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Perfect Woman – Was weißt du wirklich über sie? -: Thriller
Niemand ist perfekt – und wer so tut, muss sterben!
Die New Yorkerinnen reißen sich um eine Mitgliedschaft bei The Herd, dem exklusiven Co-Working-Space für Frauen. Alle wollen sie so sein wie Eleanor Walsh, die schillernde Gründerin des Unternehmens. Damit ist Eleanor das perfekte Thema für das neue Buchprojekt von Autorin Katie Bradley. Zum Glück gehört Katies Schwester Hana zum engsten Kreis von Eleanor. Doch dann verschwindet Eleanor eines Abends während einer Party. Könnte jemand ihr etwas angetan haben? Die Liste der Verdächtigen ist lang und Hana und Katie müssen bald feststellen, dass Eleanor nicht die Einzige war, die ein dunkles Geheimnis hütete.
Die New Yorkerinnen reißen sich um eine Mitgliedschaft bei The Herd, dem exklusiven Co-Working-Space für Frauen. Alle wollen sie so sein wie Eleanor Walsh, die schillernde Gründerin des Unternehmens. Damit ist Eleanor das perfekte Thema für das neue Buchprojekt von Autorin Katie Bradley. Zum Glück gehört Katies Schwester Hana zum engsten Kreis von Eleanor. Doch dann verschwindet Eleanor eines Abends während einer Party. Könnte jemand ihr etwas angetan haben? Die Liste der Verdächtigen ist lang und Hana und Katie müssen bald feststellen, dass Eleanor nicht die Einzige war, die ein dunkles Geheimnis hütete.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 24, 2020
1109 people are currently reading
33910 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Bartz
9 books2,571 followersAndrea Bartz is a Brooklyn-based journalist and the New York Times-bestselling author of WE WERE NEVER HERE, a Reese's Book Club pick. Her debut thriller, THE LOST NIGHT, was an LA Times bestseller, and her sophomore thriller, THE HERD was named a best book of the year by Marie Claire, Crime Reads, Good Housekeeping, and other outlets. Her most recent thriller, THE SPARE ROOM, was a GMA Bonus Buzz Pick, a Marie Claire book club pick, and a best book of summer per People, Shondaland, Glamour, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, and more. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, and many other outlets, and she's held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other publications.
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August 20, 2021
Another nasty, dark, bloody, twisty, mind bending, nail biter, soul crushing, riveting page-turner! Oh boy this author is villanelle. She is the evil queen of ultra-talents kingdom, pushing our buttons and playing mind games with us and you’re voluntarily letting her do that because you’re having so much fun.
This is my Christmas Eve's last reading and I'm already in celebration mood as you may see below:
Welcome to the power drunk, vicious, ambitious, competitive business women’s world. When you google “perfect” you may see their faces on the screen. They’re impeccable, flawless, extra ordinary: Too perfect to be true. They eat their colleagues’ heads or any other vital organs at their lunch breaks and they spit some parts, cleaning their mouths, turning back to their great schemes of stabbing other people behind their back. They’re the workers of HERD. But what a minute, where the hell is the founder? Her name was Eleanor, right? Where is she? Oh, no. She’s gone! No, not dead. At least nobody found a body but she is missing.
And let me to introduce you to two sisters buried some many ugly secrets and kept so many skeletons in their closets reunite in NYC: Katie and Hana. Why were we introduced with them? Oh, I see, they’re good friends with Eleanor. They involved separately to her investigation. They wanted to find her but: as they keep digging about Eleanor’s past to find where she’s hiding or what happened to her, they start to face with their own dirty big secrets. See, sometimes it’s better not to know too much!
I’m not gonna give spoilers not to ruin your enjoyable reading. I canceled my appointment with Henry Cavill for reading this book. ( Okay, not real appointment, I’m not delusional, just a happy drunk. I just skipped to binge watch “Witcher” but as far as I can see I made the right choice, this book is more delicious than ex-Superman’s and Tom Cruise movie villain’s looks. I hate his Legolas wig anyways)
There are lots of twists make you forget your name and repeat to yourself: “Don’t call me Shirley!” several times! You feel flabbergasted, dump, numb because of too much “I didn’t see it coming” moments. The ending is also fantastic. I’m so happy to announce that I found a real five starred, entertaining read.
I already added “Lost Night” novel of the author to my tbr list as high as Mount Kilimanjaro. So happy to read a brilliant writer’s work.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books to share this thrilling ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review. Special thanks to Andrea Bartz for her talented writing and this unputdownable journey.
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This is my Christmas Eve's last reading and I'm already in celebration mood as you may see below:
Welcome to the power drunk, vicious, ambitious, competitive business women’s world. When you google “perfect” you may see their faces on the screen. They’re impeccable, flawless, extra ordinary: Too perfect to be true. They eat their colleagues’ heads or any other vital organs at their lunch breaks and they spit some parts, cleaning their mouths, turning back to their great schemes of stabbing other people behind their back. They’re the workers of HERD. But what a minute, where the hell is the founder? Her name was Eleanor, right? Where is she? Oh, no. She’s gone! No, not dead. At least nobody found a body but she is missing.
And let me to introduce you to two sisters buried some many ugly secrets and kept so many skeletons in their closets reunite in NYC: Katie and Hana. Why were we introduced with them? Oh, I see, they’re good friends with Eleanor. They involved separately to her investigation. They wanted to find her but: as they keep digging about Eleanor’s past to find where she’s hiding or what happened to her, they start to face with their own dirty big secrets. See, sometimes it’s better not to know too much!
I’m not gonna give spoilers not to ruin your enjoyable reading. I canceled my appointment with Henry Cavill for reading this book. ( Okay, not real appointment, I’m not delusional, just a happy drunk. I just skipped to binge watch “Witcher” but as far as I can see I made the right choice, this book is more delicious than ex-Superman’s and Tom Cruise movie villain’s looks. I hate his Legolas wig anyways)
There are lots of twists make you forget your name and repeat to yourself: “Don’t call me Shirley!” several times! You feel flabbergasted, dump, numb because of too much “I didn’t see it coming” moments. The ending is also fantastic. I’m so happy to announce that I found a real five starred, entertaining read.
I already added “Lost Night” novel of the author to my tbr list as high as Mount Kilimanjaro. So happy to read a brilliant writer’s work.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books to share this thrilling ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review. Special thanks to Andrea Bartz for her talented writing and this unputdownable journey.
blog
August 27, 2021
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Having really enjoyed Andrea Bartz’s debut novel, The Lost Night, I had rather high hopes for The Herd. Sadly, not only is The Herd populated by simultaneously unrealistic and detestable characters but it also tells a rather derivative story.
The summary seemed to promise a tantalising story, one that would depict the complicated and shifting dynamics in an all-female co-working space. What we actually get is the usual cliched storyline that focuses on a group of friends, one of whom happens to be more successful/famous than the others.
The plot is predictable and boring, most of the suspense is created by our not knowing the narrators’ secrets. There was no real tension or atmosphere. The HERD centre is never the focal point of the story but a mere prop, one that led to scenes in which this group of friends can go on and talk about ‘the male gaze’ and the ‘patriarchy’.
While originality wasn’t The Lost Night’s strongest point, it more than made up for it by having a striking sense of place and time. In The Herd however New York and the HERD centre fade into the background.
Eleanor Walsh is the classic female character who appears in this type of so-called ‘psychological’ novels. We are told that she is the basic embodiment of the perfect modern woman: beautiful, intelligent, charismatic, a feminist. Being told that she is alluring or interesting doesn’t actually make her those things.
Her disappearance unfolds in a predictable way: her closest friends decide to embark on their own investigation even if there is a detective working the case. Katie and Hana are sisters and both were close to Eleanor. In alternating chapters we read of their amateurish attempts at finding out what Eleanor was hiding. They are also hiding things from one another and they are both trying to forget about a ‘traumatising’ incident from their pasts.
They spend most chapters getting scared by their own ringtones, wondering whether Eleanor is dead, receiving help by their conveniently gifted friends (such as a hacker), and feeling sorry for themselves.
That’s more or less it.
Add two or three attractive and possibly guilty of something or other male characters and there ya have it: The Herd.
The novel tries to critique a certain brand of feminism by portraying how hypocritical certain female entrepreneurs are: in spite of their ‘empowering’ agendas they still encourage their female associates to spend hours on end on their appearances or they are actually profiteering from other women’s insecurities.
If the HERD centre had actually been the focal point of this novel I think that the story could have been a lot more engaging as well as providing us with a more cutting commentary on certain facets of contemporary feminism. What we have instead is a predictable narrative about two sisters, both of whom think that the other one has it better than they do.
Lousy story and characters aside there are a few other things about this novel that really frustrated me:
✖ This group of friends lacks chemistry. Where they even friends to begin with? Why should I care about ‘backstabbing’ and ‘lies’ when they seem to sort of dislike each other from the get go?
✖ The ‘twist’ is almost identical to the one in The Lost Night so I saw it from miles away. Isn’t that a bit of a cheap trick? The reveal and final face-off are incredibly reminiscent of the ones in The Lost Night.
✖ The sisters’ ‘secrets’...one seemed recycled from similar novels while the other one was laughable .
✖ The writing...in The Lost Night there were a few phrases which struck me as very debut-like (examples being “a new thought, opening like an umbrella” and “happiness rushing up through me like froth”). I wasn’t expecting the writing in The Herd to be so much more aggravating. Most pages in this novel have to do with what Katie and Hana feel and think. But they never simply feel or think things. Their feelings and thoughts blossom, billow, plume, or fan out:
-“I said it without thinking, the idea booming out of me like a cannonball.”
