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Daylight
Not yet published
Expected 9 Jan 26Rosie Edwards returns to London ready for a new beginning, starting a new job running social content for England’s rugby team—not to face the boy she once loved in absolute secret.
Theo Hale.
Her brother’s best friend.
Her dad’s star player.
Her almost something at eighteen…
And now the man she has to photograph, interview, and pretend she’s totally, definitely, absolutely not still in love with.
Theo has spent years burying the reckless version of himself. No more drinking, no more trouble, no more entanglements. With the World Cup looming, he can’t afford distractions.
Especially not the girl he should never have touched in the first place.
But love has terrible timing and a wicked sense of humour.
And when these two collide again; older, wiser, still disastrously into each other, every rule Rosie sets herself starts to feel impossible to keep.
Theo Hale.
Her brother’s best friend.
Her dad’s star player.
Her almost something at eighteen…
And now the man she has to photograph, interview, and pretend she’s totally, definitely, absolutely not still in love with.
Theo has spent years burying the reckless version of himself. No more drinking, no more trouble, no more entanglements. With the World Cup looming, he can’t afford distractions.
Especially not the girl he should never have touched in the first place.
But love has terrible timing and a wicked sense of humour.
And when these two collide again; older, wiser, still disastrously into each other, every rule Rosie sets herself starts to feel impossible to keep.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication January 9, 2026
21 people want to read
About the author
Dana Russo
1 book7 followersDana Russo is a British author living in London wishing she was frolicking in the country side instead. A lover of sports and rom-coms, she merged both in her debut novel, Daylight.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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January 1, 2026pre-read:
first book of the year, and it’s an arc! 🥹🫶🏼✨ saw the author’s account on instagram and decided to sign up for the arc because the tropes in this book? i’m sat
first book of the year, and it’s an arc! 🥹🫶🏼✨ saw the author’s account on instagram and decided to sign up for the arc because the tropes in this book? i’m sat
Review of advance copy received from Author
3.25 stars
Tropes
Second chance romance
Slow burn
Rugby romance
Childhood friends
Brother’s best friend
Dual pov
Thank you to the author Dana Russo for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book overall. At first, I was a little unsure because the main characters are in their mid to late twenties but sometimes came across as younger, especially due to their banter/snark which felt a bit immature early on. Once that settled down I found myself enjoying the story much more.
Rosie was an interesting character to follow. Her dynamic with her friends was a bit inconsistent as she tends to keep people at a distance. Her decision to keep her relationship with Theo a secret helped understand her character and motivations in this respect.
Theo was the epitome of yearning and he broke Rosie’s heart when they were younger but it is never fully clear how or why he did that. I wish there had been more clarity around this and potentially some flashback scenes could have helped explain this.
The pacing was slightly uneven at times and the ending also felt a bit abrupt. I would have liked to see more plot beyond the central romance, such as looking more at Rosie’s issues with her colleagues or more interactions with their family and friends.
That said, it was an easy, quick read, and I still found it enjoyable overall.
Tropes
Second chance romance
Slow burn
Rugby romance
Childhood friends
Brother’s best friend
Dual pov
Thank you to the author Dana Russo for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book overall. At first, I was a little unsure because the main characters are in their mid to late twenties but sometimes came across as younger, especially due to their banter/snark which felt a bit immature early on. Once that settled down I found myself enjoying the story much more.
Rosie was an interesting character to follow. Her dynamic with her friends was a bit inconsistent as she tends to keep people at a distance. Her decision to keep her relationship with Theo a secret helped understand her character and motivations in this respect.
Theo was the epitome of yearning and he broke Rosie’s heart when they were younger but it is never fully clear how or why he did that. I wish there had been more clarity around this and potentially some flashback scenes could have helped explain this.
The pacing was slightly uneven at times and the ending also felt a bit abrupt. I would have liked to see more plot beyond the central romance, such as looking more at Rosie’s issues with her colleagues or more interactions with their family and friends.
That said, it was an easy, quick read, and I still found it enjoyable overall.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you Dana Russo for this advance copy. What a wonderfully sweet debut. And this ticks all my boxes, trope wise, and the sneak peak in to book 2..yes please.
The yearning in this book was top tier!
Theo was such a cutie pie ! He sets a new standard for men IRL...he bakes, he cooks, he looks after her when she's ill.
Rosie was such a sweet FMC. Filled with a lot of self doubt, an overthinker.... you just want to wrap her up in a hug.
☀️𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧.
💛brother's best friend
💛rugby romance
💛second chance
💛no third act breakup 🔥
💛he falls first
I love that this is set in London, and the author herself is half British! I need more British authors to read !
What a bit of a dramatic twist by the end! Book 2 will be intriguing! But I am ready for Rosie's brother story🥰🥰
Fave Quote
☀️“𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦... 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥....𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘦. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭.”
The yearning in this book was top tier!
Theo was such a cutie pie ! He sets a new standard for men IRL...he bakes, he cooks, he looks after her when she's ill.
Rosie was such a sweet FMC. Filled with a lot of self doubt, an overthinker.... you just want to wrap her up in a hug.
☀️𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧.
💛brother's best friend
💛rugby romance
💛second chance
💛no third act breakup 🔥
💛he falls first
I love that this is set in London, and the author herself is half British! I need more British authors to read !
What a bit of a dramatic twist by the end! Book 2 will be intriguing! But I am ready for Rosie's brother story🥰🥰
Fave Quote
☀️“𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦... 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥....𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘦. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭.”
Review of advance copy received from Author
Rosie and Theo are so sweet babies with pure sweet love for each other.
It didn’t hurt that the slow burn was absolute perfection. The way Theo pined for her, and she was so scared about being with him.
Once the spice hit, it was hawwtttt.
Dana hit it right out of the park with her debut.
Thank you Dana for an advanced copy.
It didn’t hurt that the slow burn was absolute perfection. The way Theo pined for her, and she was so scared about being with him.
Once the spice hit, it was hawwtttt.
Dana hit it right out of the park with her debut.
Thank you Dana for an advanced copy.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Obsessed with Theo and Rosie, such a cute couple and all the ways he showed up for her! 🥺 Easiest 5 stars, and excited for the next one. Thanks to the author for sending an early release 🫶🏻
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews