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Main Characters
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jul 26THIS IS A LOVE STORY, TOLD BY EVERYONE BUT THE MAIN CHARACTERS.
Clara and Seb are about to fall in love. They don't know it yet. But everybody else does.
When Clara and Seb meet in a quiet corner of London, it's the start of something. She wants to be a director. He's an actor, unsure what he wants from life.
Their connection is magnetic. Everyone can see that falling in love looks something like this. But when Clara casts Seb in the film that will make her name, what should be the happiest time of their lives ends with a gut-wrenching betrayal.
Some love stories are bigger than just two people. This one is told through the eyes of friends, flatmates, exes and strangers who see all the sides of Seb and Clara, from their first date to the moment they fell apart.
Everyone has their version of events. But only Clara and Seb can decide how their story ends...
Clara and Seb are about to fall in love. They don't know it yet. But everybody else does.
When Clara and Seb meet in a quiet corner of London, it's the start of something. She wants to be a director. He's an actor, unsure what he wants from life.
Their connection is magnetic. Everyone can see that falling in love looks something like this. But when Clara casts Seb in the film that will make her name, what should be the happiest time of their lives ends with a gut-wrenching betrayal.
Some love stories are bigger than just two people. This one is told through the eyes of friends, flatmates, exes and strangers who see all the sides of Seb and Clara, from their first date to the moment they fell apart.
Everyone has their version of events. But only Clara and Seb can decide how their story ends...
- GenresRomanceAdult Fiction
Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 2, 2026
8 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
About the author
Bobby Palmer
3 books226 followersBOBBY PALMER is an author and journalist whose writing has appeared in GQ, Esquire, Men's Health, Cosmopolitan and more. He is co-host of the literary podcast BOOK CHAT with Pandora Sykes.
His debut novel, ISAAC AND THE EGG, was an instant Saturday Times bestseller, selling 50,000 copies in its first year of publication. A Prima and Woman & Home 'Best Book of 2022', the novel appeared on BBC Radio 4's Open Book, featured as Guardian 'Audiobook of the Week', and was chosen by Dawn O'Porter as part of her 'Dawn Loves' book club with WHSmith.
Bobby's second novel, SMALL HOURS, published in March 2024. His third, MAIN CHARACTERS, will publish simultaneously in the UK and US in July 2026.
His debut novel, ISAAC AND THE EGG, was an instant Saturday Times bestseller, selling 50,000 copies in its first year of publication. A Prima and Woman & Home 'Best Book of 2022', the novel appeared on BBC Radio 4's Open Book, featured as Guardian 'Audiobook of the Week', and was chosen by Dawn O'Porter as part of her 'Dawn Loves' book club with WHSmith.
Bobby's second novel, SMALL HOURS, published in March 2024. His third, MAIN CHARACTERS, will publish simultaneously in the UK and US in July 2026.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 13, 2025
I got this one on Netgalley, excited by the premise.
It's a smart idea - tell the story of a relationship only through the eyes of those that observe them. Unfortunately for me, the execution wasn't great. To be fair, this is an ambitious format, and I admire the author for thinking of it, and trying their best. But it just doesn't work.
We kick off the story as an artist draws one of the protagonists in the park, then we read from the POV of her boss, then maybe a passer-by on the street, then a flatmate etc etc. The chapters are short, too short perhaps, as we get multiple narrators, swapping every few pages - but we never really get in the heads of the two "main characters", Clara and Seb.
What is the point of reading from the point of view of all these different characters if they all seem to be exactly the same? Whether they're an ex boyfriend or a colleague or a passer-by, they all spoke the same, with no distinct personality of their own. And they ended up just telling us what Seb and Clara were saying / doing, just like an omniscient narrator would do anyway, so the whole concept of the book seemed a bit pointless.
It's well written but with the same cold, distant style of Issac and the Egg. Which worked for that book but this is supposed to be a romance, right? So where's the spark, the fire, the charisma? It was a bit of a slog by the end.
Ultimately, for me, Main Characters didn't deliver on its ambitious premise. A shame.
It's a smart idea - tell the story of a relationship only through the eyes of those that observe them. Unfortunately for me, the execution wasn't great. To be fair, this is an ambitious format, and I admire the author for thinking of it, and trying their best. But it just doesn't work.
We kick off the story as an artist draws one of the protagonists in the park, then we read from the POV of her boss, then maybe a passer-by on the street, then a flatmate etc etc. The chapters are short, too short perhaps, as we get multiple narrators, swapping every few pages - but we never really get in the heads of the two "main characters", Clara and Seb.
What is the point of reading from the point of view of all these different characters if they all seem to be exactly the same? Whether they're an ex boyfriend or a colleague or a passer-by, they all spoke the same, with no distinct personality of their own. And they ended up just telling us what Seb and Clara were saying / doing, just like an omniscient narrator would do anyway, so the whole concept of the book seemed a bit pointless.
It's well written but with the same cold, distant style of Issac and the Egg. Which worked for that book but this is supposed to be a romance, right? So where's the spark, the fire, the charisma? It was a bit of a slog by the end.
Ultimately, for me, Main Characters didn't deliver on its ambitious premise. A shame.
December 27, 2025
This novel offers an original and deeply moving perspective: a love story revealed through the eyes of those who observe it. From best friends to bus passengers to colleagues, each viewpoint adds to the story of the relationship as it happens.
Each character was so well built out, I truly felt like I was in the story. Despite the story being told through secondary perspectives, I felt incredibly connected to the central characters and came to understand them and their motives.
Overall, this is a moving and emotional book that has stayed with me and I loved the concept so much. I’d highly recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC
Each character was so well built out, I truly felt like I was in the story. Despite the story being told through secondary perspectives, I felt incredibly connected to the central characters and came to understand them and their motives.
Overall, this is a moving and emotional book that has stayed with me and I loved the concept so much. I’d highly recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC
December 4, 2025
ARC read - thank you to the publishers, NetGalley and of course the author for this advanced copy.
This book is everything the synopsis promises to be and more.
I knew from the premiss that I would love it, but it still blew me away. I cried, I laughed, I fell in love with the gorgeous array of wonderful characters. The way of telling the story through the eyes of everyone around them was so clever, I couldn’t help but think about couples I’ve observed and what strangers may have seen of my life.
My husband is from Leicester, so I loved the little nods to a place I’ve come to know well.
For fans of the last five years, heartburn, David Nichols, Sally Rooney… I could go on.
It was beautiful, I want to read it again and again and again. I can’t wait until July so I can recommend it to all of my friends!
This book is everything the synopsis promises to be and more.
I knew from the premiss that I would love it, but it still blew me away. I cried, I laughed, I fell in love with the gorgeous array of wonderful characters. The way of telling the story through the eyes of everyone around them was so clever, I couldn’t help but think about couples I’ve observed and what strangers may have seen of my life.
My husband is from Leicester, so I loved the little nods to a place I’ve come to know well.
For fans of the last five years, heartburn, David Nichols, Sally Rooney… I could go on.
It was beautiful, I want to read it again and again and again. I can’t wait until July so I can recommend it to all of my friends!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thanks to NetGalley and Kathleen Quinlan at Little, Brown and Company for this advance reader’s copy, in exchange for an honest review. “Main Characters” is scheduled for release on June 30, 2026.
The promo for this novel states, “This is a love story, told by everyone but the main characters.” And that’s my biggest issue with the story. I’d rather hear from the main characters.
The setting is London. Clara, who wants to be a film director, and Seb, an actor who doesn’t really know what he wants to do, meet. And the attraction is magnetic.
The narrative then follows the couple over the course of a decade or so, but it does so from the perspective of family, friends, or any old person on the street. For example, when Clara and Seb argue over lunch at a restaurant, the entire scene is revealed through the eyes of a woman at an adjacent table. And when they leave, their interaction outside the restaurant comes from the point of view of a male smoke on the street.
It’s an interesting concept, writing from all the various points of view in the couple’s lives, but it left me empty. I want to know more about Clara and Seb, and there’s no way a woman at an adjacent table can offer that. More importantly, that woman’s perspective comes across exactly the same as the smoker on the street. And a section called The New Neighbor seems more about the neighbor than Clara or Seb.
These are two people (Clara and Seb) who have a lot of dynamics going on in their lives, but I found it hard to care about either of them since I never really got a sense of who they are. And because the varying perspectives are never repeated (i.e., we only hear from the woman at the adjacent restaurant table, or the smoker on the street, once), their perceptions become a one-time shot in the dark. With dozens of these perspectives over the course of the novel, they lose their meaning.
Without giving anything away, I would rather have seen the narrative take the approach of a film Clara releases toward the end of the novel, where the two main characters alternate telling their side of the relationship. That would have been infinitely better.
Sorry I can’t be more positive, but just two stars for “Main Characters.” I would much rather have heard directly from those main characters.
And you can read all of my reviews at my Raised on Reading (www.raisedonreading.com) blog site.
The promo for this novel states, “This is a love story, told by everyone but the main characters.” And that’s my biggest issue with the story. I’d rather hear from the main characters.
The setting is London. Clara, who wants to be a film director, and Seb, an actor who doesn’t really know what he wants to do, meet. And the attraction is magnetic.
The narrative then follows the couple over the course of a decade or so, but it does so from the perspective of family, friends, or any old person on the street. For example, when Clara and Seb argue over lunch at a restaurant, the entire scene is revealed through the eyes of a woman at an adjacent table. And when they leave, their interaction outside the restaurant comes from the point of view of a male smoke on the street.
It’s an interesting concept, writing from all the various points of view in the couple’s lives, but it left me empty. I want to know more about Clara and Seb, and there’s no way a woman at an adjacent table can offer that. More importantly, that woman’s perspective comes across exactly the same as the smoker on the street. And a section called The New Neighbor seems more about the neighbor than Clara or Seb.
These are two people (Clara and Seb) who have a lot of dynamics going on in their lives, but I found it hard to care about either of them since I never really got a sense of who they are. And because the varying perspectives are never repeated (i.e., we only hear from the woman at the adjacent restaurant table, or the smoker on the street, once), their perceptions become a one-time shot in the dark. With dozens of these perspectives over the course of the novel, they lose their meaning.
Without giving anything away, I would rather have seen the narrative take the approach of a film Clara releases toward the end of the novel, where the two main characters alternate telling their side of the relationship. That would have been infinitely better.
Sorry I can’t be more positive, but just two stars for “Main Characters.” I would much rather have heard directly from those main characters.
And you can read all of my reviews at my Raised on Reading (www.raisedonreading.com) blog site.
November 13, 2025
This has become one of my favourite book of the year. I love the uniqueness of the narrative voice. The story is told from the POVs of random people or the entourage of Clara and Seb. It brings something different that I loved. You’d think that because of that, you’d feel distant from the characters, but no. I still felt so connected to their story. At its core, it’s the exploration of growth of two people. But it’s also about love and forgiveness. Clara and Seb are not perfect, which is what makes this story interesting, especially as it’s seen throughout other people’s view. Since it takes place over 20 years, a lot of events happen which kept the book very compelling. There’s love, heartbreak, fear, regret but also joy. All of these emotions were well captured by the author. I might have shed a tear at the end. Clara’s and Seb’s story really touched me.
I think this book will resonate with a lot of people. Readers interested by the concept of sonder will definitely enjoy this. I can’t wait for everyone to read this and I’ll keep recommending this book to everyone I know !
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book. Opinions are my own.
I think this book will resonate with a lot of people. Readers interested by the concept of sonder will definitely enjoy this. I can’t wait for everyone to read this and I’ll keep recommending this book to everyone I know !
