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What Daybreak Gives Us
What Daybreak Gives Us is a young adult coming of age queer romance novel that explores letting go of lost childhood and accepting yourself for who you are - all through the life of nineteen-year-old thief Arlo Chester and the loss and love that he experiences whilst trying to get by.
Arlo Chester had never had it easy. The village was small enough that he hadn't ever had a life outside of this. Being nineteen and a full-time thief, breadwinner, and carer for his bedridden mother wasn’t easy, but he got on with it just as he had for the last seven years since his father’s death.
Or, he did, until his life became intertwined with that of a young man who owned a fruit shop that Arlo frequently stole from. There was just something about Finn Baker, something that he couldn’t place. And he didn’t have the time to place it anyway, not with so much going on.
But Arlo can’t ignore his feelings for very long when Finn becomes directly involved in the backstreet happenings of Arlo’s life. Between secrets from his childhood, long-held grudges, an internal battle about his sexuality, and trying to source where his next meal will come from, there’s far too much for him to deal with alone.
In an attempt to learn how to let go of the childhood that he never got, Arlo navigates loss, love, and life through the circumstances of his upbringing. And through it all, whether or not he makes time for the young man stealing his heart is up to him. A lot of things are, at the end of the day.
Contains explicit language and mature themes of extreme violence, death, drug and alcohol references, homophobia, misuse of alcohol, self-harm, sexism, and sexual themes.
Recommended for readers aged 14+
Arlo Chester had never had it easy. The village was small enough that he hadn't ever had a life outside of this. Being nineteen and a full-time thief, breadwinner, and carer for his bedridden mother wasn’t easy, but he got on with it just as he had for the last seven years since his father’s death.
Or, he did, until his life became intertwined with that of a young man who owned a fruit shop that Arlo frequently stole from. There was just something about Finn Baker, something that he couldn’t place. And he didn’t have the time to place it anyway, not with so much going on.
But Arlo can’t ignore his feelings for very long when Finn becomes directly involved in the backstreet happenings of Arlo’s life. Between secrets from his childhood, long-held grudges, an internal battle about his sexuality, and trying to source where his next meal will come from, there’s far too much for him to deal with alone.
In an attempt to learn how to let go of the childhood that he never got, Arlo navigates loss, love, and life through the circumstances of his upbringing. And through it all, whether or not he makes time for the young man stealing his heart is up to him. A lot of things are, at the end of the day.
Contains explicit language and mature themes of extreme violence, death, drug and alcohol references, homophobia, misuse of alcohol, self-harm, sexism, and sexual themes.
Recommended for readers aged 14+
468 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 14, 2024
Loved every second, definitely will recommend! I cried (a lot) which is one of the reasons I loved this book so much, loads of emotion and life changing scenarios written so beautifully.
I hope others will find this book and give the author the appreciation they deserve!
(Sorry if this review is weirdly written or I used the wrong punctuation I’ve never written a review before.)
I hope others will find this book and give the author the appreciation they deserve!
(Sorry if this review is weirdly written or I used the wrong punctuation I’ve never written a review before.)
August 16, 2025
Overall great book! I love the development of the characters though I feel some of the plot points could've been further expanded on, especially closer to the end of the book. Other than that, no notes I love the storyline and the growth of their relationship!
May 15, 2025
I loved this so much!! It literally helped me out of my reading slump. I started reading and then suddenly I was staying awake until 3am reading, barely able to put the book down. I cried sooo much. I loved it. It‘s really so painful and so good and beautiful and ahhh
March 17, 2025
3.5-4☆
Some parts of this broke my heart.
There was a part that I breezed through soooo quickly. But then the last 150 pages lagged a little bit. Still enjoyed it alot.
Some parts of this broke my heart.
There was a part that I breezed through soooo quickly. But then the last 150 pages lagged a little bit. Still enjoyed it alot.
August 10, 2024
Dude I loved this book so so so much. I sent my friend a reading vlog and they loved it too. There were parts that had me screaming in shock and excitement. I loved the names and the story line. It was so good I will definitely read this again.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews