Jaded

by Anne Meredith

Donna Tart meets E.L. James in a darkly seductive When a mysterious young woman comes between two married professors, their carefully crafted cat-and-mouse game crumbles, as prey becomes predator.

It’s the summer of 1986 on the Kelsey College campus. Sam and Vera Ward got married decades ago and haven't slept together since. With little desire to satiate Sam's sexual appetite, Vera agrees to a certain tradition at the start of every school year. Sam is allowed to sleep with one woman of his choosing, with two ground she must be a student at the college, and the affair cannot last beyond a year. This year, their target is a mysterious young woman named Jade who, unbeknownst to The Wards, is a hand grenade poised to destroy their carefully constructed lives.

Alluring and sharp as a tack, Jade breaks all their rules. With a plan of her own, she holds Sam in the palm of her hand, and Vera gripped in a dance of obsession and desire. What unfolds is not a romance but a reckoning, where every touch conceals a move, and every secret becomes a weapon, spiraling into an explosive ending that will leave Vera, Jade, and Sam completely undone.

Jaded is an electric, provocative novel about power, the abuse of and submission to it, in which each character is forced to confront the messy web of complicity, lies, and lust in which they have, each, unwittingly entangled themselves.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Queer, Lesbian, LGBT, Fiction, Academia, Adult Fiction

Audible Audio

Expected publication January 14, 2027

Reviews

[julianne]

Jaded is a literary fiction novel set in 1986. Vera and Sam Ward are married college professors with a unique relationship. Because Sam enjoys sex and Vera doesn’t, Vera allows him to have an affair with one different college girl every year. Their arrangement has always worked, until now.

Jade is an eccentric, outspoken girl who initiates her relationship with Sam. She doesn’t like him, but she likes having power over him. However, once Vera begins to be attracted to Jade, their entire lives are changed.

This was definitely a very unique novel. I felt a bit unsettled reading it, which I do think the author intended to do, it just wasn’t exactly for me. But I do think this book is very well plotted, with multi-sided characters. The ending felt somewhat abrupt and a little confusing, but it was a strong book as a whole.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It is such a fresh exploration of power and obsession, and while it definitely will not be for everyone, I would personally recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC.

Publishing date: 12 January 2027

[Angela Martin]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
ARC provided by NetGalley

I will NEVER look at olive oil the same way again. 😂

Jaded by Anne Meredith was completely different from my usual reads, and honestly? I LOVED IT. Sometimes you pick up a book expecting one thing and it completely catches you off guard in the best possible way.

This was such a fun departure from my normal reading lineup, and I found myself completely invested. The story had me hooked, entertained, and questioning my relationship with a perfectly innocent bottle of olive oil. 😂

I went into this one not really knowing what to expect, and I am SO glad I took the chance. Anne Meredith gave me something fresh, unexpected, and ridiculously fun to read.

5 stars from me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re looking for something outside your usual reading comfort zone, add this one to your TBR… just maybe don’t look at your olive oil the same way afterward. 😉

[grier]

Loved this, could not put it down, but thought it ended abruptly. Really enjoyed the nonlinear narrative

[Catherine Kalogeros]

More like 3.5-4⭐️

more to come!

[Laura Shipman]

I will never look at dish gloves and olive oil the same. Thank you S&S and Edelweiss for the ARC!

[Eric Lustbader]

OK, there's a nice chapter early on about Jade's early life that's interesting, except that it comes way too early in the novel, telegraphing everything that is to come. In short, this book is a lot of pretentious claptrap that makes no sense. A professorial couple at a university couple who haven't had sex in over a decade because the woman is uninterested in sex with him or anyone else, we're told? Her husband, because his needs are greater than hers, is allowed to have brief affairs with only upper class females at the university, as if this is a trait that makes us like this couple more. It doesn't. The author gives us no reason whatsoever for why this woman loves this creep. But then again they love trees and animals. Still doesn't help . And they're doing this without a thought to any of the husband's affairs turning sour, one of the string of students ratting him out when he drops them? Really? They're not even perpetrating this scheme in a clever way. So he's a serial predator, this wife is an enabler. And then into this barely believable stew comes the angrogynous Jade, sinewy, wily, vaguely S&M, smarter than both professors put together. The wife falls head over heels for her while her husband just thinks she's hot. So they spend page after page getting in each other's way to be near the uber-magnetic Jade. Do you care what happens to these cardboard cutouts? I didn't. In any event, in this programmatic novel you know from the moment Jade knocks on their door who she is and what she represents.

[Em]

Married professors Vera and Sam Ward have an arrangement. They've fallen out of love and out of touch with one another, so each semester, Sam Ward is allowed to pick a student to sleep with. In the fall semester of 1986, Jade comes into their lives. Little do they know, this semester will be nothing like the others and nothing will ever be the same after.

This is not your typical narrative about straight people problems. These two people don't hate each other: they dislike each other. They know each other and have curated their disdain. Vera plays her part in Sam's messed up selection system as a sort of detached puppet master, helping him pick out the girls and then turning a blind eye to the relationship that follows. Everyone is horrible awful terrible in their own ways. We get to learn these characters histories, the people that made them who they are, and every dirty little thought they have--we're in their heads totally and completely at all times. Sam is every bit the self centered braggart academic, wholly infatuated with Jade. Turning the page to a new chapter only to read what Jade herself thought about his motivations and actions was an exercise in humiliation. Because the book is told from everyone's perspective, we have a bird's eye view of the mess, and god does that make for an immersive reading experience. I laughed at this man. I rolled my eyes at the academic blathering of undergrads. I outright gasped at some of the plot twists.

This book is told in a nonlinear perspective, with recollection often being used to inform a current situation. At times, it's a little confusing, like I was getting lost in a chapter within the chapter. However, this also enhances the smoky, hazy feel of the book. Everything is muddled for the Wards, and Meredith's writing style reflects just how tangled everything has become.

This book is like a cigarette. It fogs up a room you can't leave, and you hate the smell and every other sense you have is just as overwhelmed. But you can't leave. You have to be in this room. Unfortunately, the person smoking the cigarettes looks so intriguing while they do it, and you can't help but look at them through the haze, stress your eyes to squint and see what they're saying, how they're moving, who they're with. Eventually, you start to see the allure of a cigarette, the mystery and the surefire coolness that comes with holding it. Curiosity is getting the best of you. You know this is toxic, you know for certain this will not end well for you, but you're HERE--might as well approach.

Like I said, this is not your run of the mill bored straight couple antics. This book is queer, in every sense of the word. Identity and othered experiences are at the core of the book. If you like the smoky nostalgia and interspersed academia of The Secret History, this is the book for you. For fans of The Virgin Suicides, specifically the movie adaptation, I would also suggest they turn towards Jaded. If you're a big fan of seeing people deal with the consequences of their actions and can endure some second hand cringe while they bumble through it? Please, please pick this book up.

[Marta Anna]

This felt more like an interesting draft of a novel, but not exactly the finished product. The story has a lot of potential and it kept me engrossed all throughout the book. It's easily bingeable and I was curious to see how everything would unravel at the end. However, there are a lot of issues that bothered me. Firstly, the narration. While every chapter focuses on a single POV - Jade's, Vera's or Sam's - the narration keeps randomly including the thoughts of some secondary characters. These inconsistencies in the narration kept bothering me until the very end. Moreover, the novel includes several plot twists that are announced by the characters, and that feel incredibly anticlimactic. As a result, they seem pretty forced. In addition, the narrator keeps explaining everything in a way that makes you feel like they don't trust your understanding of the events. Every time something happens, it's rephrased as if to be sure that the reader gets the meaning behind it. Another thing is the fact that we learn the backstory of each of our characters very late in the novel, and I found myself questioning constantly their motives in the first half of the book, and couldn't understand how Sam and Vera ended up together in the first place.
When it comes to the actual plot, it's certainly intriguing. I love reading about complicated relationship dynamics, and was very curious about Vera's and Sam's "arrangement". However, I was pretty appalled to discover the way they used young girls in order to make sure that the man in the relationship is satisfied enough. If this problem is partially acknowledged in the late chapters of the book, there is another one that never seems to question the author. The age gap between Jade and both Vera and Sam is never treated as a topic worth discussing, and it disturbed me quite a bit. Also, it was pretty outlandish to assume that everyone knew that a university professor was sleeping with students, and the faculty never reacted.
Furthermore, all of the characters felt very one-dimensional - Sam is a typical self-assured white man, Vera is a cold-hearted woman lost in her 40s, and Jade is a fiesty, complicated young girl. There is very little nuance, and even this amount comes very late in the book. The ending left me unsatisfied as well, it happened out of nowhere and ended very abruptly.
Overall, I think this book can make some noise after its release date. It's an enjoyable read that comes with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, the premise is a lot stronger than the novel itself. A solid three star read for me.

PS : I keep getting angry at books that include some French words and phrases, and they are never correct. Please, can authors or publishers ask someone who actually speaks the language to proofread them before publishing the book in question ?

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an eARC of the novel.

[Alexis Lamb]

I'm between a 3.75/5 and a 4/5 rating for this. I liked the first half of the novel significantly more than the latter half, as the second half relies too much on flashbacks for my liking. If they were spaced out throughout, I would have felt better about them. I also wish Vera and Sam's early years together were brought into the narrative sooner than they were. Having these chapters so close to the end did a disservice to the characters in my opinion. I love morally grey characters though, so while Vera can technically be looked at as the villain in this story, she's much more complex than this. Sam, of course, is just as bad, if not worse. What I really loved about this book is how the author writes obsession and lust. It's unflinching and uncomfortable to read at many points, but that's what the author intends. No one is correct in this situation, especially Jade. And there's certainly a concern with her character involving consent and SA that rubs me the wrong way if I think about it too much.

Vera and Jade's relationship is surprisingly tender, and I found myself rooting for them more than I probably should have (given the large age gap and power imbalance, plus Jade's very obvious mommy issues she is using Vera to satisfy... that Jane Fonda dreamscape was really something). The ending felt a bit abrupt to me, but I did love the small twist at the end (I don't know how I didn't even suspect it). I'm still somewhat lost on what exactly happened to Sam, but his psychotic break felt true to character to me, so I didn't question it much. He certainly got his karma. And maybe Vera deserves hers too, but oh well.

The writing is just completely and utterly addictive. I would give the book 5/5 stars alone for that if I could. I can tell the author used to be a screenwriter, which I adore (plus all the film terms; I did a Film minor in college, so it was fun to recognize language from that time in my life). All in all, this novel was freaky, dark, messed up, and twisted and I highly enjoyed it, with just *some* technical problems that kept it from being a higher rating. It's definitely not for everyone, so I'd suggest checking the trigger warnings for sure.

[Jamie Madsen]

Morally Questionable and Completely Addictive.

Jaded grabbed me from the jump. Set on a college campus in 1986, Anne Meredith takes what initially looks like one very questionable marital arrangement and steadily turns it into something much stranger, darker, queerer, and more interesting. I loved how the shifting power dynamics—and, importantly, nobody gets to walk away morally unscathed.

That includes Vera, whose eventual reckoning with her own complicity is necessary—if not a bit astonishing. She spends much of the book seeing herself as adjacent to Sam’s behavior rather than an active participant. When that reality finally lands, part of me was thinking, “Vera, babe…you were literally in the room, this was YOUR design.”

And Sam? Just another garden variety of entitled, mediocre whitebread man-child who had my face permanently cringed into a raisin 😪

That moral messiness is what makes Jaded so compelling. Meredith doesn’t give us an uncomplicated villain surrounded by innocent victims; she lets culpability, agency, desire, exploitation, and power overlap in genuinely uncomfortable ways. Everyone has something to answer for, even when they’ve become experts at explaining it away to themselves.

It’s funny, unsettling, provocative, surprisingly tender, and compulsively readable. I also appreciated that Meredith lets these characters be authentically messy without constantly telling us how to feel about them. Vera and Jade fascinated me; Sam made me want to periodically close the book and stare judgmentally into the middle distance 😂

Knocking off just a bit because after all that delicious escalation, I wanted the ending to go even more spectacularly off the rails. But honestly? I had an absolute blast!

This book practically BEGS for a movie adaptation, I NEED this immediately.

[ct lydon]

Big thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of Jaded by Anne Meredith.

I have not done an ARC review in months and holy shit, I started back up STRONG. It was GAY. I loved it. It was a chaotic, messy and a well written novel.

“Jaded” is about two college professors who quite obviously, cannot stand each other. Vera, artsy fartsy, does not want to touch her husband with a ten-foot pole and absolutely resents him for sleeping with a female student of his choosing each semester…because she does not want any intimacy with him, I think she would rather eat a jean jacket.

Sam, well. Sam is annoying, so I understand Vera. Sam believes that his shit does not stink. We hear a lot about how large his penis is quite often, and he seems to believe that is the reason that no woman should ever turn him down. Even though that penis seems to not really get the job done but I digress.

This is a story that I would describe as a sensual revenge plot against men. I am never going to say no to that. Sam becomes fixated on Jade, a new woman that his caught his eye for the semester. He is pathetic. Sam is so pathetic it hurts. He is begging, pleading, essentially stalking and falling over himself to get to Jade. Fun fact: Jade ain’t having it. He continues to fawn after her and make himself look like a fool, and Jade is great at keeping up this charade. Female rage is strong with Miss Jade and I liked that about her character.

Fast, addictive read that continually had me going through a full spectrum of emotions. Made me teary multiple times, laugh out loud moments and much more queerness than anticipated, which was the cherry on top.

Highly recommend this book. Is it weird? Yeah, duh. That is really all I read. It was deeper than just a “weird girl novel.” I enjoyed every second.

[Chelsea]

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for my advance eGalley. While my opinion may not be super positive - it is well intended.

This is certainly a choice, in this climate, to champion a novel with the husband sleeping with students and writing, "They had one rule when choosing this girl: she had to be at least twenty years old." Whew, because I really thought a female author would actually care more, but so glad a poker game got this book into the right hands....Even the title is a cliché, which really hits home when you're searching Goodreads under the title Jaded and you see everything else that comes up....

I can't figure out is if the book is making fun of Sam (male mc) the entire time. If the book is making fun of Sam then I would give it 3.5 stars; if the book is actually empathetic towards Sam, I'd give it 2.5 stars.

This lacks any consideration to the times of which we live. I would beg any writer who is obviously talented to please just stop writing about spoiled men who get away with or even supported in, pursuing delusions and taking advantage of power dynamics under the guise that they're just "a charismatic guy". I enjoyed reading about Jade; it reminded me of the late 90s and the stereotypes of bad girls circa Liv Tyler and Neve Campbell.

I feel genuinely embarrassed to have read this, but also I'm not going to be surprised if people can't stop talking about it when it hits shelves. I bet suburban book clubs will eat this up and feel edgy for discussing. Queer book clubs will read it because you've compared it to Tartt - which it's not, and it's a reach of excruciating measures. I'd even still read the author's next novel, and be persuaded to believe a redemption would be provided. Solace on the sunset.

[Amber Thibert]

4.5 stars

Married professors at an arts college have their lives turned completely upside down by the sudden appearance of Jade and from there, things spiral into something sexy, insane, twisted, and utterly impossible to put down.

