That Kind of Girl by Jacey Bici is a sharp, funny, and often painfully honest novel about Opal Collins, a dedicated physician whose life teeters between the chaos of her high-pressure hospital job and the fragile balance of her family life. The story follows her through frantic hospital shifts, tense moments with her husband Fox, and unexpected encounters, like meeting Fantasia, a stripper-slash-therapist whose fearless confidence rattles Opal’s view of herself. The book is about identity, ambition, and the difficult choices women face when juggling personal fulfillment with the demands of career and relationships. Bici builds Opal’s world with a mix of biting humor, messy realism, and moments of quiet vulnerability that keep the pages turning.

I loved how the writing felt alive. The humor is sly, often showing up in the middle of high-stress moments, and the dialogue snaps with authenticity. Opal’s internal commentary is razor-sharp yet tinged with self-doubt, making her both flawed and relatable. The pacing keeps you in that sweet spot between wanting to race ahead and needing to savor the detail. Still, there were times the book’s whirlwind of side characters and subplots made me feel a little like Opal herself, pulled in a dozen directions. It works thematically, but it occasionally left me craving more breathing room in the narrative.

The ideas at play here are what really stuck with me. Bici isn’t just telling the story of one woman in crisis. She’s poking at the bigger question of what it means to “have it all” without losing yourself in the process. Through Opal’s encounters, with her controlling boss, her relentlessly supportive yet sometimes misguided husband, and the magnetic Fantasia, the book explores power, compromise, and self-preservation. I appreciated that Bici never gave easy answers. Opal’s choices are messy, sometimes self-sabotaging, but they feel honest. The mix of humor and emotional weight keeps the themes from becoming heavy-handed, and the moments of intimacy, both in friendships and in marriage, felt refreshingly unvarnished.

By the end, I felt like I’d been through something alongside Opal, rooting for her even when she didn’t quite know where she was headed. That Kind of Girl would be a great pick for readers who love character-driven stories with bite, especially those who appreciate frank and slightly irreverent explorations of marriage, career, and identity. If you’ve ever felt the tug-of-war between ambition and the rest of your life, this book will make you laugh, squirm, and maybe even feel seen.

ASIN : B0FJNFV2CK