-“Fear was fanning out inside of me, working outward from my gut.”
-“The realization that I knew almost nothing about this guy resurfaced like something bobbing up from the bottom of a lake.”
-“It rose through me without warning: a plume of anxiety, neon and strong”
-“The awkwardness plumed, filling up the room like smoke.”
-“Then, pushing through the fug of my worry for Eleanor, a heady sadness that billowed like incense,”
-“The idea bloomed in my skull as if someone else had whispered it to me.”
-“I watched her cry, feeling my impression of her shifting like tectonic plates inside my skull.”
-“A thought like a whisper”
-“sadness billowed in me, threatened to burst out from behind my face.”
This novel is basically pages and pages of purply phrases accentuating the special way in which the narrators think or feel.
✖ Overdramatic. As I’ve mentioned before characters are constantly overacting. They get scared by their phones (“My phone exploded with sound; I jumped so high, I practically bonked my head on the ceiling.”), they think that drums sound like gunfire (“We were looping scarves and tugging on hats when a sudden round of gunfire made us freeze. It started again. Not gunfire—drums, a drum line.”), they gasp at the silliest things in very dramatic fashion (“My mouth gaped open, an oval of shock.”), they are fumbling in their attempts not to let others know that they are actually trying to find Eleanor. A lot of ordinary actions were given a forced sense of urgency: “I was a human whirlwind, somehow whipping out a digital recorder, accepting the call, and putting her on speakerphone all in one scrambling swoop”.
✖ The narrators try really hard to come across as SERIOUS feminists so that as soon as a male character talks they think or say stuff like ‘he can’t understand what is like to be a woman’...more laughable still are phrases such as: “Samantha was washing silverware with the furious concentration of a frat guy playing flip cup” and “I futzed and fumbled, jabbing at the keyhole like an awkward teen during his first sexual encounter, until finally the door clicked open”.
✖ The way these female characters are portrayed promotes a rather one dimensional image of a feminist. While I could get behind the critique of this new wave of feminism, the story never truly delves into the complexities of female friendships or of an all-female workplace. The villain’s final monologue, however cheesy, actually had something interesting to say about the nature of certain female friendships….but that hardly makes up for the novel’s general lack of insight into these ‘female’ dynamics.
The 'herd' analogy appeared now and again but for the most part was largely underused. This novel wasn't fascinating or chilling, it just was. If you haven't read Bartz's debut novel and you don't happen to have a low tolerance for cringe-y proses, you might actually find The Herd to be entertaining.
Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads
Having really enjoyed Andrea Bartz’s debut novel, The Lost Night, I had rather high hopes for The Herd. Sadly, not only is The Herd populated by simultaneously unrealistic and detestable characters but it also tells a rather derivative story.
The summary seemed to promise a tantalising story, one that would depict the complicated and shifting dynamics in an all-female co-working space. What we actually get is the usual cliched storyline that focuses on a group of friends, one of whom happens to be more successful/famous than the others.
The plot is predictable and boring, most of the suspense is created by our not knowing the narrators’ secrets. There was no real tension or atmosphere. The HERD centre is never the focal point of the story but a mere prop, one that led to scenes in which this group of friends can go on and talk about ‘the male gaze’ and the ‘patriarchy’.
“The one way to win, the one fucking way to be a woman and do well in this world is to stomp on other women’s backs.”
While originality wasn’t The Lost Night’s strongest point, it more than made up for it by having a striking sense of place and time. In The Herd however New York and the HERD centre fade into the background.
Eleanor Walsh is the classic female character who appears in this type of so-called ‘psychological’ novels. We are told that she is the basic embodiment of the perfect modern woman: beautiful, intelligent, charismatic, a feminist. Being told that she is alluring or interesting doesn’t actually make her those things.
Her disappearance unfolds in a predictable way: her closest friends decide to embark on their own investigation even if there is a detective working the case. Katie and Hana are sisters and both were close to Eleanor. In alternating chapters we read of their amateurish attempts at finding out what Eleanor was hiding. They are also hiding things from one another and they are both trying to forget about a ‘traumatising’ incident from their pasts.
They spend most chapters getting scared by their own ringtones, wondering whether Eleanor is dead, receiving help by their conveniently gifted friends (such as a hacker), and feeling sorry for themselves.
That’s more or less it.
Add two or three attractive and possibly guilty of something or other male characters and there ya have it: The Herd.
The novel tries to critique a certain brand of feminism by portraying how hypocritical certain female entrepreneurs are: in spite of their ‘empowering’ agendas they still encourage their female associates to spend hours on end on their appearances or they are actually profiteering from other women’s insecurities.
If the HERD centre had actually been the focal point of this novel I think that the story could have been a lot more engaging as well as providing us with a more cutting commentary on certain facets of contemporary feminism. What we have instead is a predictable narrative about two sisters, both of whom think that the other one has it better than they do.
Lousy story and characters aside there are a few other things about this novel that really frustrated me:
✖ This group of friends lacks chemistry. Where they even friends to begin with? Why should I care about ‘backstabbing’ and ‘lies’ when they seem to sort of dislike each other from the get go?
✖ The ‘twist’ is almost identical to the one in The Lost Night so I saw it from miles away. Isn’t that a bit of a cheap trick? The reveal and final face-off are incredibly reminiscent of the ones in The Lost Night.
✖ The sisters’ ‘secrets’...one seemed recycled from similar novels while the other one was laughable .
✖ The writing...in The Lost Night there were a few phrases which struck me as very debut-like (examples being “a new thought, opening like an umbrella” and “happiness rushing up through me like froth”). I wasn’t expecting the writing in The Herd to be so much more aggravating. Most pages in this novel have to do with what Katie and Hana feel and think. But they never simply feel or think things. Their feelings and thoughts blossom, billow, plume, or fan out:
-“I said it without thinking, the idea booming out of me like a cannonball.”
-“Fear was fanning out inside of me, working outward from my gut.”
-“The realization that I knew almost nothing about this guy resurfaced like something bobbing up from the bottom of a lake.”
-“It rose through me without warning: a plume of anxiety, neon and strong”
-“The awkwardness plumed, filling up the room like smoke.”
-“Then, pushing through the fug of my worry for Eleanor, a heady sadness that billowed like incense,”
-“The idea bloomed in my skull as if someone else had whispered it to me.”
-“I watched her cry, feeling my impression of her shifting like tectonic plates inside my skull.”
-“A thought like a whisper”
-“sadness billowed in me, threatened to burst out from behind my face.”
This novel is basically pages and pages of purply phrases accentuating the special way in which the narrators think or feel.
✖ Overdramatic. As I’ve mentioned before characters are constantly overacting. They get scared by their phones (“My phone exploded with sound; I jumped so high, I practically bonked my head on the ceiling.”), they think that drums sound like gunfire (“We were looping scarves and tugging on hats when a sudden round of gunfire made us freeze. It started again. Not gunfire—drums, a drum line.”), they gasp at the silliest things in very dramatic fashion (“My mouth gaped open, an oval of shock.”), they are fumbling in their attempts not to let others know that they are actually trying to find Eleanor. A lot of ordinary actions were given a forced sense of urgency: “I was a human whirlwind, somehow whipping out a digital recorder, accepting the call, and putting her on speakerphone all in one scrambling swoop”.
✖ The narrators try really hard to come across as SERIOUS feminists so that as soon as a male character talks they think or say stuff like ‘he can’t understand what is like to be a woman’...more laughable still are phrases such as: “Samantha was washing silverware with the furious concentration of a frat guy playing flip cup” and “I futzed and fumbled, jabbing at the keyhole like an awkward teen during his first sexual encounter, until finally the door clicked open”.
✖ The way these female characters are portrayed promotes a rather one dimensional image of a feminist. While I could get behind the critique of this new wave of feminism, the story never truly delves into the complexities of female friendships or of an all-female workplace. The villain’s final monologue, however cheesy, actually had something interesting to say about the nature of certain female friendships….but that hardly makes up for the novel’s general lack of insight into these ‘female’ dynamics.
The 'herd' analogy appeared now and again but for the most part was largely underused. This novel wasn't fascinating or chilling, it just was. If you haven't read Bartz's debut novel and you don't happen to have a low tolerance for cringe-y proses, you might actually find The Herd to be entertaining.
Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads
April 23, 2020
Eleanor is the founder of The Herd, an elite, women-only coworking space, that has women clawing to become members, coveting the mentorship and empowerment that The Herd membership promises. Part of Eleanor's team are her college best friends, Hana and Mikki. Hana's younger sister, Katie, good friends with Eleanor and Mikki, too, has come to New York City to work and is hoping to join this elite group. Despite the sheen of women helping and supporting women at the top of their game, there is an undercurrent of ambition and competition that is cut throat and ready to steal whatever it takes for each woman to advance their cause. No one is going to admit this undercurrent though because that would go against the brand, would show that these women are just like the men they rail against. The Herd claims it's very existence protects women to be successful even though that success breeds anger, rage, and violence from the jealous men that target them.
Now, on the day that Eleanor has a huge announcement for her company, in fact, right as she is supposed to be having the interview of a lifetime, to make this huge announcement, Eleanor is missing. She and The Herd have been targeted by a group called the Antiherd, with horrible words slashed across the walls of various locations. Eleanor has even been involved in a lawsuit with members of this group. Could they be responsible for Eleanor being missing? Could Eleanor have run away from the pressure of threats on her wellbeing and life?