I loved this. From the very beginning, there’s this underlying tension that keeps building and building, and I was constantly waiting for everything to finally explode. And when it did? Oh, it delivered. I was completely invested in the absolute chaos of it all.

I especially loved the college setting. Reading this at the beginning of fall was perfect because the atmosphere was chef’s kiss! The changing leaves, the campus setting, the chilly autumn feeling… it all created such a wonderfully moody backdrop for the story.

But underneath all the sex, secrets, and insanity, this tackles some surprisingly complex themes surrounding power, marriage and family dynamics, childhood trauma, sexuality, and the ways our past can shape our relationships. I also really enjoyed the comedic elements woven throughout. There were moments that genuinely made me laugh out loud, which was such a fun contrast to some of the darker and more uncomfortable aspects of the story.

This was the kind of book where I kept thinking, surely things can’t get any more unhinged… and then they absolutely did. I couldn’t put it down and was completely along for the ride.

My one real disappointment was the ending. After everything that came before it, I wanted a little more from the conclusion, and it didn’t quite land for me the way the rest of the book did.

Still, this was such a wild, atmospheric, twisted read, and I had so much fun with it.

ARC provided by Simon & Schuster

[B K178]

*Jaded* by Anne Meredith is a suspenseful, thought-provoking novel set in a mid-1980s college. It follows married professors Sam and Vera, who seduce a female student each year. Despite their actions, they care deeply for each other, although their sexual desires do not align. I get the sense that Sam has a Madonna/whore complex, while Vera seems perhaps demisexual. This year, both are captivated by Jade—an unapologetically brazen, androgynous young woman who lives by her own rules.

The book reveals more beneath the surface. While I initially judged the characters and their dynamics, the second half offers deeper insight into their personal relationships with family and sexual partners. This added complexity softened my initial judgments and prevented me from demonizing anyone, even as the story centers on the abuse of a position of power.

Readers who enjoy complex protagonists will find this compelling. Perhaps Emma Cline fans. I appreciated the exploration of power and roles. I recommend this book—you'll discover more layers than expected. Thanks to S&S/Summit Books and NetGalley for the ARC, allowing me to provide an honest review.
4.5 Stars

[Alexandra]

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an eARC of Jaded: A Novel by Anne Meredith in exchange for an honest review.

⭐4.5/5 stars⭐

Loved this book for so many reasons! First of all it ended up being much gayer than expected - huge bonus point there. I also love a good novel about an unhinged woman with questionable morals, and this book gave me not one, but TWO. This novel was the perfect mix of entertaining, suspenseful, sexy, and humorous. I loved the author's writing style and look forward to more books from her in the future. The only reason this novel didn't receive a perfect 5 starts from me is because, while I enjoyed the ending, I was expecting something a bit more creative/dramatic. But all in all, I had a fantastic time reading this story and would highly recommend it!

[julia]

review of advanced copy received from net galley!

this was such a weird and addicting book that i think really worked! there is nothing better than unexpected lesbians for me and the relationship between two of the characters ended up being so much more tender than i thought it would be. my only issue with jaded was that i had a hard time reading from sam’s pov, but i think that is also the point. i really love morally gray characters and i think the way that vera, jade, and sam were written was very effective and engaging. the “twist” at the end could have been more impactful, but i also don’t think this book really needed a twist. i love lit fic and i am excited for other people to read this book!

[Julianne Nanzer]

The premise of Jaded was quite intriguing to me. I ended up not enjoying this novel because the chapters weren’t labeled specific POVs, even though each chapter was from a unique perspective, somehow the story would jump into other people’s thoughts, feelings and motives, which threw me off guard. If the chapter is written from one persons POV, then don’t provide deep insight as to how their acquaintance is feeling or acting about the situation. It doesn’t make sense? The author kept progressively doing this more and more and I couldn’t tolerate it.

DNF at 22%.

Thank you to Net Galley and publisher for the opportunity to read this Advanced Reader Copy of Jaded.

