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People in Love
One bright blue day, on a bench by the river, Nora’s partner Robin proposes.
It is unexpected; they’d always agreed that they didn’t need a wedding. But after a decade of in-jokes, dancing in the low-lit kitchen and sharing morning toast in bed, Nora says yes. Why wouldn’t she?
The answer lands on the night of their engagement party, when Bren turns up on her doorstep.
Growing up, Bren and Nora were the sort of best friends who everyone swore would end up together. But when a sudden heartbreak turned their lives upside down, Bren left, Nora stayed, and the silent longing between them remained unspoken.
Now, he’s back, and their tentative yet undeniable spark reignites, forcing Nora to ask herself:
How can you know your heart, if it feels like it’s split in two?
Tender and compelling, People in Love is a story about what-ifs and maybes, and the moments of misunderstanding that can shape our lives. It’s a book about living one life while musing on another, exploring how our choices shape our relationships and inform our regrets, and revealing, in the end, that the real love story is not always the one you'd expect.
It is unexpected; they’d always agreed that they didn’t need a wedding. But after a decade of in-jokes, dancing in the low-lit kitchen and sharing morning toast in bed, Nora says yes. Why wouldn’t she?
The answer lands on the night of their engagement party, when Bren turns up on her doorstep.
Growing up, Bren and Nora were the sort of best friends who everyone swore would end up together. But when a sudden heartbreak turned their lives upside down, Bren left, Nora stayed, and the silent longing between them remained unspoken.
Now, he’s back, and their tentative yet undeniable spark reignites, forcing Nora to ask herself:
How can you know your heart, if it feels like it’s split in two?
Tender and compelling, People in Love is a story about what-ifs and maybes, and the moments of misunderstanding that can shape our lives. It’s a book about living one life while musing on another, exploring how our choices shape our relationships and inform our regrets, and revealing, in the end, that the real love story is not always the one you'd expect.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 4, 2026
About the author
Claire Daverley
3 books1,029 followersAfter graduating with a degree in Fine Art from the University of Oxford, Claire Daverley began a career in publishing, writing about books by day but penning her own by night (or rather, very early in the morning). She currently lives in Scotland with her husband and spaniel. Talking at Night is her debut novel, and has been sold in twenty-four territories to date.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 395 reviews
June 6, 2026
this nothingburger of a book
May 11, 2026
claire daverley is going on my very small list of auto buy authors!!!!!!!!
June 9, 2026
First of all I hate this new writing technique authors now do where they don’t use “ punctuation marks for dialogue?????? Immediately one star down. Story was alright; I hated Bren and my motivation for finishing the book was to make sure she didn’t end up with him cause that would have kept me up at night.
Overall I wasn’t moved by the whole ‘what if’ mainly cause the characters were just too young when they split and they were never really in an actual romantic relationship before. More should have been done to flesh out their past cause I had ZERO emotional connection and could not for the life of me understand why the FMC was even pining for this guy.
Overall I wasn’t moved by the whole ‘what if’ mainly cause the characters were just too young when they split and they were never really in an actual romantic relationship before. More should have been done to flesh out their past cause I had ZERO emotional connection and could not for the life of me understand why the FMC was even pining for this guy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2026
omg omg omg 😭❤️🩹
Das war so unfassbar gut. Ich muss das erstmal verarbeiten?? Sally Rooney Ultras : this is for you.
Alle Lesen!!!! Hab mir gerade die Augen ausgeheult. Und wie kann man so wunderschön schreiben??? Und so prägnant alltägliches, zwischenmenschliches einfangen?
Das war so unfassbar gut. Ich muss das erstmal verarbeiten?? Sally Rooney Ultras : this is for you.
Alle Lesen!!!! Hab mir gerade die Augen ausgeheult. Und wie kann man so wunderschön schreiben??? Und so prägnant alltägliches, zwischenmenschliches einfangen?
April 23, 2026
Another masterpiece from Claire Daverley. I loved Talking at night SO much that I was almost nervous to read this. But, she’s done it again. What a beautiful book.
June 7, 2026
I think I felt the entire spectrum of human emotions while reading this. Incredible.
June 7, 2026
might have been a 5 if i hadn’t had to physically stop myself from throwing the book across the room 28193475 different times x
January 23, 2026
Don’t mind me whilst I just stare at the wall for the foreseeable…..
She’s done it again folks.
Thanks so much to Michael Joseph for my copy. Review will be coming soon on insta
She’s done it again folks.
Thanks so much to Michael Joseph for my copy. Review will be coming soon on insta
June 30, 2026
Enttäuschend, das ist das Erste, was mir hierzu einfällt. Die Inhaltsangabe klang gut, aber was letztendlich geliefert wurde, ließ zu wünschen übrig.
Nora hat sich gerade verlobt, aber dann meldet sich Bren zurück, ihr alter Freund aus der Jugend und sie beginnt, an allem zu zweifeln. Die Gründe dafür waren mir während der ganzen Geschichte unerklärlich, denn Bren konnte mich so gar nicht von sich überzeugen 👀🚩
Auch der Schreibstil war nicht meins, sehr abrupt, aus drei verschiedenen Perspektiven geschrieben (eine davon random aus der Du-Perspektive?!).
Und dann war da natürlich noch Nora. Als Hauptperson konnte ich mit ihr nicht viel anfangen, habe selten von einer so unentschlossenen Person gelesen.
Und wahrscheinlich war das ganze Unterfangen von Anfang an zum Scheitern verurteilt, denn ich bin mit der Erwartung, einen Liebesroman zu lesen, an das Buch rangegangen. Aber es hat sich definitiv mehr wie etwas aus der Kategorie Literary Fiction angefühlt.
Alles in allem fand ich das Buch leider sowohl langwierig als auch langweilig.
Nora hat sich gerade verlobt, aber dann meldet sich Bren zurück, ihr alter Freund aus der Jugend und sie beginnt, an allem zu zweifeln. Die Gründe dafür waren mir während der ganzen Geschichte unerklärlich, denn Bren konnte mich so gar nicht von sich überzeugen 👀🚩
Auch der Schreibstil war nicht meins, sehr abrupt, aus drei verschiedenen Perspektiven geschrieben (eine davon random aus der Du-Perspektive?!).
Und dann war da natürlich noch Nora. Als Hauptperson konnte ich mit ihr nicht viel anfangen, habe selten von einer so unentschlossenen Person gelesen.
Und wahrscheinlich war das ganze Unterfangen von Anfang an zum Scheitern verurteilt, denn ich bin mit der Erwartung, einen Liebesroman zu lesen, an das Buch rangegangen. Aber es hat sich definitiv mehr wie etwas aus der Kategorie Literary Fiction angefühlt.
Alles in allem fand ich das Buch leider sowohl langwierig als auch langweilig.
June 22, 2026
i'm sad that Daverley did not delivery my new hyperfixation this year... it had so much potential.
nora and bran's unestablished relationship was vague right from the start and the slow unravelling of what they were to each other was frustrating. nora and robin's relationship was also not very defined in a sense that we don't really know how nora feels about him, just that he is stable, reliable, and has shared almost a decade of life with her. trying to parse and understand them was a chore as it is with this set up, and made even more difficult because of the prose. the minimalistic and short words per sentence kept the intrigue at first but eventually felt tired. i felt that certain ideas or thoughts could be expanded and explained better with a few more carefully crafted sentences, as the stylistic choice of writing here for me felt forced. i grew exhausted at some point because the words did not flow and felt so abrupt and insufficient to express the characters' feelings or the gravity of the situations. so it was not done as well as it should have been (the problem i think is that it's too self-conscious) and it's why the writing did not work here.
