TLDR: If you’re into morally gray characters, unconventional storytelling, and the chaos of flawed humanity, pick this up. A wild and slighty spicy ride!

I will always, without hesitation, read about insufferable people doing unhinged, irrational things—it mirrors real life far too well. We’re all flawed humans, and some people are just more so, and that’s the kind of raw, messy realness I’m always chasing in novels. Rosenfeld? Delivered.

The dynamic between Noa (a 36-year-old filmmaker) and Teddy (a 55-year-old, powerful CEO) is exactly the kind of morally complex situationship that makes you lean in. It’s uncomfortable but entirely believable—there’s something so compelling about watching the imbalance of power play out, especially when you can totally imagine this happening in the real world. Add in some steamy scenes, and yeah, this one kept me hooked.

I didn’t even realize until 250 pages in that the entire book is framed as the movie Noa dreams of writing and producing, which just clicked everything into place for me. The way Kessler structures the chapters is genius: pause icons for reflection, play for real-time progression, fast-forward to jump weeks ahead, and rewind to dive into the past. It’s such a small, clever detail, but it adds so much depth and creativity to the storytelling. Honestly, I was so impressed.

If you loved Vladimir, this will be right up your alley—it has the same messy, dark, obsessive vibes that are impossible to look away from.