But, all is not well in Eleanor's life in other ways, either. While she has presented herself as the near perfect modern woman, it now seems that here are cracks in her marriage, secrets that she has kept from her best friends, lies she may have told even them, from the very beginning. Katie has her own secrets about why she is ready to renege on a coveted book advance and she needs a new story to replace the story that she is ditching. Could an expose (couched under much kinder words) be her new story, despite the ethical and moral problems with turning your good friend's life into a unauthorized memoir? Just how far will each woman go to hide their secrets, reach their goals, claim their own success at the peril of each other?
I had trouble liking anyone in this story and so much of their lives seemed undesirable and so elitist that I just didn't care what happened to them, but I was interested in the mystery and who was doing what and why they were doing it. I was an uninvolved bystanding, watching the mess people were making of each other's lives, getting to hold a bit of smug satisfaction that I might not have what they have but I didn't want it anyway, when it appears one might have to sell their soul to join the group. There are so many twists and turns that you could never see coming but I did enjoy them from a distance.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this ARC.
Now, on the day that Eleanor has a huge announcement for her company, in fact, right as she is supposed to be having the interview of a lifetime, to make this huge announcement, Eleanor is missing. She and The Herd have been targeted by a group called the Antiherd, with horrible words slashed across the walls of various locations. Eleanor has even been involved in a lawsuit with members of this group. Could they be responsible for Eleanor being missing? Could Eleanor have run away from the pressure of threats on her wellbeing and life?
But, all is not well in Eleanor's life in other ways, either. While she has presented herself as the near perfect modern woman, it now seems that here are cracks in her marriage, secrets that she has kept from her best friends, lies she may have told even them, from the very beginning. Katie has her own secrets about why she is ready to renege on a coveted book advance and she needs a new story to replace the story that she is ditching. Could an expose (couched under much kinder words) be her new story, despite the ethical and moral problems with turning your good friend's life into a unauthorized memoir? Just how far will each woman go to hide their secrets, reach their goals, claim their own success at the peril of each other?
I had trouble liking anyone in this story and so much of their lives seemed undesirable and so elitist that I just didn't care what happened to them, but I was interested in the mystery and who was doing what and why they were doing it. I was an uninvolved bystanding, watching the mess people were making of each other's lives, getting to hold a bit of smug satisfaction that I might not have what they have but I didn't want it anyway, when it appears one might have to sell their soul to join the group. There are so many twists and turns that you could never see coming but I did enjoy them from a distance.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this ARC.
April 27, 2020
HOT MESS!!
The concept of The Herd is intriguing and I hoped for its potential as a suspense hit. However, what I got instead was a convoluted hot mess.
There's no engagement between the characters. I could not get drawn into their circle, into their story and as such I simply found I did not care about the characters or what happened.
Then there's what happened: a lot! On and on! 2 POVs, constant backstabbing and several twists revealed. While this offers plenty attempts of enticement, it also pulls the book in every which way imaginable. Normally I'd be pleased at the action, but with the lack of connection with characters, and twists thrown in just for twists sake, this was yet another road block that stopped me from becoming fully engaged. Whenever a twist occurred, it did little to excite, or meant nothing to me at that point.
I'd say I lost interest half way. But honestly, I don't think I was ever fully invested at any point.
The concept of The Herd is intriguing and I hoped for its potential as a suspense hit. However, what I got instead was a convoluted hot mess.
There's no engagement between the characters. I could not get drawn into their circle, into their story and as such I simply found I did not care about the characters or what happened.
Then there's what happened: a lot! On and on! 2 POVs, constant backstabbing and several twists revealed. While this offers plenty attempts of enticement, it also pulls the book in every which way imaginable. Normally I'd be pleased at the action, but with the lack of connection with characters, and twists thrown in just for twists sake, this was yet another road block that stopped me from becoming fully engaged. Whenever a twist occurred, it did little to excite, or meant nothing to me at that point.
I'd say I lost interest half way. But honestly, I don't think I was ever fully invested at any point.
May 4, 2020
3.5 stars.
What could cause a female entrepreneur to disappear on the biggest night of her career? This is one of the mysteries at the core of Andrea Bartz's newest thriller.
The Herd is an innovative coworking space just for women. Its founder, Eleanor Walsh, has tapped into a powerful need for women to have their own business and creative space, and women from all over New York and San Francisco are clamoring to become members.
Eleanor, along with her two best friends from college, Hana and Mikki, have made the Herd into a phenomenon, and it’s truly on the verge of greatness. Yet on Eleanor’s biggest night, the night of a major announcement, she disappears.
Hana and Mikki, devastated and angered by Eleanor’s disappearance, can’t figure out what might have happened. Sure, she and the Herd had their detractors, but it all doesn’t make sense. The two friends, along with Hana’s younger sister, Katie, an investigative journalist, start to look into the disappearance, and discover Eleanor's life wasn't as pulled together as it appeared. But then again, the three of them are also hiding major secrets.
The Herd is an interesting, twisty mystery that takes a while to build up steam, but keeps moving fast once it does. I really like the way Andrea Bartz writes (check out her last book, The Lost Night ), and found the interpersonal dynamics among the characters here pretty fascinating.
One thing I don’t love about books is when everyone has a secret but no one will talk about them yet, they get referred to constantly. ("We can't say anything about that night.") I’d almost rather find out about these secrets by myself than have a ton of foreshadowing with little delivery until the story is coming to a close.
This is a solid, compelling read and it is a thought-provoking look at the barriers women experience when pursuing success. I’m definitely a fan of Bartz’s work and look forward to her next book.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
What could cause a female entrepreneur to disappear on the biggest night of her career? This is one of the mysteries at the core of Andrea Bartz's newest thriller.
The Herd is an innovative coworking space just for women. Its founder, Eleanor Walsh, has tapped into a powerful need for women to have their own business and creative space, and women from all over New York and San Francisco are clamoring to become members.
Eleanor, along with her two best friends from college, Hana and Mikki, have made the Herd into a phenomenon, and it’s truly on the verge of greatness. Yet on Eleanor’s biggest night, the night of a major announcement, she disappears.
Hana and Mikki, devastated and angered by Eleanor’s disappearance, can’t figure out what might have happened. Sure, she and the Herd had their detractors, but it all doesn’t make sense. The two friends, along with Hana’s younger sister, Katie, an investigative journalist, start to look into the disappearance, and discover Eleanor's life wasn't as pulled together as it appeared. But then again, the three of them are also hiding major secrets.
The Herd is an interesting, twisty mystery that takes a while to build up steam, but keeps moving fast once it does. I really like the way Andrea Bartz writes (check out her last book, The Lost Night ), and found the interpersonal dynamics among the characters here pretty fascinating.
One thing I don’t love about books is when everyone has a secret but no one will talk about them yet, they get referred to constantly. ("We can't say anything about that night.") I’d almost rather find out about these secrets by myself than have a ton of foreshadowing with little delivery until the story is coming to a close.
This is a solid, compelling read and it is a thought-provoking look at the barriers women experience when pursuing success. I’m definitely a fan of Bartz’s work and look forward to her next book.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
April 26, 2020
3.5 stars
The author came up with a great concept for this novel and I did enjoy reading it. The last part of the book is the weak spot though and it felt like wasted potential. I just wish the ending didn't feel so lackluster in what had basically been a compelling read up until that point.
After taking care of her mother in Michigan for awhile, Katie Bradley has returned to NYC. She is hoping she will be asked to join The Herd, an exclusive all-women coworking space as it provides opportunities to network and empower other women. It should help Katie that her sister, Hana, does pr for The Herd and is good friends with the founder, Eleanor Walsh. And this is where I will stop with my synopsis because I think this book reads better if you don't know much going in other than the story has thriller elements.
I loved how the story incorporated co-working spaces and women only empowerment groups as they are both intriguing subjects to me. Business professionals paying to essentially rent a workspace along with others has become trendy in recent years. Most people find it a good alternative to working at home as they tend to feel more productive and enjoy the contact with other workers. (It feels odd to even write about this given everything is basically shutdown now due to the coronavirus) I liked how the author also played around with the idea that women tend to thrive in women only environments whether it be in school or at work. There was some substance to this thriller and that's what sets it apart from many others in the genre.
But to be fair it is a thriller and a big part of making it the ultimate read is having an awesome ending. Unfortunately, the ending was nowhere near as exciting as I had hoped. I wish my mind would have been blown but instead I felt all of the author's creativity and imagination that was so present for most of the book, petered out by the end. It felt very ordinary is what I am trying to say and didn't seem to match what had been a fun reading experience. I've also had an internal debate about whether the epilogue was necessary or not.
Despite having some flaws, I do recommend this book for those readers who like it when authors attempt to do something different. There were many aspects of the story I found thought provoking and think this would make a good book club pick.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review!
The author came up with a great concept for this novel and I did enjoy reading it. The last part of the book is the weak spot though and it felt like wasted potential. I just wish the ending didn't feel so lackluster in what had basically been a compelling read up until that point.
After taking care of her mother in Michigan for awhile, Katie Bradley has returned to NYC. She is hoping she will be asked to join The Herd, an exclusive all-women coworking space as it provides opportunities to network and empower other women. It should help Katie that her sister, Hana, does pr for The Herd and is good friends with the founder, Eleanor Walsh. And this is where I will stop with my synopsis because I think this book reads better if you don't know much going in other than the story has thriller elements.
I loved how the story incorporated co-working spaces and women only empowerment groups as they are both intriguing subjects to me. Business professionals paying to essentially rent a workspace along with others has become trendy in recent years. Most people find it a good alternative to working at home as they tend to feel more productive and enjoy the contact with other workers. (It feels odd to even write about this given everything is basically shutdown now due to the coronavirus) I liked how the author also played around with the idea that women tend to thrive in women only environments whether it be in school or at work. There was some substance to this thriller and that's what sets it apart from many others in the genre.
But to be fair it is a thriller and a big part of making it the ultimate read is having an awesome ending. Unfortunately, the ending was nowhere near as exciting as I had hoped. I wish my mind would have been blown but instead I felt all of the author's creativity and imagination that was so present for most of the book, petered out by the end. It felt very ordinary is what I am trying to say and didn't seem to match what had been a fun reading experience. I've also had an internal debate about whether the epilogue was necessary or not.
Despite having some flaws, I do recommend this book for those readers who like it when authors attempt to do something different. There were many aspects of the story I found thought provoking and think this would make a good book club pick.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review!
December 5, 2019
A smart, feminist thriller with elegant prose and complex, skilfully constructed characters. The Herd (emphasis on her) is set in an all-female work environment, exploring the relationships between women, female ambition, and the price of success for women.
Katie and her sister Hana are finally reunited when Katie moves back to New York. When their friend Eleanor, the founder of The Herd, goes missing, they both become entangled in the investigation. And everyone is a suspect.
With lots of twists and a breathtaking finale, The Herd is a lively thriller showcasing flawed protagonists on a journey into the disappearance of a loved one. The complicated dynamics between the characters makes for enjoyable reading as the masks of perfection slip and dark pasts are exposed.
Katie and her sister Hana are finally reunited when Katie moves back to New York. When their friend Eleanor, the founder of The Herd, goes missing, they both become entangled in the investigation. And everyone is a suspect.
With lots of twists and a breathtaking finale, The Herd is a lively thriller showcasing flawed protagonists on a journey into the disappearance of a loved one. The complicated dynamics between the characters makes for enjoyable reading as the masks of perfection slip and dark pasts are exposed.
January 7, 2020
I was all down for the female empowerment at the center of THE HERD, but I ended up having some issues that kept me from really enjoying this one. I loved the concept of a murder mystery at an all woman's social club, but found myself having issues connecting with any of the characters...I'm all for flawed females, but these women are unlikable and difficult to root for and spend most of the book backstabbing each other. I found myself bored by the murder mystery and ultimately don't think I can recommend this one. However, I know many people are enjoying this one, so pick it up at your own peril.
January 10, 2021
It's hard to enjoy a story when there are so few valid issues and characters. 2 of 10 stars
August 15, 2020
The Herd is an elite, women-only coworking space in New York City created by beauty-mogul and businesswoman Eleanor Walsh. Her fellow Harvard classmates Hana and Mikki have helped Eleanor build The Herd as the place for New York women to apply for a membership that boasts empowerment and mentorship without the male gaze. Among the hopeful members is Hana’s younger sister Katie Bradley - who is returning to the city after caring for her ailing mother and having book research end in disaster in Michigan.
After a vandal mysteriously tagged all three Herd locations, Hana is uneasy as she prepares for an undisclosed announcement about The Herd’s future from Eleanor. On the night of the PR event, Eleanor is a no show, and her friends begin to panic when they realize no has seen her since the day before. As theories about her disappearance begin to fly, Eleanor’s life comes under scrutiny and her closest friends become suspects.
The Herd is Andrea Bartz's second novel. It’s a story full of suspense and unexpected revelation and will keep you guessing. This novel shows that your friends may not always be how they seem.
After a vandal mysteriously tagged all three Herd locations, Hana is uneasy as she prepares for an undisclosed announcement about The Herd’s future from Eleanor. On the night of the PR event, Eleanor is a no show, and her friends begin to panic when they realize no has seen her since the day before. As theories about her disappearance begin to fly, Eleanor’s life comes under scrutiny and her closest friends become suspects.
The Herd is Andrea Bartz's second novel. It’s a story full of suspense and unexpected revelation and will keep you guessing. This novel shows that your friends may not always be how they seem.
July 13, 2020
I found the Herd hard to get in to and boring. Whenever the story seemed to start, it fell flat again. There were long periods where nothing happened to the point that the story didn’t even move forward.
The characters were flat and uninteresting. I couldn’t buy in to any of the characters - I couldn’t relate, or sympathize, or even really care. Very little personality, and so much self involvement (eyeroll). Some of the characters and sub plots were pointless.
I don’t believe I’ll remember this book in a couple of weeks and considered not finishing it.
And lastly....... the cover is terrible.
Rant over.
The characters were flat and uninteresting. I couldn’t buy in to any of the characters - I couldn’t relate, or sympathize, or even really care. Very little personality, and so much self involvement (eyeroll). Some of the characters and sub plots were pointless.
I don’t believe I’ll remember this book in a couple of weeks and considered not finishing it.
And lastly....... the cover is terrible.
Rant over.
May 21, 2020
2- Although it's an easy read, there is nothing special about The Herd. I like the idea of incorporating feminist themes into different genres, but I think the way Bartz went about it was a little overworked. (There's a fake article about "Eve" Jobs mid-novel that was truly eye-roll inducing to me.) The book mainly tries to be an upscale, "twist at every turn" mystery and it just isn't successful. The use of red herrings and tons of unanswered questions are bothersome, but the heavy reliance on coincidence in order to make those "twists" happen is the worst part. In this way, and in the overall structure, the writing is unfortunately sloppy.
February 28, 2022
THE HERD
Andrea Bartz
“A herd’s primary purpose is to keep the highest percentage of its members alive. Evolution doesn’t care about the individual, about survival of the least-fit. We team up for the most selfish reason possible: self-preservation.”
So many mumblings, ranting, and dialogues that mean so very little to the story as a whole. The characters are largely bitchy, manipulative, backstabbing or frontstabbing, and in many cases flat.
Eleanor Walsh believes she is super dedicated to providing an exclusive yet inclusive safe space for “women and marginalized genders” to work. She also believes that she provides and encourages women to excel, in her sought-after co-working space in New York City. Eleanor hires publicist Hana Bradley, with whom she has been friends since Harvard and Mikki. Together the three have made this office space, "the herd" into a sought-after phenomenon, then Eleanor disappears on her big night.
Hana and Mikki are devastated and angered by Eleanor’s disappearance and begin to try to piece together what has happened to Eleanor. Joining these brokenhearted women is Katie, Hana's sister who is an investigative journalist, and who is going to use the group for her own good by writing a book. But someone has been spraying graffiti in these super safe offices that is misogynistic to women. So where did Eleanor go? Why would she leave? The questions literally went on and on, both written in the book and in my head.
Too many secrets hinted at the beginning to be answered at the end sort of made the book 'end heavy' with all of the skeletons falling out of the closet. I found the characters sort of flat, like women who are super involved with their looks and then demand they are really good people who only care about women getting ahead as they stand on the heads of women to get high enough to reach the headline. I just wasn't impressed, in fact like what's her name (Katie) told Hana, I am working to get to the point where I give zero fucks... which is where I am.
2 stars
Happy Reading!
Andrea Bartz
“A herd’s primary purpose is to keep the highest percentage of its members alive. Evolution doesn’t care about the individual, about survival of the least-fit. We team up for the most selfish reason possible: self-preservation.”
So many mumblings, ranting, and dialogues that mean so very little to the story as a whole. The characters are largely bitchy, manipulative, backstabbing or frontstabbing, and in many cases flat.
Eleanor Walsh believes she is super dedicated to providing an exclusive yet inclusive safe space for “women and marginalized genders” to work. She also believes that she provides and encourages women to excel, in her sought-after co-working space in New York City. Eleanor hires publicist Hana Bradley, with whom she has been friends since Harvard and Mikki. Together the three have made this office space, "the herd" into a sought-after phenomenon, then Eleanor disappears on her big night.
Hana and Mikki are devastated and angered by Eleanor’s disappearance and begin to try to piece together what has happened to Eleanor. Joining these brokenhearted women is Katie, Hana's sister who is an investigative journalist, and who is going to use the group for her own good by writing a book. But someone has been spraying graffiti in these super safe offices that is misogynistic to women. So where did Eleanor go? Why would she leave? The questions literally went on and on, both written in the book and in my head.
Too many secrets hinted at the beginning to be answered at the end sort of made the book 'end heavy' with all of the skeletons falling out of the closet. I found the characters sort of flat, like women who are super involved with their looks and then demand they are really good people who only care about women getting ahead as they stand on the heads of women to get high enough to reach the headline. I just wasn't impressed, in fact like what's her name (Katie) told Hana, I am working to get to the point where I give zero fucks... which is where I am.
2 stars
Happy Reading!
May 24, 2020
I think maybe I've read one too many of these "evil ladies with secret books" lately because nothing here shocked, surprised or thrilled me. Maybe I'm the evil one. That's probably the case. At any rate, listening to this on audio was not a chore but it wasn't exactly the type of book that begged me to drop everything to finish it. The characters were just a wee bit underwhelming as far as personalities go. Lots of petty insecurities and jealousies simmering below their perfect facade. Listening on audio probably didn't help matters as a few of them kept getting mixed up in my head because their personalities weren't distinct enough to help me keep them straight.