i expected a lot from Daverley because i loved her previous work, so i was unfortunately really let down here. it did not pierce my heart as i had expected, nor did it make my heart ache as the author intended. they went around in circles and the writing made it all so frustrating. the plot reminded me of Celine Song's Past Lives and even the way it unfolded felt close to the film. i think the story would translate better on screen because then it would feel less frustrating and more yearnful, which is what the writer intended. i thought the cooking food as love language was good, if anything, and i wish it were maintained and highlighted throughout the novel. but it was kind of discontinued or forgotten around halfway through in favor of moving the plot, which i'm upset about, because this little detail could have improved everything. also, i found the characters a bit dull to be honest; nora and robin were alright but bran was infuriating. i think this would have done better had it cut down on descriptions of bran's travels and described more of the characters' relationships and histories with each other. robin's pov did not do anything and the choice to make it second person is lost on me, as i think it wouldn't have made a difference if his few chapters were in third person too or just totally scrapped. i think my issue here is that the characters, writing style, plot did not feel very cohesive. i have a feeling that the author had a good idea for this book but was nudged the wrong way throughout the process, and it's why it feels forced and disjointed. those last few chapters were cruel btw and that little imaginary scene at the end cheapened the novel for me. i get that the author wanted to shock a reaction from the readers, or maybe it was really so that bran understood what he meant to nora, but i thought it was tacky (and quite offensive to readers actually) to pull that move.
well, i'm just really so disappointed. i can see the bones of it, but it's all so bland and i just wish this were better executed. it did not hit as hard as i had expected it would, especially with such a set up like this. idea was wasted on such a substandard execution.
nora and bran's unestablished relationship was vague right from the start and the slow unravelling of what they were to each other was frustrating. nora and robin's relationship was also not very defined in a sense that we don't really know how nora feels about him, just that he is stable, reliable, and has shared almost a decade of life with her. trying to parse and understand them was a chore as it is with this set up, and made even more difficult because of the prose. the minimalistic and short words per sentence kept the intrigue at first but eventually felt tired. i felt that certain ideas or thoughts could be expanded and explained better with a few more carefully crafted sentences, as the stylistic choice of writing here for me felt forced. i grew exhausted at some point because the words did not flow and felt so abrupt and insufficient to express the characters' feelings or the gravity of the situations. so it was not done as well as it should have been (the problem i think is that it's too self-conscious) and it's why the writing did not work here.
i expected a lot from Daverley because i loved her previous work, so i was unfortunately really let down here. it did not pierce my heart as i had expected, nor did it make my heart ache as the author intended. they went around in circles and the writing made it all so frustrating. the plot reminded me of Celine Song's Past Lives and even the way it unfolded felt close to the film. i think the story would translate better on screen because then it would feel less frustrating and more yearnful, which is what the writer intended. i thought the cooking food as love language was good, if anything, and i wish it were maintained and highlighted throughout the novel. but it was kind of discontinued or forgotten around halfway through in favor of moving the plot, which i'm upset about, because this little detail could have improved everything. also, i found the characters a bit dull to be honest; nora and robin were alright but bran was infuriating. i think this would have done better had it cut down on descriptions of bran's travels and described more of the characters' relationships and histories with each other. robin's pov did not do anything and the choice to make it second person is lost on me, as i think it wouldn't have made a difference if his few chapters were in third person too or just totally scrapped. i think my issue here is that the characters, writing style, plot did not feel very cohesive. i have a feeling that the author had a good idea for this book but was nudged the wrong way throughout the process, and it's why it feels forced and disjointed. those last few chapters were cruel btw and that little imaginary scene at the end cheapened the novel for me. i get that the author wanted to shock a reaction from the readers, or maybe it was really so that bran understood what he meant to nora, but i thought it was tacky (and quite offensive to readers actually) to pull that move.
well, i'm just really so disappointed. i can see the bones of it, but it's all so bland and i just wish this were better executed. it did not hit as hard as i had expected it would, especially with such a set up like this. idea was wasted on such a substandard execution.
July 3, 2026
Non quello che un lettore si aspetta, ma quello che succede davvero nella vita.
Ho apprezzato profondamente il fatto che le scelte, come appunto non succede nei romanzi, venissero fatte con la testa e non col cuore. Perché il cuore sperava fortemente in altro.
Tutti abbiamo il nostro Bren, ma penso che saper scegliere sapientemente sia più importante. Questa è la storia di due persone che nel loro passato si sono amate follemente e che non sapevano come gestire la cosa. Non sapevano come aiutarsi nelle difficoltà, come starsi affianco, perché troppo giovani e inesperti nei confronti dei sentimenti e delle relazioni. Ed è bello vedere come, dopo 12 anni, si rincontrino e riescano a parlarne, a mettere tutto sul tavolo, cuore compreso, perché non è sempre corretto usarlo. Riescono a capire come vanno e come sono andate le loro vite, e a prendere delle decisioni basandosi sulle persone che sono nel presente, anche se il passato resterà sempre parte preponderante di ciò che sono diventati.
Un romanzo alla Rooney, estremamente reale, che lascia il dolceamaro in bocca. Non prevedibile come ci si aspetterebbe, e intriso di vita. Un dolore talmente tenero da essere quasi confortante.
Ho apprezzato profondamente il fatto che le scelte, come appunto non succede nei romanzi, venissero fatte con la testa e non col cuore. Perché il cuore sperava fortemente in altro.
Tutti abbiamo il nostro Bren, ma penso che saper scegliere sapientemente sia più importante. Questa è la storia di due persone che nel loro passato si sono amate follemente e che non sapevano come gestire la cosa. Non sapevano come aiutarsi nelle difficoltà, come starsi affianco, perché troppo giovani e inesperti nei confronti dei sentimenti e delle relazioni. Ed è bello vedere come, dopo 12 anni, si rincontrino e riescano a parlarne, a mettere tutto sul tavolo, cuore compreso, perché non è sempre corretto usarlo. Riescono a capire come vanno e come sono andate le loro vite, e a prendere delle decisioni basandosi sulle persone che sono nel presente, anche se il passato resterà sempre parte preponderante di ciò che sono diventati.
Un romanzo alla Rooney, estremamente reale, che lascia il dolceamaro in bocca. Non prevedibile come ci si aspetterebbe, e intriso di vita. Un dolore talmente tenero da essere quasi confortante.
June 15, 2026
claire daverley you bloody brilliant bEAUTIFUL B*TCH!!!! how dare you rip my heart in two only to put it back together again!!! this is the best book of the year and i’ll be accepting no criticism at this time!!!!! kthxbye!!!!
June 16, 2026
3.5 ⭐️ this was fine? Totally readable and had some beautiful parts but it wasn’t a patch on Talking at Night, which is quite disappointing because I was looking forward to this so much that I pushed past my Hardback Hatred to buy this. I wasn’t really that motivated by the whole sliding doors/what if element - they were so young and never in a relationship with too little between those 12 years that it just didn’t ring true and felt too tenuous. Also the twist near the end just felt like a trope that the editor forced in to add a bit of “pizzazz.” Overall, I think it’s worth a read but by no means something to write home about
June 30, 2026
In diesem Buch passiert leider quasi nix. Es wird viel geredet, aber nicht richtig miteinander. Ich habe das erste Buch von Daverley geliebt, aber dieses hat mich nicht komplett überzeugt. Ihre Sprache ist und bleibt toll, wunderbar übersetzt von Anja Mehrmann und Anne Thomas. Kann man im Sommer gut drüberlesen, aber bei mir ist es nicht richtig hängengeblieben.
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May 1, 2026rtc !!!
July 5, 2026
I was debating between a 2 and 3 for this one, which kills me because I adore Claire - I've read (and loved) all her Substack articles and have been following her on Instagram forever. Hence why we're on a first-name basis. If you've been reading my reviews for a while, you might already know that Talking at Night is one of my holy grails. Alas, this is not a review of the author, but rather the book, and I was disappointed. (I will still read everything you deign to share, Claire.)
In this novel, we follow Nora, Robin and Bren. It's a story about what happens when a long-ago important person - who in this case was a best-friend-almost-maybe-love-of-Nora's-life-but-never-happened - shows up in your life years later. In their three separate perspectives, Claire takes the reader through the what ifs and maybes, and how the decisions (or non-decisions) you make can take you on wildly different paths in life. The thing I found maddening was that on each path, you will, in different ways, find everything you were looking for. I guess that's life, but I come to books to escape the burden of choosing a path. I want them to reveal one to me, so I can learn from it. :')
There are a lot of other beautiful parts of this book - there's strong emotional development of all three characters, song-like language, a café-craft-calligraphy-sewing shop. That said, their relationships all feel so vague to me and the lack of communication skills made me want to stop reading.