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book. Opinions are my own.
December 6, 2025
A book like no other, a love story told by everyone else just not the main characters. I loved this concept. It was surprising how relatable the characters were and how connected to them I still felt despite their stories being told through the voices of other people.
Clara & Seb are far from perfect and their relationship is in turmoil a lot but this made them so much more relatable. Easy to find common ground with characters that experience similar experiences and struggles that we do in real life. That being said I really really wanted them to work out. Seb broke my heart, I felt like he was such an old soul lost in a big world where he just couldn't find his footing.
Can I just take a minute.. erm Jasper.. where the Heck was Clara when you know [ I can't say I have to keep this spoiler free ] roll on July 2026 when I can find people to talk to about this!!
I have loved Bobby Palmers previous novels and honestly I think this one trumps those. I'll be raving about this from the rooftops. Definitely will be needing a physical copy for my shelves!
Overall a stunning book, full of heartache, growth, friendships, healing, love and so much more. An absolute must read!!
Clara & Seb are far from perfect and their relationship is in turmoil a lot but this made them so much more relatable. Easy to find common ground with characters that experience similar experiences and struggles that we do in real life. That being said I really really wanted them to work out. Seb broke my heart, I felt like he was such an old soul lost in a big world where he just couldn't find his footing.
Can I just take a minute.. erm Jasper.. where the Heck was Clara when you know [ I can't say I have to keep this spoiler free ] roll on July 2026 when I can find people to talk to about this!!
I have loved Bobby Palmers previous novels and honestly I think this one trumps those. I'll be raving about this from the rooftops. Definitely will be needing a physical copy for my shelves!
Overall a stunning book, full of heartache, growth, friendships, healing, love and so much more. An absolute must read!!
December 15, 2025
Main Characters by Bobby Palmer
★★★★
Clara and Seb fall into an obsessive love story everyone around them can see, even before they do. Told through the eyes of others, their relationship rises, breaks, and ultimately leaves them to decide how it truly ends.
I love books that push the envelope when it comes to how a story can be told, and this premise was an instant hell yeah, I’ll read that for me. Experiencing the story through the perspectives of external characters is compelling, but around the 25% mark I found myself struggling. I really, really wanted Clara or Seb’s point of view in their own words. At times, I felt lost in what was actually happening in their relationship, one moment they seemed on the rocks, the next they were suddenly fine again.
Clara and Seb’s relationship is all-consuming, raw, and undeniably captivating, but I can’t say I was rooting for them the entire time. I found myself craving their deeper thoughts and inner perspectives to fully understand and validate their feelings for each other.
Overall, their love story is touching and will likely feel deeply relatable for some readers.
🎥💔💉🎈
Thanks to @littleborwn & @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Pour a hot drink, it’s book talk time.
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★★★★
Clara and Seb fall into an obsessive love story everyone around them can see, even before they do. Told through the eyes of others, their relationship rises, breaks, and ultimately leaves them to decide how it truly ends.
I love books that push the envelope when it comes to how a story can be told, and this premise was an instant hell yeah, I’ll read that for me. Experiencing the story through the perspectives of external characters is compelling, but around the 25% mark I found myself struggling. I really, really wanted Clara or Seb’s point of view in their own words. At times, I felt lost in what was actually happening in their relationship, one moment they seemed on the rocks, the next they were suddenly fine again.
Clara and Seb’s relationship is all-consuming, raw, and undeniably captivating, but I can’t say I was rooting for them the entire time. I found myself craving their deeper thoughts and inner perspectives to fully understand and validate their feelings for each other.
Overall, their love story is touching and will likely feel deeply relatable for some readers.
🎥💔💉🎈
Thanks to @littleborwn & @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Pour a hot drink, it’s book talk time.
TikTok
November 22, 2025
What a brilliant concept for a novel. A love story written from the point of view of the people Seb and Clara meet. Be it a nosy passenger reading their texts on a train or their nearest and dearest, their story unfolds over many years.
