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Love by the Book
Praise for Jessica George
'An incredibly exciting new talent' Beth O'Leary
'Lively, funny, poignant' Bonnie Garmus
'Utterly Charming' Celeste Ng
This isn't a romance. But it is about love.
Remy is lucky. Her three best friends have always been there for her - until the day that they're not. One of them is moving to New York. One of them is pregnant. And one is busy with her (awful) boyfriend. Suddenly, their foursome is splitting - and it feels like a break-up.
Simone doesn't need friends. The only people she needs are her family - but when they cut her off, she realises how alone she is.
When the pair meet in a bookshop, they don't immediately click. But as life keeps throwing them together, they realise that they might just have bumped into exactly what they need... if they can only be brave enough to let each other in.
Readers LOVE Love by the Book:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I loved every moment of this tender tribute to love and friendship'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Heartfelt, humorous and quietly powerful'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'One of the most authentic books I've read in a long time'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Beautifully told'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Jessica, you are incredible!'
'An incredibly exciting new talent' Beth O'Leary
'Lively, funny, poignant' Bonnie Garmus
'Utterly Charming' Celeste Ng
This isn't a romance. But it is about love.
Remy is lucky. Her three best friends have always been there for her - until the day that they're not. One of them is moving to New York. One of them is pregnant. And one is busy with her (awful) boyfriend. Suddenly, their foursome is splitting - and it feels like a break-up.
Simone doesn't need friends. The only people she needs are her family - but when they cut her off, she realises how alone she is.
When the pair meet in a bookshop, they don't immediately click. But as life keeps throwing them together, they realise that they might just have bumped into exactly what they need... if they can only be brave enough to let each other in.
Readers LOVE Love by the Book:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I loved every moment of this tender tribute to love and friendship'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Heartfelt, humorous and quietly powerful'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'One of the most authentic books I've read in a long time'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Beautifully told'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Jessica, you are incredible!'
Audible Audio
Expected publication April 7, 2026
64625 people want to read
About the author
Jessica George
2 books2,235 followersJessica George was born and raised in London to Ghanaian parents and studied English Literature at the University of Sheffield. After working at a literary agency and a theatre, she landed a job in the editorial department of Bloomsbury UK. MAAME is her first novel.
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August 29, 2025when a title is a bookish pun >>>
September 19, 2025
Dear Readers, we are gathered here today to bear witness to the highs and lows of friendship in Love by the Book by Jessica George. This novel explores the challenge of forming those rare, soul-level friendships in adulthood and of nurturing the ones we already hold dear as our lives change. It also offers an ode to feminism and the right of every woman to shape her own body, career, and future without criticism in a world still riddled with double standards.
Jessica George, whose debut Maame I previously reviewed, once again proves herself a master of characters who feel strikingly real. I would call her the queen of chick lit focused on platonic love between women. The spotlight on female friendship makes this story stand apart from the many romantic comedies that dominate the genre. I adore books like Bridget Jones’s Diary and Confessions of a Shopaholic, but Love by the Book earns a special place for celebrating the friends we love every bit as fiercely as partners.
The novel is funny, heartfelt, and at times infuriating in all the best ways. Narration alternates between Remy and Simone, and I admit that going in blind left me briefly confused. Was Simone a character in a book Remy was writing, or someone real? Their eventual “meet-cute” clears the air and the pacing takes off, making the second half nearly impossible to put down.
I highly recommend Love by the Book to readers of women’s fiction who enjoy stories about friendship, empowerment, and the many forms love can take.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this title for review. All opinions are my own.
Jessica George, whose debut Maame I previously reviewed, once again proves herself a master of characters who feel strikingly real. I would call her the queen of chick lit focused on platonic love between women. The spotlight on female friendship makes this story stand apart from the many romantic comedies that dominate the genre. I adore books like Bridget Jones’s Diary and Confessions of a Shopaholic, but Love by the Book earns a special place for celebrating the friends we love every bit as fiercely as partners.
The novel is funny, heartfelt, and at times infuriating in all the best ways. Narration alternates between Remy and Simone, and I admit that going in blind left me briefly confused. Was Simone a character in a book Remy was writing, or someone real? Their eventual “meet-cute” clears the air and the pacing takes off, making the second half nearly impossible to put down.
I highly recommend Love by the Book to readers of women’s fiction who enjoy stories about friendship, empowerment, and the many forms love can take.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this title for review. All opinions are my own.
November 28, 2025
This is a novel about female friendship. Meet Remy, Nova, Lin and Melissa who believe they’ll be friends forever and will definitely be able to count on each other. However, circumstances change as they get a bit older and it seems that the fab four are splitting up and moving on. To Remy this feels like a break up. Then there’s Simone, who believes the only people she really needs in her life are her family but a shock for them all leads to them cutting her off. Several chance encounters between Remy and Simone suggest that fate is throwing them together. Will they be able to let each other into their lives?
I’m sure we can all agree that deep friendship is a beautiful thing and especially those that we can really count on and Jessica George really captures this in her latest novel. I love the bond that writer Remy has with her three friends so much so that she even writes a successful book about it. It’s therefore relatable how she struggles when they move on for various reasons.
Remy and Simone are very different personalities, one cool, one warm, one who keeps her own counsel and one who is the opposite, one loner, one more gregarious to whom friends are very important. I do enjoy it that these opposites can find a path to a meaningful friendship. Their characters are well developed and they grow on me as the book progresses.
However, I think that the book goes off at tangents and so becomes disjointed in parts. This also causes the pace to become quite slow which means that it doesn’t resonate as much as it could. In my opinion it’s too long and whilst the author has me intrigued for a lot of the book, my interest wanes.
Overall, Jessica George definitely has talent, her novels are character driven and very good on issues. However, for me this one doesn’t work as well as her previous novel, Maame which I really enjoyed.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
I’m sure we can all agree that deep friendship is a beautiful thing and especially those that we can really count on and Jessica George really captures this in her latest novel. I love the bond that writer Remy has with her three friends so much so that she even writes a successful book about it. It’s therefore relatable how she struggles when they move on for various reasons.
Remy and Simone are very different personalities, one cool, one warm, one who keeps her own counsel and one who is the opposite, one loner, one more gregarious to whom friends are very important. I do enjoy it that these opposites can find a path to a meaningful friendship. Their characters are well developed and they grow on me as the book progresses.
However, I think that the book goes off at tangents and so becomes disjointed in parts. This also causes the pace to become quite slow which means that it doesn’t resonate as much as it could. In my opinion it’s too long and whilst the author has me intrigued for a lot of the book, my interest wanes.
Overall, Jessica George definitely has talent, her novels are character driven and very good on issues. However, for me this one doesn’t work as well as her previous novel, Maame which I really enjoyed.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
January 27, 2026
3 stars.
The value, weight and importance of true female friendship.
Four friends celebrate the immense success of the novel one of them wrote that is loosely based on their friendship group. The publishing world is eager for a follow up novel, but the pressure to meet the same level of success is overwhelming.
There was a lot that I really enjoyed about this novel, but also several main aspects that didn’t work for me.
I loved the exploration of the intense female friendships in this story. “Love among friends.” I found the themes explored surrounding adult female friendship to be extremely thought-provoking and inspiring. I was nodding along to many realizations that I hadn’t considered before reading this. Can women be platonically “in love” with their female friends? Yes! Female friendships can carry just as much importance as marriage to some women. The value and weight of female friendships is immeasurable. Do all females need this level of female connection? No. Is it a critical part of true life happiness for certain other women? Yes.
The publishing industry and author life are topics that I enjoyed experiencing alongside these characters. The glimpses into the publishing world were interesting. Author life is something many people romanticize about and I thought it was an interesting peek into some of the struggles and complications writers may face.
I also enjoyed the wisdoms from elders scattered throughout this story. They were a great, insightful addition to the narrative. They made lasting impressions on me and had me feeling the emotion of those scenes. One character has a very interesting side hustle which I thought was an intriguing and fun side story.
I had a few large issues that prevented me from fully connecting to this novel. One of my issues is that I found myself confused between what was “real” and what was part of the author character in the story writing her next book. I generally love the “book within a book” trope, but this one could have used a bit more editing to tighten up the narrative switches. The author character uses real life situations to inspire her writing and I got lost in the shuffle between her real life and her imagined story being written. I was able to follow along and eventually sort out the narrative, but it did have me pausing a few times to go back and reread.
Another issue I had was the amount of coincidences. The number of times characters happen to bump into one another was unrealistic and ended up bringing my connection and investment down as it was far too implausible for my liking. These coincidences felt somewhat cheesy and silly, making the book take on more of a cutesy tone.
Overall, this was just an ok read for me. My intense love of her debut novel, Maame, definitely set my expectations very high. (Go get your hands on a copy of that ASAP if you haven’t read it already!) This should be more of a hit for readers who enjoy cute, sweet and charming stories centered around women’s lives and friendships. This reached too far into “cute” territory for my liking.
Audio rating: 4 stars! I enjoyed the audio narration and thought it brought life to the characters and story. I think the audio narrators enhanced my enjoyment.
Thank you to the publisher for my advanced listening copy! This publishes on April 7th.
The value, weight and importance of true female friendship.
Four friends celebrate the immense success of the novel one of them wrote that is loosely based on their friendship group. The publishing world is eager for a follow up novel, but the pressure to meet the same level of success is overwhelming.
There was a lot that I really enjoyed about this novel, but also several main aspects that didn’t work for me.
I loved the exploration of the intense female friendships in this story. “Love among friends.” I found the themes explored surrounding adult female friendship to be extremely thought-provoking and inspiring. I was nodding along to many realizations that I hadn’t considered before reading this. Can women be platonically “in love” with their female friends? Yes! Female friendships can carry just as much importance as marriage to some women. The value and weight of female friendships is immeasurable. Do all females need this level of female connection? No. Is it a critical part of true life happiness for certain other women? Yes.
The publishing industry and author life are topics that I enjoyed experiencing alongside these characters. The glimpses into the publishing world were interesting. Author life is something many people romanticize about and I thought it was an interesting peek into some of the struggles and complications writers may face.
I also enjoyed the wisdoms from elders scattered throughout this story. They were a great, insightful addition to the narrative. They made lasting impressions on me and had me feeling the emotion of those scenes. One character has a very interesting side hustle which I thought was an intriguing and fun side story.
I had a few large issues that prevented me from fully connecting to this novel. One of my issues is that I found myself confused between what was “real” and what was part of the author character in the story writing her next book. I generally love the “book within a book” trope, but this one could have used a bit more editing to tighten up the narrative switches. The author character uses real life situations to inspire her writing and I got lost in the shuffle between her real life and her imagined story being written. I was able to follow along and eventually sort out the narrative, but it did have me pausing a few times to go back and reread.
Another issue I had was the amount of coincidences. The number of times characters happen to bump into one another was unrealistic and ended up bringing my connection and investment down as it was far too implausible for my liking. These coincidences felt somewhat cheesy and silly, making the book take on more of a cutesy tone.
Overall, this was just an ok read for me. My intense love of her debut novel, Maame, definitely set my expectations very high. (Go get your hands on a copy of that ASAP if you haven’t read it already!) This should be more of a hit for readers who enjoy cute, sweet and charming stories centered around women’s lives and friendships. This reached too far into “cute” territory for my liking.
Audio rating: 4 stars! I enjoyed the audio narration and thought it brought life to the characters and story. I think the audio narrators enhanced my enjoyment.
Thank you to the publisher for my advanced listening copy! This publishes on April 7th.
April 1, 2026
I shrug. “I might be falling in love. That’s all.”
Simone dabs the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “Remy, I am flattered . . .”
“Prepare to be humbled.” I scoff. “I meant falling in love platonically.”
This is a beautiful and captivating love story that’s an ode to platonic female friendship. The characters are quirky and flawed and good… and grow. I loved it.
“How can you be romantic with someone you aren’t attracted to?”
“Well, think about it—what does it mean to be romantic? To buy flowers; to take someone out to dinner; to commit thoughtful actions and to give thoughtful gifts; to have long, meaningful conversations; to be loyal and devoted? I’ve done all of the above with my friends. In essence, platonic love can be incredibly romantic.”
It’s unconventional in that it’s a love story about friends, and it also explores how society treats, makes assumptions about and misunderstands women who choose to live their personal and sexual lives outside of the narrowly proscribed norm.
”Whether it’s how visible we make our nipples, who we invite into our vagina, or whether we fill or don’t fill our uterus, the female anatomy will always be up for discussion.”
Thanks to NetGalley for an opportunity to read this advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 ⭐️
November 14, 2025
Ugh! So there are things that I really love about Jessica George’s Love by the Book, and other things that don’t work as well for me.
Remi is an author that has unknowingly relied on her deep friendship with Lin, Melissa and Nova to serve as the grounding point of her life, and as her friends find themselves other things that take precedence, she begins to feel adrift, setting up her pursuit of a friendship with Simone.
Simone is in many regards the exact opposite of Remi. She is very closed off and perfectly content not to have close friendships because she had such a great relationship with her sister Jenni. But when her family finds out that she’s been working as an escort their connection is severed, leaving Simone to experience loneliness, not just being alone.
The pair don’t really meet until almost a quarter of the way through the book. This does allow you to see what leads into them taking steps towards building a friendship, but it feels too late into the book for me; up until that point it feels very disjointed.
I like the fact that the two women are very different in personality, because it shows that a relationship can work even if the number of things people have in common is limited.
But it also feels like their storylines are running parallel to each other in many ways, where you see most of the other things going on in their lives, until their relationship gradually becomes more and more what the chapters are about.
And, while it does tie in to events that happen towards the end of the book, I don’t love the chapters that Remi writes as a fictional story somewhat based on her burgeoning friendship with Simone. It’s close enough to the actual story but not the same that it got confusing to me at times whether Remi was writing something real life adjacent or if George had not addressed something in the real life storylines.
What I really loved about this book was its exploration of a woman’s right to make choices about her body, whether or not women want to become mothers, and that platonic relationships that are rooted in friendship have just as valuable a place in a person’s life as romantic or familial ones do. Friendsgiving is now a thing, and deservedly so, amiright?
In addressing motherhood, George not only delves into whether or not women want to take on that role, but also raises the important questions of how that choice can impact the friendships they have, and that for women who don’t want to be mothers, things they consider major achievements or accomplishments in their personal or professional lives tend to get overlooked as not being as important as raising a child. As demonstrated in the book, this is a hairy issue, but George does a great job of showing perspectives from both sides.
This story can feel disjointed at times, but it has some really powerful messages that are presented from a very open-minded perspective that make it worth reading. Plus it will remind you of just how powerful your friendships are, and how to treat them with care as they evolve over time.
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Remi is an author that has unknowingly relied on her deep friendship with Lin, Melissa and Nova to serve as the grounding point of her life, and as her friends find themselves other things that take precedence, she begins to feel adrift, setting up her pursuit of a friendship with Simone.
Simone is in many regards the exact opposite of Remi. She is very closed off and perfectly content not to have close friendships because she had such a great relationship with her sister Jenni. But when her family finds out that she’s been working as an escort their connection is severed, leaving Simone to experience loneliness, not just being alone.
The pair don’t really meet until almost a quarter of the way through the book. This does allow you to see what leads into them taking steps towards building a friendship, but it feels too late into the book for me; up until that point it feels very disjointed.
I like the fact that the two women are very different in personality, because it shows that a relationship can work even if the number of things people have in common is limited.
But it also feels like their storylines are running parallel to each other in many ways, where you see most of the other things going on in their lives, until their relationship gradually becomes more and more what the chapters are about.
And, while it does tie in to events that happen towards the end of the book, I don’t love the chapters that Remi writes as a fictional story somewhat based on her burgeoning friendship with Simone. It’s close enough to the actual story but not the same that it got confusing to me at times whether Remi was writing something real life adjacent or if George had not addressed something in the real life storylines.
What I really loved about this book was its exploration of a woman’s right to make choices about her body, whether or not women want to become mothers, and that platonic relationships that are rooted in friendship have just as valuable a place in a person’s life as romantic or familial ones do. Friendsgiving is now a thing, and deservedly so, amiright?
In addressing motherhood, George not only delves into whether or not women want to take on that role, but also raises the important questions of how that choice can impact the friendships they have, and that for women who don’t want to be mothers, things they consider major achievements or accomplishments in their personal or professional lives tend to get overlooked as not being as important as raising a child. As demonstrated in the book, this is a hairy issue, but George does a great job of showing perspectives from both sides.
This story can feel disjointed at times, but it has some really powerful messages that are presented from a very open-minded perspective that make it worth reading. Plus it will remind you of just how powerful your friendships are, and how to treat them with care as they evolve over time.
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
September 13, 2025
Jessica George has such a subtle way with words. Nothing forceful or obvious about what’s to come next. Love By the Book at its core is about female friendships, loyalty, gracefully aging, and discovering what is important in life.
“We’d laughed so much that day, but I couldn’t tell you what at. Who knew you could take forgettable laughter for granted?”
We meet Remy and her three best friends, as they all embark on separate paths in their lives. Parenthood, careers, making bad relationship decisions- things all women evolve into, or out of.
We meet Simone, elementary school teacher, also an undercover escort who has no qualms about her choices in life.
All at crossroads, we learn how important it is friendships are. I loved the premise, just like I loved George’s first book Maame so much.
I love that this isn’t a romance book. Quite frankly, I’m getting tired of influx of romances, far too predictable with forgettable characters. Love by the Book is quite the opposite.
“Our circumstances have changed drastically but one thing hasn’t: Let’s promise to stay in love with each other.”
While I wished there was more backstory: how did Simone really fall into this line of business, more backstory on Remy’s friends, and while I was never on edge, I couldn’t wait to read what happens next.
Keep them coming Jessica!!
“We’d laughed so much that day, but I couldn’t tell you what at. Who knew you could take forgettable laughter for granted?”
We meet Remy and her three best friends, as they all embark on separate paths in their lives. Parenthood, careers, making bad relationship decisions- things all women evolve into, or out of.
We meet Simone, elementary school teacher, also an undercover escort who has no qualms about her choices in life.
All at crossroads, we learn how important it is friendships are. I loved the premise, just like I loved George’s first book Maame so much.
I love that this isn’t a romance book. Quite frankly, I’m getting tired of influx of romances, far too predictable with forgettable characters. Love by the Book is quite the opposite.
“Our circumstances have changed drastically but one thing hasn’t: Let’s promise to stay in love with each other.”
While I wished there was more backstory: how did Simone really fall into this line of business, more backstory on Remy’s friends, and while I was never on edge, I couldn’t wait to read what happens next.
Keep them coming Jessica!!
October 6, 2025
I have a feeling book is going to be very well received next year. Not only did this book shove me out of a two month reading slump, it came at an intriguing time in my life. The story went beyond the basic tenants of female friendship and explored how love and feelings (despite how we frame it) shape how we communicate with each other. Remy & Simone were two engaging characters that met at an awkward stage at both their lives and I loved that Remy's initial friend group was still an impactful part of the overall story. When I think about it, every character in this book was well fleshed out. The dialogue was chef's kiss and packed an emotional punch to the concept of friendship, love and womanhood.
March 20, 2026
May this kind of love find me and stay with me. May I also be willing to give and accept this love when it does.
If anyone asks you, this is my new favourite book. A 6 star if you will.
My deepest thoughts about this book are in my journal app because they are so personal to me and I need to stop oversharing on the internet.
This book found me at the right time.
I loved Maame so much when I read it and when I saw Jessica George was releasing a new book, I preordered on Audible. In SA, we get UK release dates and for the first time in forever, we get the books first. Also the cover is so pretty. I was sold.
I knew I would love this book.
I started and stopped a few times because I was so scared of how much I would see some of myself and situations I’ve been in reflected in the book. I can’t explain it but I feel as though Jessica writes for the girls. I am the girls.
I plan on getting the actual paperback once the one independent bookstore has it in stock. Will also be getting Maame because I read on Libby but I want to look at it and annotate.
There were so many parts in this book where I teared up a little because wow… what a concept friendship is
I feel like there will be times where I’ll come back to this review to add stuff.
If anyone asks you, this is my new favourite book. A 6 star if you will.
My deepest thoughts about this book are in my journal app because they are so personal to me and I need to stop oversharing on the internet.
This book found me at the right time.
I loved Maame so much when I read it and when I saw Jessica George was releasing a new book, I preordered on Audible. In SA, we get UK release dates and for the first time in forever, we get the books first. Also the cover is so pretty. I was sold.
I knew I would love this book.
I started and stopped a few times because I was so scared of how much I would see some of myself and situations I’ve been in reflected in the book. I can’t explain it but I feel as though Jessica writes for the girls. I am the girls.
I plan on getting the actual paperback once the one independent bookstore has it in stock. Will also be getting Maame because I read on Libby but I want to look at it and annotate.
There were so many parts in this book where I teared up a little because wow… what a concept friendship is
I feel like there will be times where I’ll come back to this review to add stuff.
March 8, 2026
Loved loved loved!
I’ve been delaying this arc a little bit because romance really isn’t my top pick, so I was delighted to discover the unconventional element of the novel and the fact that it centres around friendship, for me personally my friendships truly have been my big love stories, friendship breakups far more painful than any other kind, so it was an absolute pleasure to see/hear it celebrated in all it’s complexity’s.
Jessica George is a new to me author and before I’d even finished this title I’d headed straight to audible ti wish list her debut. I loved her style I adored the characters and I really didn’t want to leave them behind.
The book covers a lot of fairly deep topics, but oddly it arrived as a friend, ready to rationally discuss them and damn well support you through them.
A special book.
Isabel Adomakoh-Young’s narration was perfect!
All the stars 🌟
#Jorecommends
Huge thanks to Hodder & Stoughton Audio via NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧
I’ve been delaying this arc a little bit because romance really isn’t my top pick, so I was delighted to discover the unconventional element of the novel and the fact that it centres around friendship, for me personally my friendships truly have been my big love stories, friendship breakups far more painful than any other kind, so it was an absolute pleasure to see/hear it celebrated in all it’s complexity’s.
Jessica George is a new to me author and before I’d even finished this title I’d headed straight to audible ti wish list her debut. I loved her style I adored the characters and I really didn’t want to leave them behind.
The book covers a lot of fairly deep topics, but oddly it arrived as a friend, ready to rationally discuss them and damn well support you through them.
A special book.
Isabel Adomakoh-Young’s narration was perfect!
All the stars 🌟
#Jorecommends
Huge thanks to Hodder & Stoughton Audio via NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧
March 22, 2026
Truly captures the importance of and value in women friendships.
I was nervous because I DNF-ed George's first novel. But these characters and their struggles were relatable as they try to hold on to connection and move on with their lives at the same time.
And of course, I loved the writing layer of Remy's second novel as part of the storyline. I will always be a sucker for a good writing process.
I was nervous because I DNF-ed George's first novel. But these characters and their struggles were relatable as they try to hold on to connection and move on with their lives at the same time.
And of course, I loved the writing layer of Remy's second novel as part of the storyline. I will always be a sucker for a good writing process.
February 7, 2026
3.5⭐️
“That’s friendship… accepting no one is perfect and valuing what they can provide over what they can’t.”
**thank you to the publishers at Hodder & Stoughton for this proof copy 📚🤍
One of my most anticipated 2026 releases!!!
Maame (Jessica’s first novel) was a 6⭐️ read for me, so my expectations were extremely high… and while I liked and enjoyed this, I didn’t love it.
We follow Remy, who’s feeling lost in life. Her tight-knit friendship group have all gone down different paths, leaving her lonely and unsure of her purpose, while also struggling to write her second novel.
She meets Simone, a local primary school teacher (with a secret side job 🤭) who’s had a major fallout with her family - especially her sister, her former best friend. - so she’s also feeling lost and closed off.
As a teacher myself, I loved the school scenes with Simone!
I loved the exploration of friendship and its complexities, especially being in your late 20s when everyone is in different life seasons. Could completely relate as I’m going through this atm.
Alongside, the general feelings of not knowing what you want/what’s going on when everyone around you is doing such different things. The conversations around changing priorities, motherhood, and children were handled brilliantly.
It did take me a while to get my head around the characters and relationships, there were a lot of names floating around. Simone can initially come across as abrupt and standoffish and her very different personality to Remy’s took some warming up to.
At times the pacing dipped in the middle and went off on tangents before picking up again in the final pages. For me, it was also way too long, there’s a lot going on, which sometimes made it feel dragged and slightly disjointed.
I just wanted more from it overall😔
If you like character driven books and topics of female friendships then you will absolutely loveeeee this!!!
Themes: female friendships, relationships, purpose, family, sex work, children, motherhood.
**available to pre order nowww (out in Feb!)
“That’s friendship… accepting no one is perfect and valuing what they can provide over what they can’t.”
**thank you to the publishers at Hodder & Stoughton for this proof copy 📚🤍
One of my most anticipated 2026 releases!!!
Maame (Jessica’s first novel) was a 6⭐️ read for me, so my expectations were extremely high… and while I liked and enjoyed this, I didn’t love it.
We follow Remy, who’s feeling lost in life. Her tight-knit friendship group have all gone down different paths, leaving her lonely and unsure of her purpose, while also struggling to write her second novel.
She meets Simone, a local primary school teacher (with a secret side job 🤭) who’s had a major fallout with her family - especially her sister, her former best friend. - so she’s also feeling lost and closed off.
As a teacher myself, I loved the school scenes with Simone!
I loved the exploration of friendship and its complexities, especially being in your late 20s when everyone is in different life seasons. Could completely relate as I’m going through this atm.
Alongside, the general feelings of not knowing what you want/what’s going on when everyone around you is doing such different things. The conversations around changing priorities, motherhood, and children were handled brilliantly.
It did take me a while to get my head around the characters and relationships, there were a lot of names floating around. Simone can initially come across as abrupt and standoffish and her very different personality to Remy’s took some warming up to.
At times the pacing dipped in the middle and went off on tangents before picking up again in the final pages. For me, it was also way too long, there’s a lot going on, which sometimes made it feel dragged and slightly disjointed.
I just wanted more from it overall😔
If you like character driven books and topics of female friendships then you will absolutely loveeeee this!!!
Themes: female friendships, relationships, purpose, family, sex work, children, motherhood.
**available to pre order nowww (out in Feb!)
October 13, 2025
This book about love might not be the kind you expect. It explores how love and connection can exist in platonic friendships just as deeply as in romance.
It’s a story many twenty-somethings will relate to: navigating hard decisions, loneliness, and ever-changing friendships. At times I wondered if it was trying to take on too much, but it manages to stay thoughtful and grounded while keeping a manageable length.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.
It’s a story many twenty-somethings will relate to: navigating hard decisions, loneliness, and ever-changing friendships. At times I wondered if it was trying to take on too much, but it manages to stay thoughtful and grounded while keeping a manageable length.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.
Want to read
August 21, 2025Looking forward to reading this book. Thank you for the arc!
Read
December 15, 2025* thanks to St Martin’s Press for the NetGalley review copy (pub date: April 7, 2026)
I don’t know if this is a true DNF (@48%) or an “I’ll come back to it at some point” DNF, but the glacial pace wasn’t holding my attention, so I was only reading a few pages at a time and couldn’t get into the flow of the story. Maybe it’s a vacation book?
Anyway - Maame was one of my favorite books the year it came out and I would definitely read another book by George, but this was not my favorite.
I don’t know if this is a true DNF (@48%) or an “I’ll come back to it at some point” DNF, but the glacial pace wasn’t holding my attention, so I was only reading a few pages at a time and couldn’t get into the flow of the story. Maybe it’s a vacation book?
Anyway - Maame was one of my favorite books the year it came out and I would definitely read another book by George, but this was not my favorite.
February 10, 2026
“i find that without my friends, i forget who i am sometimes. […] you all were a constant reminder of my identity.”
this book. this fucking book. yet again, a jessica george novel finds me at exactly the right time
my gosh i love this book so much i’ll think about the characters forever
i’ll be gushing about how much i love her on thursday, i’m EXCITED EEKKKKK
this book. this fucking book. yet again, a jessica george novel finds me at exactly the right time
my gosh i love this book so much i’ll think about the characters forever
i’ll be gushing about how much i love her on thursday, i’m EXCITED EEKKKKK
March 14, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
Thank you to Jessica George and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.
“Many of us learn as children that friendship should never be seen as just as important as family ties. However, friendship is the place in which a great majority of us have our first glimpse of redemptive love and caring community" — bell hooks
Synopsis: Remy is in love with her friends in the most platonic way, even going so far as to write a book about them that eventually becomes a best seller. But as life goes, those friends that she held close to her in proximity now start to feel distant as their lives begin to take shape—marriage, pregnancy, career, and toxic relationships take Melissa, Lin, and Nova away from Remy, leaving her feeling deeply alone and vulnerable until she meets the heavily guarded Simone. Simone is a kindergarten teacher, estranged from her own family, and like Remy, is harboring her own secret. When the two collide in a bookstore, their lives become intwined and the friendship that neither expected blossoms into a beautiful relationship.
To say that I loved this story is an understatement. This is Jessica George’s sophomore novel, and it is an incredible read. I couldn’t help but think about hooks’ all about love while I read as I think this is such an incredible nod to the ideas of platonic love in friendships that hooks speaks about. Like Remy, I have sometimes felt that loneliness as I watch my close friends move on in life, and like Simone, I have had some estrangement from my family. But this book shows that despite all of that, the people you need the most will be there, and that sometimes friendship love is deeper, stronger, more intimate than romantic love.
If you like deeply emotional stories that center female friendships, this is the book for you.
Thank you to Jessica George and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.
“Many of us learn as children that friendship should never be seen as just as important as family ties. However, friendship is the place in which a great majority of us have our first glimpse of redemptive love and caring community" — bell hooks
Synopsis: Remy is in love with her friends in the most platonic way, even going so far as to write a book about them that eventually becomes a best seller. But as life goes, those friends that she held close to her in proximity now start to feel distant as their lives begin to take shape—marriage, pregnancy, career, and toxic relationships take Melissa, Lin, and Nova away from Remy, leaving her feeling deeply alone and vulnerable until she meets the heavily guarded Simone. Simone is a kindergarten teacher, estranged from her own family, and like Remy, is harboring her own secret. When the two collide in a bookstore, their lives become intwined and the friendship that neither expected blossoms into a beautiful relationship.
To say that I loved this story is an understatement. This is Jessica George’s sophomore novel, and it is an incredible read. I couldn’t help but think about hooks’ all about love while I read as I think this is such an incredible nod to the ideas of platonic love in friendships that hooks speaks about. Like Remy, I have sometimes felt that loneliness as I watch my close friends move on in life, and like Simone, I have had some estrangement from my family. But this book shows that despite all of that, the people you need the most will be there, and that sometimes friendship love is deeper, stronger, more intimate than romantic love.
If you like deeply emotional stories that center female friendships, this is the book for you.
January 26, 2026
I absolutely loved Love by the Book by Jessica George! It’s a joyful, heartfelt celebration of the beauty and power of female friendship that completely swept me away. As a follow-up to her wonderful debut Maame (which I also adored), this novel feels both comforting and excitingly fresh, brimming with wisdom, warmth, and deeply well-developed characters. I found myself instantly attached to Remy and Simone and honestly just wanted to be best friends with them, rooting for them through every page. George has such a gift for capturing emotional nuance and connection, making this story feel unique, refreshing, and utterly captivating. Overall, it’s a beautiful, feel-good read that stayed with me long after I finished. I can’t recommend highly enough!
February 25, 2026
Phenomenally written. I loved all of the characters - they were fun, funny, raw, honest and wholly themselves. I truly felt like I knew them. I loved this idea of a platonic lifelines between two women. Simone and Remy blended so well together - I loved their friendship. I adored the author’s writing style!
March 23, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review
Remy is an author who wrote her debut book based on the special friendship group of 4 she has with her best friends. It becomes an instant best seller and she has been struggling to write her next novel. When 2 of her friends announce they are moving away from London and the other gets back with their toxic ex, the friend group falls apart and Remy struggles with the loneliness.
She runs into someone she went to high school with at a book event and sees a potential friend in her. Simone is a teacher of young children who loves her job, she supplements her income with a second job to afford the comfortable life she enjoys. She has recently had a falling out with her family which were the only people she let into her life. She does not need to let in anyone new but Remy is so insistent she has no choice. What starts out as a placeholder for those they have lost in their lives turns into a beautifully complex friendship. But both of them are holding back important details that may tear down everything they have built together.
This is by far mu favourite book I have read in a long while. This book took me by surprise, I had heard a lot of good things about the author’s debut novel but hadn’t picked it up fearing it would not be for me. But I book about female friendship was right up my alley. I thought this book was so beautifully written. It felt so authentic, well crafted, emotional, and life affirming. I felt so seen within the pages of this book and it felt like the perfect book for me. Female friendships in your early 30s is a tough topic to get right but this one did a stunning job of it. The writing style choice of writing a book within a book was genius. The dual perspective was such a good choice and so well executed. This was honestly the perfect book for me and I will be yelling about it from the roof tops for a long while.
Remy is an author who wrote her debut book based on the special friendship group of 4 she has with her best friends. It becomes an instant best seller and she has been struggling to write her next novel. When 2 of her friends announce they are moving away from London and the other gets back with their toxic ex, the friend group falls apart and Remy struggles with the loneliness.
She runs into someone she went to high school with at a book event and sees a potential friend in her. Simone is a teacher of young children who loves her job, she supplements her income with a second job to afford the comfortable life she enjoys. She has recently had a falling out with her family which were the only people she let into her life. She does not need to let in anyone new but Remy is so insistent she has no choice. What starts out as a placeholder for those they have lost in their lives turns into a beautifully complex friendship. But both of them are holding back important details that may tear down everything they have built together.
This is by far mu favourite book I have read in a long while. This book took me by surprise, I had heard a lot of good things about the author’s debut novel but hadn’t picked it up fearing it would not be for me. But I book about female friendship was right up my alley. I thought this book was so beautifully written. It felt so authentic, well crafted, emotional, and life affirming. I felt so seen within the pages of this book and it felt like the perfect book for me. Female friendships in your early 30s is a tough topic to get right but this one did a stunning job of it. The writing style choice of writing a book within a book was genius. The dual perspective was such a good choice and so well executed. This was honestly the perfect book for me and I will be yelling about it from the roof tops for a long while.
March 15, 2026
If you are in your mid-twenties or older (like I am), this book will surely resonate with you.
Love By The Book centers Remy, a struggling writer whose close circle of female friendships is one of the most meaningful facets of her life. Things change when a series of massive life changes rock the friend group dynamic. Job promotions, pregnancy, and new relationships separate the 4 women geographically and strain their friendship for the first time. Remy begins floundering as she simultaneously struggles to find artistic inspiration and navigate life without seeing her friends regularly.
Then, she meets Simone, a borderline reclusive woman who lives a double life. The two begin a friendship that is awkward at first, but then becomes more natural.
We switch between Remy’s and Simone’s POVs as the story explores how adult friendships evolve, and what it means to exist in community.
Jessica George writes characters that feel realistically flawed, and yet are ones you ultimately want to root for. I’ve had Maame on my TBR for a while now, and this has made me want to prioritize it.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!
Love By The Book centers Remy, a struggling writer whose close circle of female friendships is one of the most meaningful facets of her life. Things change when a series of massive life changes rock the friend group dynamic. Job promotions, pregnancy, and new relationships separate the 4 women geographically and strain their friendship for the first time. Remy begins floundering as she simultaneously struggles to find artistic inspiration and navigate life without seeing her friends regularly.
Then, she meets Simone, a borderline reclusive woman who lives a double life. The two begin a friendship that is awkward at first, but then becomes more natural.
We switch between Remy’s and Simone’s POVs as the story explores how adult friendships evolve, and what it means to exist in community.
Jessica George writes characters that feel realistically flawed, and yet are ones you ultimately want to root for. I’ve had Maame on my TBR for a while now, and this has made me want to prioritize it.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!
March 28, 2026
My first ever 5 star review for a romance. Seems fitting as this is a romance between female friends. Loved the characters, the story line and the relationships between the women. I won the audio book from Story Graph and enjoyed the narrator too! Loved loved loved this book.
August 17, 2025
Jessica George is two for two! She explores love and dynamics within friendships, and there is much to think about concerning what we want and how to justify it with ourselves and others. While Remi was clearly meant to be the primary main character, Simone's story stole the show.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. This was a great follow up to Maame.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. This was a great follow up to Maame.
March 20, 2026
4.25
This book is a love letter to the modern woman and to female friendships, highlighting the beauty, complexity, and quiet strength found in those bonds.
The beginning is a bit of a slow burn as we establish and flesh out Simone and Remy’s separate lives before they converge. We are given a clear sense of where they are emotionally and professionally. Simone, a teacher by day and an escort by night, is still recovering from a painful familial break, while Remy, a best selling author struggling with writer’s block, feels increasingly left behind as her closest friends move forward with marriage, babies, work abroad, and rekindled relationships. It is at this point in their lives that they find each other, and from there the story really takes off.
In the interest of transparency, I initially thought this was a sapphic romance. The chemistry between Simone and Remy is incredibly strong, and the way the book subverts romantic tropes into a deeply meaningful platonic relationship, including a meet cute, feels both intentional and refreshing. In a world where women are so often pitted against one another, it was genuinely uplifting to see a story centered on women supporting and choosing each other.
I also really appreciated the positive representation of sex workers through Simone’s character. While I do wish this aspect had been explored more deeply, I found it compelling and thoughtfully handled. I would absolutely read a Diary of a Call Girl style novella from her perspective, as that part of her life was particularly fascinating.
It is difficult to dive into some of the novel’s deeper themes without veering into spoiler territory, but what I can say is that the story handles all of its subject matter with remarkable nuance and balance. It resists the urge to reduce its characters or their choices into neat moral categories. Instead, it embraces the messiness of real life, allowing its characters to exist in the gray areas. This is a book that truly lives in the full spectrum of womanhood, in all its contradictions, vulnerabilities, and strengths, rather than in the rigid black and white frameworks we are often taught to accept.
Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the ALC. Isabel Adomakoh Young was fantastic, bringing both Simone and Remy to life with distinct voices and impressive control of tone and cadence. As always with MacMillan Audio, the production is crisp and clear.
This book is a love letter to the modern woman and to female friendships, highlighting the beauty, complexity, and quiet strength found in those bonds.
The beginning is a bit of a slow burn as we establish and flesh out Simone and Remy’s separate lives before they converge. We are given a clear sense of where they are emotionally and professionally. Simone, a teacher by day and an escort by night, is still recovering from a painful familial break, while Remy, a best selling author struggling with writer’s block, feels increasingly left behind as her closest friends move forward with marriage, babies, work abroad, and rekindled relationships. It is at this point in their lives that they find each other, and from there the story really takes off.
In the interest of transparency, I initially thought this was a sapphic romance. The chemistry between Simone and Remy is incredibly strong, and the way the book subverts romantic tropes into a deeply meaningful platonic relationship, including a meet cute, feels both intentional and refreshing. In a world where women are so often pitted against one another, it was genuinely uplifting to see a story centered on women supporting and choosing each other.
I also really appreciated the positive representation of sex workers through Simone’s character. While I do wish this aspect had been explored more deeply, I found it compelling and thoughtfully handled. I would absolutely read a Diary of a Call Girl style novella from her perspective, as that part of her life was particularly fascinating.
It is difficult to dive into some of the novel’s deeper themes without veering into spoiler territory, but what I can say is that the story handles all of its subject matter with remarkable nuance and balance. It resists the urge to reduce its characters or their choices into neat moral categories. Instead, it embraces the messiness of real life, allowing its characters to exist in the gray areas. This is a book that truly lives in the full spectrum of womanhood, in all its contradictions, vulnerabilities, and strengths, rather than in the rigid black and white frameworks we are often taught to accept.
Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the ALC. Isabel Adomakoh Young was fantastic, bringing both Simone and Remy to life with distinct voices and impressive control of tone and cadence. As always with MacMillan Audio, the production is crisp and clear.
March 19, 2026
3.5 stars ⭐️ !
(Rounded up to a 4 for Goodreads)
A relatable, hilarious, and endearing way to showcase the importance of platonic love and friendship.
This character driven story will take you through the ins and outs and the ups and downs of navigating self-discovery, loss and building something new.
Love by the book was a breath of fresh air where I sometimes begin to drown in books stuffed to the brim with romance. I love romance and much as the next person, but what about non-romantic love? What about the power, the heartbreak, the struggle, the brilliance that comes along with friendship? Well, it seems Jessica George has the same thought and wrote a great book about it.
I laughed, I teared up, I nodded my head along with everything that hit home. I felt seen, I felt like I learned new things, most importantly I felt refreshed.
I struggled a bit for the first quarter not fully understanding that Simone was in fact, not a character in Remy’s book. But once that was figured out, I was intrigued by how these two very different women would connect. I also found the book to be long winded and a bit tangent-like at times and it caused me to have to take breaks to want to dive back into it.
With all of that being said, there was a lot I related to and appreciated seeing play out on the pages. I loved this lens on female friendship and think there’s something in this book for everyone.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
(Rounded up to a 4 for Goodreads)
A relatable, hilarious, and endearing way to showcase the importance of platonic love and friendship.
This character driven story will take you through the ins and outs and the ups and downs of navigating self-discovery, loss and building something new.
Love by the book was a breath of fresh air where I sometimes begin to drown in books stuffed to the brim with romance. I love romance and much as the next person, but what about non-romantic love? What about the power, the heartbreak, the struggle, the brilliance that comes along with friendship? Well, it seems Jessica George has the same thought and wrote a great book about it.
I laughed, I teared up, I nodded my head along with everything that hit home. I felt seen, I felt like I learned new things, most importantly I felt refreshed.
I struggled a bit for the first quarter not fully understanding that Simone was in fact, not a character in Remy’s book. But once that was figured out, I was intrigued by how these two very different women would connect. I also found the book to be long winded and a bit tangent-like at times and it caused me to have to take breaks to want to dive back into it.
With all of that being said, there was a lot I related to and appreciated seeing play out on the pages. I loved this lens on female friendship and think there’s something in this book for everyone.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Want to read
April 2, 2026I feel like there are not enough books that are really an ode to female friendship. Love by the Book explored friendship and all its ups and downs using interesting narrative techniques.
Remy's debut novel was a not-very-thinly-veiled book about her tight foursome of a friend group. But just when her agent and publisher want her second novel, that friend group starts to change. One member has a baby and moves out of the city, another takes a job in America, and a third goes back to her bad boyfriend.
When Remy meets cute with Simone at a book event, she's thrilled to have made a promising new friend. Simone is a primary school teacher with a side hustle her family would definitely not approve of, and when they find out, they cut her off. Meanwhile, Remy is hiding something too, all while chronicling her growing friendship with Simone through auto-fiction. These fictionalized versions of their relationship are included in the book as epistolary elements (this took me a bit to figure out, and I'm not usually an epistolary fan, but I liked it.)
I found Remy a little harder to relate to, but I loved Simone so much. I was really rooting for her!
For fans of all those iconic (and messy) friendship stories on screen, like Girls and Sex and the City.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!
Remy's debut novel was a not-very-thinly-veiled book about her tight foursome of a friend group. But just when her agent and publisher want her second novel, that friend group starts to change. One member has a baby and moves out of the city, another takes a job in America, and a third goes back to her bad boyfriend.
When Remy meets cute with Simone at a book event, she's thrilled to have made a promising new friend. Simone is a primary school teacher with a side hustle her family would definitely not approve of, and when they find out, they cut her off. Meanwhile, Remy is hiding something too, all while chronicling her growing friendship with Simone through auto-fiction. These fictionalized versions of their relationship are included in the book as epistolary elements (this took me a bit to figure out, and I'm not usually an epistolary fan, but I liked it.)
I found Remy a little harder to relate to, but I loved Simone so much. I was really rooting for her!
For fans of all those iconic (and messy) friendship stories on screen, like Girls and Sex and the City.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!
March 24, 2026
I read and loved Maame by Jessica George last year, so I immediately added this to my TBR. I'm happy to say I loved it just as much.
I really love complex friendship stories. My close friends are my family, so I will always love a great story about how we show up for each other.
Remy wrote a successful debut novel based on her three best friends. But as she's struggling to find inspiration for her second book, her friend group falls apart. Not through arguments or anything overly dramatic, just through life changes. One moves to New York. One gets pregnant. And one gets back with her awful boyfriend. Remy is sure everything will be fine, but after a messy one-night stand, she finds herself feeling completely alone not to mention creatively stuck.
Simone is a kindergarten teacher with a side hustle that pays extremely well. But when her family finds out what she does, they cut her off. She's guarded because people judge her. When Remy, an old classmate, bumps into her in a bookstore and wants to be friends, Simone is skeptical but also hopeful.
I loved the dynamics between all the characters. They felt real. Remy is insecure and heartbroken while Simone is (understandably) prickly and guarded. They're both harboring secrets and both exactly what the other needs, if only they can let each other in.
The book explores platonic love beautifully. Friendship love is deep and complex but also very rewarding. These bonds are unbreakable and I love seeing them displayed so beautifully on page. Watching Remy and Simone develop a friendship later in life was very rewarding. I've found as I get older that making new friends is difficult (mostly because I don't really feel like I need new friends), but still, the older we get, opportunities to meet new people that "fit" our lifestyle is difficult.
I listened to an advance audiobook of this one and the narration by Isabel Adomakoh Young is fantastic. She captures the voices and emotions perfectly.
This book is warm and honest. I loved it. It's about friendship, loneliness, and finding your people. If you loved Maame or are drawn to books about friendship that feel real and rewarding, pick this up.
I really love complex friendship stories. My close friends are my family, so I will always love a great story about how we show up for each other.
Remy wrote a successful debut novel based on her three best friends. But as she's struggling to find inspiration for her second book, her friend group falls apart. Not through arguments or anything overly dramatic, just through life changes. One moves to New York. One gets pregnant. And one gets back with her awful boyfriend. Remy is sure everything will be fine, but after a messy one-night stand, she finds herself feeling completely alone not to mention creatively stuck.
Simone is a kindergarten teacher with a side hustle that pays extremely well. But when her family finds out what she does, they cut her off. She's guarded because people judge her. When Remy, an old classmate, bumps into her in a bookstore and wants to be friends, Simone is skeptical but also hopeful.
I loved the dynamics between all the characters. They felt real. Remy is insecure and heartbroken while Simone is (understandably) prickly and guarded. They're both harboring secrets and both exactly what the other needs, if only they can let each other in.
The book explores platonic love beautifully. Friendship love is deep and complex but also very rewarding. These bonds are unbreakable and I love seeing them displayed so beautifully on page. Watching Remy and Simone develop a friendship later in life was very rewarding. I've found as I get older that making new friends is difficult (mostly because I don't really feel like I need new friends), but still, the older we get, opportunities to meet new people that "fit" our lifestyle is difficult.
I listened to an advance audiobook of this one and the narration by Isabel Adomakoh Young is fantastic. She captures the voices and emotions perfectly.
This book is warm and honest. I loved it. It's about friendship, loneliness, and finding your people. If you loved Maame or are drawn to books about friendship that feel real and rewarding, pick this up.
March 31, 2026
Maame is one of my all time favorite books so Love By the Book was one of my most anticipated reads this year and let me tell you, I had HIGH expectations for it. Thankfully (and not surprisingly) it was just as beautiful and wonderful as I was hoping. Remy and Simone were both such amazing characters. Seeing their friendship grow and also watching them discover themselves and their wants/desires was such a joy. I loved the way the book went into the complexities and challenges of adult female friendships and how they evolve throughout life’s big milestones like motherhood, job relocation and just general responsibilities. I also thought the way child free lifestyles and motherhood were talked about was so important and had all the nuance I wish was brought up more often. This book is an epic love story that celebrates platonic love and how important friendships and connections are. I definitely cried several times as a person whose friendships are mostly long distance ones. Love By the Book was well worth the wait in my mind and it goes right up there with Maame as a forever favorite.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the digital reader’s copy!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the digital reader’s copy!
February 19, 2026
I’m a girls girl. My friendships survived childhood, undergrad, across continents, marriages, divorced and parenting little people.
I just knew this book was going to get to the core and reiterate how important sisterhood truly is. Sadly it didn’t really hit its mark and a lot of the chaos failed to drive the girls into the same direction. If something happens in my best friend’s life, it happens in my life. One band, one sound. I did enjoy the cultural differences and dynamics, highlighting the African British experience in a way I haven’t seen.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the trip across the pond!
I just knew this book was going to get to the core and reiterate how important sisterhood truly is. Sadly it didn’t really hit its mark and a lot of the chaos failed to drive the girls into the same direction. If something happens in my best friend’s life, it happens in my life. One band, one sound. I did enjoy the cultural differences and dynamics, highlighting the African British experience in a way I haven’t seen.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the trip across the pond!
March 30, 2026
Remy is an expert on close female friend groups. She even wrote a best selling novel based on hers. But now, she’s feeling out of touch and lonely as they’ve moved into new life stages. Simone is going through similar feelings of isolation after a falling out with her family, and seems like a good contender to fill that close friendship void, but connecting is shaping up to be harder than Remy hoped.
Oh wow, so I absolutely love this slow-paced story, a refreshing peek into a facet of life that doesn’t tend to get the focus it deserves. These characters feel relatable, emotionally mature, and like lovely humans I want to know in real life.
The audiobook narration by Isabel Adomakoh Young fits the book perfectly. I highly recommend listening!
Many thanks to St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the early copies.
Oh wow, so I absolutely love this slow-paced story, a refreshing peek into a facet of life that doesn’t tend to get the focus it deserves. These characters feel relatable, emotionally mature, and like lovely humans I want to know in real life.
The audiobook narration by Isabel Adomakoh Young fits the book perfectly. I highly recommend listening!
Many thanks to St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the early copies.
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