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Talking at Night
'Evocative, intoxicating and basically impossible to put down. Like Normal People , it's a love story which feels so achingly real that you miss the characters when you stop reading' BOBBY PALMER, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ISAAC AND THE EGG'Deeply romantic. Reminded me of just how all-consuming first love can be' LAURA BARNETT, AUTHOR OF #1 BESTSELLER THE VERSIONS OF US__________** PRE-ORDER THE LOVE STORY THAT WILL KEEP YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT**Will and Rosie meet as teenagers.They're opposites in every way . She overthinks everything; he is her twin brother's wild and unpredictable friend. But over secret walks home and late-night phone calls, they become closer - destined to be one another's great love story.Until, one day, tragedy strikes, and their future together is shattered.But as the years roll on, Will and Rosie can't help but find their way back to each other. Time and again, they come close to rekindling what might have been.What do you do when the one person you should forget is the one you just can't let go?__________' Spellbinding, beautiful, lyrical and tender...a dazzling debut. I loved every word and was left longing for more' ROSIE WALSH, AUTHOR OF THE MAN WHO DIDN'T CALL'The story of Will and Rosie is a classic love story in every sense, and yet, in Claire Daverley's hands, it felt entirely new' MARY BETH KEANE, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ASK AGAIN, YES'Entirely beautiful, bruising and hopeful. Claire Daverley has created a perfect thing. Talking at Night takes its place amongst my all time favourites' CHRIS WHITAKER'Writing that is laced with the quiet devastation of Sally Rooney. Utterly spellbinding' JULIE OWEN MOYLAN'A classic will-they-won't-they in the vein of David Nicholls, this novel is impossible to put down' CONSTANZA CASATI, AUTHOR OF CLYTEMNESTRA'Clever, beautiful and romantic. An absolute gem' RACHEL MARKS, AUTHOR OF HELLO, STRANGER
400 pages, Paperback
First published June 6, 2023
About the author
Claire Daverley
2 books532 followersAfter graduating with a degree in Fine Art from the University of Oxford, Claire Daverley began a career in publishing, writing about books by day but penning her own by night (or rather, very early in the morning). She currently lives in Scotland with her husband and spaniel. Talking at Night is her debut novel, and has been sold in twenty-four territories to date.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,707 reviews
July 24, 2023
Will and I got strung along for 390 pages.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2023
Quiet, melancholic, poignant, engaging, sweet, gentle, complicated, raw … there are so many adjectives I could use to describe this lovely debut from Claire Daverley, and I still wouldn’t be able to quite capture it. All I can say is that when I read the final words and closed the book, I felt content, and that’s such a nice feeling to be left with.
Will and Rosie go to the same high school but haven’t talked until one night at a bonfire where he inexplicably opens up to her. His past has given him a bad boy reputation, so he’s guarded with his emotions, but he feels safe with Rosie. She, on the other hand, is a rule-follower and good student whose future goals, along with her twin brother Josh’s, have largely been dictated by their successful mother. Will has no plans for uni, while musically-talented Rosie is being steered to Oxford, yet somehow this mismatched pair become best friends.
Despite their different life goals and Rosie’s insistence that they just stay friends, their feelings intensify until a single night breaks them both and changes the entire course of both their lives. Over the many years that follow, circumstances, guilt and each one’s almost paralyzing inability to make choices for their own happiness, push them together and pull them apart repeatedly. Locations, jobs and partners change, but one thing is constant: their friendship. They fight, they laugh, they ignore each other, they seek each other out, but no matter what - they stay. Is that enough or are they both chasing a youthful fantasy?
Daverley tells a story that is plausible and beautifully written. Rosie and Will are complex and messy, and while romance plays a role, it’s less about “Do they end up together?” and more about “Who do they become?” She doesn’t sugar-coat depictions of mental illness, struggles with identity, addiction, family dysfunction, and trauma. The story feels real but never heavy. As a reader, I could both relate to and sympathize with Rosie and Will, even when they weren’t at their best. Visually-rich storytelling and a strong supporting cast added to my enjoyment - I loved Will’s grandmother and his sister Amber, particularly. They tell it like it is!
My only complaints - and they’re minor - are that at 400 pages it felt like the story could be tightened up a little, and there were a LOT of unnecessary commas which I had to start tuning out to keep the flow going properly. Some good editing and this story is gold!
★★★★ ½
Thanks to Pamela Dorman Books, Edelweiss and author Claire Daverley for this DRC to honestly review. It’s now available.
Will and Rosie go to the same high school but haven’t talked until one night at a bonfire where he inexplicably opens up to her. His past has given him a bad boy reputation, so he’s guarded with his emotions, but he feels safe with Rosie. She, on the other hand, is a rule-follower and good student whose future goals, along with her twin brother Josh’s, have largely been dictated by their successful mother. Will has no plans for uni, while musically-talented Rosie is being steered to Oxford, yet somehow this mismatched pair become best friends.
Despite their different life goals and Rosie’s insistence that they just stay friends, their feelings intensify until a single night breaks them both and changes the entire course of both their lives. Over the many years that follow, circumstances, guilt and each one’s almost paralyzing inability to make choices for their own happiness, push them together and pull them apart repeatedly. Locations, jobs and partners change, but one thing is constant: their friendship. They fight, they laugh, they ignore each other, they seek each other out, but no matter what - they stay. Is that enough or are they both chasing a youthful fantasy?
Daverley tells a story that is plausible and beautifully written. Rosie and Will are complex and messy, and while romance plays a role, it’s less about “Do they end up together?” and more about “Who do they become?” She doesn’t sugar-coat depictions of mental illness, struggles with identity, addiction, family dysfunction, and trauma. The story feels real but never heavy. As a reader, I could both relate to and sympathize with Rosie and Will, even when they weren’t at their best. Visually-rich storytelling and a strong supporting cast added to my enjoyment - I loved Will’s grandmother and his sister Amber, particularly. They tell it like it is!
My only complaints - and they’re minor - are that at 400 pages it felt like the story could be tightened up a little, and there were a LOT of unnecessary commas which I had to start tuning out to keep the flow going properly. Some good editing and this story is gold!
★★★★ ½
Thanks to Pamela Dorman Books, Edelweiss and author Claire Daverley for this DRC to honestly review. It’s now available.
June 27, 2023
3.5 stars
If books had a voice-this one would be soft spoken.
It’s the story of Will and Rosie, which quietly unfolds as a “bad” boy meets a good girl, opposites in every way.
He is her twin brother Josh’s friend and tutor- A guy who is physically available to MANY girls, but NOT emotionally available to ANY.
Until Rosie.
They fall for each other as teenagers at a bonfire and start meeting at a nearby lighthouse to talk late into night.
But just as they start to acknowledge their feelings, something will happen on Will’s birthday which will be the thing that both tears them apart, and bonds them forever.
It will split their lives into before and after, what should have been and what happens instead.
I sometimes felt like the writing kept me at arm’s length-the same way that Rosie kept Will at arm’s length while she tried to do what the felt was right…
Her choices, while noble were frustrating to me.
The writing style often TOLD the story as opposed to SHOWING it-and I NEVER felt emotionally invested although it’s such a MELANCHOLY story.
The book also seemed to me like it was a story that was taking place much EARLIER than in the nineties-it DIDN'T have a very contemporary feel, though perhaps it was authentic for the UK in the nineties?
Still, there is some lovely writing and even though I didn’t love it-there WAS a lot to like in the author’s DEBUT novel!
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up!
AVAILABLE NOW!
If books had a voice-this one would be soft spoken.
It’s the story of Will and Rosie, which quietly unfolds as a “bad” boy meets a good girl, opposites in every way.
He is her twin brother Josh’s friend and tutor- A guy who is physically available to MANY girls, but NOT emotionally available to ANY.
Until Rosie.
They fall for each other as teenagers at a bonfire and start meeting at a nearby lighthouse to talk late into night.
But just as they start to acknowledge their feelings, something will happen on Will’s birthday which will be the thing that both tears them apart, and bonds them forever.
It will split their lives into before and after, what should have been and what happens instead.
I sometimes felt like the writing kept me at arm’s length-the same way that Rosie kept Will at arm’s length while she tried to do what the felt was right…
Her choices, while noble were frustrating to me.
The writing style often TOLD the story as opposed to SHOWING it-and I NEVER felt emotionally invested although it’s such a MELANCHOLY story.
The book also seemed to me like it was a story that was taking place much EARLIER than in the nineties-it DIDN'T have a very contemporary feel, though perhaps it was authentic for the UK in the nineties?
Still, there is some lovely writing and even though I didn’t love it-there WAS a lot to like in the author’s DEBUT novel!
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up!
AVAILABLE NOW!