The writing style is quotation-free, which makes the dialogue flow poetically but, for some reason, also causes the crescendos to fall flat. One thing I did not like about this is that it had an "and then I woke up, and it was all a dream" quality. I won't spoil anything here, but I felt as though Claire used this device to explore more complex, daring, exciting, maybe even contentious, plot lines, only to lose confidence in either herself or her readers, and say, "Sike! That's just to make you think a bit about the alternative outcome, but I am not up for making the story that brave or that sad, so it didn't actually happen"...if you get what I mean.
One thing I unexpectedly found pulled at the heartstrings was the descriptions of London, for example, "the sky an antiseptic, English grey." It explained London so perfectly for me, triggering memories that I didn't even realise I had.
The ending was pretty good and gave me warm, fuzzy feelings, but by then I was also so ready for the book to be over... it dragged on a bit and, sorry to use the same word again, ultimately felt a bit flat.
Anyways, sorry Claire, love you <3 :(
In this novel, we follow Nora, Robin and Bren. It's a story about what happens when a long-ago important person - who in this case was a best-friend-almost-maybe-love-of-Nora's-life-but-never-happened - shows up in your life years later. In their three separate perspectives, Claire takes the reader through the what ifs and maybes, and how the decisions (or non-decisions) you make can take you on wildly different paths in life. The thing I found maddening was that on each path, you will, in different ways, find everything you were looking for. I guess that's life, but I come to books to escape the burden of choosing a path. I want them to reveal one to me, so I can learn from it. :')
There are a lot of other beautiful parts of this book - there's strong emotional development of all three characters, song-like language, a café-craft-calligraphy-sewing shop. That said, their relationships all feel so vague to me and the lack of communication skills made me want to stop reading.
The writing style is quotation-free, which makes the dialogue flow poetically but, for some reason, also causes the crescendos to fall flat. One thing I did not like about this is that it had an "and then I woke up, and it was all a dream" quality. I won't spoil anything here, but I felt as though Claire used this device to explore more complex, daring, exciting, maybe even contentious, plot lines, only to lose confidence in either herself or her readers, and say, "Sike! That's just to make you think a bit about the alternative outcome, but I am not up for making the story that brave or that sad, so it didn't actually happen"...if you get what I mean.
One thing I unexpectedly found pulled at the heartstrings was the descriptions of London, for example, "the sky an antiseptic, English grey." It explained London so perfectly for me, triggering memories that I didn't even realise I had.
The ending was pretty good and gave me warm, fuzzy feelings, but by then I was also so ready for the book to be over... it dragged on a bit and, sorry to use the same word again, ultimately felt a bit flat.
Anyways, sorry Claire, love you <3 :(
June 23, 2026
EINDELIJK KLAAR 🙏🙏
oke nee grapje, dit boek was - bijzonder??
het is echt ontzettend mooi geschreven, het verhaal was goed en het einde fenomenaal.
maar: het was ZO langdradig en echt wel heel saai.
dus ik ben een beetje in tweestrijd?! ik snap echt dat dit iemands favoriete boek kan zijn, maar aan de andere kant wilde ik echt dat het 200 pagina’s minder had lmao.
ik denk 3 sterren? ⭐️⭐️⭐️
oke nee grapje, dit boek was - bijzonder??
het is echt ontzettend mooi geschreven, het verhaal was goed en het einde fenomenaal.
maar: het was ZO langdradig en echt wel heel saai.
dus ik ben een beetje in tweestrijd?! ik snap echt dat dit iemands favoriete boek kan zijn, maar aan de andere kant wilde ik echt dat het 200 pagina’s minder had lmao.
ik denk 3 sterren? ⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 1, 2026
Almost killed me with that ending! Such a cozy book, was a bit slow at times for me but I love the characters and complex relationships Daverley builds. Ending was very satisfying, how all of the relationship difficulties resolve
June 23, 2026
oh my god i‘m so glad it ended the way it did and not the other way around.
