What do you think?
Rate this book
The Best of Everything
From the author of My Name is Leon comes an unforgettable story of found family and the love that steals into our lives... in spite of our best laid plans.
Paulette's the kind of woman who likes the future all mapped out: the wedding to Denton, the Caribbean honeymoon, the gingham quilt on the baby's crib. Until one morning Garfield, Denton's friend, arrives at her door with the news that Denton won't be coming around any more, that there won't be time for her to say goodbye.
Somehow Garfield finds his way into her bed, and sooner than anyone can believe there is a baby, and suddenly giving Bird, her son, the best of everything is what gives Paulette's life meaning.
So why is it another little boy, Nellie, who keeps Paulette awake at night? Nellie who is being raised a few streets away, with no sign of a mum. Surely Paulette is the last person who should be getting tangled up in any of that?
A tender celebration of kindness and its power to change lives, The Best of Everything is one of the most beautiful and uplifting novels you'll read this year.
Paulette's the kind of woman who likes the future all mapped out: the wedding to Denton, the Caribbean honeymoon, the gingham quilt on the baby's crib. Until one morning Garfield, Denton's friend, arrives at her door with the news that Denton won't be coming around any more, that there won't be time for her to say goodbye.
Somehow Garfield finds his way into her bed, and sooner than anyone can believe there is a baby, and suddenly giving Bird, her son, the best of everything is what gives Paulette's life meaning.
So why is it another little boy, Nellie, who keeps Paulette awake at night? Nellie who is being raised a few streets away, with no sign of a mum. Surely Paulette is the last person who should be getting tangled up in any of that?
A tender celebration of kindness and its power to change lives, The Best of Everything is one of the most beautiful and uplifting novels you'll read this year.
261 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 10, 2025
8414 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 230 reviews
April 10, 2025
Review to follow nearer publication date.
I love Kit de Waals writing, I’ve read most of her books and they are all well written. She brings the characters to life and I feel like I know them.
The Best of Everything is a story of love and forgiveness. I felt for Paulette and Frank. The ending was perfect.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I love Kit de Waals writing, I’ve read most of her books and they are all well written. She brings the characters to life and I feel like I know them.
The Best of Everything is a story of love and forgiveness. I felt for Paulette and Frank. The ending was perfect.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.
May 19, 2025
My Rating ~ 4.5*
The Best of Everything by Kit De Waal published April 10th with Tinder Press and is described as ‘a tender celebration of kindness and its power to change lives…one of the most beautiful and uplifting novels you’ll read this year’. If, like me and many others, you have read My Name is Leon you can confidently pick up a copy of The Best of Everything safe in the knowledge that a beautiful and kind novel awaits you.
When Kit De Waal wrote about two minor characters in a previous piece of work, they stayed with her, hence this novel was born. It’s 1972 and Paulette works in a hospital as an auxiliary nurse. Her boyfriend Denton makes her happy leaving Paulette fantasizing about their future life together. Having everything mapped out in her head, she floats along in a bubble of sorts until the day she opens the door to Garfield, Denton’s friend. Garfield has a message that changes everything for Paulette and, just like that, her life is thrown into turmoil. Unable to comprehend how upended her days have become, she starts to rely on Garfield for support and, although she never truly could love him, she soon understands that he will provide and be there for her.
Yet Paulette has demons that she just cannot lock away and, as the years pass, Paulette struggles. The birth of their baby boy Bird injects new meaning into Paulette’s life and, for awhile, she makes sure that Bird is never left wanting, always having the best of everything but the shadow haunts her, leaving her restless and discontent.
One day, Paulette encounters a young boy, Nellie, who is one age to Bird. He lives with his grandfather, Cornelius, who is clearly struggling. Without too much thought, Paulette soon finds herself caught up in their lives. Paulette is a very warm-hearted individual. She has known pain but there is an underlying kindness that surfaces and her naturally caring nature comes to the fore. But why Nellie? What is it that connects her to this young boy?
As the years pass, relationships change and family dynamics shift and sway. As Paulette negotiates these years we witness her at her very worst and best. Her pain is laid bare for us to see yet also her desire to love and be loved is also very much evident.
