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Space to Heal
That Kind of Girl follows an anxious and overwhelmed physician who meets a stripper-slash-therapist whose fearless confidence leaves her to question if having it all is worth the price of losing herself in the process. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for That Kind of Girl came from seeing the women around me trying to balance the chaos of demanding careers and motherhood. I started writing the book when I was a new mother trying to weave parenting into my life as a physician. I wanted to explore what it truly means to “have it all” and the toll it can take on a woman’s sense of self. The dynamic between the anxious physician and the fearless stripper-therapist is a way to highlight different approaches to confidence and self-acceptance. Ultimately, my hope is to inspire women to find something they love—something that grounds them and brings joy—amidst the overwhelming demands of their lives. It’s about rediscovering yourself when the world expects you to be everything to everyone.
Opal’s struggles with balancing a career, marriage, and family are relatable to many women today. Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into your character’s life?
Absolutely. I often pull emotions from real life into my writing. I want the reader to experience the wide range of emotions they find on the page, often messy, but most of all the joy and levity that comes with not having to do this alone. One memory from my own life that made it into the book was writing a text message filled with four-letter words about my boss and accidentally sending it to my boss instead of my husband.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
One of the core themes I wanted to explore in That Kind of Girl is that a person is never just the sum of their past mistakes. We all carry regrets and moments we wish we could change, but those don’t define us. Redemption, I believe, truly begins with forgiving yourself—allowing space to heal and grow beyond what’s happened. Through the characters’ journeys, I wanted to highlight that self-forgiveness isn’t easy, but it’s essential for reclaiming your sense of worth and moving forward with courage and hope.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
Turbulent Skies is about a woman days away from her wedding when her fiancé has an accident that leaves him on life support. Things go from bad to worse when his ex shows up and reveals they never legally divorced, she has medical decision-making power, and she wants to pull the plug. The book is expected to hit shelves in 2026.
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Will she sacrifice herself to keep everyone she loves happy?
Doctor Opal Collins is anxious and overwhelmed. So when her husband threatens to leave her
unless she finds the time to add a baby to the chaos, she digs deep to impress her boss and earn a
sanity-saving promotion. And though she’s excited by the spark between them, she knows she
should be offended when her boss suggests she trade her body for the job.
Thrilled when she earns the coveted position after setting boundaries in their scandalous affair,
Opal’s complicated dual relationships have her humming with tension. But with the tangled web
of deceit and affection already woven, she fears there’s no way out without betraying her vow to
do no harm.
Has her people-pleasing persona destroyed her dreams, or can she cling to a vestige of self?
That Kind of Girl is a wickedly witty work of women’s fiction. If you like emotional tension,
laugh-out-loud humor, and beautifully crafted prose, then you’ll adore Jacey Bici’s unexpectedly
sweet journey.
That Kind of Girl
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
LITERARY TITAN 