellen doesn’t just mentor; she magnifies. Every glance, comment, and silence seems to sharpen Ruby’s self-doubt. When Ellen invites Ruby to spend a couple of weeks at her country house outside London, the power imbalance only intensifies.
The house itself—a vast, beautiful mansion with an odd layout - feels almost sentient. It seems to hold secrets… or maybe it’s simply a mirror for Ruby’s unraveling mind. Under pressure to finish a script as her deadline looms, Ruby’s anxiety blurs the line between perception and paranoia. Is something truly wrong here, or is she misreading everything?
Adding another layer is Lara, Ellen’s 20-year-old daughter, who appears to be battling demons of her own. Her presence deepens the emotional tension and raises questions about inheritance -not just of talent or privilege, but of pain.
Crimp writes incisively about manipulation, ambition, anxiety, and the painful process of growing up into oneself. The novel hums with psychological tension, carrying a quiet mystery and strong My Year of Rest and Relaxation–style vibes, though here the unease is social rather than sedated.
“You don’t realize how much everything was hurting, do you? You don’t realize how much everything was hurting until the pain stops.”
That line lingered with me long after I finished.
I genuinely enjoyed this book - its atmosphere, its restraint, its emotional precision. If anything, I found myself wanting just a little more from the ending, a sharper turn or deeper release. Still, it’s a confident, unsettling debut that stays with you.

Ironically, I can totally see this being turned into a Netflix show or movie. And I am here for it.

With thanks to Henry Holt & Co., Andy Tang, and The Hive for the opportunity to pre-read this book as an ARC reader.

[SVL · Rating 2 out of 5]

This advanced readers copy publishes this upcoming summer, but unfortunately the plot is anything but hot. Not only did nothing really happen in the story, the inner world of the characters were lacking in detail and personality. This is a book that tries to be deep, it tries to say something, but in reality it ends up saying nothing. Luckily, it was pretty short.

The plot follows a young screenwriter Ruby who, after taking a workshop with a renowned director named Ellen, is invited to spend a couple weeks at her summer house in the English countryside. When she arrives, she third wheels the unsettling relationship between Ellen and her daughter Lara before Ellen leaves Ruby to essentially babysit Lara for a few days (Lara is 20). What follows is a singular, peculiar, and messy relationship that develops between Ruby and Lara before Ellen’s inevitable return.

Here’s my issues with this book: all the characters are annoying in different ways, and they’re annoying in a non-respectable way. They are genuinely boring and underdeveloped. Additionally, I despised the formatting that left character quotes unquoted. This was terrible because so much of this book relies on commentary and it gets lost in the formatting. Also, the ending infuriated me given how the book started in a future scene. The reader is left totally hanging on multiple regards.

The reason this book does get two stars is because Crimp succeeds in delivering a story that is truly unsettling. All the characters are unwell in different ways and I truly wanted to scream at all of them at different points in the plot. Ruby lies to herself, Lara needs anti-depressants and a therapist, and Ellen is truly just a loudmouthed know it all b*tch. For a book about three women with so many problems, nothing happens.

Thanks to the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Erin Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Give Me Everything You’ve Got: A Novel
by Imogen Crimp
Thank you to Henry Holt for the ARC.

Give Me Everything You’ve Got is less interested in plot than it is in atmosphere, and whether that works will depend entirely on what you are looking for. This is a slow, heat soaked, deliberately disorienting novel that leans into mood over clarity.

The setting does most of the heavy lifting. The isolated summer house, the oppressive heat, the stillness that feels slightly off, it all creates a quiet sense of unease that runs through the entire book. Crimp is clearly more focused on tension that simmers rather than anything that fully boils over.

The dynamic between Ruby, Ellen, and Lara is where the story centers. There is a push and pull of power, admiration, and something more complicated underneath it that never quite settles into something clean. At times it is compelling, at others it feels intentionally uncomfortable, which seems to be the point.

The writing is strong, but distant. It creates that “fever dream” effect the synopsis promises, though that also means the story can feel hard to fully connect with. There is a sense that something meaningful is happening just out of reach, and for some readers, that lack of clarity will be frustrating.

If you are expecting a traditional gothic or a clear narrative payoff, this likely will not deliver. If you are open to something more abstract, focused on tone, ambiguity, and the darker edges of ambition and mentorship, there is something here.

A well written, atmospheric novel that prioritizes mood over resolution, for better or worse.
3 stars.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Director Ellen has a reputation for helping other women in film. Ruby is one of the students in her workshop.

Ellen has invited Ruby, ex-tutor and aspiring screenwriter, to spend some time at her summer home where the past six weeks or so had been dominated by a vicious heatwave. Ruby settles into her room, unsure as to why Ellen feels compelled to apologize for her daughter, Lara, not being particularly friendly.

But Ruby is supposed to be working on her film; she’s hoping Ellen will help her and is a bit taken aback when Ellen asks her to help Lara with her college application.

And then Ellen leaves for a week . . . .

=========
In this exploration of determination, influence, and yearning, there’s a lingering sense of uneasiness that tends to keep the reader on edge. Stifling heat, questionable loyalties, and uncertain relationships create an atmosphere for the telling of the tale, but the story moves slowly and the convoluted plot seems determined to remain unresolved.

Nevertheless, the creeping uneasiness keeps readers feeling tense as the story slowly plays out. Sadly, the author’s unnecessary overuse of a particularly objectionable expletive is likely to be offensive to many readers . . . and this lowers the rating for this book.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Henry Holt & Company / Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.
#GiveMeEvrythingYouveGot #NetGalley

[Ruth Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's taken me a while to write this review because it's taken me a while to digest.

'Give Me Everything You've Got' is a claustrophobic fever dream of a novel. The lack of quotation marks I think are a wise choice for this book, but will be polarizing.

I found all the characters to be unlikeable in their own ways, but especially Ruby. with her almost pathological need for approval and indifference to violence/suffering. Ruby, Ellen, and Lara all use each other for their own ends.

The heat of the summer builds and builds but never breaks, mirroring the narrative. The weather never changes, the house never changes, the characters never change. This makes a frustrating read, but is undeniably the point.

It plays with ideas of authenticity and ownership as well as why women (or any marginalized people more broadly) are expected to be "authentic" or create art from lived experience rather than having the freedom to just create. However, to fully explore this, I would have liked more background about Ellen and her films, as well as the murky controversy around her.

I'm giving this smothering read 3.5 stars, rounded down. Many thanks to Henry Holt and Co. for the ARC via NetGalley, as well as the physical copy I won via a Goodreads giveaway.

[Nicole Pi · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want clean catharsis and tidy answers, this book will frustrate you (as it did me), because Crimp is more interested in erosion than revelation. Still, it’s an incisive study of ambition and creative vulnerability, of how badly someone can want to be chosen, and how that wanting can rearrange their sense of self.

Crimp grazes on the performance of feminism at several points throughout the book, but doesn't seem to make any point on it. Like she's simply observing that, in contemporary art, feminism is moreso a performance rather than a politics. Which I guess is cool to point out, and not everything needs to be revolutionary, but I can't help but feel there was some unrealized potential here.

I think the biggest let-down was that, after the n-th unsolved mystery/crazy passage that we never circled back to, I just stopped really reading into it, I stopped thinking about what I was reading, because it felt like there was no point.

Regardless, thanks to Henry Holt & Company for the eARC :)

[RxReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Give Me Everything You’ve Got sounds like exactly the kind of book that thrives on atmosphere—hot, claustrophobic, a little decadent, and just slightly haunted. The setup alone is so good: a young filmmaker under pressure, an iconic older mentor with a questionable reputation, a seductive daughter, and a beautiful country house that feels like it’s hiding a history of damage. I love when a novel takes ambition and turns it into something gothic, and this seems poised to do exactly that.

What interests me most is the way it seems to blur desire, exploitation, and artistic hunger. Ruby’s need to create, to be seen, and maybe to belong in this world feels like the kind of emotional vulnerability that can make a story really sharp and uncomfortable in the best way. If the book delivers on that fever-dream tension and gives the house as much personality as the women inside it, I can see this being one of those hypnotic, messy, slightly toxic summer reads people either completely fall into or bounce off hard 🏡🔥✨

[Theresa Petty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Give me Everything You’ve Got
By Imogen Crimp
This book read like a fever dream. I usually love books like this. The ones where there is this illusive quality to the writing, and we aren’t quite sure what’s real.
This book was interesting, but I struggled with some of the themes in it.
It’s basically a modern gothic following a young filmmaker trying to find her way, and the director she longs to impress. It takes place over a long summer and there are moments I feel the heat is almost a character. Towards the end the reader isn’t really quite sure what could happen. I loved its unpredictability.
If you like Sally Rooney and a more feminist voice, this book is for you.
I wish I could have given this one a higher rating, but I just couldn’t get into some of the situations in this book.
I think some will love this, and some will hate it. I don’t think there is much middle ground.

Thank you @henryholtbooks for sending me this arc!

[Venneh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is clearly meant to be a commentary on predatory directors and their use of young talent, but it also can't decide if it wants to be a romance as well, but aspires to be a modern gothic, and kind of falls flat on that front. There's some really interesting ideas here, but the execution just fell flat for me. It wants to be a horror novel, but it always pulls back right before actually committing, and seems to be more about the imagery than it is any real plot. And yes, that vague uneasiness of trying to impress someone who's interested in you and your work for maybe not entirely unselfish reasons can be an effective feeling, but you have to actually commit to things happening because of that, not just walking off into the sunset after the daughter our main is watching but maybe also falling in love with has a spectacular blow up at a party. IDK. Feels like its wants to be an A24 movie with Things to Say, but mostly just feels ineffectual. Better luck next time.

[Kristi Herron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of advance copy I won.

I’m still trying to process my feelings on this one. Initially I was annoyed with the writing style. There weren’t quotations when people spoke. It felt like giant run-on sentences. Once I got used to the writing style I quickly got into the book.