The Best of Everything is very much a story about people, focusing on its characters’ development and their growth with the passage of time. Paulette is a beautiful person looking to be cared for. She deserves a good life but circumstances keep pulling her back down. Paulette is on a journey and, as we accompany her on her path, she learns how to navigate some very trying events that very much affect her emotional wellbeing. Kit De Waal has created a gorgeous and giving tale. The descriptions and narrative, the dialogue and the setting all combine to create a heart-warming and magical tale of self-discovery and self-worth. A tender story, The Best of Everything is a stirring human tale, one that pulls at all the heartstrings leaving readers in a more hopeful and better place.
The Best of Everything by Kit De Waal published April 10th with Tinder Press and is described as ‘a tender celebration of kindness and its power to change lives…one of the most beautiful and uplifting novels you’ll read this year’. If, like me and many others, you have read My Name is Leon you can confidently pick up a copy of The Best of Everything safe in the knowledge that a beautiful and kind novel awaits you.
When Kit De Waal wrote about two minor characters in a previous piece of work, they stayed with her, hence this novel was born. It’s 1972 and Paulette works in a hospital as an auxiliary nurse. Her boyfriend Denton makes her happy leaving Paulette fantasizing about their future life together. Having everything mapped out in her head, she floats along in a bubble of sorts until the day she opens the door to Garfield, Denton’s friend. Garfield has a message that changes everything for Paulette and, just like that, her life is thrown into turmoil. Unable to comprehend how upended her days have become, she starts to rely on Garfield for support and, although she never truly could love him, she soon understands that he will provide and be there for her.
Yet Paulette has demons that she just cannot lock away and, as the years pass, Paulette struggles. The birth of their baby boy Bird injects new meaning into Paulette’s life and, for awhile, she makes sure that Bird is never left wanting, always having the best of everything but the shadow haunts her, leaving her restless and discontent.
One day, Paulette encounters a young boy, Nellie, who is one age to Bird. He lives with his grandfather, Cornelius, who is clearly struggling. Without too much thought, Paulette soon finds herself caught up in their lives. Paulette is a very warm-hearted individual. She has known pain but there is an underlying kindness that surfaces and her naturally caring nature comes to the fore. But why Nellie? What is it that connects her to this young boy?
As the years pass, relationships change and family dynamics shift and sway. As Paulette negotiates these years we witness her at her very worst and best. Her pain is laid bare for us to see yet also her desire to love and be loved is also very much evident.
The Best of Everything is very much a story about people, focusing on its characters’ development and their growth with the passage of time. Paulette is a beautiful person looking to be cared for. She deserves a good life but circumstances keep pulling her back down. Paulette is on a journey and, as we accompany her on her path, she learns how to navigate some very trying events that very much affect her emotional wellbeing. Kit De Waal has created a gorgeous and giving tale. The descriptions and narrative, the dialogue and the setting all combine to create a heart-warming and magical tale of self-discovery and self-worth. A tender story, The Best of Everything is a stirring human tale, one that pulls at all the heartstrings leaving readers in a more hopeful and better place.
April 2, 2026
Another Womens Prize nominee that took me by surprise. This is a story that sits firmly in the 'character study, little plot' camp as Paulette becomes embroiled in the life of a very sad and lonely little boy called Cornelius, Nellie, amongst her own small family with son Bird. It's a story of diaspora, connection, grief. Paulette finds, looses and finds herself again as her son grows up, moves on, and she still seems to be stuck in the past. Cornelius goes from being a little boy with no mother to a troubled teen and beyond. But he never forgets Paulette, the woman who raised him, helped him be the man he becomes. It's a touching story, and I think unless you can connect in someway with the characters you're going to struggle to read this, however I really did. Paulette's warmth and kindness shines through, and when she gets lonely herself, reflecting what Nellie must have gone through himself, it pulled my heart in all kinds of directions. Great writing. I need to read My Name is Leon now.
I will say I wouldn't recommend the audio version of this. I could hear every time the narrator swallowed, and it was deeply off-putting.
I will say I wouldn't recommend the audio version of this. I could hear every time the narrator swallowed, and it was deeply off-putting.