September 23, 2023
Connell and Marianne in another life??
so lovely to see their story for longer than just the teen years, i needed this
so lovely to see their story for longer than just the teen years, i needed this
August 21, 2023
2.5 stars
comparing this to normal people is absolutely wild me to
yes, both books are about two 20 somethings who are too young, afraid, and marred by traumatic life events to act on the love they have for eachother but that's where the comparison ends.
where rooney excels at creating a sense of quiet bursting with tension, daverley struggles to create depth, relying on dramatic plot points to do the heavy emotional lifting.
everything about this books came off as dull to me, and sadly i do think it stems for the fact that i picked this up with normal people in mind. it never really stood much of a chance.
comparing this to normal people is absolutely wild me to
yes, both books are about two 20 somethings who are too young, afraid, and marred by traumatic life events to act on the love they have for eachother but that's where the comparison ends.
where rooney excels at creating a sense of quiet bursting with tension, daverley struggles to create depth, relying on dramatic plot points to do the heavy emotional lifting.
everything about this books came off as dull to me, and sadly i do think it stems for the fact that i picked this up with normal people in mind. it never really stood much of a chance.
September 29, 2023
No words can fully describe all the feelings I have for this book. No words would do it justice. This book changed my way of thinking about life; that’s how good it was, how real it felt. It made me sit down, think about my own life for a second. It showed me what life is about, how important it is to live life how you want. It made me cry. It made me feel empty. But most of all; it made me feel hopeful. Hopeful about my own life.
October 27, 2023
'and what might a soul look like, if you could touch it, if you could dance with the light and the dark of it.'
this started very hopeful, i loved how it began and how it progressed but that ended real quick by the middle of part two. boring doesn't even cover it. the only good thing about this was how much it made me cry, especially when i didn't expect it at all but yum we love crying 😋
they all need therapy. every single character in this book. they need extreme help in every way. i love will but he needs to find love somewhere else bc wow. i cant tell you how many times she was rude to him & how many times she left him,- she only came back when she needed him and then left him high and dry again. justice for will, simon, and josh. kill rosie ‼️
why was will's story unfinished... she focused entirely too much on rosie- the blandest of them all. i thought there was a reason as to why he didn't wanna attend university- like something wrong with his heart because that was literally how the story was going but she forgot about it and moved on like what... so many plot holes in this shit.
"it hurts to love you but i still love you it's just the way i feel," lana wrote this lyric for will.
will has no reason to love her, she's so dull that it's painful. she didn't do anything for herself and yes i get that whatever but the way she just strings will along for so long when all he wanted was for her to love him. she's so rude fr, the most selfish. but he's also stupid for wanting love from her... the boring ass conversations... where's the connection? nowhere.
'he does not say all that he wants. that she is meant for more. that she should have someone who burns for her; who crawls beneath her own skin.'
the ending made me SO mad. claire if you don't change that damn stupid ending- wtf was that...someone explain it to me. i was dragged through HELL for the ending to be the most underwhelming, confusing, and stupidest ending in the history of endings. so incomplete which is so funny because she milked the fuckkkk out of their story. dulllllllll dull dull.
the miscommunication? there. it was so there wow nothing was more there than that.
he wants her to hold his hand again. he wants her to leave. he wants her so badly, he thinks his heart might give out.
February 8, 2023
This was fantastic! A love story between two people who meet as teens and keep coming together and falling apart throughout their lives. The writing is so spare and achingly beautiful and reminded me a lot of Normal People by Sally Rooney, if that's something you're into (which I am). This isn't romcom love, but real and messy and flawed and human love. I highly recommend.
June 24, 2023
Honestly, am surprised with other higher ratings! First of all, lack of quotation marks for speech is rather disconcerting and irregular but holy moly, every conceivable drama plays out in this book. It is exhausting! Child abandonment, belittling and neglect, OCD, sexuality, relationship choices, a sudden death, cancer, truth and lies, Vienna and Mozart, unrequited love and rebounds. It is one messy novel and the two main characters are not even likeable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2023
The internet promised me "Love, Rosie" and "Normal People" vibes and the internet did not lie. Although I do not agree with the ending, this book was a beautiful journey. Hard to believe this is Claire Daverley's debut, the writing is beautiful. Loved the pacing, the characters, the setting, everything. Made me feel all the feels.
August 23, 2023
To all of the people that said that this book is the new Normal People: you deserve jail time.
September 21, 2023
If both main characters were thrown off that cliff, I would have given this book five stars.
Also for a book about talking at night, there sure wasn’t much in terms of well written and moving dialogue between the main characters. It was like two cardboard cutouts having a conversation with each other with a lot of commas, ellipses, and subtext.
Also for a book about talking at night, there sure wasn’t much in terms of well written and moving dialogue between the main characters. It was like two cardboard cutouts having a conversation with each other with a lot of commas, ellipses, and subtext.
May 27, 2024
4/5 ⭐️
- This book was frustrating and beautiful and infuriating and so real. It’s heart wrenching and endearing and just so so good. This love story really made you feel the pressures of life and what it means to follow your heart. I didn’t enjoy normal people by sally rooney but I can see why people compare this book to that one because it feels so realistic to how life and love actually is!
- The story really shows you how important it is to live life how you want and how life can pass you by in a moment. It really touches on mental health and grief in such an honest way. This book reminds you that it’s not too late to take charge of your own life.
- Even though this book was written in third person which I don’t normally enjoy, I really loved how this was written! It perfectly fit the story and felt so whimsical.
- This book was frustrating and beautiful and infuriating and so real. It’s heart wrenching and endearing and just so so good. This love story really made you feel the pressures of life and what it means to follow your heart. I didn’t enjoy normal people by sally rooney but I can see why people compare this book to that one because it feels so realistic to how life and love actually is!
- The story really shows you how important it is to live life how you want and how life can pass you by in a moment. It really touches on mental health and grief in such an honest way. This book reminds you that it’s not too late to take charge of your own life.
- Even though this book was written in third person which I don’t normally enjoy, I really loved how this was written! It perfectly fit the story and felt so whimsical.
September 12, 2023
Lange habe ich keinen so sentimental schönen, unkitschigen und klugen Liebesroman gelesen. Will und Rosie haben sich in mein Herz gesehnt, getrauert und gefühlt. Diese Geschichte ist ganz anders als man zu Beginn meint. Es könnte eine Schulromanze mit Hindernissen sein und am Ende überstehen sie alle Widrigkeiten ihres jungen Lebens.. aber weit gefehlt. Die Geschichte geht tiefer, hat Substanz und fühlt sich beim Lesen echt an. Sprachlich blitzen immer mal wieder Sätze hervor, die ich doppelt lesen wollte.. um sie vollständig zu erfassen. Eine große Leseempfehlung obwohl ich Liebesgeschichten normal nicht mag 😅 4,5 Sterne 🌟
July 6, 2023
My goodness, this was beautiful. The writing was 3rd person done perfectly, I was fully transport and completely invested in the protagonists and their love story 🖤
Review on TikTok here, watched the stitched video first:
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJXwbbJy/
Review on TikTok here, watched the stitched video first:
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJXwbbJy/
May 9, 2024
Everything I wanted and more. THE YEARNING.. stunning.
July 5, 2024
I really liked this!! If you loved Normal People by Sally Rooney, definitely read this one. It's a love story over many many years with all the frustrating miscommunication that Connell and Marianne had.
It skipped over several years as the story progressed (which was necessary to get us to the finish line obviously) but I was also like omg how did we get HERE all of the sudden. It dragged a little for me towards the end, but overall, still really enjoyed it!
Give me an edition of this book with QUOTATION MARKS PLEASE!!!!
It skipped over several years as the story progressed (which was necessary to get us to the finish line obviously) but I was also like omg how did we get HERE all of the sudden. It dragged a little for me towards the end, but overall, still really enjoyed it!
Give me an edition of this book with QUOTATION MARKS PLEASE!!!!
March 27, 2023
Beautiful writing, BIG Sally Rooney vibes (are people in the UK like.. ok?), and Rosie is a total and complete idiot. That’s all I got.
April 26, 2023
This was giving me ‘One Day’ vibes
March 16, 2024
3.75
depressing and at times frustrating but it filled the sally rooney void
depressing and at times frustrating but it filled the sally rooney void
July 16, 2024
Please I need 5 business days to process, I’ve genuinely never had so much heartache from a book in my life.
May 15, 2024
Call me a cynic but I really didn’t enjoy the book.
Too much sappy-ness and unrealistic promises of forever (yes, i know, it’s a romance book and I should’ve expected exactly that). I think what bothered me is that I didn’t feel a strong enough connection between the two main protagonists, so the *overt, over the top* showcasing of affection just felt very forced.
Also: the female protagonist chooses a man over her lifelong dream of studying music in Vienna. This book single-handedly set back the emancipation of women by a good 100 years. Meh.
Too much sappy-ness and unrealistic promises of forever (yes, i know, it’s a romance book and I should’ve expected exactly that). I think what bothered me is that I didn’t feel a strong enough connection between the two main protagonists, so the *overt, over the top* showcasing of affection just felt very forced.
Also: the female protagonist chooses a man over her lifelong dream of studying music in Vienna. This book single-handedly set back the emancipation of women by a good 100 years. Meh.
August 29, 2023
made me believe in soulmates!
April 5, 2024
well i think i have a fav of the year
September 9, 2024
this might be my favorite book ever, currently sobbing after devouring it the last two days, I’ll be back with a full review later once I collect my thoughts and feel my feelings
Every line of this was intentional and interlaced with emotion. I felt like we really knew the characters, and felt the emotions they were feeling. If my teenage self would have read this, I think it would’ve been equally helpful and destructive for me as I related as a teenager (and in a few ways now) to Rosie in an unfortunate number of ways. Living to please others because she never gave herself permission to pursue what she wanted. The checking. Playing it safe with her career. being spineless in ways, as Will told her.
this book, if it’s your type (it seems to be polarizing), is the type to etch itself into your soul forever. I can’t recall a book making me feel the way this one does. It helped me realize that I much prefer fiction about love stories, rather than romance novels. The right person/wrong time, star crossed lovers, good girl falling for a bad guy, & it’s always been you type of tropes have me in a chokehold & I LOVE LOVE LOVE following couples over the spans of their lives (which we do in this one - from late teens through early 40s) & through all of the chaos and trauma that years together brings, rather than wishing to see more of a couple - which is how I typically feel after reading romance books. And I don’t know what it is about the innocence, intensity, and hopeless romanticism of first love that I love reading about, but when authors do it justice and capture how all-consuming of a feeling it is, it just makes me love the book so much more.
The writing was so poignant and fluid. The lack of quotation marks was an adjustment at first, but I really liked the rhythm it provided and feel as though it helped play into the emotion Daverley’s writing so powerfully evokes. I didn’t have my tabs or highlighter on me for much of this book & found myself dog earring nearly every page to go back and highlight once I could - the way certain fears and emotions were described both in thought and in dialogue between the characters was so concise, yet profound.
I’m the #1 hater of the miscommunication trope, because I feel like it’s primarily used in romance novels as the third act argument/breakup just to throw a little wrench in an otherwise too perfect story. I’ve seen a lot of reviews stating that the miscommunication was too much - but in my eyes, the miscommunication between Will & Rosie was primarily early in their lives as teenagers, comprised of things left unsaid for valid reasons, and honestly made sense for their age. As they got older and would grow apart and come back together, I felt like it was due to misfortune rather than miscommunication. The hard moments always brought them back to one another - not as each other’s safe space - but as the place they felt most understood. And when they would go their separate ways, their reasoning was always communicated once they were out of college from what I remember, so simplifying the complexity of what they went through as adults as miscommunication doesn’t feel right.
Overall, I loved how we could feel the yearning they experienced as they would consider the what ifs of their lives had they given in to one another or were not separated by misfortune or their own complacency. Always holding onto the hope that their “one day” would come and never fully letting go, after so many years of pining for one another. How they showed up for one another when they needed it most, loved one another in the smallest of ways that their other respective partners failed to do. Although I was crying my eyes out when Will told Rosie to find out WHAT rather than who she wants, I absolutely love how Daverley had Will & Rosie find themselves separately, without influence from one another & had them take the time to figure themselves out before realizing even chasing what they wanted would leave them just short of satisfied, as they didn’t feel they were fully living if it weren’t with each other.
My biggest qualm with the book, although it’s not something that impacts my rating and rather just plays into Rosie’s flawed character, was that Will really did deserve better than Rosie after all the stringing along since she couldn’t be honest with herself about what she wanted, because she didn’t know how to. She obviously was in a unique situation with Simon, but that relationship with Simon was the epitome of Rosie subconsciously playing her life safe, and it took her playing it safe in her love life and career to find her way back to herself, and ultimately, to Will. Without the tragic events that kept them coming back to one another, I don’t think I would’ve been able to root for them throughout the whole story in the way that I did and likely would have become sick of the on again, off again.