April 29, 2020
The Herd is about a group of women who have been best friends since college. These women are strong and feminists and willing to go above and beyond not only for themselves, but for their cause. They believe they know everything about each other. But do they?
THE HERD, HER D is a women's only working space in New York. The wait list to become a member, very long. It's conception the idea of one of the friends, Eleanor who is now The HERD's CEO.
As THE HERD took off, she and the group of friends were able to make it what it has become, popular to women, empowering to women, but distasteful to some men. So much so that the three offices had recently been vandalized with graffiti in the bathroom.
The women: Eleanor who has always been in charge and always been the go to person for the other friends. Hanna is a PR person for THE HERD as well as a few other companies. Katie is Hanna's kid sister who is a writer who has recently moved to New York after a book deal went very bad. Mikki rounds out the group as one of Eleanor's right hands.
Everything is coming together for a merger with another company when Eleanor suddenly disappears on the night of the big announcement. Everybody begins to scramble to find her. But no one knows where she could be.
And with Eleanor's disappearance the flood gates open as to who Eleanor really was and what was she hiding. What lies had been told not only by Eleanor, but by each of the other women through the years. Could they even trust one another?
As they delve deeper into Eleanor's life, they soon realize she may not really have been who they thought she was...but neither have they, because they all have a secret they have been hiding for many years. Something which could destroy them all.
Can the women stay strong in the hopes of finding out what happened to Eleanor, or are they on the road to destroying THE HERD and each other.
Bartz, whose first book The Lost Night, which is another fantastic read, has once again succeeded in keeping the suspense flowing and the reader guessing until literally the last page.
Thank you to #NetGalley #Ballentine/RandomHouse #TheHerd #AndreaBartz for the advanced copy.
THE HERD, HER D is a women's only working space in New York. The wait list to become a member, very long. It's conception the idea of one of the friends, Eleanor who is now The HERD's CEO.
As THE HERD took off, she and the group of friends were able to make it what it has become, popular to women, empowering to women, but distasteful to some men. So much so that the three offices had recently been vandalized with graffiti in the bathroom.
The women: Eleanor who has always been in charge and always been the go to person for the other friends. Hanna is a PR person for THE HERD as well as a few other companies. Katie is Hanna's kid sister who is a writer who has recently moved to New York after a book deal went very bad. Mikki rounds out the group as one of Eleanor's right hands.
Everything is coming together for a merger with another company when Eleanor suddenly disappears on the night of the big announcement. Everybody begins to scramble to find her. But no one knows where she could be.
And with Eleanor's disappearance the flood gates open as to who Eleanor really was and what was she hiding. What lies had been told not only by Eleanor, but by each of the other women through the years. Could they even trust one another?
As they delve deeper into Eleanor's life, they soon realize she may not really have been who they thought she was...but neither have they, because they all have a secret they have been hiding for many years. Something which could destroy them all.
Can the women stay strong in the hopes of finding out what happened to Eleanor, or are they on the road to destroying THE HERD and each other.
Bartz, whose first book The Lost Night, which is another fantastic read, has once again succeeded in keeping the suspense flowing and the reader guessing until literally the last page.
Thank you to #NetGalley #Ballentine/RandomHouse #TheHerd #AndreaBartz for the advanced copy.
March 21, 2020
The Wing + Murder is the basic pitch for this book, which surprisingly doesn't have the kind of super-instagrammable millennial pink cover I would have expected. Instead they've gone for more of a disturbing-girl-murder-y vibe which is fine, but I still think it's a lost opportunity to be In This Moment.
Because this is a very In This Moment book, which is not the worst thing for a thriller to be. It captures the Young Women Entrepreneurial Chic vibe, the one where you have to be a hashtag-girlboss who makes her own decisions but also the one where you have to look great doing it. You have to get to yoga regularly because you have to keep that toned body and your skincare routine has at least six steps. You have big goals, you have a side hustle, you cowork, you network. All of those things are The Herd, a women's (and marginalized genders, the characters occasionally remember to recite) coworking space and membership club founded by tv-ready Eleanor.
Our protagonists are sisters Katie and Hana. Hana is part of Eleanor's inner circle along with Mikki, the two of them acting as PR and Design consultants for The Herd. Katie has just returned from home in the Midwest where she was caring for her ailing mother and working on a book that she has quietly shelved. The book moves so seamlessly between their points of view that I occasionally forgot which one I was with, but the back and forth is well structured and keeps the plot moving quickly as each sister slowly reveals her own secrets.
The book is more focused on being a thriller than it is being a takedown of this picture-perfect culture that Eleanor and The Herd cultivate. I'm the kind of reader who would have liked less thrills and a sharper wit, but I'm probably in the minority. And I certainly read it fast enough that I can't really complain. The mysteries aren't all that mysterious, but it's character-driven enough that you are content keeping the focus on the two sisters.
A good readalike for I'LL EAT WHEN I'M DEAD.
Because this is a very In This Moment book, which is not the worst thing for a thriller to be. It captures the Young Women Entrepreneurial Chic vibe, the one where you have to be a hashtag-girlboss who makes her own decisions but also the one where you have to look great doing it. You have to get to yoga regularly because you have to keep that toned body and your skincare routine has at least six steps. You have big goals, you have a side hustle, you cowork, you network. All of those things are The Herd, a women's (and marginalized genders, the characters occasionally remember to recite) coworking space and membership club founded by tv-ready Eleanor.
Our protagonists are sisters Katie and Hana. Hana is part of Eleanor's inner circle along with Mikki, the two of them acting as PR and Design consultants for The Herd. Katie has just returned from home in the Midwest where she was caring for her ailing mother and working on a book that she has quietly shelved. The book moves so seamlessly between their points of view that I occasionally forgot which one I was with, but the back and forth is well structured and keeps the plot moving quickly as each sister slowly reveals her own secrets.
The book is more focused on being a thriller than it is being a takedown of this picture-perfect culture that Eleanor and The Herd cultivate. I'm the kind of reader who would have liked less thrills and a sharper wit, but I'm probably in the minority. And I certainly read it fast enough that I can't really complain. The mysteries aren't all that mysterious, but it's character-driven enough that you are content keeping the focus on the two sisters.
A good readalike for I'LL EAT WHEN I'M DEAD.
May 13, 2020
This hit the spot. LOVE rich girls behaving badly, and the secrets behind the doors of the elite... plus complicated women, complicated friendships, complicated family dynamics. The Herd was a fun ride with some good twists. By far, the best aspect for me was the specificity of the world, and the depth to the characters.
The Herd of the book--the all-female identifying (with appropriate nods to nonbinary folk)--feels like such a real space, I'm lowkey shocked it doesn't really exist. I loved the touches with Eleanor, the enigmatic founder, with her having founded a Glossier-ish makeup line then transitioned into Herd--it's a progression from a wunderkind Harvard grad that makes sense. The contrasts between Kate and Hana as narrators--and the interesting tension between them as adopted siblings--made for a compelling back & forth, and the eventual blow up scene was SO INTENSE I was practically shaking.
And there are a lot of rich layers of social commentary that I appreciated. They elevate the book from just a frothy thriller to something with some weight. The commentary about competition among women and keeping up with the Jones', and then more broadly about gender (the Eve/Steve article is especially good) leave you to think without overpowering the narrative.
This one is ideal for readers who love "rich bullshit in New York" thrillers, with a side of "complicated women with secrets." The writing was especially vivid and enjoyable--I'll definitely be picking up more of the author's books.
The Herd of the book--the all-female identifying (with appropriate nods to nonbinary folk)--feels like such a real space, I'm lowkey shocked it doesn't really exist. I loved the touches with Eleanor, the enigmatic founder, with her having founded a Glossier-ish makeup line then transitioned into Herd--it's a progression from a wunderkind Harvard grad that makes sense. The contrasts between Kate and Hana as narrators--and the interesting tension between them as adopted siblings--made for a compelling back & forth, and the eventual blow up scene was SO INTENSE I was practically shaking.
And there are a lot of rich layers of social commentary that I appreciated. They elevate the book from just a frothy thriller to something with some weight. The commentary about competition among women and keeping up with the Jones', and then more broadly about gender (the Eve/Steve article is especially good) leave you to think without overpowering the narrative.
This one is ideal for readers who love "rich bullshit in New York" thrillers, with a side of "complicated women with secrets." The writing was especially vivid and enjoyable--I'll definitely be picking up more of the author's books.
March 24, 2020
If I hadn’t been away this weekend, I would have ripped through THE HERD in two sittings at most. Just like Andrea Bartz’s critically acclaimed, heart-pounding debut THE LOST NIGHT, THE HERD pulses with tension and suspense from beginning to end. The story is told by Katie and Hana, two sisters burdened with secrets who are finally living in New York at the same time. When their close friend Eleanor, the cofounder of the Herd, a glamorous all-female workspace, goes missing, they launch separate investigations that will lead them deeper and deeper into Eleanor’s dark past—as well as their own. I loved this book so much; it’s got Andrea Bartz’s signature snappy writing, with a propulsive plot that I found even more addictive (if that’s even possible!) than her stellar debut. This book also has a prologue and epilogue that bookend the story in a unique, stunning, and immensely chilling way, making it a memorable standout in the thriller market. I was immediately drawn in by the dark and beautiful writing in the opening pages, and the story zoomed on from there, pulling me along on an atmospheric and eerie ride with delicious twists and reveals. The book also deals with themes both timely and timeless—the masks of perfection that women are pressured to wear; female ambition in what is still a man’s world; the price of success for a woman—and I appreciated the opportunity to sit with the ugly but important insights this story brought to light.
June 15, 2020
Such a good pick from Once Upon a Book Club! The characters are unlikeable, entitled, and total rich-girl snobs. But I loved it! The twists were twisty, and I enjoyed the drama especially!
April 6, 2020
Wow! The Herd is a not-to-be-missed thriller, as Andrea Bartz dazzles in her second novel (skip her first).
If you're familiar with Glossier and/or Goop, you'll love this, especially if you find yourself wondering how perfect these shiny CEOs really are. If you're interested in the dynamics of female friendships, you'll love this. If you like a genuinely suspenseful thriller, oh wow will you love this! (I actually was surprised by several of the book's many twists, yay!!)
The Herd is a well-written and propulsive thriller that asks us to think about who we really are vs. the construction we present. It's also a fascinating look at family, friendships, and how quickly ever changing digital landscape impacts our lives. Very highly recommended.
If you're familiar with Glossier and/or Goop, you'll love this, especially if you find yourself wondering how perfect these shiny CEOs really are. If you're interested in the dynamics of female friendships, you'll love this. If you like a genuinely suspenseful thriller, oh wow will you love this! (I actually was surprised by several of the book's many twists, yay!!)
The Herd is a well-written and propulsive thriller that asks us to think about who we really are vs. the construction we present. It's also a fascinating look at family, friendships, and how quickly ever changing digital landscape impacts our lives. Very highly recommended.
April 9, 2020
This book had all the makings of a five star read. "Feminist thriller". Murder mystery. Sister rivalry. A plain midwestern girl trying to enter an elite, inaccessible society of women. Sounds like some good fucking food. Except this is what I gleaned from the synopsis, not what the book actually holds.
The Herd itself, possibly the most exciting aspect of the story and one which has the most wasted potential, is nothing more than wallpaper. Glitzy backdrop to a mundane story. I would have loved to read a story actually set in The Herd-- in fact I felt I had signed up to read this story, and then felt cheated. The Herd (as a setting) is just brimming with possibilities, it literally makes me mad that none of the other hundred better directions were explored. Complicated dynamics amongst the founders. Secrets and cliques amongst its members. Or how about the EXTREMELY low hanging fruit of the fact that this place that claims to support "women and marginalized genders" is just another inaccessible Goop-like space for rich white women, so exclusive that a light skinned brown MIDDLE EASTERN WOMAN is constantly othered. Are there no black women at the Herd? No trans women? (Nope, there aren't.) I would have loved to see that explored, challenged, threatened, taken apart.
A few other alternate storylines: (sorry, I was so bored reading my mind was constantly wandering and "fixing"): The Titan or whatever that company was called tries to acquire the Herd, makes offers, maybe threatens them?? a-la Burlesque (lol) and its members try to put up a fight. Or do some nefarious shit and destroy the Fortune 500 corporation threatening to destroy them and their values, even if they burn in the process-- now there's a feminist thriller. Or, alternately (similar to the actual book) Eleanor gives into the deal and the rest of the Herd actually has to sit in the consequences of that decision, and we watch it lose everything that made it special, watch resentment fester towards Eleanor, watch her crumble in the face of her decision. OR we actually see a desperate Katie who isn't friends with the Herd's founders but only the little sister, just desperate to get into this exclusive group, willing to do anything, enchanted, only to discover darkness (a la Secret History). Or, ah, the Anti-Herd, utterly underutilized, actually does something, or doesn't (because who needs to read about white men's take on women) but they're an actual presence in the story somehow. Maybe the Herd is also a secret society that goes about finding these men and destroying their lives. (Ripped off Dietland's Jennifer, certainly, but there's a feminist thriller.) OR Mikki isn't a fixture in the Herd, but a woman with dignity who cut off her thieving friend after she stole her idea, but comes back with a vengeance a decade later-- an actual lawsuit? something more underhanded? Another idea I had about a quarter of the way through-- how interesting it would have been had the book been set in the same place but a different time; a decade back or a decade further. A decade back we get to watch Eleanor (but a well realized Eleanor) graduate Harvard with stars in her eyes, steal her friend's idea, step on necks to rise ahead, but we're twisted up as we read her ascent as we are also full of admiration for her as she fights for women. (Because let's be real here she's not fighting for marginalized genders, lol). A decade forward-- assuming Eleanor actually goes to Mexico without telling anyone instead of dying, and leaves the Herd to her hapless friends-- Eleanor comes back, and she wants everything back, but the place she left isn't the place she returns to, and she has no place anymore, and we watch her unravel.... and hey maybe THAT novel ends with a climax on the roof, one we actually see, two women pushed to the edge and willing to do anything for The Herd ....
Okay, I could go on forever with my half baked ideas, but that's because I'm legitimately miserable about the Herd alternate universe novels I wish I'd read instead of the one I got. But let's talk about the *actual* book now, lol.
The feminism was very basic white feminism, i.e. "he could never know what it's like, because he's not a woman", without any attempt at nuance or intersectionality. As mentioned above, it would have been great to see a serious challenge to this brand of "girl boss" feminism.
The characterization was very weak. It was to the point that I was constantly complaining to my friend, who was reading it with me (sorry I subjected you to this back when I thought it would be awesome) that I couldn't tell the voices apart. Not just in dialogue, mind you, but in the middle of their POVs. These women were so indistinguishable that in nearly every chapter I had to go back and check whose POV chapter it was because I kept getting lost, going "wait who is, who's this happening to?" I didn't even realize until the end, when I was gathering my thoughts for this review, that there were only Hana's and Katie's POVs, lol. For some reason I thought we read a few more. That's how much the POV voices stood out in my mind.
I've read some reviews (and heard from my friend who was reading this along with me) that these women are unlikable, and I disagree. I love reading about unlikable women; flawed women, fucked up women. These women were unremarkable. The definition of vanilla. They left no impression in my mind. I do agree that it made it hard to care about them, or their "tragic pasts" or their "secrets" or what happened to Eleanor. Honestly it was just tiring reading about them worry about and mourn Eleanor while not understanding the least bit why they care about her. And this isn't a slight on Eleanor (she was the most interesting to me, and I'm starting to think it's because we didn't spend much time with her haha) but a critique of the writing. Why did these women become friends? Why do they care about each other? Why do Katie and Hana care about each other? Yes, they're sisters, but show me. It honestly felt to me that every character barely tolerated everyone around them and it made it hard to stay in their heads. As for the friendship with Eleanor, if that was truly a stars-in-my-eyes "she made me feel lucky" "she made me feel special" "I wanted to borrow from her power" etc etc then that's interesting as fuck, and they should have expanded on that and how hollow that is (a la The Secret History and Bunny) instead of barely being able to malign her as they genuinely mourned their "friend". For a long time Mikki was the most interesting, and that's because she was the most quirky and seemed to be the kindest, genuinely, from the little we got from her. (Which made the plot twist more bizarre, and not in a good way, but we'll get to that later).
Let's talk about the writing real quick. A lot of the prose was overdramatic and boring, describing the most minute things in aggravating detail in a way that I *think* is supposed to highlight how on edge and tense the characters are, to remind you we're in a THRILLER, but it just... drags. I want to quote it exactly but no way in hell am I going to go fishing in this book for a quote: basically someone "bonks", literally "bonks" or almost "bonks" her head on the table or something because her phone rang. The other thing I remember most about the prose is just lots of flowery language and bad metaphors meant to give physical movement to feelings: "the awkwardness plumed", "sadness billowed in me", "a heady sadness billowed like incense". Also, repetitive.
Let's get back to our basic girls. Both of them are haunted by a secret they just REFUSE to reveal to the reader (until they reveal them very randomly... without prompting.... just because) and this non-subtle teasing (at one point Hanna and Mikki literally look each other in the eye, in front of the reader, and say "we won't talk about THAT") is about 80% of the suspense in this novel. The rest is the murder mystery (and it's really hard to care, let alone feel titillated). Hanna's secret is boring as hell, and no I won't talk about the last little *twist* in the epilogue. Classic "I know what you did last summer" innocent, drunk folks accidentally killed someone, or thought they did. Katie's.....
Sigh.
Sigh.
I'm really struggling to decide whether this was queerbaiting or not. On one hand, I really like that Katie (and Eleanor for that matter) liking women isn't treated as a defining characteristic. It is, however, treated as a plot twist. The person in Katie's past is literally referred to as Chris for god's sake, an intentional mis-lead so that the reveal can be as shocking as possible. Ugh. Why does women liking women have to be a plot twist. (Not going to lie though, that was when I was most engaged, sitting up straight and flipping fast. Unfortunately it was a mere two pages before I was bored again.) And it can't be ignored that Katie does end the novel on a positive, even hopeful note, with prospective paramour Ted; a man. There's nothing wrong with any of this (I guess? Maybe someone can help clarify what I'm feeling) but it didn't sit right with me. This is also reinforced by the fact that the only other somewhat queer representation we have, Eleanor, is also married to a straight man. In the end I can't decide if these are actually queer women or if they were both experimenting. Katie seemed genuinely in love (in the one and a half page synopsis we got) but she also never mentioned her relationship with this woman to anyone else. (When she did tell Hana at the end, it was conveniently vague; both what she said specifically and Hana's "aww sorry girl" response). Has Katie dated other women in the past? Is she a bi woman, or something else? We just don't know. (Well, we don't know much about any of these characters to be honest. They are cardboard cutouts.)
The plot. Boring. *Not* predictable, because it made no damn sense. Every time a character had an epiphany I had to pause and think and maybe even reread to try to understand what it was they just understood. It was strange because the flowery prose overly explained every feeling but barely hinted at the actual thoughts, the logical train of thought that led to the deduction. It was all about "the sharp intake of breath" or whatever as they realized something, and I'm left here scratching my head wondering what happened now. It doesn't help that every little development was very unexciting, something about a phone or a photo or a comment someone made once. Not to say this kind of drama moved by minor, mundane events can't be done well, but needless to say this wasn't done well.
Now... the whole plot twist... The reveal of "what really happened" was unsatisfying and borderline irritating. We're supposed to believe that Mikki is such a terrible person that she could blackmail her friends for tens of thousands of dollars a year and kill Eleanor in a fit of anger after hearing about the acquisition that would make her rich friend even richer. Because... she takes Krav Maga and had an artist knife in her hand? If she's capable of hiding so much hate (and it has to be there, if it can bubble up so fiercely) for a decade, while also being the nicest of the friends (it seemed that way to me, clearly meant to mislead) then she must be psychopathic or doing some A level suppressing and it's all coming up now. I would have liked to actually learn more and sit with it instead of hearing the villain speech. And she did really seem like a Cartoon Villain, especially when she hit Katie on the head with a lamp and literally STABBED her closest friend in the chest, yet it wasn't very clear how either woman felt about Mikki at the end.
Basically, I wish Eleanor had gone to Mexico.
The Herd itself, possibly the most exciting aspect of the story and one which has the most wasted potential, is nothing more than wallpaper. Glitzy backdrop to a mundane story. I would have loved to read a story actually set in The Herd-- in fact I felt I had signed up to read this story, and then felt cheated. The Herd (as a setting) is just brimming with possibilities, it literally makes me mad that none of the other hundred better directions were explored. Complicated dynamics amongst the founders. Secrets and cliques amongst its members. Or how about the EXTREMELY low hanging fruit of the fact that this place that claims to support "women and marginalized genders" is just another inaccessible Goop-like space for rich white women, so exclusive that a light skinned brown MIDDLE EASTERN WOMAN is constantly othered. Are there no black women at the Herd? No trans women? (Nope, there aren't.) I would have loved to see that explored, challenged, threatened, taken apart.
A few other alternate storylines: (sorry, I was so bored reading my mind was constantly wandering and "fixing"): The Titan or whatever that company was called tries to acquire the Herd, makes offers, maybe threatens them?? a-la Burlesque (lol) and its members try to put up a fight. Or do some nefarious shit and destroy the Fortune 500 corporation threatening to destroy them and their values, even if they burn in the process-- now there's a feminist thriller. Or, alternately (similar to the actual book) Eleanor gives into the deal and the rest of the Herd actually has to sit in the consequences of that decision, and we watch it lose everything that made it special, watch resentment fester towards Eleanor, watch her crumble in the face of her decision. OR we actually see a desperate Katie who isn't friends with the Herd's founders but only the little sister, just desperate to get into this exclusive group, willing to do anything, enchanted, only to discover darkness (a la Secret History). Or, ah, the Anti-Herd, utterly underutilized, actually does something, or doesn't (because who needs to read about white men's take on women) but they're an actual presence in the story somehow. Maybe the Herd is also a secret society that goes about finding these men and destroying their lives. (Ripped off Dietland's Jennifer, certainly, but there's a feminist thriller.) OR Mikki isn't a fixture in the Herd, but a woman with dignity who cut off her thieving friend after she stole her idea, but comes back with a vengeance a decade later-- an actual lawsuit? something more underhanded? Another idea I had about a quarter of the way through-- how interesting it would have been had the book been set in the same place but a different time; a decade back or a decade further. A decade back we get to watch Eleanor (but a well realized Eleanor) graduate Harvard with stars in her eyes, steal her friend's idea, step on necks to rise ahead, but we're twisted up as we read her ascent as we are also full of admiration for her as she fights for women. (Because let's be real here she's not fighting for marginalized genders, lol). A decade forward-- assuming Eleanor actually goes to Mexico without telling anyone instead of dying, and leaves the Herd to her hapless friends-- Eleanor comes back, and she wants everything back, but the place she left isn't the place she returns to, and she has no place anymore, and we watch her unravel.... and hey maybe THAT novel ends with a climax on the roof, one we actually see, two women pushed to the edge and willing to do anything for The Herd ....
Okay, I could go on forever with my half baked ideas, but that's because I'm legitimately miserable about the Herd alternate universe novels I wish I'd read instead of the one I got. But let's talk about the *actual* book now, lol.
The feminism was very basic white feminism, i.e. "he could never know what it's like, because he's not a woman", without any attempt at nuance or intersectionality. As mentioned above, it would have been great to see a serious challenge to this brand of "girl boss" feminism.
The characterization was very weak. It was to the point that I was constantly complaining to my friend, who was reading it with me (sorry I subjected you to this back when I thought it would be awesome) that I couldn't tell the voices apart. Not just in dialogue, mind you, but in the middle of their POVs. These women were so indistinguishable that in nearly every chapter I had to go back and check whose POV chapter it was because I kept getting lost, going "wait who is, who's this happening to?" I didn't even realize until the end, when I was gathering my thoughts for this review, that there were only Hana's and Katie's POVs, lol. For some reason I thought we read a few more. That's how much the POV voices stood out in my mind.
I've read some reviews (and heard from my friend who was reading this along with me) that these women are unlikable, and I disagree. I love reading about unlikable women; flawed women, fucked up women. These women were unremarkable. The definition of vanilla. They left no impression in my mind. I do agree that it made it hard to care about them, or their "tragic pasts" or their "secrets" or what happened to Eleanor. Honestly it was just tiring reading about them worry about and mourn Eleanor while not understanding the least bit why they care about her. And this isn't a slight on Eleanor (she was the most interesting to me, and I'm starting to think it's because we didn't spend much time with her haha) but a critique of the writing. Why did these women become friends? Why do they care about each other? Why do Katie and Hana care about each other? Yes, they're sisters, but show me. It honestly felt to me that every character barely tolerated everyone around them and it made it hard to stay in their heads. As for the friendship with Eleanor, if that was truly a stars-in-my-eyes "she made me feel lucky" "she made me feel special" "I wanted to borrow from her power" etc etc then that's interesting as fuck, and they should have expanded on that and how hollow that is (a la The Secret History and Bunny) instead of barely being able to malign her as they genuinely mourned their "friend". For a long time Mikki was the most interesting, and that's because she was the most quirky and seemed to be the kindest, genuinely, from the little we got from her. (Which made the plot twist more bizarre, and not in a good way, but we'll get to that later).
Let's talk about the writing real quick. A lot of the prose was overdramatic and boring, describing the most minute things in aggravating detail in a way that I *think* is supposed to highlight how on edge and tense the characters are, to remind you we're in a THRILLER, but it just... drags. I want to quote it exactly but no way in hell am I going to go fishing in this book for a quote: basically someone "bonks", literally "bonks" or almost "bonks" her head on the table or something because her phone rang. The other thing I remember most about the prose is just lots of flowery language and bad metaphors meant to give physical movement to feelings: "the awkwardness plumed", "sadness billowed in me", "a heady sadness billowed like incense". Also, repetitive.
Let's get back to our basic girls. Both of them are haunted by a secret they just REFUSE to reveal to the reader (until they reveal them very randomly... without prompting.... just because) and this non-subtle teasing (at one point Hanna and Mikki literally look each other in the eye, in front of the reader, and say "we won't talk about THAT") is about 80% of the suspense in this novel. The rest is the murder mystery (and it's really hard to care, let alone feel titillated). Hanna's secret is boring as hell, and no I won't talk about the last little *twist* in the epilogue. Classic "I know what you did last summer" innocent, drunk folks accidentally killed someone, or thought they did. Katie's.....
Sigh.
Sigh.
I'm really struggling to decide whether this was queerbaiting or not. On one hand, I really like that Katie (and Eleanor for that matter) liking women isn't treated as a defining characteristic. It is, however, treated as a plot twist. The person in Katie's past is literally referred to as Chris for god's sake, an intentional mis-lead so that the reveal can be as shocking as possible. Ugh. Why does women liking women have to be a plot twist. (Not going to lie though, that was when I was most engaged, sitting up straight and flipping fast. Unfortunately it was a mere two pages before I was bored again.) And it can't be ignored that Katie does end the novel on a positive, even hopeful note, with prospective paramour Ted; a man. There's nothing wrong with any of this (I guess? Maybe someone can help clarify what I'm feeling) but it didn't sit right with me. This is also reinforced by the fact that the only other somewhat queer representation we have, Eleanor, is also married to a straight man. In the end I can't decide if these are actually queer women or if they were both experimenting. Katie seemed genuinely in love (in the one and a half page synopsis we got) but she also never mentioned her relationship with this woman to anyone else. (When she did tell Hana at the end, it was conveniently vague; both what she said specifically and Hana's "aww sorry girl" response). Has Katie dated other women in the past? Is she a bi woman, or something else? We just don't know. (Well, we don't know much about any of these characters to be honest. They are cardboard cutouts.)