April 2, 2026
This was easy to read and I enjoyed reading it. It is a character driven book with the main female being Paulette a resilient Caribbean woman who works as an auxiliary at the hospital. She has a child called Bird, and she is drawn to a white boy and his grandfather Frank, who had killed in a car accident Paulettes married lover. You care about the characters which are well rounded and developed. There is a strong sense of culture, and the time its set in, from the 1970's onwards. The descriptions of the Caribbean food are intense and you can literally taste it makingyour mouth water. Its a story of family, grief, love and loss, loneliness and having to rebuild your life after tragedy. Ultimately it is about found family, kindness and forgiveness. It is a quietly sad, empathetic, excellently written book that you can devour.
September 20, 2025
I did not want this story to end- sobbing into my tea at the pure beauty of this story- a genius in her craft. ❤️
March 16, 2026
4.5
Back to the 70s and the story of Paulette from
‘My name is Leon’. It will be interesting to see how the small minority of white men who read the women’s prize longlist review this. KDW always writes in an easy and accessible way that make the strong themes even more powerful. It follows a care assistant in the NHS of the 1970s when they were known as nursing auxiliaries. I can remember working in this environment then well and had occasional quibbles with accuracy. But mainly it is about Paulette‘s life. It is set in Birmingham, which makes a change from London and themes include racism, family, addiction, crime and diasporic communities plus both blood and found family. There is also a part set in Texas. The female characters are all very well drawn and realistic. Generally men are not seen very favourably for good reason
Back to the 70s and the story of Paulette from
‘My name is Leon’. It will be interesting to see how the small minority of white men who read the women’s prize longlist review this. KDW always writes in an easy and accessible way that make the strong themes even more powerful. It follows a care assistant in the NHS of the 1970s when they were known as nursing auxiliaries. I can remember working in this environment then well and had occasional quibbles with accuracy. But mainly it is about Paulette‘s life. It is set in Birmingham, which makes a change from London and themes include racism, family, addiction, crime and diasporic communities plus both blood and found family. There is also a part set in Texas. The female characters are all very well drawn and realistic. Generally men are not seen very favourably for good reason
September 28, 2025
“Paulette is mighty. She is righteous. She has heartbreak and grief and loss on her side.”
Paulette will stay with me for a long time. I cried for her, I sighed when she went after another married man. I admired her courage.
A story of kindness, and its consequences. Did she do the right thing in reaching out to Nellie? (we ask at one point) Who are we responsible for?
This line broke me for a bit-
“He nods and smiles. ‘He’s mine’ he says.”
Gorgeous.
Paulette will stay with me for a long time. I cried for her, I sighed when she went after another married man. I admired her courage.
A story of kindness, and its consequences. Did she do the right thing in reaching out to Nellie? (we ask at one point) Who are we responsible for?
This line broke me for a bit-
“He nods and smiles. ‘He’s mine’ he says.”
Gorgeous.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2025
kind of boring tbqh!
April 6, 2026
After quite a few reads that were tough for various reasons, THE BEST OF EVERYTHING was just the book I needed. The story follows Paulette, a nurse originally from St. Kitts and living in England in the 1970s. We meet her as she tries to navigate a relationship with a man who is hard to pin down Her life takes an unexpected turn one night when that man's friend shows up at her door. From there, we get a story about the importance of friends, found family and forgiveness. Although Paulette is a compassionate and likeable character throughout, we also see her navigate some tough things, like grief, mental health and teaching her young son to deal with racism. This is the fourth longlisted Women's Prize book I've read this year, and while I rated THE CORRESPONDENT higher, I am rooting for this one to win so far!!
April 2, 2026
A thoroughly enjoyable read. Heartbreaking at times but ultimately uplifting and life affirming. A great reminder that kindness and forgiveness make all the difference.
December 21, 2025
If you're looking for a Christmas read this is it. Deeply moving, heartfelt and may spark some Christmas spirit in you to give - whether it be your time, your love, whatever you have...a poignant reminder that what you see on the surface is such a small representation of a life, and how influential small kindnesses can be.
May 13, 2025
I love Kit de Waal
January 27, 2026
Sat in silence to collect my thoughts and to STOP CRYING.
March 27, 2026
4.5 stars
Summary:
Paulette’s the kind of woman who likes the future all mapped out: the wedding to Denton, the Caribbean honeymoon, the gingham quilt on the baby’s crib. Until one morning Garfield, Denton’s friend, arrives at her door with the news that Denton won’t be coming around any more, that there won’t be time for her to say goodbye.
Somehow Garfield finds his way into her bed, and sooner than anyone can believe there is a baby, and suddenly giving Bird, her son, the best of everything is what gives Paulette’s life meaning.
So why is it another little boy, Nellie, who keeps Paulette awake at night? Nellie who is being raised a few streets away, with no sign of a mum. Surely Paulette is the last person who should be getting tangled up in any of that?
My thoughts:
I loved Kit De Waal's first novel, and this novel shares so many of the features and characteristics that drew me to Leon. They are both heartwarming and moving reads, and have a cast of fully rounded characters that you really and truly care about as life throws the worst at them.
Similarly there is a strong sense of place and culture, as well as the time that it's set, with vivid descriptions of surroundings and food, the vernacular phrasing which evokes both Birmingham and the Caribbean island of St Kitts, and references to popular culture of the time.
Whilst the focus of Leon was a little boy in care, The Best of Everything has at its centre a woman living an ordinary life with modest ambitions. However, she transcends the ordinariness of life through her capacity for forgiveness, compassion and kindness, lighting up both her own life and the lives of others.
As Paulette's Irish neighbour Maggie says: 'You'd do anything for anybody Paulette. We have a saying, "In life, you should be the candle or the mirror. Either be the light in the room or reflect it." And you're both.'
It's also a story about experiencing heartbreak, loss, grief and loneliness. About having to rebuild yourself and your life; to find a reason to continue, when everything that gives your life purpose and meaning has gone. And not just once.
And it's a novel with one of my favourite tropes: Found Family and the kind of love that can unexpectedly steal into our lives when you don't think it's even a possibility, showing that the act of mothering is far more than the traditional definition.
Written with tremendous compassion and understanding, with an ability to quickly engage the reader and draw them in, this beautiful novel breaks, and finally mends your heart, as it moves from devastating loss and grief, to a place of hope.
Summary:
Paulette’s the kind of woman who likes the future all mapped out: the wedding to Denton, the Caribbean honeymoon, the gingham quilt on the baby’s crib. Until one morning Garfield, Denton’s friend, arrives at her door with the news that Denton won’t be coming around any more, that there won’t be time for her to say goodbye.
Somehow Garfield finds his way into her bed, and sooner than anyone can believe there is a baby, and suddenly giving Bird, her son, the best of everything is what gives Paulette’s life meaning.
So why is it another little boy, Nellie, who keeps Paulette awake at night? Nellie who is being raised a few streets away, with no sign of a mum. Surely Paulette is the last person who should be getting tangled up in any of that?
My thoughts:
I loved Kit De Waal's first novel, and this novel shares so many of the features and characteristics that drew me to Leon. They are both heartwarming and moving reads, and have a cast of fully rounded characters that you really and truly care about as life throws the worst at them.
Similarly there is a strong sense of place and culture, as well as the time that it's set, with vivid descriptions of surroundings and food, the vernacular phrasing which evokes both Birmingham and the Caribbean island of St Kitts, and references to popular culture of the time.
Whilst the focus of Leon was a little boy in care, The Best of Everything has at its centre a woman living an ordinary life with modest ambitions. However, she transcends the ordinariness of life through her capacity for forgiveness, compassion and kindness, lighting up both her own life and the lives of others.
As Paulette's Irish neighbour Maggie says: 'You'd do anything for anybody Paulette. We have a saying, "In life, you should be the candle or the mirror. Either be the light in the room or reflect it." And you're both.'
It's also a story about experiencing heartbreak, loss, grief and loneliness. About having to rebuild yourself and your life; to find a reason to continue, when everything that gives your life purpose and meaning has gone. And not just once.
And it's a novel with one of my favourite tropes: Found Family and the kind of love that can unexpectedly steal into our lives when you don't think it's even a possibility, showing that the act of mothering is far more than the traditional definition.
Written with tremendous compassion and understanding, with an ability to quickly engage the reader and draw them in, this beautiful novel breaks, and finally mends your heart, as it moves from devastating loss and grief, to a place of hope.
April 17, 2026
4.25 ⭐️’s
I loved Paulette.
A woman who holds everything together without making it about her. The kind of woman that makes you feel grounded and safe. You feel it in how she mothers Bird, in how she works, in how she keeps moving forward no matter what lands in front of her.
I loved her for that. For her heart, and for the way it works. It's big, but it's also disciplined. It labors. It feels everything, and it still keeps going.
She's anchored. A lot of that is tied to her being from the West Indies. It's in her culture, her sense of responsibility, her relationship to family, the way she carries what's hers to carry without question. That part of her felt deeply rooted, like it came from somewhere beyond just her.
Paulette's forgiveness of Shirt & Tie isn't naive. She sees him clearly and chooses it anyway. She's one of those people that makes you go, ‘wow, I want to be like her.’
And Nellie… how she loved him. That's where the book really got me.
The way Paulette's heart opens is deeply human. There's so much love in how she and Bird move through the world, even when they have every reason to choose differently.
And when it’s Nellie who steps in and helps bring Paulette back to herself, it moved me deeply.
De Waal writes emotion really well. The space in between emotion too. She makes you be present while you are reading…I felt like I was watching a movie in my mind.
Her sense of atmosphere and place is beautifully done.
This isn't an "omg this is sooooo good" book, but it has a sweetness and a reality to it that I needed at exactly the right time.
And how rare it is for women like Paulette to be met in the same way they give. De Waal sees that. She honors it.
It's on the Women's Prize for Fiction 2026 longlist and it earns its place.
It also has me wanting to go straight to her backlist.
I loved Paulette.
A woman who holds everything together without making it about her. The kind of woman that makes you feel grounded and safe. You feel it in how she mothers Bird, in how she works, in how she keeps moving forward no matter what lands in front of her.
I loved her for that. For her heart, and for the way it works. It's big, but it's also disciplined. It labors. It feels everything, and it still keeps going.
She's anchored. A lot of that is tied to her being from the West Indies. It's in her culture, her sense of responsibility, her relationship to family, the way she carries what's hers to carry without question. That part of her felt deeply rooted, like it came from somewhere beyond just her.
Paulette's forgiveness of Shirt & Tie isn't naive. She sees him clearly and chooses it anyway. She's one of those people that makes you go, ‘wow, I want to be like her.’
And Nellie… how she loved him. That's where the book really got me.
The way Paulette's heart opens is deeply human. There's so much love in how she and Bird move through the world, even when they have every reason to choose differently.
And when it’s Nellie who steps in and helps bring Paulette back to herself, it moved me deeply.
De Waal writes emotion really well. The space in between emotion too. She makes you be present while you are reading…I felt like I was watching a movie in my mind.
Her sense of atmosphere and place is beautifully done.
This isn't an "omg this is sooooo good" book, but it has a sweetness and a reality to it that I needed at exactly the right time.
And how rare it is for women like Paulette to be met in the same way they give. De Waal sees that. She honors it.
It's on the Women's Prize for Fiction 2026 longlist and it earns its place.
It also has me wanting to go straight to her backlist.
March 29, 2026
It was the best book I’d read in a while. You could read at a sitting if you had enough time. It’s hard to put down. Beautifully written and full of love, loss and empathy and of characters who are all flawed, but capture your emotions regardless and find their own different ways through life’s challenges finding support and kindness coming from the least expected direction. Will definitely read more of her work.
May 3, 2026
Beautifully written.
April 12, 2026
Easy read with a nice storyline
March 21, 2026
High 4! And oh but I loved this. Loneliness and pain but joy too. Love - of a mother for her child, of a son and family chosen. Unwise choices and a life unravelling, but ultimately The Best of Everything.
April 6, 2026
3.5 stars
I enjoyed My Name is Leon, and I really wanted to enjoy this book, but somehow it just didn't engage me.
The main character, Paulette, is a good mother and kind-hearted soul, who hasn't had an easy life and suffers a major loss early in the book. However what follows is just a slow-moving account of all her subsequent poor life choices and their effect. The sense of a mother's loss when her son leaves home is well written, but Paulette's demise into alcoholism and serial adultery seems somewhat gratuitous.
The other characters are well-drawn, but risk tipping into caricature. Maggie, the next door neighbour is a loud outspoken chain-smoking Irish woman and 'Shirt & Tie' is an awkward, traditional elderly gentleman (real name Frank) who becomes part of Paulette's life through the most unexpected circumstances. The fact that two decades later in the story he is still referred to as 'Shirt & Tie' seems a little odd.
I'm also not quite sure how I feel about the ending - a bit rushed and 'tidy' rather than believable?
A note on the audio version. The Audible book is beautifully narrated by Sara Powell, a British-Jamaican actress. However the text is written from a close third person perspective, mirroring Paulette's voice and thoughts, so there sometimes seemed a disconnect between the British RP audio narration and what I imagined would be Paulette's voice with a Birmingham accent and occasional use of patois e.g. use of 'vex': 'Sometimes, she feels so vex with him she could rip into him'.
I enjoyed My Name is Leon, and I really wanted to enjoy this book, but somehow it just didn't engage me.
The main character, Paulette, is a good mother and kind-hearted soul, who hasn't had an easy life and suffers a major loss early in the book. However what follows is just a slow-moving account of all her subsequent poor life choices and their effect. The sense of a mother's loss when her son leaves home is well written, but Paulette's demise into alcoholism and serial adultery seems somewhat gratuitous.
The other characters are well-drawn, but risk tipping into caricature. Maggie, the next door neighbour is a loud outspoken chain-smoking Irish woman and 'Shirt & Tie' is an awkward, traditional elderly gentleman (real name Frank) who becomes part of Paulette's life through the most unexpected circumstances. The fact that two decades later in the story he is still referred to as 'Shirt & Tie' seems a little odd.
I'm also not quite sure how I feel about the ending - a bit rushed and 'tidy' rather than believable?
A note on the audio version. The Audible book is beautifully narrated by Sara Powell, a British-Jamaican actress. However the text is written from a close third person perspective, mirroring Paulette's voice and thoughts, so there sometimes seemed a disconnect between the British RP audio narration and what I imagined would be Paulette's voice with a Birmingham accent and occasional use of patois e.g. use of 'vex': 'Sometimes, she feels so vex with him she could rip into him'.
April 18, 2026
2026 Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist 10/16
This book obviously has wide appeal, but I can't believe it has been longlisted for the Women's Prize. The story is fine, but there is nothing new here. Books like this are the most difficult to review in terms of their worthiness to be in line for awards, because the tender message the author is bringing has a place, and an audience, but sitting beside the literary brilliance or emotional depth or razor sharp insights of many of the others listed? It is just not in right division.
This book obviously has wide appeal, but I can't believe it has been longlisted for the Women's Prize. The story is fine, but there is nothing new here. Books like this are the most difficult to review in terms of their worthiness to be in line for awards, because the tender message the author is bringing has a place, and an audience, but sitting beside the literary brilliance or emotional depth or razor sharp insights of many of the others listed? It is just not in right division.
April 12, 2026
Who’s chopping onions 😩
I REALLY enjoyed the end of this book, and felt so emotionally invested. The first 75% of the book, not so much. Kit De Waal’s writing is so readable, though, that it wasn’t hard to get through.
I REALLY enjoyed the end of this book, and felt so emotionally invested. The first 75% of the book, not so much. Kit De Waal’s writing is so readable, though, that it wasn’t hard to get through.
April 6, 2026
Good writing but quite slow, and for a book that's centred around characters I never felt like I got to know Bird or even Cornelius. Also please, Paulette, why is your taste in men so terrible? Genuinely frustrating.
January 20, 2026
The Best of Everything is one of those deceptively gentle novels that sneaks up on you. Kit de Waal lets the story meander, wander, and occasionally take sharp, unexpected turns (much like real life) without ever feeling unfocused or indulgent. I loved how unpredictable it felt; just when I thought I knew where things were heading, the narrative shifted, deepening the emotional stakes rather than chasing cheap drama.
The characters feel lived-in and human, carrying their histories with them in small gestures and unspoken regrets. And the ending? Quietly satisfying, emotionally earned, and lingering in that soft, thoughtful way that stays with you long after the final page.
Tender, unpredictable, and impossible to put down—this one gets under your skin and makes itself comfortable ❤️
The characters feel lived-in and human, carrying their histories with them in small gestures and unspoken regrets. And the ending? Quietly satisfying, emotionally earned, and lingering in that soft, thoughtful way that stays with you long after the final page.
Tender, unpredictable, and impossible to put down—this one gets under your skin and makes itself comfortable ❤️
January 13, 2026
I received this ARC from a Goodreads giveaway. I really enjoyed this story about the gifts of love and forgiveness. Paulette left behind her grandmother in St Kitts to move to England to find work and make a life. She meets Denton and dreams of a life with children, but her dreams are destroyed when Denton is killed in a car accident. She hooks up with his friend, Garfield and they have a son. Paulette meets the driver who killed Denton and his young grandson who is the same age as her own son. What conspires is a master class on love and forgiveness and finding the strength to power through difficult circumstances. Highly recommend!
July 10, 2025
What a gorgeous book.... Full of love, forgiveness, compassion... There's tragedy too and much of the story is created around loss.... Kit de Waal is a very skilled writer with insight and wisdom... I loved this book!
December 19, 2025
Emotional, heartbreaking, touching, caring, forgiving and so glad I read it. Worth reading for sure!!!!
April 26, 2026
Paulette believes she's about to have everything she wants -- a life and family with the man she loves -- when that man is killed in a car crash. What's more, she finds out that he was married with children. Grieving for the love and imagined future she lost, she takes up with the dead lover's friend and ends up having a child with him. Though she doesn't love her son's father, motherhood transforms her, and she is determined to give her son the best life possible. In a twist of fate, she meets the man who was driving the car that killed her lover. When she discovers that he is raising his grandson (but doing a poor job of it because of his own struggles related to the accident), she steps in to help. In the years that follow, these two broken families' lives are intertwined, with the two boys, Bird and Nellie, growing up together and Paulette serving as a surrogate mother of sorts to Nellie. As in any family, of course, there are challenges and struggles. Both boys go through periods of rebellion, and Bird increasing spends time with his father and his new family, leaving Paulette alone. Paulette finds she still isn't over her dead love and struggles to forgive Nellie's grandfather, even as she pities him. And through it all she regularly finds herself alone, missing the grandmother who raised her in St. Kitts and grieving the life she thought she'd have. But Paulette eventually realizes that she's not truly alone; through her love and care, she has created her own family, strange though it may be. This is a beautiful novel about the power of found family, of forgiveness, and of the power of love.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review. This book will be published November 3, 2026.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review. This book will be published November 3, 2026.
April 15, 2026
The Heart of Everything is a heart-warming story about family and forgiveness. A tender portrayal of love, which definitely snuck up on me.
Our main character, Paulette, is a nurse who came to England from St Kitts with her grandmother. She enjoys her job and has started making plans for her future. A reserved character who gives little away. We sense her excitement as she starts thinking about settling down with her boyfriend, Denton. Unfortunately, when Denton is killed in a car accident she learns that he was married and she is left to mourn him alone. His best friend, Gabriel, starts to spend time with Paulette and she does eventually get the child she craved. However, she knows that this is not the love affair she wanted.
Much of the story focuses on Paulette’s bringing up her son Bird. Where it started to shift was when Paulette found the man who killed Denton, and discovers that he has a young grandchild. Her caring instinct kicks in and she finds herself overcoming every instinct to punish the man who took away the one she loved in order to help look after young Nellie.
As the story continues we watch the lives of these characters unfold. We feel every moment of their experience, and can’t help but be uplifted by the way they look out for one another.
Our main character, Paulette, is a nurse who came to England from St Kitts with her grandmother. She enjoys her job and has started making plans for her future. A reserved character who gives little away. We sense her excitement as she starts thinking about settling down with her boyfriend, Denton. Unfortunately, when Denton is killed in a car accident she learns that he was married and she is left to mourn him alone. His best friend, Gabriel, starts to spend time with Paulette and she does eventually get the child she craved. However, she knows that this is not the love affair she wanted.
Much of the story focuses on Paulette’s bringing up her son Bird. Where it started to shift was when Paulette found the man who killed Denton, and discovers that he has a young grandchild. Her caring instinct kicks in and she finds herself overcoming every instinct to punish the man who took away the one she loved in order to help look after young Nellie.
As the story continues we watch the lives of these characters unfold. We feel every moment of their experience, and can’t help but be uplifted by the way they look out for one another.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 230 reviews