This book felt full of suspense/anxiety. I found myself always thinking that something bad was just about to happen. It felt like you were on the verge of getting caught, maybe for being naughty…maybe you were going to get in trouble for something. Just a heightened sense that you were going to get caught & then what would happen? The description of the home where the story took place added to the feeling that something bad was happening.

I ended up devouring this book in a couple days, unsure of how to articulate my thoughts about it….but not mad at it.

[Bourbon_bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am finding it hard to articulate words to adequately review this. In short, I am mad I wasted my time reading it. I am just going to list my thoughts while reading because wow I am disappointed.
1. I hate the writing style. A lack of quotations normally doesnt cause such reading difficulty but the way this has been written, it feels like just one run on sentence at times.
2. Claustrophobic atmosphere
3. This is listed as horror. I dont get it. Maybe psychological horror? I feel like it is miscategorized.
3a. This feels tense akin to movies like Saltburn and All My Friends Hate Me. I will give it to the authur, I feel like I am losing my sense of reality with the MC.
4. This was a slog to get through.
5. What is the point of this? What is even happening?
6. The payoff is not worth the time it took to read this.

[Kennedy Purcell · Rating 2 out of 5]

~ ARC Review: 2.5 stars ~

Give Me Everything You’ve Got follows Ruby, a young filmmaker, as she stays in the summer home of her idol Ellen, an iconic director who has offered to help her finish her screenplay. This slow burn modern gothic gradually exposes the lengths Ruby will go to to impress her mentor, avoid her trauma, and make it in the industry. The haunting vibes of this quiet and isolated summer home draws you into the story initially, with the tension build between characters keeping you invested until the end. This book made me feel unsettled and uncomfortable, to the point where I wanted to DNF but also needed to know what happens. While it was definitely unforgettable, it was not the right book for me.

If you like to be submerged in someone’s raw unfiltered thoughts and don’t mind an ambiguous plot and open-ended finale, you might really enjoy it! I didn’t connect with or enjoy knowing one single character in this book, and felt like they were all too static for me to learn from. Crimp isn’t afraid to let the story wander in the same messy, restless way her main characters do. This book felt like a hazy fever dream for me, but in this way it was also lacking clear structure and closure.

A must-read for the girlies who love chaos, obsession vs. longing, and character studies wrapped in sharp, emotional writing. Thank you NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Imogen Crimp for giving me this e-book ARC <3 Even though it wasn’t my cup of tea, I know many other readers would love to have a go at analyzing these characters and themes!

[Corena Rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is hard to pinpoint where it went wrong.
The writing is good, the premise sounded very promising.

It is written as a thriller, yet reads like a romance?

What bothered me was the ongoing internal dialogue. It gave me stress to read a story in that way. I like an unreliable narrator but this this was such weird read for me.

I totally get why others enjoy this book. The writing is solid, the style is distinctive… it just wasn’t for me.

Every time I thought I’d felt a spark to keep on reading, I was disappointed by something that put me off.

If you like to not have any answers to a story, then this is definitely for you. Because it is just that: a story about a story.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ambiguous plot filled with no quotation marks? Do not sign me up again!! This read like the longest 300 page fever dream and not once did I feel a connection to any of the characters or "plot". I feel like the author wanted to make a feminist book so bad and just completely missed the mark by constantly drilling feminist ideologies into the dialogue without really saying anything. This may be the book for some people, but it was not the book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley + publisher for the ARC!

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading this book kind of felt like how it felt to watch saltburn (and i loved saltburn) - the power dynamics are front & center, the setting is grand with an undercurrent of grotesque, you spend the whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop. imogen crimp is painfully effective at conveying the unsaid and painting a picture of overripe summer. i was uncomfortable but captivated! leaving a star off bc wanted more from the end!

[camille! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Henry Holt and Company for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of those books that enchanted me in that it was not so much a story as a sequence of feelings that flit across the page. It was a psychological thriller without a real twist and SOMEHOW that worked for me?? The world is full of constant surprises!

However, it's one of those books that I would be super selective about recommending to people because while it landed for me as a constant emotional rush, I don't know if other people would be as receptive.

Anyway, as someone who cares about the way that summers feel sick and strange and melancholic, this book hit the emotional nail on the head and I was delighted.

[Sam Phillips · Rating 1 out of 5]

I typically read to get out of my head, and this felt like being trapped in my brain web were it keeps going in another direction.

It also felt like it changed genres mid way through, the beginning felt like it could have been a YouTube video that ended in "and the moral of the story is...; thanks for coming to my Ted talk" then became, a mystery, thriller? idk.

and in the end it wrapped back around and was like, "what was I talking about?... oh, thats right...maybe...".

Which is the brain function I live with for a large part of my thought process so reading it just wasn't for me.


though I think it would be a dope indy movie I would watch.

[BooksAsDreams (Tiffany) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC! Love the writing style. Feminine vibes throughout. So many classic story elements: isolation, house with its own personality, gardens, chickens, heatwave. And, most importantly, the mind and imagination.