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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC!
I enjoyed this trippy, dreamy little novel a LOT! I don’t think I fully grasped the ending (were we supposed to?) but I enjoyed the ride there so much that it barely matters.
Ruth, or Baby, is a stripper and dominatrix living with her (amicable) ex boyfriend and their dogs in San Francisco. Newell works/worked as a dominatrix, so her depiction of the sex work industry is imbued with such a staggering authenticity. It felt like reading someone’s diary, almost voyeuristic. I absolutely loved Ruth, her vulnerability. The way Newell described her relationships with Dino (who mysteriously goes missing later in the book), the pups, Ophelia, was just so alive. You feel like you know them. And her nights at the club and shifts in the dungeon were just fantastique, glitter practically falls out of the pages. It’s gritty and tender, hard and soft, I just loved it.
I cannot thank FSG enough for sending over an early copy of this absolute banger of a novel. I’m super grateful.
Ruth—better known as Baby at work—has recently started dancing at a strip club in San Francisco. Night after night, she encounters emotionally detached men with predictable desires. Still living with her ex-boyfriend, Dino, she struggles to balance her work in the sex industry while coming to terms with the end of their relationship. But one night, after another routine shift, she returns home to an unsettling surprise—Dino is nowhere to be found.
I can hardly put into words how much I enjoyed this book. At first, I expected a mystery and kept reading under that assumption.
This book is not a mystery but an intimate exploration of self and a full immersion into longing and desire, with Dino’s disappearance serving as the catalyst for Ruth’s journey. As she searches for answers, she’s forced to confront the complexities of her past, her desires, and the shifting nature of her identity. The story unfolds with a quiet intensity, immersing you in Ruth’s world as she navigates loss, yearning, and the unexpected ways we rediscover ourselves throughout times of uncertainty.
I deeply enjoyed the commentary Newell created around the underbelly of the sex industry. I actually learned so many little fun facts from this book. While the sex industry is often perceived as a dark and gritty world, Newell infuses it with a sense of mystery and lush, almost hypnotic allure. Her writing is intensely atmospheric. The writing doesn’t shy away from its harsh realities, but it also captures the intimacy, power dynamics, and unexpected moments of beauty that exist within it.
Newell’s writing was refreshing, witty, and super emotional at times. She is able to perfectly extract the little things in relationships that make love feel so completely blissful that we often don’t consider. Reading this from her now I definitely want to read more of her stuff even if it is simply just to read more of her writing style.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finally, some authentic sex worker representation in literature! Soft Core is haunting, feverish, and deeply tender, with a knife edge of suspense. The language is as dreamlike and lovely as the foggy hills of San Francisco. It feels very Lynchian. When her partner mysteriously vanishes, dancer Baby embarks on a surreal journey of self-discovery, reckoning with her own terror of abandonment.
Newell evokes the world of the club and the dungeon with nuance and care in a way I deeply appreciate, as a person familiar with working in these settings. No tired old “broken women” tropes or virgin/whore binary here. You can’t help but sympathize with even the most unlikable characters (looking at you, Emeline). The book so authentically captures female friendship and the ways women hurt and heal each other- and the wisdom and idealism of your late twenties. A love letter to San Francisco, to sex workers, and to love itself- and the terrifying risks that vulnerability requires.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Once you knew, you could see that the world was made up of secrets, hidden rooms and second names.
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I told my partner about halfway through this book that I think fans of Margo's Got Money Troubles would like it, and I stand by that. For some reason, I think Margo might be perceived as being more broadly approachable, or at least it's already reached a wider audience, but a lot of the themes feel comparable. I really enjoyed the voice of the main character, although I found there to be odd moments of urgency scattered amongst a largely reflective, almost nostalgic text. I also really loved the exploration of softness within men—something the MC really loved, and that I find is not talked about often in books centering female characters.
Thank you to FSG for the opportunity to read and review!
Thank you to FSG for the opportunity to read and review!
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5/5
For a novel about a stripper and a dominatrix, this was incredibly relatable. It covers love and loss, passion and rage, and everything in between. This was beautifully written, and I can't wait to read it again.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
For a novel about a stripper and a dominatrix, this was incredibly relatable. It covers love and loss, passion and rage, and everything in between. This was beautifully written, and I can't wait to read it again.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.