Thank you to NetGalley and Ruadan Books for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Poppy is starting to question all her life choices. How did she end up working for two of the most incompetent men in the city? Her day job keeps her chasing the next campy folly dreamed up by a viral artist, while her side job is where she really wants to shine—if only that boss would stop getting sentimental and careless about his assignments. And if only Poppy were not working for free. She needs to make a change, and soon, if she is going to survive the debacles these two keep dragging her into.
Known for his work in crime and horror, Angel Luis Colón is back with a sharp summer thriller. Pop! channels the frustrations of disgruntled workers stuck under incompetent managers while imagining what might happen if the assistant finally decided she could do the job better herself. Part fantasy, part crime drama, and part dark comedy, this book keeps the laughs coming until the very end.
I give Pop! 3 out of 5 stars. I loved the way the book juxtaposes the double life Poppy lives professionally with the double life she seems to live personally as a bisexual character. While her preferences are not hidden away, Poppy still seems to conceal so much of herself from even those closest to her. That said, some of the details and plot points felt too far-fetched, with the events at the art opening pushing the story past my suspension of disbelief. At times, the book felt like three different storylines forced between the same covers, and that did not always work to the reader’s benefit. I also struggled with Poppy’s progression from teenager in need, to rough-edged assistant with anger issues, to hands-on cold-blooded killer. By the end, the story felt as if it had gone two steps too far into make-believe, leaving me wondering what, exactly, I had just read.
If you love books like Assistant to the Villain or The Dark Lord’s Guide to Dating (and Other War Crimes)—stories where assistants begin to come into their own power—but want something with a more realistic setting and more far-fetched plot turns, Pop! might be the book for you. With on-page murder, gun violence, and black-market transactions, this book may be best suited for readers ages 16 and up.
Pop! will release August 18, 2026, and is available for preorder now in our Bookshop.org store.
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Killing Lincoln, Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard
- Current audio book: The Incredible Winston Browne, Sean Dietrich
- Book I’m most looking forward to: The Magic of Chamomile Cottage, Heather Webber
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