would have been five stars if we‘d use proper punctuation but what do i know
would have been five stars if we‘d use proper punctuation but what do i know
May 25, 2026
i LOVED Talking at Night but this just put me in a 3 week slump…. for the most part very oddly written in a way that felt clunky and disjointed. i didn’t like that robin’s chapter were written in second person? and i also felt like there were so many different characters that it felt confusing especially with referring to both bren and nora’s mothers being referred to by their first names. i began to like it more after the 50% mark but i still couldn’t fully connect :/
July 8, 2026
»Und als ihre Blicke sich begegnen, wird aus dem kleinen Stich in ihrem Herzen ein Haarriss, weil sie immer um etwas Unausgesprochenes herumgetänzelt sind, aber irgendwie die Tanzschritte nicht wussten.« (291)
»PEOPLE IN LOVE« (übersetzt von Anja Mehrmann & Anne Thomas) ist der zweite Roman der Autorin Claire Daverley. Nora und Robin haben sich verlobt 💍, zur Verlobungsparty taucht überraschend auch Nora’s bester Freund Bren auf, den sie seit 12 Jahren nicht mehr gesehen hat. Obwohl Nora und Robin seit neun Jahren ein glückliches Paar sind, mit einem cuten Alltag, viel gegenseitigem Support und Verständnis und Liebe füreinander, sorgt Bren für Drama. … (mehr möchte ich an dieser Stelle nicht zum Inhalt vorwegnehmen.)
Ihr Debüt »VOM ENDE DER NACHT« (TALKING AT NIGHT) habe ich geliebt. 💘 Sehr habe ich mich also auf ihren neuen Roman gefreut und vielleicht waren meine Erwartungen zu hoch, vielleicht hat es einfach nicht gemacht mit mir und dieser Lovestory? Das heißt nicht, dass es keine gute Lovestory ist (die ist es!), aber für mich waren bestimmte Dinge drüber und zu viel Drama zusätzlich zur Storyline. Mir hätte es gereicht, dass Bren und Nora als Teenies Best Friends waren, die ihre Liebe nie gelebt haben und bei ihrem Wiedersehen nach 12 Jahren beide für sich herausfinden müssen, was sie fühlen und wollen. (Auch wenn mir Bren mit seiner egozentrischen Art enorm auf die Nerven gegangen ist.) Trotz dieser Kritikpunkte konnte ich das Buch nicht aus der Hand legen, weil ich es unbedingt lesen wollte.
»»Genau darum geht es! Bei jeder Entscheidung, die man trifft und durchzieht, gibt es ein Hätte oder Könnte, immer, aber das ist in Ordnung. Das ist menschlich. Darum geht es nämlich im Leben. Und das heißt nicht, dass irgendwas falsch läuft« [Nora zu Bren]« (303)
Leseempfehlung für alle, die Lust auf eine Lovestory und Page-Turner haben. Go for it 🩷
»PEOPLE IN LOVE« (übersetzt von Anja Mehrmann & Anne Thomas) ist der zweite Roman der Autorin Claire Daverley. Nora und Robin haben sich verlobt 💍, zur Verlobungsparty taucht überraschend auch Nora’s bester Freund Bren auf, den sie seit 12 Jahren nicht mehr gesehen hat. Obwohl Nora und Robin seit neun Jahren ein glückliches Paar sind, mit einem cuten Alltag, viel gegenseitigem Support und Verständnis und Liebe füreinander, sorgt Bren für Drama. … (mehr möchte ich an dieser Stelle nicht zum Inhalt vorwegnehmen.)
Ihr Debüt »VOM ENDE DER NACHT« (TALKING AT NIGHT) habe ich geliebt. 💘 Sehr habe ich mich also auf ihren neuen Roman gefreut und vielleicht waren meine Erwartungen zu hoch, vielleicht hat es einfach nicht gemacht mit mir und dieser Lovestory? Das heißt nicht, dass es keine gute Lovestory ist (die ist es!), aber für mich waren bestimmte Dinge drüber und zu viel Drama zusätzlich zur Storyline. Mir hätte es gereicht, dass Bren und Nora als Teenies Best Friends waren, die ihre Liebe nie gelebt haben und bei ihrem Wiedersehen nach 12 Jahren beide für sich herausfinden müssen, was sie fühlen und wollen. (Auch wenn mir Bren mit seiner egozentrischen Art enorm auf die Nerven gegangen ist.) Trotz dieser Kritikpunkte konnte ich das Buch nicht aus der Hand legen, weil ich es unbedingt lesen wollte.
»»Genau darum geht es! Bei jeder Entscheidung, die man trifft und durchzieht, gibt es ein Hätte oder Könnte, immer, aber das ist in Ordnung. Das ist menschlich. Darum geht es nämlich im Leben. Und das heißt nicht, dass irgendwas falsch läuft« [Nora zu Bren]« (303)
Leseempfehlung für alle, die Lust auf eine Lovestory und Page-Turner haben. Go for it 🩷
July 8, 2026
Book club #6! 4⭐️
I went on such a rollercoaster with this book. I struggled to get into it as it was soooo character driven and not that much plot, but wow did it suck me in halfway through. I genuinely said this book is going to break my heart.
I did find a the lack of plot in the middle a bit slow and then soooo much plot at the end a bit intense. Omg when I thought robin had died I was so mad.
I also found Bren kind of irritating and was begging for him and Nora not to end up together.
Overall I thought it was a beautifully written exploration of the way we love and how it’s not always so simple❤️
I went on such a rollercoaster with this book. I struggled to get into it as it was soooo character driven and not that much plot, but wow did it suck me in halfway through. I genuinely said this book is going to break my heart.
I did find a the lack of plot in the middle a bit slow and then soooo much plot at the end a bit intense. Omg when I thought robin had died I was so mad.
I also found Bren kind of irritating and was begging for him and Nora not to end up together.
Overall I thought it was a beautifully written exploration of the way we love and how it’s not always so simple❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2026
Ok I did really enjoy this. However, Bren is the most insufferable man. Firstly, you are not the sun. Secondly, you don’t know everything. I really struggle with weak characters (although he was written really well, I just didn’t like him and his ego and judgement), especially weak men. We all go through struggle you stupid twat, just crack on with it!!!!!
Also will just say, nearly had a frigging heart attack when they were in the hospital. Don’t ever do that to me again. Robin till I frigging die.
Also will just say, nearly had a frigging heart attack when they were in the hospital. Don’t ever do that to me again. Robin till I frigging die.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2026
So so good !!! Felt so true to life and the characters felt so developed and real and I cried
July 10, 2026
4,5 stars
Very beautiful. I loved how it showed that love is a choice you make everyday. It's a patchwork of choices.
Very beautiful. I loved how it showed that love is a choice you make everyday. It's a patchwork of choices.
June 20, 2026
3.5 stars
This one should've been called People Are Confused.
In a world full of tropes, this felt refreshing—but also not romantic?
This one should've been called People Are Confused.
In a world full of tropes, this felt refreshing—but also not romantic?
July 1, 2026
I will buy and read every book Claire Daverley ever writes. Forever. Her writing feels like poetry…the kind that’s easy to absorb, that feels like clarity, that feels like drinking water after being thirsty.
Unlike Talking At Night, this one won’t go down as a favorite of mine. 4 stars because the story wasn’t my favorite. Might still read again.
Unlike Talking At Night, this one won’t go down as a favorite of mine. 4 stars because the story wasn’t my favorite. Might still read again.
June 26, 2026
Didn’t rock me to my core (like Talking at Night did). Nevertheless, a beautiful example of literary romance.
I caution at recommending this to Rooney readers because while it had echoes of her style and the deep character work of her books, you shouldn’t go on setting that at the bar. Instead, expect a novel halfway between Rooney and a contemporary romance
I caution at recommending this to Rooney readers because while it had echoes of her style and the deep character work of her books, you shouldn’t go on setting that at the bar. Instead, expect a novel halfway between Rooney and a contemporary romance
June 4, 2026
At first I thought I was going to love this book through to the end, but as time went on it felt more disjointed and unclear. I understand that Robin’s chapters felt disjointed due to how he ended up (trying not to give too much away!!) but the rest didn’t need to be so choppy. Had to reread a lot of the sentences from around 2/3 of the way in as some of the side characters were blurring together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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