The plot. Boring. *Not* predictable, because it made no damn sense. Every time a character had an epiphany I had to pause and think and maybe even reread to try to understand what it was they just understood. It was strange because the flowery prose overly explained every feeling but barely hinted at the actual thoughts, the logical train of thought that led to the deduction. It was all about "the sharp intake of breath" or whatever as they realized something, and I'm left here scratching my head wondering what happened now. It doesn't help that every little development was very unexciting, something about a phone or a photo or a comment someone made once. Not to say this kind of drama moved by minor, mundane events can't be done well, but needless to say this wasn't done well.
Now... the whole plot twist... The reveal of "what really happened" was unsatisfying and borderline irritating. We're supposed to believe that Mikki is such a terrible person that she could blackmail her friends for tens of thousands of dollars a year and kill Eleanor in a fit of anger after hearing about the acquisition that would make her rich friend even richer. Because... she takes Krav Maga and had an artist knife in her hand? If she's capable of hiding so much hate (and it has to be there, if it can bubble up so fiercely) for a decade, while also being the nicest of the friends (it seemed that way to me, clearly meant to mislead) then she must be psychopathic or doing some A level suppressing and it's all coming up now. I would have liked to actually learn more and sit with it instead of hearing the villain speech. And she did really seem like a Cartoon Villain, especially when she hit Katie on the head with a lamp and literally STABBED her closest friend in the chest, yet it wasn't very clear how either woman felt about Mikki at the end.
Basically, I wish Eleanor had gone to Mexico.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2020
Unlike most readers, I found this book unpleasant. It showed the worst aspects of female relationships and the characters seemed to accept that lies, betrayal, abuse and were part of their friendship.
This is not what I needed to read during this tough period of quarantine.
P.S. If you know of a feel-good novel, recommend it to me, please.
This is not what I needed to read during this tough period of quarantine.
P.S. If you know of a feel-good novel, recommend it to me, please.
June 30, 2020
This one didn't work for me. I had high expectations but in the end it didn't engage me, I didn't connect with any of the characters, and in the end I simply didn't care. However, I kept reading because I did want to know how it ended.
October 17, 2021
Well that was all kinds of fucked up.
The first 3-4 chapters were kind of slow and I wasn't sure it was gonna hold my attention.
Once it picked up steam the excitement didn't wane in the least.
LOVED it!!!
Giant thank you to Andrea Bartz for my signed copy won through her instagram giveaway.
The first 3-4 chapters were kind of slow and I wasn't sure it was gonna hold my attention.
Once it picked up steam the excitement didn't wane in the least.
LOVED it!!!
Giant thank you to Andrea Bartz for my signed copy won through her instagram giveaway.
April 21, 2020
Wow this mistery feminist thriller made me doubt every character and their intentions.
The Herd is a co-worker space just for women that you have to request and pass an interview to join them.
When the founder of The Herd Eleanor Walsh disappears without a trace two sisters begin searching for clues of what happened to their friend.
This novel is full of plot twist after plot twist. The complicity of the characters makes the story interesting.
i don't want to enter in too much detail without spoiling the story but if you like mistery thrillers you will like this beauty
3.5 stars
thanks to netgalley and Ballantine books for share this Arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Herd is a co-worker space just for women that you have to request and pass an interview to join them.
When the founder of The Herd Eleanor Walsh disappears without a trace two sisters begin searching for clues of what happened to their friend.
This novel is full of plot twist after plot twist. The complicity of the characters makes the story interesting.
i don't want to enter in too much detail without spoiling the story but if you like mistery thrillers you will like this beauty
3.5 stars
thanks to netgalley and Ballantine books for share this Arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 14, 2020
Nerd Herd Book Club - June 2020
April 25, 2021
have you ever read a book so bad that the only reason you felt compelled to finish it was so that you could write a proper review? personally, i simply class most books i can't get into as DNF and move on, but, after bartz's fourth use of "padding" (exclusively when a character was walking around indoors) i knew i had to finish the book, if only to write this review.
despite the largely uninteresting plot, the weakly developed characters, the lack of interpersonal relationships, and the un-critiqued corporate white feminism, the element of The Herd that bothered me the most was undoubtedly the prose. like an eighth grade creative writing student armed with her first thesaurus, bartz repeatedly mobilized terms like "mushroomed," "quivering," "gluey," and, of course, the aforementioned "padding." characters didn't simply "think," but their thoughts and emotions "bloomed" and "plumed" and "billowed" (i wish i was kidding). there were times where i wondered if i had lost my place, because descriptors and even full sentences were so often recycled verbatim (e.g. "bachelor stereotype" twice within a few pages and and multiple clunky references to "Rockwellian" scenes).
additionally, there was killer phrasing like this:
"the snow felt heavy on my cheeks and eyelashes and the crown of my head, like small, cold loogies" (?)
and
"my voice was a small and shaky chihuahua" (??)
prose aside, i'm concerned to see this book referred to as a "feminist" novel- the female characters are severely underdeveloped, both as individuals and in relation to one another (but we get to read about what they look like and what they think of each other's appearances repeatedly). referring to characters as smart and interesting without developing them to support that does not make them smart and interesting, and referring to a novel as a "feminist psychological thriller" does not make it feminist, nor does it make it a psychological thriller.
despite the largely uninteresting plot, the weakly developed characters, the lack of interpersonal relationships, and the un-critiqued corporate white feminism, the element of The Herd that bothered me the most was undoubtedly the prose. like an eighth grade creative writing student armed with her first thesaurus, bartz repeatedly mobilized terms like "mushroomed," "quivering," "gluey," and, of course, the aforementioned "padding." characters didn't simply "think," but their thoughts and emotions "bloomed" and "plumed" and "billowed" (i wish i was kidding). there were times where i wondered if i had lost my place, because descriptors and even full sentences were so often recycled verbatim (e.g. "bachelor stereotype" twice within a few pages and and multiple clunky references to "Rockwellian" scenes).
additionally, there was killer phrasing like this:
"the snow felt heavy on my cheeks and eyelashes and the crown of my head, like small, cold loogies" (?)
and
"my voice was a small and shaky chihuahua" (??)
prose aside, i'm concerned to see this book referred to as a "feminist" novel- the female characters are severely underdeveloped, both as individuals and in relation to one another (but we get to read about what they look like and what they think of each other's appearances repeatedly). referring to characters as smart and interesting without developing them to support that does not make them smart and interesting, and referring to a novel as a "feminist psychological thriller" does not make it feminist, nor does it make it a psychological thriller.
November 19, 2019
This book is a fascinating, chilling look inside an upscale workspace for women in New York City. Andrea Bartz nails this one, from the twisty plot to what it means to be a professional woman in today’s world. This book will make you wonder how well you know your coworkers!
dnf
April 13, 2020dnf 61%
April 23, 2020
A few years ago, I was making my way through an airport when I decided to pick up a book to read on my long flight back to New York. I ended up choosing Robin Wasserman's Girls on Fire, and my reactions to it were something like this:
Hour 1-2: Oh, this is really good. Ohhhh, these folks are COMPLEX.
Hour 3: Wooooow, we're getting somewhere. But how can we really wrap this up in 100 pages?
Hour 4-5: WHAT??? HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT IN THE FUCK OH MY GOD!!!!! OHHHHH! MY! GOOOOOOD! ROBIN. WASSERMAN. WENT. THERE.
Why am I bringing this up? Because that's how I felt reading Andrea Bartz's The Herd.
Whew, what a freaking #JOURNEY we're taken on in this book. For me, the first two-thirds of the novel were stronger than the last third, mostly because the end was a beautiful and messy clusterfuck of so many different storylines piling on top of each other; I got a little bit of whiplash from trying to wrap my head around it all.
I loved Bartz's explorations of white feminism and the complexities female relationships; though these themes were occasionally heavy-handed presences, she did a nuanced job of unpacking the current state of women empowerment. I also appreciated just how intimately Bartz understood the delicate and almost imperceptible dynamics of women-centric co-working spaces and the values they claim to espouse; those observations were spot-on.
Honestly, why do ratings even exist for books like this? I feel like The Herd sort of transcends rating dimensions. But for the purposes of this exercise...3.5 stars?
Hour 1-2: Oh, this is really good. Ohhhh, these folks are COMPLEX.
Hour 3: Wooooow, we're getting somewhere. But how can we really wrap this up in 100 pages?
Hour 4-5: WHAT??? HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT IN THE FUCK OH MY GOD!!!!! OHHHHH! MY! GOOOOOOD! ROBIN. WASSERMAN. WENT. THERE.
Why am I bringing this up? Because that's how I felt reading Andrea Bartz's The Herd.
Whew, what a freaking #JOURNEY we're taken on in this book. For me, the first two-thirds of the novel were stronger than the last third, mostly because the end was a beautiful and messy clusterfuck of so many different storylines piling on top of each other; I got a little bit of whiplash from trying to wrap my head around it all.
I loved Bartz's explorations of white feminism and the complexities female relationships; though these themes were occasionally heavy-handed presences, she did a nuanced job of unpacking the current state of women empowerment. I also appreciated just how intimately Bartz understood the delicate and almost imperceptible dynamics of women-centric co-working spaces and the values they claim to espouse; those observations were spot-on.
Honestly, why do ratings even exist for books like this? I feel like The Herd sort of transcends rating dimensions. But for the purposes of this exercise...3.5 stars?
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