Overall, my favorite read of 2024 so far & RUNNING to read every book like this one.
Every line of this was intentional and interlaced with emotion. I felt like we really knew the characters, and felt the emotions they were feeling. If my teenage self would have read this, I think it would’ve been equally helpful and destructive for me as I related as a teenager (and in a few ways now) to Rosie in an unfortunate number of ways. Living to please others because she never gave herself permission to pursue what she wanted. The checking. Playing it safe with her career. being spineless in ways, as Will told her.
this book, if it’s your type (it seems to be polarizing), is the type to etch itself into your soul forever. I can’t recall a book making me feel the way this one does. It helped me realize that I much prefer fiction about love stories, rather than romance novels. The right person/wrong time, star crossed lovers, good girl falling for a bad guy, & it’s always been you type of tropes have me in a chokehold & I LOVE LOVE LOVE following couples over the spans of their lives (which we do in this one - from late teens through early 40s) & through all of the chaos and trauma that years together brings, rather than wishing to see more of a couple - which is how I typically feel after reading romance books. And I don’t know what it is about the innocence, intensity, and hopeless romanticism of first love that I love reading about, but when authors do it justice and capture how all-consuming of a feeling it is, it just makes me love the book so much more.
The writing was so poignant and fluid. The lack of quotation marks was an adjustment at first, but I really liked the rhythm it provided and feel as though it helped play into the emotion Daverley’s writing so powerfully evokes. I didn’t have my tabs or highlighter on me for much of this book & found myself dog earring nearly every page to go back and highlight once I could - the way certain fears and emotions were described both in thought and in dialogue between the characters was so concise, yet profound.
I’m the #1 hater of the miscommunication trope, because I feel like it’s primarily used in romance novels as the third act argument/breakup just to throw a little wrench in an otherwise too perfect story. I’ve seen a lot of reviews stating that the miscommunication was too much - but in my eyes, the miscommunication between Will & Rosie was primarily early in their lives as teenagers, comprised of things left unsaid for valid reasons, and honestly made sense for their age. As they got older and would grow apart and come back together, I felt like it was due to misfortune rather than miscommunication. The hard moments always brought them back to one another - not as each other’s safe space - but as the place they felt most understood. And when they would go their separate ways, their reasoning was always communicated once they were out of college from what I remember, so simplifying the complexity of what they went through as adults as miscommunication doesn’t feel right.
Overall, I loved how we could feel the yearning they experienced as they would consider the what ifs of their lives had they given in to one another or were not separated by misfortune or their own complacency. Always holding onto the hope that their “one day” would come and never fully letting go, after so many years of pining for one another. How they showed up for one another when they needed it most, loved one another in the smallest of ways that their other respective partners failed to do. Although I was crying my eyes out when Will told Rosie to find out WHAT rather than who she wants, I absolutely love how Daverley had Will & Rosie find themselves separately, without influence from one another & had them take the time to figure themselves out before realizing even chasing what they wanted would leave them just short of satisfied, as they didn’t feel they were fully living if it weren’t with each other.
My biggest qualm with the book, although it’s not something that impacts my rating and rather just plays into Rosie’s flawed character, was that Will really did deserve better than Rosie after all the stringing along since she couldn’t be honest with herself about what she wanted, because she didn’t know how to. She obviously was in a unique situation with Simon, but that relationship with Simon was the epitome of Rosie subconsciously playing her life safe, and it took her playing it safe in her love life and career to find her way back to herself, and ultimately, to Will. Without the tragic events that kept them coming back to one another, I don’t think I would’ve been able to root for them throughout the whole story in the way that I did and likely would have become sick of the on again, off again.
Overall, my favorite read of 2024 so far & RUNNING to read every book like this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
January 10, 2024DNFed 20 pages in.
This book is horribly written. The only thing I got out of this is an appreciation for my own writing skills because… woof.
This book is horribly written. The only thing I got out of this is an appreciation for my own writing skills because… woof.
June 28, 2023
4.5 stars
One thing I wanted to establish right off the bat: this is one of those books that is hard to place into any one genre, since it’s technically a mix of several, however I would strongly caution against classifying it as a typical “romance” novel. Sure, there’s a “love story” at the core of this one, with a main “couple” that it’s pretty much impossible NOT to root for (more on this later), but there is actually so much more to the story than that. This is a story with a tremendous amount of emotional depth and nuance, told in a way that is raw, honest, heartfelt, and realistic.
When the story first starts out, it might seem, on the surface, like “romance trope” territory: a shy and soft-spoken good girl (who is also an ardent rule-follower) falls in love with a handsome bad boy whom we find out actually has a heart of gold despite his tortured past — but then tragedy tears them apart and they end up going down very different paths, seemingly forever…yet somehow the deep connection they share keeps pulling them back into each other’s orbit. That’s the general premise, but as the story progresses, we come to realize that there is so much more beneath the surface that, in the end, elevates things to a level beyond a simple love story. There is love, yes, but also family, friendship, parental expectations, unrequited longing, missed opportunities, regret, tragedy, death, etc…and a roller coaster ride of feelings and emotions both heavy-hitting as well as lighthearted. Throughout it all — despite how many times I felt incredibly frustrated with Rosie’s indecisiveness, or how many times I felt incredibly sad seeing Will’s pain and anguish dredged up over and over again, or how many times this “couple” broke my heart, put it back together, then broke it all over again — I could not help rooting for them, steadfastly, unequivocally, from beginning to end. I didn’t always agree with their decisions, of course (in fact, I found myself yelling at them more than once), and truth be told that I was a bit more partial toward Will than Rosie (because, um, how could anyone not be after what he does in the later part of the story), but I still ended up loving both of them regardless.
A few comments on the writing, which I personally thought was beautifully done. I felt that there was a lyrical, rhythmic nature to the writing that seemed to ebb and flow alongside Will and Rosie’s tumultuous relationship. Now there will be aspects of the writing that may not sit well with some readers — for example, the lack of quotation marks for the dialogue, some random words and phrases that don’t seem to express a complete thought, some sentences that run on for entire paragraphs — but if you become as immersed in the story as I was, you probably won’t notice any of these things after awhile (as I didn’t).
This was Claire Daverly’s debut novel, though it definitely didn’t read like one, at least to me. There’s no doubt that I will be on the lookout for more from Daverly in the future. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a story that’s poignant, powerful, and heartfelt, with believable characters that you won’t be able to stop yourself from caring about, I definitely recommend picking this one up!
Received ARC from Pamela Dorman Books via NetGalley.
August 21, 2024
I’m giving it 2⭐️ even though my heart is saying 1⭐️ because of how FRUSTRATING this book was, but I have to give it 2 for at least invoking such strong emotions from me that I feel compelled to write a review about how much I loathed it.
At first I was thrown by the lack of quotation marks, but I was still intrigued by the story and writing style enough to stick with it. I’m all for a bit of tragedy if it’s offset with sweet moments but this was just one shitstorm after the next. The lows were the deep depths of hell and the highs were barely above ground. I persevered to the end because I thought SURELY the HEA would make all of this worth it. The back of the book uses the words “great love story” so I kept thinking just stick with it, it’s coming.
Lesson learned that it’s OK to DNF a book.
At first I was thrown by the lack of quotation marks, but I was still intrigued by the story and writing style enough to stick with it. I’m all for a bit of tragedy if it’s offset with sweet moments but this was just one shitstorm after the next. The lows were the deep depths of hell and the highs were barely above ground. I persevered to the end because I thought SURELY the HEA would make all of this worth it. The back of the book uses the words “great love story” so I kept thinking just stick with it, it’s coming.
Lesson learned that it’s OK to DNF a book.
January 16, 2024
This book was chosen for me by my local library through their Summer Reading program, so I knew nothing about this book when I first started it.
I’m pleased to say that this turned out to be a really good book which I enjoyed. This book is so much more than just a romance. It was more like a love story with characters the reader would warm and connect to. A beautifully told story about family, love and friendship with depth and emotion. Highly recommended.
I’m pleased to say that this turned out to be a really good book which I enjoyed. This book is so much more than just a romance. It was more like a love story with characters the reader would warm and connect to. A beautifully told story about family, love and friendship with depth and emotion. Highly recommended.
February 21, 2024
you know how some books have you giggling and kicking your feet? this one has you fighting the urge to punch holes in the walls while screaming, thrashing, and gnawing at the bars of this story’s enclosure. 10/10.
recommend if you are trying to fill the sally rooney void in your life. do not recommend if you have just seen one day - wait a few weeks when you aren’t feeling as raw and tender.
recommend if you are trying to fill the sally rooney void in your life. do not recommend if you have just seen one day - wait a few weeks when you aren’t feeling as raw and tender.
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