Upon its release on March 3, 2016 by University of Texas Press, Madonnaland received positive reviews from critics, who praised her writing and bold subject choice.

Instead, she ended up writing Madonnaland about her own failure to create a Madonna biography, why Bay City did not have any commemoration for the singer, as well as unknown music bands, pop culture and celebrity life.

[2] When Simone was given the task to write a book about Madonna, she was enthusiastic about the opportunity, since she had admired the singer's musical output and her ambitious nature which has led to a successful career in show business.

Simone recalled how Madonna had struggled through her early days in New York city, and through her tough business mind and musical intuition had succeeded in crafting her own niche.

Jason Diamond from the publication reviewed it and found that the book gave a "fuller, weirder and more interesting overview of Madonna" than was already present in previous works about her.

[1] Jennifer Levin from The Santa Fe New Mexican commended Simone's "wit and grace" in reporting Bay City's troubled relationship with Madonna, including the political agenda surrounding her.

[4] Writing for PopMatters, Megan Volpert rated the book 7 out of 10 stars, and described it as "excellent", suggesting it as an important addition to modern cultural criticism.

What the world does need is Simone's productively clear-eyed assessment of her own musical and journalistic failures, [...] for the detours unavoidably provoked by fame and fandom," concluded the review.

[9] Kirkus Reviews writer Craig Marks found the portions where the author wrote about her previous profession as a dancer as "stunning" and called the book a "provocative analysis".

[10] Naomi Fry from The New York Times appreciated the last chapter of Madonnaland with its exploration of Flying Wedge and other forgotten indie rock bands present in Bay City.