I've read the manuscript of Iris After the Incident back in June and I admit I was paid to proofread it. I was not paid to write a review though, but I still want to. I also bought the printed book even when I mostly buy e-books nowadays because I thought this was important. It's a book I need in print, because this needs to be shared with others.

Summary:

Which moment has defined your life so far?

Whether she likes it or not, Iris’s life has been divided into two: Before the Incident, and After the Incident. Something very private was made very public, and since then life has been about recovering from being shamed, discovering her true friends, and struggling to find a new normal.

Two years into this new life and she finally connects with a guy again. He lives in the apartment down the hall, he’s hot, and he doesn’t look at her that way. He doesn’t know what happened. But he also won’t give her his name, not right away—which has to mean he’s got something to hide too.

Iris wants to start over. Should she do that with the only person who will understand, or is this the same idiotic decision that got her in trouble in the first place?

How do I love this? Let me count the ways:

1. This book is not all fluff. It dealt with complex topics, and was rather dark compared to Mina's other works. This book made me look into how I also react on things, how I "judge" people based on questionable decisions they made in the past. It was truly well-executed as it was able to deal with such depth, but it did not come off as preachy.

2. Resilience of characters. Both Iris and Gio were recovering from the humiliation that exposed and altered their lives. I liked how they tried so hard to power through more and more challenges, even after their respective incidents. I was not exactly able to relate to them, but I wanted them to both succeed. Also, we always see the goody-goody ones in the spotlight, so it was rather interesting to read about people who live on the edge. People who fell from it, but try so hard to climb back up.

3. It was quite fitting to see Matilda and Kimmy as supporting characters here. They are strong female characters I loved, from What You Wanted and Love your Frenemies.

I found myself in awe of how Iris and Gio dealt with their issues in the most adult way. It was amazing. I've read this before our country was ravaged by disgusting male chauvinist pigs, and now more than ever, we need more books like this. Maybe in the hands of certain people in the politics so they may be educated about slut-shaming and invasion of privacy and why these things are not okay.