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Jaded: A Novel
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Expected 12 Jan 27Donna 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 everything they've carefully built. 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.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication January 12, 2027
About the author
Anne Meredith
13 books14 followersAnne Meredith is the author of Love's Timeless Hope, Love Across Time, and The Trelawneys of Williamsburg Series: Tender (Book One), Immortal (Book Two), and Forever (Book Three).
In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, the outdoors, and spending time with her dogs.
She enjoys all periods of history, particularly American history, Texas history, New York history, and English history.
In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, the outdoors, and spending time with her dogs.
She enjoys all periods of history, particularly American history, Texas history, New York history, and English history.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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
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
September 2, 2026
Loved this, could not put it down, but thought it ended abruptly. Really enjoyed the nonlinear narrative
August 14, 2026
I will never look at dish gloves and olive oil the same. Thank you S&S and Edelweiss for the ARC!
September 14, 2026
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.
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.
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September 10, 2026 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.
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.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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.
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.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
*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
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
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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!
⭐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!
September 1, 2026
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!
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!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
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.
Big thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for a digital copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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!
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!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5 stars. Review to come.
Review of advance copy
Could not put it down!
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