I did enjoy this book. I can see why it got a lot of hype when it came out and I wasn't disappointed, even if it's not quite a 4 star read for me. I enjoyed the writing style the most. It's quick and rye with a touch of humor and feeling. I'm also a sucker for "all these characters are connected - watch and see how they're connected AND how they come together and effect each other." When done well it's an enjoyable experience and in this case it was done well. I also enjoyed the characters, particularly the side characters and Six Thirty - the dog who gets one of my favorite POVs in the book.
Certain aspects of the book didn't do it for me. They were far and in between but they still left this book just under the 4 star mark.
Some of Elizabeth's little monologues that established her as ahead of her time felt stilted and unrealistic to me, for instance. Don't get me wrong - women had these thoughts at the time and I've read books that reflected similar ideas, I just know I've read authors that have addressed these views in a less preachy, take you out of the story way (see Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You for instance).
There were also moments where the "villiany" of some of Elizabeth's colleagues felt... overblown. The sexism and explicit harassment in the workplaces at this time was very real. However, it was often insidious and structural, which was not reflected in this book in a realistic way. It reminded me of the workplace sexism in Season 3 of Stranger Things where the men in Nancy's workplace were depicted as cartoonishly villianous for reasons I never understood. Depicting these experiences in this way, both in this book and a TV show, just doesn't seem very helpful to add to the conversation of sexism or feminism to me.
I also felt like the ending was rushed - like the author had a page limit and had to wrap up the loose ends as quickly as possible to be under that page mark. It made what should have been a satisfying ending lackluster, at least to me, obviously a lot of people really loved it and in a way I can see why. But still, the potential was there and I wish it had been reached.
Like I said, overall I liked this book. I can see why it's so popular because it's a story that many people want and need - a story where we can stick it to the man in less conventional ways. But I can also see it's flaws and missed opportunities, which is why it gets 3.75 stars from me.