[Isabella C]

Enjoyable read with deep psychological analyzation of the trio of main characters! Personally loved the world building and backstories interlaced. Sam is so amazingly pathetic you just have to laugh when he does things with so much misplaced gusto.

Was not very convinced with the "love" between Vera and Jade. Seemed more like Vera was infatuated with Jade, and didn't understand Jade's sudden switch in interest to Vera. Jade seemed to have better flushed out romantic-ness with Sofie and Cinda, who had objectively less scenes.

But a very fun read, especially in the last 150 pages. Couldn't put it down!

[Jonesy.Reads]

Wow, this book really took me for a ride. I quickly became invested in the characters Jade and Vera, and I desperately wanted Sam to get what he deserved. The way the author slowly unravels their lives and delves further into the characters pasts, giving the reader a deeper understanding of their motivations, had me absolutely captivated. An exemplary addition to the queer lit fic world!

Big thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for a digital copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Angela]

Had I seen Jaded by Anne Meredith at a bookstore I likely never would have picked it up… and that would be a shame. This story was disturbing and beautiful. Haunting and captivating. I actually didn’t think I was enjoying it until I couldn’t put it down. Couldn’t look away. And ultimately COULDNT stop thinking about what would happen next. It was unpredictable and wild. Thank you to NetGalley as well as Simon and Schuster for the ARC!

[Ellen Ross]

What a juicy and sensual read. Loved that it takes place in the 80s and the characters were amazing. The dynamics between them swept me away. This was most intense triangle of people ever. I was on edge through much of the book. Definitely going to be reading this again and again. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Nicole P]

4.25/5

ate this up! addictive, wild, insane behaviour from everyone involved. you don’t like the characters, you like to hate them, but also you feel for them in some ways? the writing is fantastic and you just won’t be able put the book down. if you love a story about messy terrible people doing messy terrible things, you will love this

[nik]

Wow. I could not put this down. I thought I knew where things were headed in the beginning but the author took me on a wild, bumpy ride - exhilarating. This book really showcases the truth of how humans are complex, frustrating, raw, and more. The end left me wanting more, yet even so - I was happy with how things were wrapped up. Would definitely recommend.

[Bourbon_bookworm]

Well, I loved this. It was the perfect start to the Fall season. It had everything I was in the mood for: deception, female rage, dark academia/campus setting, complicated relationships. It was a very addictive read and I was thinking about when I would be able to get a chance to read more; that is a sign of a true 5 star read.

[Alexis Backus]

Jaded explores desperation and obsession in a way that makes the reader uncomfortable, yet you can’t help but wonder where the story will go next. The main characters are all twisted or unhinged in their own ways, and the way it comes together at the end… I didn’t see that coming.

Thanks to summit books for my advanced copy ✨

[Angie F.]

3.5 stars. Review to come.

[Tash]

Could not put it down!

[Sonya Bonczek]

Pretty propulsive and exciting along with lovely writing and good mood setting.

[Riley O’Neal]

I adored this. Jaded by Anne Meredith is The Secret History by Donna Tart meets Vladimir by Julia May Jones but sapphic and wholly its own. Jaded is erotic and literary and mesmerizing.

It's 1986. Vera and Sam Ward are married professors at a liberal arts college in New York. Vera is uninterested in Sam sexually, and they have an arrangement where Sam picks a student to sleep with each year. Jade is a student at the college who both Vera and Sam become obsessed with. Between shifting narratives of this obsession and flashbacks to Jade, Vera, and Sam's backstories, characters simultaneously unravel and find themselves. This is a story of sexuality and power, exploring compulsory heterosexuality and what it means to be a predator.

Privileged straight white men are mostly pathetic misogynists, and Anne Meredith puts that on full display. Sam deserved worse imo. I'm looking forward to angry one-star reviews from the men who see themselves in this book and can't handle it.

The title is perfect, the cover is perfect, and I cannot wait to see this book succeed!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC!