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Lina & June
Not yet published
Expected 8 Dec 26From the author of Adelaide comes a bittersweet, deeply felt story that follows the start and unraveling of a seemingly unbreakable bond between two young women.
Lina and June’s friendship shouldn’t make sense. June has her future planned to a T; Lina takes life day by day, party by party. June’s dreams are color-coded and neatly filed, while Lina's are even too big for New York City, where she and June are students at the same university. But after a messy night out throws the two girls together, it seems like nothing can tear them apart.
Until June’s health takes an unexpected turn for the worse.
Until Lina jets off to Paris, leaving her best friend behind.
As Lina and June’s once-intertwined lives veer off on separate paths, they’re on their own to figure out how to fix their severed bond―and decide if it’s even worth repairing―or risk running out of time completely.
Are some heartbreaks too big to patch?
Lina and June’s friendship shouldn’t make sense. June has her future planned to a T; Lina takes life day by day, party by party. June’s dreams are color-coded and neatly filed, while Lina's are even too big for New York City, where she and June are students at the same university. But after a messy night out throws the two girls together, it seems like nothing can tear them apart.
Until June’s health takes an unexpected turn for the worse.
Until Lina jets off to Paris, leaving her best friend behind.
As Lina and June’s once-intertwined lives veer off on separate paths, they’re on their own to figure out how to fix their severed bond―and decide if it’s even worth repairing―or risk running out of time completely.
Are some heartbreaks too big to patch?
320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication December 8, 2026
About the author
Genevieve Wheeler
4 books976 followersGenevieve Wheeler (she/her) is an American writer and communications director. Her bylines have appeared in publications like VICE, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, Elite Daily, Bustle, Business Insider, and POPSUGAR, with her work and words cited in The New York Times, Vox, the BBC, Jezebel, and beyond. She holds an MA in marketing communications from the University of Westminster in London and a BS in advertising from Boston University. Genevieve currently lives in London with her husband their very cuddly Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Nellie.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews
Want to Read
January 7, 2026Adelaide is one of my favorite novels can't wait to read this follow-up!
June 20, 2026
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy. This book was an excellent portrayal on the ups and downs that friendships often have. Friendships are oftentimes just as consuming as romantic relationships and can be even more emotional. The relationships we have with those closest to us often shape everything about our lives and this book really showed that. Lina and June are both equally flawed but you can tell they really care for each other. Seeing the ups and downs of their relationships aswell as aspects of their personal lives made for a really great story. I wasn’t a huge of the italics for dialogue as opposed to quotation marks but it didn’t bother me too much. The story was also kind of boring at times specifically when the two girls were apart but it was still very enjoyable and sweet.
June 22, 2026
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an early ARC of this beautiful novel. I was really excited to receive an early copy of this book after loving Wheeler's previous Adelaide. This novel is an exploration of platonic love and identity and what it means to grow alongside or apart from those you love. Wheeler's writing was strong and kept me invested. I liked the back and forth between the past and present timelines.
I enjoyed all of the NYC references as well as the Paris setting.
I wanted it a little more from the end. But definetly recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an early ARC of this beautiful novel. I was really excited to receive an early copy of this book after loving Wheeler's previous Adelaide. This novel is an exploration of platonic love and identity and what it means to grow alongside or apart from those you love. Wheeler's writing was strong and kept me invested. I liked the back and forth between the past and present timelines.
I enjoyed all of the NYC references as well as the Paris setting.
I wanted it a little more from the end. But definetly recommend.
September 30, 2026
Lina and June’s friendship should make no sense— they are total opposites, but still, somehow, it works. Until it doesn’t, at least.
It is so rare for me to feel as frustrated as I do right now over a book, and not know exactly where I land. So I will settle somewhere in the middle, for now at least, and I will do my best to explain myself.
There is so much about this I love, it has everything I would want in a book, truly— complex and flawed female characters, and a strong friendship, experiencing its ups and downs. And I really did love that aspect of it. Both June and Lina get things wrong during their friendship, and it does feel very human in that way, which, once again, I absolutely adore.
My main issue here would be that I feel like there is a lot of telling, but not showing, especially when it comes to the reason why they are friends. I simply couldn’t buy into it, because they meet, and then suddenly we’re thrown into them having this incredibly strong friendship, but there’s no lead up to it. The thing that made it harder to digest is that, on the other hand, there is so much about everything going wrong, and it just left me to wonder why is it even worth fighting for most of the time. The things that were happening in the breakdown of their relationship didn’t have anything solid enough to back the reason why they kept holding on, at least to me, and that kept taking me out of the story.
That said, I also want to say again I really did enjoy the story anyway. I just know it could have been more, and that’s a little upsetting. But still, it was an engaging read with easily digestible writing. I devoured it in a couple of sittings, and overall throughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to Aria & Aries & NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
It is so rare for me to feel as frustrated as I do right now over a book, and not know exactly where I land. So I will settle somewhere in the middle, for now at least, and I will do my best to explain myself.
There is so much about this I love, it has everything I would want in a book, truly— complex and flawed female characters, and a strong friendship, experiencing its ups and downs. And I really did love that aspect of it. Both June and Lina get things wrong during their friendship, and it does feel very human in that way, which, once again, I absolutely adore.
My main issue here would be that I feel like there is a lot of telling, but not showing, especially when it comes to the reason why they are friends. I simply couldn’t buy into it, because they meet, and then suddenly we’re thrown into them having this incredibly strong friendship, but there’s no lead up to it. The thing that made it harder to digest is that, on the other hand, there is so much about everything going wrong, and it just left me to wonder why is it even worth fighting for most of the time. The things that were happening in the breakdown of their relationship didn’t have anything solid enough to back the reason why they kept holding on, at least to me, and that kept taking me out of the story.
That said, I also want to say again I really did enjoy the story anyway. I just know it could have been more, and that’s a little upsetting. But still, it was an engaging read with easily digestible writing. I devoured it in a couple of sittings, and overall throughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to Aria & Aries & NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
September 30, 2026
"But you were my first great love story, you know. That doesn't change."
Lina and June, while being totally different, became inseparable after meeting at a college's party. They stayed a pair for more than a decade, until something tragic happened and they fell apart.
Being a woman in her 20s, it's particularly touching seeing two women loving each other this much, yet having to face the inevitable step of growing up and having different priorities. It hits home just in the unique and rare way.
I didn't expect this story to make me tear up like this. It was really emotional, beautiful, and relatable on many points. This book is about friendship, love, growing up, learning and finally grieving what could have been, what could be and what will never be. Both Lina and June were touching in their own way and I really liked their characters, as flawed as they were. Their relationship was one-of-a-kind and I will think about them for a while.
Thank you to Aria & Aries for allowing me the advanced reader copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Lina and June, while being totally different, became inseparable after meeting at a college's party. They stayed a pair for more than a decade, until something tragic happened and they fell apart.
Being a woman in her 20s, it's particularly touching seeing two women loving each other this much, yet having to face the inevitable step of growing up and having different priorities. It hits home just in the unique and rare way.
I didn't expect this story to make me tear up like this. It was really emotional, beautiful, and relatable on many points. This book is about friendship, love, growing up, learning and finally grieving what could have been, what could be and what will never be. Both Lina and June were touching in their own way and I really liked their characters, as flawed as they were. Their relationship was one-of-a-kind and I will think about them for a while.
Thank you to Aria & Aries for allowing me the advanced reader copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Did Not Finish
June 2, 2026soft dnf at 13%
adelaide is one of my all time favorite books so i was so excited for this, but it doesn't even feel like it's in the same ballpark as adelaide or written by the same author; the voice is very different, dialogue jilted, and the pacing uneven. why is dialogue italicized but text messages are standard font? so irritating. i read as much as i did and enjoyed 0% of it so i'm putting it down. i might come back to it but i genuinely have no interest whatsoever.
thank you smp for the arc.
adelaide is one of my all time favorite books so i was so excited for this, but it doesn't even feel like it's in the same ballpark as adelaide or written by the same author; the voice is very different, dialogue jilted, and the pacing uneven. why is dialogue italicized but text messages are standard font? so irritating. i read as much as i did and enjoyed 0% of it so i'm putting it down. i might come back to it but i genuinely have no interest whatsoever.
thank you smp for the arc.
July 7, 2026
3.5-4⭐️
The true love in this story is the friendship between Lina & June. Wheeler doesn’t shy away from how messy it gets when a health crisis pulls two best friends in opposite directions. It’s raw and aching in places, though the pacing sagged a bit for me in the middle stretch.
Both characters had their flaws, and honestly I didn’t like Lina most of the time, but it was still enjoyable to read about the ups and downs of their relationship as they navigated the world (literally and figuratively).
I loved Adelaide so I was excited for the opportunity to read Wheeler’s follow up. While I loved Adelaide more, this one will still a good read and I appreciate the complicated, messy characters that she writes.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC!
The true love in this story is the friendship between Lina & June. Wheeler doesn’t shy away from how messy it gets when a health crisis pulls two best friends in opposite directions. It’s raw and aching in places, though the pacing sagged a bit for me in the middle stretch.
Both characters had their flaws, and honestly I didn’t like Lina most of the time, but it was still enjoyable to read about the ups and downs of their relationship as they navigated the world (literally and figuratively).
I loved Adelaide so I was excited for the opportunity to read Wheeler’s follow up. While I loved Adelaide more, this one will still a good read and I appreciate the complicated, messy characters that she writes.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was very excited to read this sophomore novel, especially after liking Wheeler's first novel, and this lived up to my expectations. I've read several friendship stories this year, and this one hit close to home for me.
Lina and June meet in college in somewhat usual college circumstances - Lina is drunk, falls down, and June is there to rescue her, take her to the hospital, and take care of her. They had never met before this, yet this encounter encapsulates their friendship over the years. We see them navigate the rest of their college years, including Lina studying abroad in Paris, and June's first year working. June is the caretaker, focused, the one with her future outlined, responsible, where Lina is the free spirit, the life of the party, more spontaneous. They are the definition of opposites. They are each other's person - the one they reach out to when something good or bad happens. Their friendship works well together until it doesn't. We see the build up to their relationship, we know something big is going to happen, and we hold out hope for their friendship to survive.
This was more of a quiet novel with strong character development and plot was more secondary to the overall friendship story. I loved the scenes in Paris as it's one of my all-time favorite places in the world. And the health storyline was an important vehicle for the friendship and the ultimate test.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review.
Lina and June meet in college in somewhat usual college circumstances - Lina is drunk, falls down, and June is there to rescue her, take her to the hospital, and take care of her. They had never met before this, yet this encounter encapsulates their friendship over the years. We see them navigate the rest of their college years, including Lina studying abroad in Paris, and June's first year working. June is the caretaker, focused, the one with her future outlined, responsible, where Lina is the free spirit, the life of the party, more spontaneous. They are the definition of opposites. They are each other's person - the one they reach out to when something good or bad happens. Their friendship works well together until it doesn't. We see the build up to their relationship, we know something big is going to happen, and we hold out hope for their friendship to survive.
This was more of a quiet novel with strong character development and plot was more secondary to the overall friendship story. I loved the scenes in Paris as it's one of my all-time favorite places in the world. And the health storyline was an important vehicle for the friendship and the ultimate test.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review.
July 12, 2026
What a beautiful, stunning, gorgeous read about friendship and platonic love. I absolutely love Genevieve’s writing and after becoming deeply obsessed with Adelaide, this did not disappoint. Did the characters sometimes make decisions that made me wanna scream at them? Of course. They were also extremely lovable and relatable in other moments. This book was so infatuating and I will always pick up a book written by Genevieve Wheeler.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“Lucy wanted to make clear to her daughter that romantic love was not the only kind worth celebrating with chocolates and roses, that there were other types of love—different versions—that deserved their due, too.”
“I like you for you. Not because you’re fighting something. Not because I feel bad. I like you because you’re funny and sharp and brutally honest, and you make me want to be better. And no, I don’t totally understand everything you’re going through, but I want to learn—not to fix you, just to know you.”
“I think our paths were always meant to cross. That—even if we hadn’t met then—we would have bumped into each other, literally or figuratively, at some other point. We’re soulmates, right?”
Some of my favorite quotes:
“Lucy wanted to make clear to her daughter that romantic love was not the only kind worth celebrating with chocolates and roses, that there were other types of love—different versions—that deserved their due, too.”
“I like you for you. Not because you’re fighting something. Not because I feel bad. I like you because you’re funny and sharp and brutally honest, and you make me want to be better. And no, I don’t totally understand everything you’re going through, but I want to learn—not to fix you, just to know you.”
“I think our paths were always meant to cross. That—even if we hadn’t met then—we would have bumped into each other, literally or figuratively, at some other point. We’re soulmates, right?”
August 19, 2026
ADELAIDE by Genevieve Wheeler is, completely unexpectedly, one of my favorite books from the past few years. It even gave me the inspiration for my daughter’s middle name! So I was thrilled to receive an early copy of her newest LINA & JUNE.
The story of a friendship, Lina and June meet in college at NYU and realize they are both from Jacksonville, FL (where I live!) They bond quickly and become inseparable, despite their very glaring differences in personalities. As life changes and moves happen, we watch as the two drift in and out of each other’s life after the unthinkable happens. It’s a gorgeous book, made me want to call my best friend immediately, and will definitely make you cry.
Also a must read for any other Jax locals! I’m dying to ask if I got the coffee shops she names in the book right 🤣
The story of a friendship, Lina and June meet in college at NYU and realize they are both from Jacksonville, FL (where I live!) They bond quickly and become inseparable, despite their very glaring differences in personalities. As life changes and moves happen, we watch as the two drift in and out of each other’s life after the unthinkable happens. It’s a gorgeous book, made me want to call my best friend immediately, and will definitely make you cry.
Also a must read for any other Jax locals! I’m dying to ask if I got the coffee shops she names in the book right 🤣
April 29, 2026
Genevieve’s Adelaide is one of my favorite books and she delivered again with Lina & June. This novel explores the rollercoaster of friendships, the ups and downs, and the reality that is growing apart from people you love. Lina and June are two women who meet during their education at NYU. We watch as their relationship grows and dissolves, in and out, through life changes, boys, jobs, and more. It’s one of those books where you do see elements of your own friendships and maybe that’s what makes it so lovable. Of course it wouldn’t be a Genevieve Wheeler book if it didn’t have me crying (and whilst on an airplane at that). A beautiful reminder to treat the ones you love with love. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This one felt very relatable for me because I think most of us have experienced changing friendships at some point in our lives. You can have a friendship that feels like it will last forever, but then life happens. People change, priorities change, circumstances change and sometimes you simply find yourselves heading in completely different directions.
That’s what I really liked about Lina and June. Their friendship wasn’t perfect, and I could understand both sides of it. There were moments where I felt frustrated with them, but also moments where I completely understood why they were struggling to find their way back to each other.
Emotional, honest and beautifully written, this is so much more than a story about two best friends. It’s about growing up, changing and accepting that not every friendship stays the same forever. Lina and June is definitely one I think people will see a little bit of themselves in.
That’s what I really liked about Lina and June. Their friendship wasn’t perfect, and I could understand both sides of it. There were moments where I felt frustrated with them, but also moments where I completely understood why they were struggling to find their way back to each other.
Emotional, honest and beautifully written, this is so much more than a story about two best friends. It’s about growing up, changing and accepting that not every friendship stays the same forever. Lina and June is definitely one I think people will see a little bit of themselves in.
June 21, 2026
Adelaide was such a great read so I was so excited to get an advanced reader copy of this! It’s written in the same character driven tone as Adelaide and there’s parts where nothing really happens but it just works. I found a few pieces to be missing at the end which was the only reason I took off a star. I’ll continue to read anything this author puts out.
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!
Want to Read
July 7, 2026This is funny. My name is Lina and one of my closest friend is June.
Of course I'm going to read this!
Of course I'm going to read this!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to St Martin’s Press for the ARC!
Adelaide is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read - a book where I felt truly seen and understood - and I highly anticipated Lina & June (& boy was I right to). This book is honest, the characters and relationships feel real, and Genevieve Wheeler has a way of writing women that makes me feel like my brain has been put on paper. As someone with friends like sisters, I felt every moment deeply. This book is sad!! It hurts!! And I loved it!!
Adelaide is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read - a book where I felt truly seen and understood - and I highly anticipated Lina & June (& boy was I right to). This book is honest, the characters and relationships feel real, and Genevieve Wheeler has a way of writing women that makes me feel like my brain has been put on paper. As someone with friends like sisters, I felt every moment deeply. This book is sad!! It hurts!! And I loved it!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What a genuine and endearing friendship of these two women who’ve remained the very best of friends. While they’re polar opposites, Lina is a free spirit who was raised by a single mother. Her dream has always been to go to Paris and live. She meets June in New York at college when June basically saves her from a drunken stupor, remaining by her side as she’s sick and kindly takes care of her the following day as well. After that serendipitous encounter the two women are inseparable.
They spend every Thanksgiving together, Lina often going to visit Junes home even though they both are incredibly from the same small town in Florida. When things become strained between the two women, over a guy that June was in love with and had been trying desperately to get his attention but he’d only been interested in hanging out with the two of them. When Lina promises she will stay away from him, she lies and goes behind Junes back.
With June due to graduate the year before Lina, she decides to take a semester abroad to her lifelong dream city Paris. While she is there the two women don’t speak all that much, the time difference is difficult and June is invested in her first job out of college. June is more hurt about the situation than Lina as Lina is so enthralled and overcome by the way she feels in this city, she doesn’t ever want to leave. She meets a great guy and it’s hard for her to even consider leaving him but in the end she didn’t have to make that choice. Her destructive behavior and lack of impulse control does that for her.
When she arrives home for a break, she learns June is terminally ill. She remains by her side for the surgery and the beginning of the process but due to the space and distance that has been between them it soon becomes awkward and uncomfortable for them both.
It isn’t soon after Lina once again chooses to leave and head back to Paris. She’s somehow unable to find that euphoria she’d felt when there during her college semester abroad. She’s miserable and lonely and decides it’s time to come home.
When she finds the courage to visit her friend she hasn’t seen since her chemotherapy and treatments, she is stunned.
While these two women do learn to eventually understand the others side of things and why they have felt so estranged angry and abandoned it will be an emotional experience but they never will be as close as they’d once been.
This is a beautiful story about the profound devotion and connection between females in friendship and how much more deeper they are able to relate to one another, express their feelings and wholly be themselves with no worries of being anything but loved and supported by their best friend. I laughed, I cried and at times I wanted to shake sense into the both of them for certain decisions they’d made that were obviously going to crack their solid and rare foundation they’d been building their relationship on for decades.
One of the most beautiful passages in the book was “I think our paths were always meant to cross. That- even if we hadn’t met then- we would have bumped into each other literally, figuratively at some other point. We’re soul mates, right?”
Thank you to #NetgalleyARC for this advanced reading copy and to the brilliant #Lina&June #GenevieveWheeler #StMartinsPress #Instabooker
They spend every Thanksgiving together, Lina often going to visit Junes home even though they both are incredibly from the same small town in Florida. When things become strained between the two women, over a guy that June was in love with and had been trying desperately to get his attention but he’d only been interested in hanging out with the two of them. When Lina promises she will stay away from him, she lies and goes behind Junes back.
With June due to graduate the year before Lina, she decides to take a semester abroad to her lifelong dream city Paris. While she is there the two women don’t speak all that much, the time difference is difficult and June is invested in her first job out of college. June is more hurt about the situation than Lina as Lina is so enthralled and overcome by the way she feels in this city, she doesn’t ever want to leave. She meets a great guy and it’s hard for her to even consider leaving him but in the end she didn’t have to make that choice. Her destructive behavior and lack of impulse control does that for her.
When she arrives home for a break, she learns June is terminally ill. She remains by her side for the surgery and the beginning of the process but due to the space and distance that has been between them it soon becomes awkward and uncomfortable for them both.
It isn’t soon after Lina once again chooses to leave and head back to Paris. She’s somehow unable to find that euphoria she’d felt when there during her college semester abroad. She’s miserable and lonely and decides it’s time to come home.
When she finds the courage to visit her friend she hasn’t seen since her chemotherapy and treatments, she is stunned.
While these two women do learn to eventually understand the others side of things and why they have felt so estranged angry and abandoned it will be an emotional experience but they never will be as close as they’d once been.
This is a beautiful story about the profound devotion and connection between females in friendship and how much more deeper they are able to relate to one another, express their feelings and wholly be themselves with no worries of being anything but loved and supported by their best friend. I laughed, I cried and at times I wanted to shake sense into the both of them for certain decisions they’d made that were obviously going to crack their solid and rare foundation they’d been building their relationship on for decades.
One of the most beautiful passages in the book was “I think our paths were always meant to cross. That- even if we hadn’t met then- we would have bumped into each other literally, figuratively at some other point. We’re soul mates, right?”
Thank you to #NetgalleyARC for this advanced reading copy and to the brilliant #Lina&June #GenevieveWheeler #StMartinsPress #Instabooker
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
When Lina and June meet by chance at a frat party one Halloween, neither knows that the friendship that blossoms will become the most significant relationship of both their lives. Free-spirited, outgoing Lina lives only in the present, responding to each experience as it happens, while conscientious, steadfast June approaches life with caution, weighing up each opportunity that comes her way in order to make the choice that makes most sense in the long-run. The two should have little in common, yet they cultivate a bond they are sure can weather any obstacle, until June gets sick just as Lina receives the opportunity of a lifetime.
Author Genevieve Wheeler's debut novel, Adelaide, chronicled a relationship the reader is told from the start is doomed, and here too, she opens with the two protagonists estranged, having not spoken for seventeen months, before taking us back to the girls' chance meeting at a college frat party and ensuing all-consuming friendship. Just as with Adelaide's ill-fated romantic relationship, we must look for the fault lines that will eventually tear the two friends apart as we wonder whether they will ever be able to reconcile.
Wheeler does an excellent job of establishing Lina and June as distinct characters by showing rather than telling. The dynamic of their friendship is set up early on when June cares for Lina after she collapses at a frat party - the first but not the last time she will swoop in to rescue her friend from disaster - and Wheeler suggests the inequality between them in various clever ways: June's love language is stability while Lina's is flamboyant gestures (cooking coq au vin and filling June's dorm room with sunflowers in February); when they take road trips, June is the driver, Lina the crafter of various whimsically titled playlists.
Their relationship feels like a realistic depiction of the kind of bonds girls form at college to replace distant high school friends; their friendship is rooted in sharing new experiences and in exploring an unfamiliar place for the first time together. It is then perhaps inevitable that it is threatened by deviations from their established routines - a boyfriend, a semester abroad, graduation.
It is often hard to root for Lina, who is almost thirty when June gets sick but still flitting through life much as she did in her early twenties, heedless of the consequences of her behaviour. Lina is the architect of her own struggles, whereas June has been struck down by plain bad luck, despite trying hard to do everything right her whole life. There are certainly shades of the 2002 Mandy Moore tear-jerker 'A Walk to Remember' in their dynamic in the latter part of the story - June must suffer so that Lina can grow as a person, learning to become less selfish and more self-reliant. Will Lina be able to step up to support June in the way she needs?
Whereas Adelaide tackled themes of mental illness, the focus here is on June's poor physical health, and the effect this has on both her and Lina individually and on their relationship. Wheeler tackles June's reaction to her diagnosis with candour and depth, exploring how her feelings encompass anger, grief, envy and optimism, and I appreciated how her response was not a straightforward linear one. Wheeler also touches on how June's illness, and her handling of it, affects those who are around her every day, their interactions with her showing how much has changed but also how June's stoic nature endures.
Also poignant are Wheeler's depictions of family relationships, through the non-judgemental, unwavering, unconditional love that June's parents and Lina's mother show their respective only children. Romantic relationships complement the main narrative, but the boyfriends are minor players next to the big love story between June and Lina. Theirs is a powerful reminder that platonic relationships can be just as tumultuous and just as life-affirming as romantic ones.
Thank you to Aria & Aries for giving me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Author Genevieve Wheeler's debut novel, Adelaide, chronicled a relationship the reader is told from the start is doomed, and here too, she opens with the two protagonists estranged, having not spoken for seventeen months, before taking us back to the girls' chance meeting at a college frat party and ensuing all-consuming friendship. Just as with Adelaide's ill-fated romantic relationship, we must look for the fault lines that will eventually tear the two friends apart as we wonder whether they will ever be able to reconcile.
Wheeler does an excellent job of establishing Lina and June as distinct characters by showing rather than telling. The dynamic of their friendship is set up early on when June cares for Lina after she collapses at a frat party - the first but not the last time she will swoop in to rescue her friend from disaster - and Wheeler suggests the inequality between them in various clever ways: June's love language is stability while Lina's is flamboyant gestures (cooking coq au vin and filling June's dorm room with sunflowers in February); when they take road trips, June is the driver, Lina the crafter of various whimsically titled playlists.
Their relationship feels like a realistic depiction of the kind of bonds girls form at college to replace distant high school friends; their friendship is rooted in sharing new experiences and in exploring an unfamiliar place for the first time together. It is then perhaps inevitable that it is threatened by deviations from their established routines - a boyfriend, a semester abroad, graduation.
It is often hard to root for Lina, who is almost thirty when June gets sick but still flitting through life much as she did in her early twenties, heedless of the consequences of her behaviour. Lina is the architect of her own struggles, whereas June has been struck down by plain bad luck, despite trying hard to do everything right her whole life. There are certainly shades of the 2002 Mandy Moore tear-jerker 'A Walk to Remember' in their dynamic in the latter part of the story - June must suffer so that Lina can grow as a person, learning to become less selfish and more self-reliant. Will Lina be able to step up to support June in the way she needs?
Whereas Adelaide tackled themes of mental illness, the focus here is on June's poor physical health, and the effect this has on both her and Lina individually and on their relationship. Wheeler tackles June's reaction to her diagnosis with candour and depth, exploring how her feelings encompass anger, grief, envy and optimism, and I appreciated how her response was not a straightforward linear one. Wheeler also touches on how June's illness, and her handling of it, affects those who are around her every day, their interactions with her showing how much has changed but also how June's stoic nature endures.
Also poignant are Wheeler's depictions of family relationships, through the non-judgemental, unwavering, unconditional love that June's parents and Lina's mother show their respective only children. Romantic relationships complement the main narrative, but the boyfriends are minor players next to the big love story between June and Lina. Theirs is a powerful reminder that platonic relationships can be just as tumultuous and just as life-affirming as romantic ones.
Thank you to Aria & Aries for giving me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Lina and June by Genevieve Wheeler
Genevieve Wheeler has taken on one of the most honest and least romanticized challenges in contemporary women's fiction: not whether two women will fall in love, but whether two people who have loved each other deeply as friends can survive the far more complicated problem of becoming different people. And what, exactly, do friends owe one another when they do?
The friendship between Lina and June begins in the particular container that college provides: a world of private jokes, shared rituals, accumulated memories, and assumptions about a future that will always include each other. Wheeler renders that world with real warmth and specificity. But containers don't travel well into the real world, and the infrastructure of a college friendship, however genuine, however sustaining within its original context, can't always bear the weight of jobs, illness, opportunity, and the slow divergence of two people becoming themselves.
What Wheeler does particularly well is show that the rift was happening before any single dramatic event accelerated it. June has been doing the emotional heavy lifting almost from the beginning, often feeling unable to reach out even when she most needs to. As both women enter the real world, they find themselves riding on memories of what once was: the relationship sustained more by its history than by its present, both women wanting it, both perhaps needing it, neither quite able to take it somewhere new.
When Lina chooses to pursue her lifelong dream in Paris while June's health is deteriorating, the question the book raises is genuinely difficult and deliberately unanswered: did Lina owe June her dream? The honest answer is no. The fact that it doesn't feel that simple is exactly why the book works.
Wheeler's most significant achievement is her refusal to make either woman the villain. Lina is not selfish. June is not a martyr. The book says plainly what most friendship narratives flinch from: that sometimes relationships end naturally and we try to hold onto them, for our own reasons, far past their shelf life. That sometimes love asks more than the other person can give. And that sometimes giving keeps a tally sheet with an expectation of payment - a truth most of us recognize and almost no one says aloud.
The friendship doesn't fail because either woman is wrong. It strains and fractures because they are both right, and both different, and both growing in directions that no longer naturally intersect. Wheeler doesn't try to say that the fact that it didn't last forever makes the love less true. She simply lets it be what it was - extraordinary within its time, and unable to survive outside of it.
For anyone who has ever held onto a friendship longer than it wanted to be held, or let one go before they were ready, or simply loved someone they could no longer quite reach, this book will find you.
Genevieve Wheeler has taken on one of the most honest and least romanticized challenges in contemporary women's fiction: not whether two women will fall in love, but whether two people who have loved each other deeply as friends can survive the far more complicated problem of becoming different people. And what, exactly, do friends owe one another when they do?
The friendship between Lina and June begins in the particular container that college provides: a world of private jokes, shared rituals, accumulated memories, and assumptions about a future that will always include each other. Wheeler renders that world with real warmth and specificity. But containers don't travel well into the real world, and the infrastructure of a college friendship, however genuine, however sustaining within its original context, can't always bear the weight of jobs, illness, opportunity, and the slow divergence of two people becoming themselves.
What Wheeler does particularly well is show that the rift was happening before any single dramatic event accelerated it. June has been doing the emotional heavy lifting almost from the beginning, often feeling unable to reach out even when she most needs to. As both women enter the real world, they find themselves riding on memories of what once was: the relationship sustained more by its history than by its present, both women wanting it, both perhaps needing it, neither quite able to take it somewhere new.
When Lina chooses to pursue her lifelong dream in Paris while June's health is deteriorating, the question the book raises is genuinely difficult and deliberately unanswered: did Lina owe June her dream? The honest answer is no. The fact that it doesn't feel that simple is exactly why the book works.
Wheeler's most significant achievement is her refusal to make either woman the villain. Lina is not selfish. June is not a martyr. The book says plainly what most friendship narratives flinch from: that sometimes relationships end naturally and we try to hold onto them, for our own reasons, far past their shelf life. That sometimes love asks more than the other person can give. And that sometimes giving keeps a tally sheet with an expectation of payment - a truth most of us recognize and almost no one says aloud.
The friendship doesn't fail because either woman is wrong. It strains and fractures because they are both right, and both different, and both growing in directions that no longer naturally intersect. Wheeler doesn't try to say that the fact that it didn't last forever makes the love less true. She simply lets it be what it was - extraordinary within its time, and unable to survive outside of it.
For anyone who has ever held onto a friendship longer than it wanted to be held, or let one go before they were ready, or simply loved someone they could no longer quite reach, this book will find you.
July 16, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC. This was a beautiful story of friendship between two women who could not possibly be more different. Lina who is the party girl, living in the present without thoughts of consequence and June the rule following, mature friend in the pair who has both feet in reality. They compliment one another to a point after finding themselves in each other’s orbit early in their college careers.
June supported Lina through all of her self inflicted trials, although it crossed Lina’s mind she was “too much” that reality didn’t settle until much later when she grew up. Lina was immature almost until the very end. She was a friend in the only way she knew how to be. She reflected and she saved herself from one of the biggest regrets of her life. She was shallow, June was deep. You saw that in both women’s decisions. I loved June. I relate more with her and wouldn’t have tolerated Lina for as long as she did. Her reconnecting with one character was beautiful. I am so glad she found that with him. I knew what to expect but cried because I felt June was so well developed later in the story. I felt I was in her group meetings with her. She was my friend too! I love a good reconnection story. I can relate! It has made us stronger and I know that’s was the case with Lina and June. I’ve told my friends I love them and cannot imagine them not in my life so it was sweet to have the author discuss soulmates in friendship.
The first part of the story until around midway felt disjointed. The transitions between chapters was not really working for me. We had some time jumps but after the center part of the story it clicked in and flowed. I did like the alternating chapters for Lina’s story in Paris and June’s in Florida. Again both lives totally different. June fighting for her life, Lina living hers up until she messed it up. There was one flashback chapter later in the second half that threw me off and I didn’t think was placed well there. The conversations are italicized which I didn’t mind. Overall I enjoyed this story. It is something people face everyday. Growth. We can either grow together or apart and sometimes we come back to each other but regardless those people, we remember. They shape our experiences and make us who we are today. They’ll always own a piece of our hearts.
June supported Lina through all of her self inflicted trials, although it crossed Lina’s mind she was “too much” that reality didn’t settle until much later when she grew up. Lina was immature almost until the very end. She was a friend in the only way she knew how to be. She reflected and she saved herself from one of the biggest regrets of her life. She was shallow, June was deep. You saw that in both women’s decisions. I loved June. I relate more with her and wouldn’t have tolerated Lina for as long as she did. Her reconnecting with one character was beautiful. I am so glad she found that with him. I knew what to expect but cried because I felt June was so well developed later in the story. I felt I was in her group meetings with her. She was my friend too! I love a good reconnection story. I can relate! It has made us stronger and I know that’s was the case with Lina and June. I’ve told my friends I love them and cannot imagine them not in my life so it was sweet to have the author discuss soulmates in friendship.
The first part of the story until around midway felt disjointed. The transitions between chapters was not really working for me. We had some time jumps but after the center part of the story it clicked in and flowed. I did like the alternating chapters for Lina’s story in Paris and June’s in Florida. Again both lives totally different. June fighting for her life, Lina living hers up until she messed it up. There was one flashback chapter later in the second half that threw me off and I didn’t think was placed well there. The conversations are italicized which I didn’t mind. Overall I enjoyed this story. It is something people face everyday. Growth. We can either grow together or apart and sometimes we come back to each other but regardless those people, we remember. They shape our experiences and make us who we are today. They’ll always own a piece of our hearts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I jumped at the chance to read Lina and June months before it’s released. Adelaide was an instant five-star read for me and after reading the blurb for LaJ I had a sneaky suspicion, it would be too! Spoiler alert: I wasn’t wrong! LaJ swept me into their vortex from the moment I hit the prologue, Genevieve Wheeler’s writing has a way of pulling you in and not letting go until the book is long finished. Even now, years later I find myself thinking about Adelaide Williams. I know that June Carmichael will join my ever growing list of fictional characters that I think about daily, who leave their mark on me as a reader and a human being.
Throughout reading the book Lina and June came across as 22 by Taylor Swift personified and I often found myself humming the tune in my head, particularly this part:
We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time
It's miserable and magical, oh, yeah
Tonight's the night when we forget about the deadlines
It's time, oh-oh
I don't know about you
But I'm feeling twenty-two
Everything will be alright if
You keep me next to you
We meet both characters at various ages/stages in their lives and I’m not the same age as either character, as a woman in her 30s I can relate to the ups and downs (read: very high highs and extremely low lows) of female friendship. For the nostalgia of being young and running around and unknown city and thinking that you’re going to be in each other’s lives forever. I loved the pop culture references sprinkled into the story. Things that you’d only know if you were there/lived through it or have spent time researching what life was like. I devoured this in one sitting, wiping away tears when I hit the acknowledgments. Despite the tears, I can’t wait to reread it on release day on audiobook. 6 stars, no notes.
Thank you so much to Aria, Aria & Aries, Genevieve Wheeler + NetGalley for the opportunity to read Lina and June before it’s published. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in 2026/ever and so easy to rate 5 stars (it would be infinite stars imho). I can’t wait for this to be out on 10th December and for the book community to give it the hype it deserves! I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone with eyes!
Throughout reading the book Lina and June came across as 22 by Taylor Swift personified and I often found myself humming the tune in my head, particularly this part:
We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time
It's miserable and magical, oh, yeah
Tonight's the night when we forget about the deadlines
It's time, oh-oh
I don't know about you
But I'm feeling twenty-two
Everything will be alright if
You keep me next to you
We meet both characters at various ages/stages in their lives and I’m not the same age as either character, as a woman in her 30s I can relate to the ups and downs (read: very high highs and extremely low lows) of female friendship. For the nostalgia of being young and running around and unknown city and thinking that you’re going to be in each other’s lives forever. I loved the pop culture references sprinkled into the story. Things that you’d only know if you were there/lived through it or have spent time researching what life was like. I devoured this in one sitting, wiping away tears when I hit the acknowledgments. Despite the tears, I can’t wait to reread it on release day on audiobook. 6 stars, no notes.
Thank you so much to Aria, Aria & Aries, Genevieve Wheeler + NetGalley for the opportunity to read Lina and June before it’s published. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in 2026/ever and so easy to rate 5 stars (it would be infinite stars imho). I can’t wait for this to be out on 10th December and for the book community to give it the hype it deserves! I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone with eyes!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of Lina & June by Genevieve Wheeler! Adelaide was one of my favorite books of 2023, so I've been anxiously awaiting Wheeler's sophomore novel. It's clear that she once again put so much love and care into this story. It was well worth the wait. I give it 4 1/2 stars!
Lina & June follows two women who meet in their freshman and sophomore years of college. They become fast friends. June is the older, sensible, maternal friend. Lina is a party girl out to live her life to the fullest. It's not long before they're sharing everything with each other and completely inseparable. After college the women end up in different cities, but their relationship remains strong. It isn't until their early 30s when a sudden illness and an international move shake them to their core.
The character development is by far my favorite part of this novel. Lina and June both feel so real. Their communication and the way they depend on each other mirrors relationships I've witnessed (and been a little jealous of!) in real life. It's quick, as we have just 300 pages or so to cover 14 years of friendship. But I believed these characters really lived and loved each other deeply.
There are several additional components that add to the quality of the storytelling. The timeline hopping created an air of mystery to the first half, and the locations (particularly Paris) felt like additional characters. Wheeler also explores a specific kind of loss that is devastating, but beautiful because those experiencing had a life altering kind of friendship.
Maybe I'm just becoming more sensitive as I age, but I would recommend putting content warnings at the beginning of this book. Luckily the worst happens off page, but it could still be quite triggering for some. Also, the decision to use italics instead of quotation marks was interesting, but I'm sure some very particular readers won't like it.
I love a book about sisters or best friends, and Lina & June fits easily in with some of my favorites. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who loved Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah, The Wedding People by Alison Espach, and This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page.
Lina & June follows two women who meet in their freshman and sophomore years of college. They become fast friends. June is the older, sensible, maternal friend. Lina is a party girl out to live her life to the fullest. It's not long before they're sharing everything with each other and completely inseparable. After college the women end up in different cities, but their relationship remains strong. It isn't until their early 30s when a sudden illness and an international move shake them to their core.
The character development is by far my favorite part of this novel. Lina and June both feel so real. Their communication and the way they depend on each other mirrors relationships I've witnessed (and been a little jealous of!) in real life. It's quick, as we have just 300 pages or so to cover 14 years of friendship. But I believed these characters really lived and loved each other deeply.
There are several additional components that add to the quality of the storytelling. The timeline hopping created an air of mystery to the first half, and the locations (particularly Paris) felt like additional characters. Wheeler also explores a specific kind of loss that is devastating, but beautiful because those experiencing had a life altering kind of friendship.
Maybe I'm just becoming more sensitive as I age, but I would recommend putting content warnings at the beginning of this book. Luckily the worst happens off page, but it could still be quite triggering for some. Also, the decision to use italics instead of quotation marks was interesting, but I'm sure some very particular readers won't like it.
I love a book about sisters or best friends, and Lina & June fits easily in with some of my favorites. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who loved Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah, The Wedding People by Alison Espach, and This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
SYNOPSIS
-Lina and June meet in college and become unlikely best friends despite having very different personalities.
-Their friendship becomes the most important relationship in both of their lives as they navigate young adulthood.
-Jobs, relationships, distance, and a scary diagnosis begin to pull them in different directions.
-As their lives diverge, both women must decide whether their friendship can survive the changes they've gone through.
⸻
MY THOUGHTS
-Their friendship is the love story.
-The novel explores themes of friendship, platonic love, and identity. It captures how our closest friendships can shape who we become, especially during the formative years of early adulthood.
-Lina and June are very different people, which made their friendship feel realistic and compelling. The book explores how difficult it can be to maintain a friendship when two people are growing in different directions.
-Neither character is perfect, and I appreciated that. Both women make mistakes and hurt each other at times, which made the relationship feel authentic.
-enjoyed following them from college into adulthood as they navigated careers, relationships, illness, and the process of figuring out who they are.
-I loved Adelaide and gave it five stars, so I went into this one with very high expectations. Adelaide remains one of my favorite books of recent years. While I enjoyed Lina & June, it didn't affect me as deeply as Adelaide. I connected more strongly with the characters and emotional journey in Wheeler's debut.
-Even so, Wheeler continues to excel at writing about relationships & the realities of life.
⸻
TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨Lina & June is a thoughtful and emotionally resonant exploration of friendship, platonic love, and identity. I admired its honest portrayal of a complicated female friendship and the ways people grow together and apart, even if it did not affect me as deeply as Adelaide. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy character-driven literary fiction centered on relationships.
⸻
THANKS: Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on December 8, 2026.
-Lina and June meet in college and become unlikely best friends despite having very different personalities.
-Their friendship becomes the most important relationship in both of their lives as they navigate young adulthood.
-Jobs, relationships, distance, and a scary diagnosis begin to pull them in different directions.
-As their lives diverge, both women must decide whether their friendship can survive the changes they've gone through.
⸻
MY THOUGHTS
-Their friendship is the love story.
-The novel explores themes of friendship, platonic love, and identity. It captures how our closest friendships can shape who we become, especially during the formative years of early adulthood.
-Lina and June are very different people, which made their friendship feel realistic and compelling. The book explores how difficult it can be to maintain a friendship when two people are growing in different directions.
-Neither character is perfect, and I appreciated that. Both women make mistakes and hurt each other at times, which made the relationship feel authentic.
-enjoyed following them from college into adulthood as they navigated careers, relationships, illness, and the process of figuring out who they are.
-I loved Adelaide and gave it five stars, so I went into this one with very high expectations. Adelaide remains one of my favorite books of recent years. While I enjoyed Lina & June, it didn't affect me as deeply as Adelaide. I connected more strongly with the characters and emotional journey in Wheeler's debut.
-Even so, Wheeler continues to excel at writing about relationships & the realities of life.
⸻
TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨Lina & June is a thoughtful and emotionally resonant exploration of friendship, platonic love, and identity. I admired its honest portrayal of a complicated female friendship and the ways people grow together and apart, even if it did not affect me as deeply as Adelaide. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy character-driven literary fiction centered on relationships.
⸻
THANKS: Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on December 8, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
After her remarkable debut novel "Adelaide", Genevieve Wheeler returns with "Lina & June", a heartfelt exploration of female friendship and the ways our closest relationships shape the people we become.
Lina and June meet in college and, despite their vastly different personalities, quickly become inseparable. As they navigate the uncertainties of young adulthood, their friendship becomes the anchor in both of their lives. But as careers, romantic relationships, distance, and ultimately a devastating cancer diagnosis begin to pull them in different directions, both women are forced to confront whether even the strongest friendships can survive life's inevitable changes.
June is the steady force in the relationship—the dependable friend who always seems to know exactly what Lina needs. At times, she almost feels like a nurturing older sister or mother figure, constantly offering support while asking for very little in return. Lina, on the other hand, is vibrant, adventurous, and forever chasing the next opportunity, even when her impulsiveness creates complications of her own. As often happens in friendships like these, the imbalance between the giver and the dreamer begins to strain the bond they've built.
The novel's emotional core arrives when June is diagnosed with cancer just as Lina once again feels drawn to Paris. It's an impossible choice that raises difficult questions. Do you stay with the friend who has always been there for you, or do you pursue what you believe is your life's calling? Wheeler resists offering easy answers, allowing the emotional complexity of both women's choices to unfold naturally.
What I appreciated most about Lina & June is its thoughtful portrayal of friendship. On the surface, June and Lina's relationship appears uneven, with one friend giving far more than the other. But what initially felt like an imbalance was actually two people supplying what the other lacked.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and Net Galley for a chance to read and review this novel.
Lina and June meet in college and, despite their vastly different personalities, quickly become inseparable. As they navigate the uncertainties of young adulthood, their friendship becomes the anchor in both of their lives. But as careers, romantic relationships, distance, and ultimately a devastating cancer diagnosis begin to pull them in different directions, both women are forced to confront whether even the strongest friendships can survive life's inevitable changes.
June is the steady force in the relationship—the dependable friend who always seems to know exactly what Lina needs. At times, she almost feels like a nurturing older sister or mother figure, constantly offering support while asking for very little in return. Lina, on the other hand, is vibrant, adventurous, and forever chasing the next opportunity, even when her impulsiveness creates complications of her own. As often happens in friendships like these, the imbalance between the giver and the dreamer begins to strain the bond they've built.
The novel's emotional core arrives when June is diagnosed with cancer just as Lina once again feels drawn to Paris. It's an impossible choice that raises difficult questions. Do you stay with the friend who has always been there for you, or do you pursue what you believe is your life's calling? Wheeler resists offering easy answers, allowing the emotional complexity of both women's choices to unfold naturally.
What I appreciated most about Lina & June is its thoughtful portrayal of friendship. On the surface, June and Lina's relationship appears uneven, with one friend giving far more than the other. But what initially felt like an imbalance was actually two people supplying what the other lacked.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and Net Galley for a chance to read and review this novel.
October 13, 2026
First, I want to thank the publishing house & Netgalley for this ARC. I was more than honored when the publishing house contacted me directly.
I knew it wouldn't be the favourite that was Adelaide. I went into it blindly because it was the new Genevieve Wheeler. It was one of most anticipated releases. As it was already the case I thought the writing was clever in its details. The author knows how to show an emotion through acts or sights. My main issue is Lina’s character. I understand why Wheeler wanted to show a kind of delulu gurl in front of a more type A one. At the beginning I was in love with their relationship; their link even if they was so different. Lina already irritated me but it was more doable. When june’s diagnosis comes, she seemed to accept to leave abroad too quickly for me. I didn’t thought she was egoist but her dream bout Paris remembered me when I left my parent’s house at 17 yo to live there too. The description of the city is really postcard-coded at the beginning and it was clever to see her felt out of love with this idealised picture (especially after leaving Paris for good a month ago) but even with that when we went into her chapters I was kind of already pissed of.
On the total opposite June’s chapters touched me, even before sickness. She follows the rules but is so much more softer & touching than Lina. She has doubts when Lina seems to live only in her own idealistic world.
If the story were only written through her, I would have loved it better. This is the type of character who I relate more as it was the case in Adelaide.
I think wanted to see more of this kind of personalities in it.
Even though the story follows a predictable path, it manages to convey a sense of gravity. I particularly liked June's budding relationship at the end of the book—a topic I would have liked to see explored further. It is a beautiful story of friendship, and I appreciate what the author was aiming for, even if the book didn't fully win me over in every respect.
That said, I had a great time reading it, and Genevieve Wheeler is an author whose future releases I will definitely follow.
I knew it wouldn't be the favourite that was Adelaide. I went into it blindly because it was the new Genevieve Wheeler. It was one of most anticipated releases. As it was already the case I thought the writing was clever in its details. The author knows how to show an emotion through acts or sights. My main issue is Lina’s character. I understand why Wheeler wanted to show a kind of delulu gurl in front of a more type A one. At the beginning I was in love with their relationship; their link even if they was so different. Lina already irritated me but it was more doable. When june’s diagnosis comes, she seemed to accept to leave abroad too quickly for me. I didn’t thought she was egoist but her dream bout Paris remembered me when I left my parent’s house at 17 yo to live there too. The description of the city is really postcard-coded at the beginning and it was clever to see her felt out of love with this idealised picture (especially after leaving Paris for good a month ago) but even with that when we went into her chapters I was kind of already pissed of.
On the total opposite June’s chapters touched me, even before sickness. She follows the rules but is so much more softer & touching than Lina. She has doubts when Lina seems to live only in her own idealistic world.
If the story were only written through her, I would have loved it better. This is the type of character who I relate more as it was the case in Adelaide.
I think wanted to see more of this kind of personalities in it.
Even though the story follows a predictable path, it manages to convey a sense of gravity. I particularly liked June's budding relationship at the end of the book—a topic I would have liked to see explored further. It is a beautiful story of friendship, and I appreciate what the author was aiming for, even if the book didn't fully win me over in every respect.
That said, I had a great time reading it, and Genevieve Wheeler is an author whose future releases I will definitely follow.
October 18, 2026
Book #104 of 2026
Four stars
Thank you so much to #Netgalley for the advanced copy! This book publishes in December.
What to expect in this book:
-Literary fiction
-Female friendship
-Alternating timelines
-Grief and loss
-Coming of Age
Thoughts
I loved this author's debut novel, Adelaide, a few years ago and was elated to see that she had a sophomore novel coming and this time about platonic love. Lina and June meet unexpectedly at a Halloween party while they are college student as NYU. Both from Jacksonville, Florida, they seem to immediately connect and their lives become intertwined. Until one night, it seems to unravel. Can their friendship that has been forged over years of shared experiences survive what seems unsurvivable? And if they are on separate paths, separated by an ocean and different countries, can their friendship ever be the same?
I feel like I rarely read fiction that is focused on female friendships and that is a shame because it is some of the most important relationships and there is just as much depth to platonic love as romantic love. What I really enjoyed about this story was how the characters' friendship evolved from college students to young adults and into their thirties. As someone in her early thirties, I could relate a lot to what both Lina and June were navigating as they tried to make a long distance and long time friend remain a part of their adult life. There is some heavy themes here with illness and cancer being primary among them. So if you are in a season where those would be difficult subjects, I would suggest maybe putting this one on hold for now. I felt like the themes were handled with care.
Overall, I thought this was a beautiful story and I really enjoyed seeing the characters grow and learn more about each other and themselves. While I did not enjoy this one as much as Adelaide, this was still a wonderful novel and I cannot wait to see what else is in store for this author.
Four stars
Thank you so much to #Netgalley for the advanced copy! This book publishes in December.
What to expect in this book:
-Literary fiction
-Female friendship
-Alternating timelines
-Grief and loss
-Coming of Age
Thoughts
I loved this author's debut novel, Adelaide, a few years ago and was elated to see that she had a sophomore novel coming and this time about platonic love. Lina and June meet unexpectedly at a Halloween party while they are college student as NYU. Both from Jacksonville, Florida, they seem to immediately connect and their lives become intertwined. Until one night, it seems to unravel. Can their friendship that has been forged over years of shared experiences survive what seems unsurvivable? And if they are on separate paths, separated by an ocean and different countries, can their friendship ever be the same?
I feel like I rarely read fiction that is focused on female friendships and that is a shame because it is some of the most important relationships and there is just as much depth to platonic love as romantic love. What I really enjoyed about this story was how the characters' friendship evolved from college students to young adults and into their thirties. As someone in her early thirties, I could relate a lot to what both Lina and June were navigating as they tried to make a long distance and long time friend remain a part of their adult life. There is some heavy themes here with illness and cancer being primary among them. So if you are in a season where those would be difficult subjects, I would suggest maybe putting this one on hold for now. I felt like the themes were handled with care.
Overall, I thought this was a beautiful story and I really enjoyed seeing the characters grow and learn more about each other and themselves. While I did not enjoy this one as much as Adelaide, this was still a wonderful novel and I cannot wait to see what else is in store for this author.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Lina and June meet at university and, despite being complete opposites, form a friendship that feels almost impossible to break. But as life pulls them in different directions, distance, changing priorities, illness, and all the ways we grow into different versions of ourselves test their friendship.
This was such a beautiful and bittersweet look at female friendship and the kind of love that exists between two people who become family to each other. I really loved that their friendship was at the heart of the story. It's platonic, but it carries so much of the same intensity, devotion, heartbreak, and vulnerability.
Lina and June felt incredibly real to me. Neither of them always made the right choices, and there were moments when I wanted to shake them both, but that's what made their relationship feel so authentic. People change, friendships change, and sometimes loving someone doesn't automatically make it easy to stay in their life.
The time jumps worked really well for me and gave the story this feeling of watching two people grow up while trying to hold onto something that once felt unbreakable. There was something particularly poignant about seeing how their individual lives shaped the friendship they had built together.
Genevieve's writing is beautiful and incredibly thoughtful. There's a quiet emotionality throughout the book that gradually sneaks up on you, and I found myself thinking about my own friendships and all the different seasons they've gone through.
I actually haven't read Genevieve’s Adelaide yet, but I plan to asap. I thought this was a tender, honest, and heartbreaking story about friendship, growing up, and figuring out whether some bonds can survive becoming different people.
Thank you @stmartinspress, Genevieve Wheeler, & NetGalley for the #gifted earc. All opinions are my own.
This was such a beautiful and bittersweet look at female friendship and the kind of love that exists between two people who become family to each other. I really loved that their friendship was at the heart of the story. It's platonic, but it carries so much of the same intensity, devotion, heartbreak, and vulnerability.
Lina and June felt incredibly real to me. Neither of them always made the right choices, and there were moments when I wanted to shake them both, but that's what made their relationship feel so authentic. People change, friendships change, and sometimes loving someone doesn't automatically make it easy to stay in their life.
The time jumps worked really well for me and gave the story this feeling of watching two people grow up while trying to hold onto something that once felt unbreakable. There was something particularly poignant about seeing how their individual lives shaped the friendship they had built together.
Genevieve's writing is beautiful and incredibly thoughtful. There's a quiet emotionality throughout the book that gradually sneaks up on you, and I found myself thinking about my own friendships and all the different seasons they've gone through.
I actually haven't read Genevieve’s Adelaide yet, but I plan to asap. I thought this was a tender, honest, and heartbreaking story about friendship, growing up, and figuring out whether some bonds can survive becoming different people.
Thank you @stmartinspress, Genevieve Wheeler, & NetGalley for the #gifted earc. All opinions are my own.
September 9, 2026
This was a new-to-me author, so I went into this with no preconception of her writing style or expectations. Overall I thought it was an interesting story about coming into your own identity and how you respond to adversity can affect a long-term friendship.
Lina & June are two very different people that become insta-besties after one fateful drunken Halloween night. This story trails them as they navigate college and early adulthood. No topic is left unturned– from complex medical diagnoses, mental health struggles, career paths, living far apart, relationships, etc. There are quite a lot of time jumps to cover 13 years of friendship though, which made the story feel a bit disjointed at times– almost like you are reading through a hazy memory being recalled.
The character arcs themselves had the potential to be compelling, but I felt very detached from them. I think a lot of that can be tied to the fact that the syntax left much to be desired for me. Formatting the dialogue in italics instead of quotation marks was a stylistic choice, and I can respect it… but it was also extremely offputting to my brain. It made the conversations blur into the background in my mind. It kept me at an arm’s length from the story and prevented me from genuinely feeling anything for either character. (To remain spoiler free: I felt bad for June, but I did not have a visceral reaction… which I normally would have if I had grown attached to a character.) I am not sure that my sentiments about this would have changed listening to this as an audiobook because the dialogue itself felt stilted, but it may have helped.
“Lina & June” will be released on December 8, 2026. A huge thank you to Genevieve Wheeler and St. Martin’s Press for providing this eARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Lina & June are two very different people that become insta-besties after one fateful drunken Halloween night. This story trails them as they navigate college and early adulthood. No topic is left unturned– from complex medical diagnoses, mental health struggles, career paths, living far apart, relationships, etc. There are quite a lot of time jumps to cover 13 years of friendship though, which made the story feel a bit disjointed at times– almost like you are reading through a hazy memory being recalled.
The character arcs themselves had the potential to be compelling, but I felt very detached from them. I think a lot of that can be tied to the fact that the syntax left much to be desired for me. Formatting the dialogue in italics instead of quotation marks was a stylistic choice, and I can respect it… but it was also extremely offputting to my brain. It made the conversations blur into the background in my mind. It kept me at an arm’s length from the story and prevented me from genuinely feeling anything for either character. (To remain spoiler free: I felt bad for June, but I did not have a visceral reaction… which I normally would have if I had grown attached to a character.) I am not sure that my sentiments about this would have changed listening to this as an audiobook because the dialogue itself felt stilted, but it may have helped.
“Lina & June” will be released on December 8, 2026. A huge thank you to Genevieve Wheeler and St. Martin’s Press for providing this eARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
September 2, 2026
thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC!!
Lina & June, ultimately, is a story about female friendship, in all its triumphs and turmoils. this was a very accurate and real take on falling in and out of synchronicity with your friends.
we meet our main characters at their own introduction in college, followed by the next 15 years of their own friendship and lives. we see our main characters grow and evolve through the course of this decade and a half. we see the codependency that develops out of a shared orbit, and the subsequent distance that grows once you leave from different platforms, which I think so many people can relate to. we ourselves are growing as a person, but in our own inflation into selfhood we end up intrinsically pushing others out. we see our main characters deal with work, family, romance, and the prioritization of maintaining a long distance friendship. we see how our characters actively grieve the loss of a friendship while they are still in it.
I really loved reading this book, it’s narrated in a way that I felt like the third friend in this twosome. you really are immersed into the two women’s friendship, seeing both their sides, reading their stories, seeing them grapple with what to tell the other. we the reader are put right in the middle of their friendship and forced to take sides. I found myself agreeing with both girls at different points throughout the book. I also really loved that this story was not romance/male-centered. there are some instances of course, but the main romance is always going to be between Lina & June.
personally, I LOVED Adelaide. Lina & June is another stellar work by Genevieve Wheeler. I can’t wait to post all my highlights once it releases!
Lina & June, ultimately, is a story about female friendship, in all its triumphs and turmoils. this was a very accurate and real take on falling in and out of synchronicity with your friends.
we meet our main characters at their own introduction in college, followed by the next 15 years of their own friendship and lives. we see our main characters grow and evolve through the course of this decade and a half. we see the codependency that develops out of a shared orbit, and the subsequent distance that grows once you leave from different platforms, which I think so many people can relate to. we ourselves are growing as a person, but in our own inflation into selfhood we end up intrinsically pushing others out. we see our main characters deal with work, family, romance, and the prioritization of maintaining a long distance friendship. we see how our characters actively grieve the loss of a friendship while they are still in it.
I really loved reading this book, it’s narrated in a way that I felt like the third friend in this twosome. you really are immersed into the two women’s friendship, seeing both their sides, reading their stories, seeing them grapple with what to tell the other. we the reader are put right in the middle of their friendship and forced to take sides. I found myself agreeing with both girls at different points throughout the book. I also really loved that this story was not romance/male-centered. there are some instances of course, but the main romance is always going to be between Lina & June.
personally, I LOVED Adelaide. Lina & June is another stellar work by Genevieve Wheeler. I can’t wait to post all my highlights once it releases!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, Genevieve Wheeler, and St. Martin’s Press for the pre-publication copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
This book is about the depth of love between friends, so it’s no surprise that there’s some heartbreak involved. I couldn’t put this book down, and parts of the book even brought me to tears. The first half of the novel builds June and Lina’s friendship and shared history, and the second half focuses on the unraveling of that friendship.
This book also explores the relationship between a person and a city and how loving a place can, in some ways, be just as disappointing and just as passionate as loving a person.
I generally prefer more linear storytelling, but I did enjoy reading about the characters in different settings – Jacksonville, New York, DC, Paris, etc. Overall, Ms. Wheeler’s writing was easy to follow, and she built the story without overexplanation or being too wordy. My one critique regarding the writing style is that the conversations were in italics rather than quotation marks, which I thought was distracting because I typically think of italics to be someone’s internal dialogue rather than spoken words.
In terms of the characters, I found June to be very likeable and a great friend. I preferred reading from her point of view. Lina, on the other hand, was difficult to like at times.
This is a 4-star read rather than 5 because the ending seemed a bit rushed and did not have the emotional depth of the rest of the book. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a book about friendship, heartbreak, and growing up.
This book is about the depth of love between friends, so it’s no surprise that there’s some heartbreak involved. I couldn’t put this book down, and parts of the book even brought me to tears. The first half of the novel builds June and Lina’s friendship and shared history, and the second half focuses on the unraveling of that friendship.
This book also explores the relationship between a person and a city and how loving a place can, in some ways, be just as disappointing and just as passionate as loving a person.
I generally prefer more linear storytelling, but I did enjoy reading about the characters in different settings – Jacksonville, New York, DC, Paris, etc. Overall, Ms. Wheeler’s writing was easy to follow, and she built the story without overexplanation or being too wordy. My one critique regarding the writing style is that the conversations were in italics rather than quotation marks, which I thought was distracting because I typically think of italics to be someone’s internal dialogue rather than spoken words.
In terms of the characters, I found June to be very likeable and a great friend. I preferred reading from her point of view. Lina, on the other hand, was difficult to like at times.
This is a 4-star read rather than 5 because the ending seemed a bit rushed and did not have the emotional depth of the rest of the book. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a book about friendship, heartbreak, and growing up.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is a love story. Not in the traditional romantic sense. It's not about any sort of intimacy that lovers share. Instead, it's about two best friends. Two women who truly love and care for each other. Though the caring and nurturing seems to be imbalanced as often the case, be it with friendships or lovers, there is certainly a difference there as to what each provide in this relationship.
June is always there as the rock in this deep friendship, almost as a nurturing motherly type of support for Lina. Lina is vivacious and carefree which tends to lead her into problems for her own life. As can often happen in such a relationship, that imbalance tears and strains the deep bond that June and Lina share. This all happens as June finds her life path taking her down the road of having to contend with her own cancer diagnosis. At the same time, Lina, yet again, feels Paris calling her. What does one do? Tend to her dying best friend of follow what she believes to be her life's calling?
While we can easily see that these two completely different personality types and life directions can't help but pull these two apart, there is still that certain kismet that lingers on. June and Lina's relationship seems so imbalanced, yet when you step back and look at it as a whole, you can then see that what seems to be an imbalance is really just two different parts of the whole. That instead, one fills the needs of the other which ultimately creates its own balanced dynamic.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the eBook in leu of a review.
June is always there as the rock in this deep friendship, almost as a nurturing motherly type of support for Lina. Lina is vivacious and carefree which tends to lead her into problems for her own life. As can often happen in such a relationship, that imbalance tears and strains the deep bond that June and Lina share. This all happens as June finds her life path taking her down the road of having to contend with her own cancer diagnosis. At the same time, Lina, yet again, feels Paris calling her. What does one do? Tend to her dying best friend of follow what she believes to be her life's calling?
While we can easily see that these two completely different personality types and life directions can't help but pull these two apart, there is still that certain kismet that lingers on. June and Lina's relationship seems so imbalanced, yet when you step back and look at it as a whole, you can then see that what seems to be an imbalance is really just two different parts of the whole. That instead, one fills the needs of the other which ultimately creates its own balanced dynamic.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the eBook in leu of a review.
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