As a reader you never hear directly from the main characters, unless it is coversations retold by others.
As leads, Clara and Seb are as equally frustrating as they are loveable. Often I want to shout at characters for decisions they make but here, their friends and family did it for me. The different perspectives told their story in so much detail and it was so cleverly executed.
It was so easy to give 5 stars to and another contender for my read of the year.
As a reader you never hear directly from the main characters, unless it is coversations retold by others.
As leads, Clara and Seb are as equally frustrating as they are loveable. Often I want to shout at characters for decisions they make but here, their friends and family did it for me. The different perspectives told their story in so much detail and it was so cleverly executed.
It was so easy to give 5 stars to and another contender for my read of the year.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I was invited by the publisher to review this book. Clara is an aspiring director and Seb is an unsure actor. They meet and then fall into an intense, magnetic romance. When Clara casts Seb in her breakthrough film, their love collides with their goals and ends in a devastating betrayal..
I loved this book just for the way it was presented - this story is told from the perspectives of those in Clara and Seb's orbit. It was such an unique and intriguing way to present a love story. This story takes place over many years, so it is also like a piece on the human experience, as all gamut of emotions and experiences are within the pages.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book just for the way it was presented - this story is told from the perspectives of those in Clara and Seb's orbit. It was such an unique and intriguing way to present a love story. This story takes place over many years, so it is also like a piece on the human experience, as all gamut of emotions and experiences are within the pages.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 21, 2025
This is a romance novel that follows Clara and Seb for over a decade. What makes this book unique is that it's told entirely from the perspective of others, from close friends to a fellow passenger on a bus and everything in between. I really enjoyed that this novel did not follow the standard romantic story line trope. Their relationship wasn't a cozy feel good one with just some minor bumps. It was messy. There were big and little mistakes. It was human. While I did enjoy the story I'm not sure I liked the way it was told from so many different viewpoints. It wasn't bad and it was written well, I just don't think it's my style. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Main Characters
you've never read a love story like this one'
No, I'm afraid I won't, because this book just wasn't for me, and very unusually for me, I didn't finish the book.
I loved the premise and was looking forward to reading the book, but the writing style just left me cold and confused. I'm sure I'm not the intended reader as I'm older, but for me there were just too many characters who spoke, but added nothing to the story. I like to engage with my characters so that I care what happens to them, but I couldn't warm to Clara and Seb.
Sorry, but I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I know I'm in the minority, but hey ho. I tried.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley.
you've never read a love story like this one'
No, I'm afraid I won't, because this book just wasn't for me, and very unusually for me, I didn't finish the book.
I loved the premise and was looking forward to reading the book, but the writing style just left me cold and confused. I'm sure I'm not the intended reader as I'm older, but for me there were just too many characters who spoke, but added nothing to the story. I like to engage with my characters so that I care what happens to them, but I couldn't warm to Clara and Seb.
Sorry, but I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I know I'm in the minority, but hey ho. I tried.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Main Characters has an original and thought provoking concept. Told from the viewpoints of people around them - and not the main characters themselves - we are shown Clara and Seb’s relationship as it develops over the years.
Both characters are well developed with a lot of nuance and depth as are the background characters of friends and family. I felt they interacted well and were relatable.
The concept of the novel is an intriguing one and added a fresh outlook to a sometimes stale genre. At times I did feel it was slightly overdone and forced but overall it worked well. I don’t anticipate a follow up to the story but if there was one, I’d be eager to read it.
A quirky, heartwarming read. Recommended.
Thanks to Headline Review and NetGalley for the ARC.
Both characters are well developed with a lot of nuance and depth as are the background characters of friends and family. I felt they interacted well and were relatable.
The concept of the novel is an intriguing one and added a fresh outlook to a sometimes stale genre. At times I did feel it was slightly overdone and forced but overall it worked well. I don’t anticipate a follow up to the story but if there was one, I’d be eager to read it.
A quirky, heartwarming read. Recommended.
Thanks to Headline Review and NetGalley for the ARC.
December 20, 2025
After reading Issac and the Egg (which is a brilliant book!!) I was really intrigued by the concept of this new book by this author. Following the story of two people through the eyes of everyone else but their own. It was something very different, and cleverly written. For me I just didn’t like the amount of swapping of people’s views, I’m someone who isn’t a fan of multi-view books or timelines which jump quite quickly, so it didn’t land particularly well for me, however I could see the intent of the author, and as I’ve said I still think it was very clever.
Thanks to NetGalley for gifting me an early copy of this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for gifting me an early copy of this book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a love story told not by the main characters, Clara and Seb, but by those who observe them throughout their 20s and beyond. All of these observers have their perception of what is happening and the book uses these to piece together the story. It's an unusual way of telling a love story and it took me 20 pages or so to settle into it but once I did I was hooked. From the passenger on the bus, the best friend, the barista, everyone sees a piece of the experience but the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Highly recommend. (Copy received via Netgalley in return for an honest review)
December 8, 2025
I was asked by NetGalley to review this book.
I loved this book, told in a different was from points of view from people round about Clara and Seb, this is about forgiviness and love over some 20 years. The characters are not perfect and that was good.
20 years and a lot can happen and it does- from love, regret and happiness too.
This was a really touching story so recommended
Sadly not due for publication until July 2nd 2026.
I loved this book, told in a different was from points of view from people round about Clara and Seb, this is about forgiviness and love over some 20 years. The characters are not perfect and that was good.
20 years and a lot can happen and it does- from love, regret and happiness too.
This was a really touching story so recommended
Sadly not due for publication until July 2nd 2026.
December 12, 2025
I’m a teary mess this book is truly brilliant
I absolutely adored this author’s previous novels Isaac and the egg and Small Hours both of which were highlights of my years reading therefore when this book came up on NetGalley UK I immediately requested it. it was no surprise to me therefore too realise that this book too has a rather unique point of view I’m not much for a reader of romance novel and the book blurb suggested that that’s what this was however as a fan of the author decided to give it to go and I’m very glad that I did
I loved the way that the main two characters’ story is told from the point of view of other people seeing them and watching their behaviour it is often for the first time that the narrator of that section has ever come across the two main characters Clara and Seb, and so they can only tell their story from what is happening in the immediate moment. The joy of the book is of course that you as the reader often know what’s happened before or what happens afterwards and can slot the whole story together.
There are some beautiful incidental cameo roles throughout the novel the reader learns a little bit about these tiny flashes of peoples lives and it’s rather lovely. Likewise, the characters of Clara and Seb are real three-dimensional very well described characters. Their love story is immediately compelling unbelievable.
Early on in the novel the film Notting Hill is mentioned and I couldn’t help but keep thinking about it. Pretty soon seeing similarities between the Story in that film and what’s happening in the novel
I think that this is a very cinegraphic novel it often seems flow with scenes reading as if they’re written for a film. Of course, this means that it would make a fantastic film and I hope that the film rights are taken up very quickly for this no There’s a sliding doors element to the romance as they find each other as if by chance. At different stages in their life.
The author has a beautiful flowing accessible writing style. This is an easy relaxing enjoyable read I loved it.
I think this book is going to do extremely well I personally would be recommending it to my reading friends
I read an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. In return for an honest review The book is published in the UK on the 2nd of July 2026 by Headline books.
This review will appear on NetGalley or Goodreads, StoryGraph, and my book Blog BionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com after publication it will be also published in Amazon and Waterstones online
I absolutely adored this author’s previous novels Isaac and the egg and Small Hours both of which were highlights of my years reading therefore when this book came up on NetGalley UK I immediately requested it. it was no surprise to me therefore too realise that this book too has a rather unique point of view I’m not much for a reader of romance novel and the book blurb suggested that that’s what this was however as a fan of the author decided to give it to go and I’m very glad that I did
I loved the way that the main two characters’ story is told from the point of view of other people seeing them and watching their behaviour it is often for the first time that the narrator of that section has ever come across the two main characters Clara and Seb, and so they can only tell their story from what is happening in the immediate moment. The joy of the book is of course that you as the reader often know what’s happened before or what happens afterwards and can slot the whole story together.
There are some beautiful incidental cameo roles throughout the novel the reader learns a little bit about these tiny flashes of peoples lives and it’s rather lovely. Likewise, the characters of Clara and Seb are real three-dimensional very well described characters. Their love story is immediately compelling unbelievable.
Early on in the novel the film Notting Hill is mentioned and I couldn’t help but keep thinking about it. Pretty soon seeing similarities between the Story in that film and what’s happening in the novel
I think that this is a very cinegraphic novel it often seems flow with scenes reading as if they’re written for a film. Of course, this means that it would make a fantastic film and I hope that the film rights are taken up very quickly for this no There’s a sliding doors element to the romance as they find each other as if by chance. At different stages in their life.
The author has a beautiful flowing accessible writing style. This is an easy relaxing enjoyable read I loved it.
I think this book is going to do extremely well I personally would be recommending it to my reading friends
I read an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. In return for an honest review The book is published in the UK on the 2nd of July 2026 by Headline books.
This review will appear on NetGalley or Goodreads, StoryGraph, and my book Blog BionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com after publication it will be also published in Amazon and Waterstones online
December 16, 2025
I LOVED this. This book isn’t like anything I have read in a long time - I couldn’t put it down!!! Seb and Clara’s love story, told from different perspectives of everyone but them, was raw, intense and beautiful. I really enjoyed reading the different ways the characters interpreted events and how this impacted Seb and Clara throughout the book. Truly a beautiful read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
We never get a POV from our two main characters in this book, it is all seen through the eyes of literally everyone else: someone on the bus, her boss, his best friend, etc. I loved the concept. This will be a great summer beach read!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Would you like your heart to be torn from your body and handed back to you in book form? Then Main Characters is the novel for you.
It's rare to find a unique take on the literary rom-com, but as it's one of my favourite genres, I knew this book would be for me. It was beautifully written, incredibly pacey, and made me feel like it was happening without me when I wasn't reading it. This will become a modern classic: the characters are fully formed and relatable, the story twisting in all the right places.
It's rare to find a unique take on the literary rom-com, but as it's one of my favourite genres, I knew this book would be for me. It was beautifully written, incredibly pacey, and made me feel like it was happening without me when I wasn't reading it. This will become a modern classic: the characters are fully formed and relatable, the story twisting in all the right places.
December 31, 2025
Main Characters by Bobby Palmer is such an interesting way to tell a love story. I’ve genuinely never read a romance that’s told through the eyes of everyone except the two people at the centre of it, and that choice alone makes this book feel really fresh and clever.
Watching the relationship unfold through friends, family, and strangers adds so much texture, you piece the love story together in fragments, moments, and observations, which somehow makes it feel even more intimate. It’s quietly funny, self-aware, and thoughtful in the way it explores connection, timing, and the roles we play in each other’s lives.
The format does most of the work here, and while there were moments where I wanted a little more depth or momentum, the originality and emotional restraint really won me over. It’s a soft, modern love story that proves you don’t always need the main characters’ voices to understand how much they matter.
A really cool, standout read.
Watching the relationship unfold through friends, family, and strangers adds so much texture, you piece the love story together in fragments, moments, and observations, which somehow makes it feel even more intimate. It’s quietly funny, self-aware, and thoughtful in the way it explores connection, timing, and the roles we play in each other’s lives.
The format does most of the work here, and while there were moments where I wanted a little more depth or momentum, the originality and emotional restraint really won me over. It’s a soft, modern love story that proves you don’t always need the main characters’ voices to understand how much they matter.
A really cool, standout read.
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