I'm not giving this book a star-rating even though I really loved this story and binged it in one sitting because I came into this book with the wrong expectations and it's totally on me. I have a bad habit of not reading the blurb of books that are recommended to me and since this was part of the readalong - I immediately placed my library hold no questions asked... which is why I started this book thinking it was a memoir...

I don't remember the exact point I realized that this was a fictional story tbh because I have been chewing on my thoughts on this book for a bit. If I had gone into this book knowing it was historical fiction and I was reviewing just the story alone, I'm guessing this would have landed in the high 4 star range for me. I have some minor critiques, but overall this was a well-written historical fiction story of female friendship over the decades and how dramatically Ellie and Homa's lives change as the Iranian Revolution takes over.

Because I thought this was a memoir, I came into the book hoping to have a better understanding about the Iranian Revolution and the political landscape at that time. I wouldn't go as far to say that the Iranian Revolution was a backdrop to the story, but I feel like the primary focus was the women's friendship and women's resilience. This is not a knock against the book, I just had wrong expectations (100% my fault) so I finished the book feeling a little weird about it.

So while I highly recommend this book, I also wanted to share some more books I'm going to read to help me have a better understanding of the Iranian Revolution and I figured I would share in case you wanted to learn more too!

Memoirs: I've been meaning to read Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi for ages and it's technically a re-read for me but it's been well over a decade since I read it The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Strapi.

Non-Fiction Historical: I'm still on the hunt for these (if you have any suggestions please let me know), but so far I have found All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer and Revolutionary Iran by Michael Axworthy as recommendations.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes are taken from a copy being distributed for pre-publication review, and should be checked against the final copy.

Do yourself a favor — sit down and devour The Nudge.

Laid out like a play, with two acts and an intermission, and with the vibes of two friends having a conversation, this gave me the same sense of impending terror as Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I love that this had illustrations to make it even creepier. The art is unnerving in itself, but paired with the story tips them over the edge.

“I was only a terrified spouse, trying to keep the love of my life from falling into a deep abyss within herself.”