Published By: Bantam
Pages: 448
Released On: 02/07/2026
She feels your pain, so you don’t have to. Why should you suffer when she can do it for you?
A revolutionary company can free you from your unwanted emotions. Jealousy, grief, despair. If you can afford to, you need never feel them again.
In your place is a Carrier – a woman who is paid to process your pain.
In a world full of suffering, there is no shortage of demand. But this company has secrets. The true cost of your freedom is a Carrier’s life. Would you let her pay the price?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This really makes you think. Wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t have to feel all the bad feelings? If you could get rid of stress and anger and sadness and grief? It might sound good but I for one would rather feel those things. It’s what makes us human. And to think the only way to feel the relief is for someone else to get those feelings. Your emotions become their suffering. Is it worth it?
It’s about 100 pages longer than my ideal book length but it was very compelling and addictive and I ploughed my way through it as I didn’t want to put it down.
It’s ambitious for a debut novel, I’ll give her that. It bodes well for a very promising career.
I don’t necessarily mean this in a bad way, although I’m aware it may come across that way. But I wasn’t expecting it to be so preachy. Again, not necessarily a negative. I don’t mind books that deal with societal issues. And whilst it was fine, I did find some bits, particularly towards the middle, where she focussed more on the outage of topics than the flow of the story itself.
The characters…they weren’t unlikeable (although some definitely were) but nor were they likeable. I found their journeys interesting – individually and the overall story – but I can’t say I felt much for them.
This will sound weird but I mean it in the best way possible – I could see this book being banned. Especially in places that have conservative, traditional views on what men and women should be doing. And in my opinion, the books that get banned are usually the juicy ones, the best one.
It was a very satisfying ending and I look forward to her next book.
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