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One Day, Hard and Clear
Not yet published
Expected 30 Jun 26A poignant novel about two best friends sharing yearning, rejection, and lip gloss in a close-knit blue-collar town.
It’s 2004 and childhood friends Sami and Lucy are on the edge of adulthood. Lucy knows what she is going to do — she’s going to school and getting out. But Sami, caught in an endless loop with a boy, True, who is from a troubled family, can’t seem to get unstuck.
“I’d used to feel, when I was with True, that I was safe, that he would take care of me, that he wouldn’t let anything bad happen. But now I wasn’t sure what I had constructed that from. His easy way with words, his confidence, maybe, his height. I was tall but he was bigger than me; in my mind he was bigger than anyone. Or maybe it was the surprisingly gentle way he’d touch your hair, your face. But in reality, he’d offered no more protection than a child’s night light against monsters, a tender deception we fall for, easily, before we grow up and know better.”
The further Sami drifts from Lucy, the harder it is to not be guided and bound by her heartbreak for True, whose destructive presence continually interferes with Sami’s hope for stability and connection. As their paths begin to diverge, Sami must learn to navigate life in their small town — and the universe — without the one person she’s always counted on.
“If soulmates were real, she was mine.”
It’s 2004 and childhood friends Sami and Lucy are on the edge of adulthood. Lucy knows what she is going to do — she’s going to school and getting out. But Sami, caught in an endless loop with a boy, True, who is from a troubled family, can’t seem to get unstuck.
“I’d used to feel, when I was with True, that I was safe, that he would take care of me, that he wouldn’t let anything bad happen. But now I wasn’t sure what I had constructed that from. His easy way with words, his confidence, maybe, his height. I was tall but he was bigger than me; in my mind he was bigger than anyone. Or maybe it was the surprisingly gentle way he’d touch your hair, your face. But in reality, he’d offered no more protection than a child’s night light against monsters, a tender deception we fall for, easily, before we grow up and know better.”
The further Sami drifts from Lucy, the harder it is to not be guided and bound by her heartbreak for True, whose destructive presence continually interferes with Sami’s hope for stability and connection. As their paths begin to diverge, Sami must learn to navigate life in their small town — and the universe — without the one person she’s always counted on.
“If soulmates were real, she was mine.”
- GenresFictionComing Of Age
240 pages, Paperback
Expected publication June 30, 2026
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May 22, 20264 stars; review to come June 2026
October 1, 2025
Anne Baldo’s One Day, Hard and Clear is a novel of narrative gestalt: people, characters who’re more than how they see one another. Whether we’re talking about Sami, a layered, complex young woman from Windsor, or True, her onetime boyfriend who strives to become more than it’s given him to be, Mrs. Baldo’s novel is a story which breathes in all the right places. It’s a book of exquisite, living, sincere detail which feels less like words in a book and more like a secret confided between childhood friends over a hot drink. It’s a novel about how all of us are more than we appear to be.
Readers of Margaret Atwood, Shashi Bhat, and Flannery O’Connor will feel right at home here. Mrs. Baldo is, in my opinion, a quiet virtuoso of Canadian literature. If I may return to those coffee-shop friends, One Day, Hard and Clear is like a wonderful shop which you half-hope will ‘succeed,’ become a franchise, while a secret, more selfish part of you feels like that’d ruin its charm. I believe we see that same conflict in play among many of these characters. For instance, we half-hope that Sami will escape the house, the hometown which stifles her, but wonder what she’ll find. We hope she doesn’t lose something irrevocable in the search.
I hope Mrs. Baldo also doesn’t lose it, no matter where this book takes her.
Readers of Margaret Atwood, Shashi Bhat, and Flannery O’Connor will feel right at home here. Mrs. Baldo is, in my opinion, a quiet virtuoso of Canadian literature. If I may return to those coffee-shop friends, One Day, Hard and Clear is like a wonderful shop which you half-hope will ‘succeed,’ become a franchise, while a secret, more selfish part of you feels like that’d ruin its charm. I believe we see that same conflict in play among many of these characters. For instance, we half-hope that Sami will escape the house, the hometown which stifles her, but wonder what she’ll find. We hope she doesn’t lose something irrevocable in the search.
I hope Mrs. Baldo also doesn’t lose it, no matter where this book takes her.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Dundurn Press for sharing an ARC copy of this book 🙏
The sign says, Windsor, City of Roses,
But anyone who's lived here knows it's a city of hands and dark metal, necessary as blood
— Bronwen Wallace, "Reclaiming the City"
The Premise:
Set against the backdrop of a sweltering July in 2004, One Day, Hard and Clear is a visceral, deeply atmospheric exploration of the "tender deceptions" of youth. It centers on Sami, a young woman caught in the magnetic pull of two very different people: True, the first love she knows she should outgrow, and Lucy, her best friend whose life is as curated as her mother’s expensive candles. When tragedy shatters their shared dreams of Paris, Sami is forced to confront the ghosts of her past and see the people she loves with a sudden, painful clarity.
My Thoughts
Masterful Atmosphere and Prose: Baldo has a startling gift for sensory detail. Whether she is describing the smell of lavender and cucumber peel-off masks or the "blue blink" of a digital clock at 11:11, the writing feels lived-in and real. She perfectly captures the "long, slow ache" of grief, where even the most mundane objects- VCR tapes and Abercrombie ads- become heavy with the weight of loss.
The Complexity of Girlhood: The relationship between Sami and Lucy is the soul of this book. It’s an all-consuming, ride-or-die friendship that feels both beautiful and claustrophobic. Baldo expertly highlights the friction between their domestic lives, Sami’s raw, loud household versus Lucy’s stiflingly perfect home, to show how these environments shape their identities and their desperation to escape.
A Pitch-Perfect Setting: The 2004 setting is more than just nostalgia; it’s an anchor. The references to The Practice, LFO on the radio, and "whippet-thin" eyebrows are used to ground the high-stakes emotions of adolescence in a specific moment of transition. It makes the eventual shift into the stark, quiet reality of the funeral feel even more jarring.
The Clarity of the End: The title comes home beautifully in the final chapters. It’s about that singular moment when the fog of youth and "protection" lifts, revealing the people we loved for exactly who they were, flaws and all. It’s a melancholic conclusion, but it feels like a necessary exhale for Sami as she finally starts to find her own path.
Final Verdict:
One Day, Hard and Clear is a haunting and observant look at the transition to adulthood. Baldo’s lyrical prose and sharp emotional intelligence make this a standout for readers who enjoy character-driven literary fiction that explores the darker, more complicated edges of friendship and family.
Recommend to readers who love:
Atmospheric Prose: If your audience highlights quotes and loves "vibey," sensory writing, they will adore Baldo’s style. Her descriptions of 2004 suburbia are incredibly vivid.
Character Studies: This isn't a fast-paced thriller. It’s for readers who want to get deep inside a protagonist's head and understand the messy, often toxic dynamics of high school friendships.
Nostalgia with an Edge: It’s great for anyone who grew up in the late 90s or early 2000s and wants to revisit that era as a "sparkly" memory, but as a raw and complicated time.
Emotional "Heavy Hitters": Since it deals with grief and the "shattering" of childhood illusions, it’s a perfect recommendation for fans of authors like Celeste Ng or Emma Cline.
My Perspective:
I would definitely recommend it, especially to your followers who appreciate literary depth and emotional honesty. It feels like the kind of book that stays with you long after you finish the last page because the "clarity" Sami finds is something everyone eventually faces.
The sign says, Windsor, City of Roses,
But anyone who's lived here knows it's a city of hands and dark metal, necessary as blood
— Bronwen Wallace, "Reclaiming the City"
The Premise:
Set against the backdrop of a sweltering July in 2004, One Day, Hard and Clear is a visceral, deeply atmospheric exploration of the "tender deceptions" of youth. It centers on Sami, a young woman caught in the magnetic pull of two very different people: True, the first love she knows she should outgrow, and Lucy, her best friend whose life is as curated as her mother’s expensive candles. When tragedy shatters their shared dreams of Paris, Sami is forced to confront the ghosts of her past and see the people she loves with a sudden, painful clarity.
My Thoughts
Masterful Atmosphere and Prose: Baldo has a startling gift for sensory detail. Whether she is describing the smell of lavender and cucumber peel-off masks or the "blue blink" of a digital clock at 11:11, the writing feels lived-in and real. She perfectly captures the "long, slow ache" of grief, where even the most mundane objects- VCR tapes and Abercrombie ads- become heavy with the weight of loss.
The Complexity of Girlhood: The relationship between Sami and Lucy is the soul of this book. It’s an all-consuming, ride-or-die friendship that feels both beautiful and claustrophobic. Baldo expertly highlights the friction between their domestic lives, Sami’s raw, loud household versus Lucy’s stiflingly perfect home, to show how these environments shape their identities and their desperation to escape.
A Pitch-Perfect Setting: The 2004 setting is more than just nostalgia; it’s an anchor. The references to The Practice, LFO on the radio, and "whippet-thin" eyebrows are used to ground the high-stakes emotions of adolescence in a specific moment of transition. It makes the eventual shift into the stark, quiet reality of the funeral feel even more jarring.
The Clarity of the End: The title comes home beautifully in the final chapters. It’s about that singular moment when the fog of youth and "protection" lifts, revealing the people we loved for exactly who they were, flaws and all. It’s a melancholic conclusion, but it feels like a necessary exhale for Sami as she finally starts to find her own path.
Final Verdict:
One Day, Hard and Clear is a haunting and observant look at the transition to adulthood. Baldo’s lyrical prose and sharp emotional intelligence make this a standout for readers who enjoy character-driven literary fiction that explores the darker, more complicated edges of friendship and family.
Recommend to readers who love:
Atmospheric Prose: If your audience highlights quotes and loves "vibey," sensory writing, they will adore Baldo’s style. Her descriptions of 2004 suburbia are incredibly vivid.
Character Studies: This isn't a fast-paced thriller. It’s for readers who want to get deep inside a protagonist's head and understand the messy, often toxic dynamics of high school friendships.
Nostalgia with an Edge: It’s great for anyone who grew up in the late 90s or early 2000s and wants to revisit that era as a "sparkly" memory, but as a raw and complicated time.
Emotional "Heavy Hitters": Since it deals with grief and the "shattering" of childhood illusions, it’s a perfect recommendation for fans of authors like Celeste Ng or Emma Cline.
My Perspective:
I would definitely recommend it, especially to your followers who appreciate literary depth and emotional honesty. It feels like the kind of book that stays with you long after you finish the last page because the "clarity" Sami finds is something everyone eventually faces.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This novel is gorgeous, lyrical, heart-breaking, and profound. Perpetually abandoned by her clueless parents, Sami searches for belonging in relationships, in particular with her intellectually-curious friend, Lucy, her UFO-obsessed boyfriend Bodie, and her upwardly-mobile first love, True. While it's hard to root for Sami's toxic entanglements, Anne Baldo balances wry snark with genuine compassion for the troubled men in Sami's orbit. (Admittedly, I did LOL at her ironic descriptions of Bodie and his unfortunate living situation, like this one: ""Sami," Bodie said, "We have everything right here." The thought disturbed me as a I looked around the apartment. Crushed cans of energy drinks that didn't seem to give Bodie energy and torn-open bags of gummi bears that Bodie forgot he opened so they crystallized").
Like Sami, True is a lost kid searching for home in a seemingly inhospitable town. Unlike Sami, True attempts to "Gatsby" himself out of a cycle of poverty and addiction through his association with relatively affluent characters, some legit, others shifty. In contrast, Sami only succeeds at deceiving herself about the desperate nature of her situation. It's through rich, poetic language that Anne Baldo conveys Sami's slippery state-of-mind. According to Sami, a white dress can either be a ghost or a wedding gown; a closet can be full of moths or it can be brimming with snowfall. It's all a matter of perception. Perhaps Sami finds her true home in poetry.
Anne Baldo's writing style is so distinct that it's hard to find comparison. I love how she blends references to popular culture (Britney Spears, Courtney Love, LFO), old Hollywood (Richard Burton & Liz Taylor), literature, science, and conspiracy. Reading this, I felt like I was browsing a lost archive or an encyclopedia of oddities. I think this book would appeal to fans of Heather O'Neill's Lullabies for Little Criminals. I am also reminded of Eden Robinson, who uses poetry, humour, noir, and raw, but compassionate, realism to explore the lives of wounded people and the systems that hurt them.
Like Sami, True is a lost kid searching for home in a seemingly inhospitable town. Unlike Sami, True attempts to "Gatsby" himself out of a cycle of poverty and addiction through his association with relatively affluent characters, some legit, others shifty. In contrast, Sami only succeeds at deceiving herself about the desperate nature of her situation. It's through rich, poetic language that Anne Baldo conveys Sami's slippery state-of-mind. According to Sami, a white dress can either be a ghost or a wedding gown; a closet can be full of moths or it can be brimming with snowfall. It's all a matter of perception. Perhaps Sami finds her true home in poetry.
Anne Baldo's writing style is so distinct that it's hard to find comparison. I love how she blends references to popular culture (Britney Spears, Courtney Love, LFO), old Hollywood (Richard Burton & Liz Taylor), literature, science, and conspiracy. Reading this, I felt like I was browsing a lost archive or an encyclopedia of oddities. I think this book would appeal to fans of Heather O'Neill's Lullabies for Little Criminals. I am also reminded of Eden Robinson, who uses poetry, humour, noir, and raw, but compassionate, realism to explore the lives of wounded people and the systems that hurt them.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Why do I love reading sad stories so much?
This book was in the end very emotive for me and even though I can't massively relate or see myself in any of those characters, Anne's talent shone through and put my in the room, right next to them as I was reading this story. Visceral, reflective and thought provoking, with a wonderful sprinkle of nostalgia and so many cultural references that made my heart sing.
The story is quite simple, as these stories tend to be but it gives so much food for thought and reflection. Sami in particular and True feel incredibly real and even though they are flawed, you can't help but love them and root for them (although, you know from the beginning this is going to be a SAD SAD story). Generational trauma, poverty, emotional abuse, abandonment, co-dependence, hopelessness, constant struggles and battles to overcome (can you ever escape the generational spiral), toxic relationships, we have it all.
The highlight for me is the portrayal of Sami and True's relationship throughout the years. In a way, growing apart from Lucy wasn't a huge surprise. But we witness the obsession in adolescence morph into an emotional crutch/ support that we desperately cling onto and can't really let go, even as the years evolve, we can't be together but we can't be apart. It's beyond being just a love interest though, isn't it? That hit home, felt very real and I think we all have that one person who is True for us. I didn't feel judgemental towards Sami, she is deeply flawed and very much comes across like a someone who just allows life to happen, rather than actually DO something to help herself.
In a nutshell, for me this book delivers what it sets out to give in spades and if you, like me, like a sad girl tale, this will not disappoint. Thank you to Anne Baldo, Dundurn Press | Rare Machines and NetGalley for my review copy, all opinions are my own.
This book was in the end very emotive for me and even though I can't massively relate or see myself in any of those characters, Anne's talent shone through and put my in the room, right next to them as I was reading this story. Visceral, reflective and thought provoking, with a wonderful sprinkle of nostalgia and so many cultural references that made my heart sing.
The story is quite simple, as these stories tend to be but it gives so much food for thought and reflection. Sami in particular and True feel incredibly real and even though they are flawed, you can't help but love them and root for them (although, you know from the beginning this is going to be a SAD SAD story). Generational trauma, poverty, emotional abuse, abandonment, co-dependence, hopelessness, constant struggles and battles to overcome (can you ever escape the generational spiral), toxic relationships, we have it all.
The highlight for me is the portrayal of Sami and True's relationship throughout the years. In a way, growing apart from Lucy wasn't a huge surprise. But we witness the obsession in adolescence morph into an emotional crutch/ support that we desperately cling onto and can't really let go, even as the years evolve, we can't be together but we can't be apart. It's beyond being just a love interest though, isn't it? That hit home, felt very real and I think we all have that one person who is True for us. I didn't feel judgemental towards Sami, she is deeply flawed and very much comes across like a someone who just allows life to happen, rather than actually DO something to help herself.
In a nutshell, for me this book delivers what it sets out to give in spades and if you, like me, like a sad girl tale, this will not disappoint. Thank you to Anne Baldo, Dundurn Press | Rare Machines and NetGalley for my review copy, all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
To start off, this was a beautiful story that really asks the question: once someone leaves from your life, do they really leave forever?
The friendships and lasting invisible strings between all these characters was so poetic and profound. I absolutely loved Anne Baldo’s writing. She would just whip out a masterpiece of a sentence and i’d have to reread it because of the pure beauty that is her writing.
Buttt, there were a few instances where i was getting just a tad confused with the timeline. Yes, she’d add years as the chapter heads, but sometimes she would go back in time, or Sami would take us back, and so more than once i thought maybe we’d gone into the past again, when it was actually still the present time. Purely because there wasn’t much explanation. I feel like there could’ve been much more context to things and people so i could’ve perhaps cared more. Also, ALL the characters were so unlikable, i’ve been making faces this whole reading experience. But maybe the author intended that? We could never truly know.
And lastly, I thought that this book was marketed more towards Sami and Lucy and their friendship together, with boyfriend drama as a side plot. I could’ve misread the description, so it might just be a me thing. But i was so excited for a hard hitting book about deep, emotional friendship torn apart by time, and it could’ve been my lack of attachment, but i felt like that’s not what was delivered. I was hoping to learn more about Lucy and eventually get her point of view, but instead we got some jerk’s pov that is somehow so intwined into the storyline, yet does nothing for it.
Despite all these very harsh criticisms, i still very much enjoyed this novel and recommend it to people who like to read about characters developing over time! I read it in 2 days, so that has to count for something.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!
The friendships and lasting invisible strings between all these characters was so poetic and profound. I absolutely loved Anne Baldo’s writing. She would just whip out a masterpiece of a sentence and i’d have to reread it because of the pure beauty that is her writing.
Buttt, there were a few instances where i was getting just a tad confused with the timeline. Yes, she’d add years as the chapter heads, but sometimes she would go back in time, or Sami would take us back, and so more than once i thought maybe we’d gone into the past again, when it was actually still the present time. Purely because there wasn’t much explanation. I feel like there could’ve been much more context to things and people so i could’ve perhaps cared more. Also, ALL the characters were so unlikable, i’ve been making faces this whole reading experience. But maybe the author intended that? We could never truly know.
And lastly, I thought that this book was marketed more towards Sami and Lucy and their friendship together, with boyfriend drama as a side plot. I could’ve misread the description, so it might just be a me thing. But i was so excited for a hard hitting book about deep, emotional friendship torn apart by time, and it could’ve been my lack of attachment, but i felt like that’s not what was delivered. I was hoping to learn more about Lucy and eventually get her point of view, but instead we got some jerk’s pov that is somehow so intwined into the storyline, yet does nothing for it.
Despite all these very harsh criticisms, i still very much enjoyed this novel and recommend it to people who like to read about characters developing over time! I read it in 2 days, so that has to count for something.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book was really promising!
I really enjoyed it overall - the reason I've knocked off a star is because I wish certain elements were further fleshed out.
The story predominantly follows Sami, and her best friend Lucy, through various of life's trials and tribulations including Sami's toxic but ever-present relationship.
I think this was a great slice-of-life depiction of the small changes in our lives which end up having the most momentous reprecussions and it showed really well the changing nature of relationships as those changes come into play.
I felt that many of the quotes were resonant and compassionately written for all of us who have experienced grief, joy or nostalgia in unexpected moments.
As above, my obly criticism is that I wish there was more! This book felt like a breeze to get through but in reality part of that was because it was pretty short in length. I wish we explored more of Sami's life (with greater context) at each stage of life we follow her through - especially since there are relatively large time-jumps between the segments.
What I really wanted to see more of was the ending where our characters reconnect. I felt this could have been a very poignant moment but it was underplayed.
Overall though, very enjoyable and worth a read. It's resonant but not emotionally taxing; reflective of the shared experience of growing up.
I really enjoyed it overall - the reason I've knocked off a star is because I wish certain elements were further fleshed out.
The story predominantly follows Sami, and her best friend Lucy, through various of life's trials and tribulations including Sami's toxic but ever-present relationship.
I think this was a great slice-of-life depiction of the small changes in our lives which end up having the most momentous reprecussions and it showed really well the changing nature of relationships as those changes come into play.
I felt that many of the quotes were resonant and compassionately written for all of us who have experienced grief, joy or nostalgia in unexpected moments.
As above, my obly criticism is that I wish there was more! This book felt like a breeze to get through but in reality part of that was because it was pretty short in length. I wish we explored more of Sami's life (with greater context) at each stage of life we follow her through - especially since there are relatively large time-jumps between the segments.
What I really wanted to see more of was the ending where our characters reconnect. I felt this could have been a very poignant moment but it was underplayed.
Overall though, very enjoyable and worth a read. It's resonant but not emotionally taxing; reflective of the shared experience of growing up.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
One Day, Hard and Clear predominately follows Sami and some of her close friends as they navigate young adulthood in a gritty, hard telling of their lives. Sami’s “slice of life” telling has her ending up with a deadbeat boyfriend, then pregnant with many of his children, and constantly struggling to figure out how to love herself and how that translates into being loved by others.
I know there is some motive to like True and Sami together but True is so grossly bad for her that every time he came around, I was frustrated for her.
I do love a gritty tale, where you keep hoping for the MC to pull themselves out of their own world but part of the realism is that Sami truly can’t. she is doing the best she can with her limited means, education, and support and that’s just the way her life is going to be.
This short read was hard to put down and I wouldn’t have minded it being just a little bit longer.
One Day, Hard and Clear is due to be published June 30, 2026 and I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for my review.
I know there is some motive to like True and Sami together but True is so grossly bad for her that every time he came around, I was frustrated for her.
I do love a gritty tale, where you keep hoping for the MC to pull themselves out of their own world but part of the realism is that Sami truly can’t. she is doing the best she can with her limited means, education, and support and that’s just the way her life is going to be.
This short read was hard to put down and I wouldn’t have minded it being just a little bit longer.
One Day, Hard and Clear is due to be published June 30, 2026 and I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for my review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
One Day Hard and Clear is a story set at the beginning of the 21st century filled with fun early 2000s nostalgia. The story follows Sami and her friend Lucy as they approach adulthood and begin to slowly but drastically drift apart as their lives take different shapes. The live they once’s dreamed of together doesn’t work out and they both go down two separate paths with very different outcomes. It was an interesting read. I did find it hard to follow sometimes. However the character of Sami was fun to read about as she is quite complexed and flawed which makes her feel more real. Overall I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to people to enjoyed books such as Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.
This one was just okay for me. I could see where Sami’s story was going pretty early on, especially when it came to her relationship with True, and unfortunately it didn’t feel like there was enough development to really make it hit the way I wanted it to.
I did appreciate the friendship between Sami and Lucy—it had some strong moments and felt realistic in that intense, growing-apart kind of way—but overall the story felt a bit flat for me. I kept waiting for something to fully pull me in emotionally, and it just never quite got there.
That said, I can see the potential in the writing, and I’d definitely be open to trying another book from this author in the future.
Review of advance copy
This book perfectly captures the heartbreak of growing up: the kind that is not about any particular breakup or parting of ways, but just the bittersweet resignation of realizing that you can never have everything you want and thought you might get one day. Baldo writes characters glittery with the beauty of their hopes and dreams and grimy with the detritus of daily life. These characters reckon with socioeconomic class, with obscure interests not always understood by those closest to them, with the imperfect ways people love and the twin difficulty of knowing how to let themselves be loved. And as always in Baldo's work, these pages are adorned with poetic sentences, peppered with cryptids, and rooted in Windsor-Essex lore.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was such an addicting book. I found a lot of nostalgia that reminded me of my life as a teenager in the early 2000s and then as a young adult. I loved how this book takes us through the future years as Sami and Lucy grow up and grow apart. All of the things Sami deals with are so relatable. Friendships, relationships, motherhood, and more. This is such a perfect book for millennial women. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Set in the 2000s, this novel was a nostalgic exploration of girlhood. Coming of age where a guy comes between two girls' friendship. The characters were relatable, and the prose was engaging. I think a lot of millennial readers will connect with this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for the ARC!
Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Elegant, restrained writing, and a powerful story about the thrall of bad boys.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I really wanted to enjoy this eARC of One Day, Hard and Clear by Anne Baldo from NetGalley and Dundurn Press, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.
Every page felt heavy and emotionally draining. The character development is extensive, but the story moves very slowly. Lucy and Sami’s relationship — and the complications with their significant others — just didn’t connect with me the way I hoped.
I did enjoy the prose at times, but it often felt buried beneath constant arguing, fault-finding, and emotional struggles. Life already feels serious enough, and this just wasn’t the kind of emotional weight I wanted while trying to escape into fiction.
I almost DNFd at 70% but thought an ending would wrap it up for me, alas, it did not. Afraid this one just didn’t work for me.
Life is too serious — go enjoy some fiction.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Every page felt heavy and emotionally draining. The character development is extensive, but the story moves very slowly. Lucy and Sami’s relationship — and the complications with their significant others — just didn’t connect with me the way I hoped.
I did enjoy the prose at times, but it often felt buried beneath constant arguing, fault-finding, and emotional struggles. Life already feels serious enough, and this just wasn’t the kind of emotional weight I wanted while trying to escape into fiction.
I almost DNFd at 70% but thought an ending would wrap it up for me, alas, it did not. Afraid this one just didn’t work for me.
Life is too serious — go enjoy some fiction.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
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