Review: Bathing and the Single Girl

Bathing and the Single Girl by Christine Elise McCarthy
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Bathing and the Single Girl by Christine Elise McCarthy

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Satire
Rating: ⭐⭐ (2 stars — clever premise, frustrating execution)

Tagline:
A messy Hollywood spiral that mistakes self-sabotage for charm.

🎬🛁 Tropes & Story Elements

• Contemporary Fiction
• Hollywood / LA Satire
• Downward Spiral Narrative
• Antiheroine / Flawed FMC
• Midlife Malaise
• Dark Humor / Cringe Comedy
• Self-Reflection & Arrested Development

⚠️ Content & Trigger Warnings

• Alcohol misuse
• Sexual situations (non-graphic)
• Emotional distress and self-sabotage
• Depression-adjacent themes
• Financial stress and instability

🩸 Full Thoughts

Bathing and the Single Girl sets out to be a sharp, funny, self-aware exploration of a woman unraveling in Hollywood — and while the concept has real promise, the execution ultimately fell flat for me.

Ruby Fitzgerald is a former actress clinging to the ghost of a career that never quite materialized. Her days are marked by hangovers, regret, awkward hookups, and a house literally crumbling around her. The narrative leans heavily into dark humor and cringe, positioning Ruby as an antiheroine readers are meant to laugh with — or at — as she spirals while continually promising herself she’ll get it together “tomorrow.”

There are moments where the satire lands. The skewering of Hollywood’s disposability, ageism, and illusion of glamour can be sharp and insightful. When Ruby’s self-awareness surfaces, it’s biting, clever, and briefly compelling. Unfortunately, those moments are inconsistent and fleeting.

🛁 Humor vs. Stagnation

What ultimately held this book back for me is that Ruby’s downward spiral rarely evolves.

The story circles the same beats — poor decisions, self-inflicted chaos, avoidance, and regret — without enough growth, escalation, or insight to justify the repetition. Instead of feeling cathartic or illuminating, much of the narrative becomes exhausting. The humor often tips from darkly funny into uncomfortable without offering deeper commentary to balance it.

Cringe comedy can be powerful when it builds toward revelation or transformation. Here, it often feels like an endpoint rather than a tool.

🖤 Emotional Arc & Payoff

By the final stretch, I found myself wanting something more — more accountability, more self-interrogation, or more meaningful change. Without that, the book feels less like a story with intention and more like an extended observation of prolonged dysfunction.

Ruby remains largely static, and while that may be intentional, it left the emotional arc feeling shallow. The novel gestures toward self-reflection, but rarely commits to it in a way that feels earned or transformative.

🖤 Themes That Almost Land

• Hollywood Disposability — Sharp but underdeveloped
• Aging & Relevance — Present, but not deeply explored
• Self-Sabotage — Documented rather than interrogated
• Identity Loss — Touched on, never excavated
• Humor as Deflection — Effective, but overused

🖤 Final Thoughts

Bathing and the Single Girl has a clever premise and flashes of wit, but it didn’t deliver the emotional depth or character development needed to make Ruby’s journey compelling for me. Without growth or meaningful payoff, the spiral feels repetitive rather than revelatory.

A miss, despite its potential — and a reminder that satire still needs momentum and purpose to truly connect.

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