Chapters: Sometimes you have to go back before you can move forward

by Rebecca Russell

431 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 16, 2026

About the author

I have been writing scripts and poetry for many years. I am an award winning published poet and playwright and my work is regularly performed all over the world by professional and amateur groups.

Chapters is my first novel and is based on one of my scripts. I had the framework in place and the action and dialogue but I was missing a lot of extra words! It was a revelation and a joy to bring it to life for a book.

I write warm and witty combinations of words, often with a darker theme running through and I love to make readers and audiences laugh and cry.

Born in Birmingham and now living in Devon via Hertfordshire. I live with my husband, our third child who is just about to fly the nest and a dog who thinks he is a human and a cat who thinks he is a dog.

Isn't life wonderful?

Reviews

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully engaging book meant to last my summer holiday, but I couldn’t put it down! This genuine and heartwarming story of a woman navigating crossroads between past and future really touched me. Avoiding easy answers or quick fixes, it was a privilege to accompany Eve on her authentic and hard won journey to happiness. Highly impressive debut novel from a very talented and experienced writer. Can’t wait for the next one

[Lucy Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put this book down. Loved the relationships between Eve and the rest of the characters. Audibly gasped at one of the plot twists towards the end. There are no cliche story lines and no “mid-book-lull”. Would highly recommend this for a feel good read and look forward to reading more of Rebecca’s work

[Chloe Farthing · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author says she wrote this based on one of her screenplays and this explains the quality of the dialogue in this book. Well-observed, natural and with superb comic timing.
The story follows barrister Eve as she goes through the worst day of her life and, with her world falling apart at the seams, goes back home to a sleepy Devonshire seaside town to hide from the world and lick her wounds.
Her estranged father is missing at sea and he has left her all his worldly goods. The only things Eve wants from her childhood home though are her dead mother’s belongings. However, her father’s will states that she can’t have anything until she has run the family bookshop ‘Chapters’ for a year. And that is the premise of this unputdownable book. As Eve comes to grip with her new situation, we meet a wonderful and eccentric cast of locals who, together with the bookshop itself - it is in fact one of the main characters - strive to change Eve’s mind about selling up and going back to London, her cheating partner and stressful career. This book has it all. Like Marian Keyes and Joni Moyes, Rebecca Russell also deals with a serious subject at the centre of the story and does so with sensitivity and empathy. But the humour is sharp and witty and made me laugh out loud at times. I want to meet Mary and Lukas and Winston and Lara and I want to move to Littletown - the fictional setting for the story. But most of all, I want to know what happens to them all and I’m praying that the author is writing the sequel as I type!!!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic unputdownable book , I thought this would a light read for my holiday but once I started I really engaged with the characters . Rebecca says the book started as a script idea for a screenplay and it shows in the superb dialogue between the characters. I won't go in to the whole story as no one needs plot spoilers , suffice to say the twists and turns kept the story going and unpredictable.

Eve, a London Barrister with high expectations of herself and a determination not to live the life she thinks her parents had set out for her, returns to her childhood home after her father goes missing, presumed dead. Her longterm boyfriend Julian, a smarmy controlling lawyer who turns on the charm when it suits, is not impressed. In the sleepy Devon seaside town, running the family bookshop she doesn't want, Eve discovers a community who help her reflect on her current life and confront her past . As someone tells her no one sees events the same as someone else we all have our own versions of the past.
This is a book that you will laugh out loud at, weep at and reflect on the themes. One to be recommended to all book groups .I loved it and will look out for more of Rebecca's writing .

[B. Fleetwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read with some great dialogue and comic moments.
Things I loved:
- The setting of the book shop in LittleTown - with wonderful literary references - and the eclectic cast of staff and customers.
- Lukas- what a gentle lovable character with some brilliant lines.
- Julian - utterly dislikable and nicely portrayed
Things I was not so sure about:
- Sarah’s character and backstory. The premise that a highly successful barrister would blank her father for thirteen years following her mother’s death and run from challenge didn’t sit right for me. Her indecisiveness also appeared at odds with many of her actions. Maybe it’s just the way I read it but I didn’t feel she was as fleshed out as much as she could have been? She did however have some great comic sayings
- I was sorry the romance with Lukas didn’t ever really fire up as I had looked forward to this
- The denouement left me a little dissapointed.
That said, this debut novel is an heartwarming holiday read.

[Sue Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eve inherites a bookshop called Chapters and her childhood home in a little west country village. Her father has gone missing presumed dead, she hasn't spoken to him for years and blamed him when her mum died. There is a clause in the will that stipulates she must run the shop for a year in order to inherit, but Eve is a barrister and her life is in London a long way from the shop and she doesn't want to give up her hard earned life. Then she finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her so decision made she leaves London. This ia a story about grief, control and many decisions that Eve needs to make. What will Eve do and is she strong enough to cope? Loved this book and highly recommend it, I laughed out loud in places too. Can't wait for the authors next book.

[Julie Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book. You care about Eve, the central character (and sometimes shout at her in your head!) and the quirky but believable supportimg characters.
A real page-turner, keeping you engrossed through all the twists and turns of a plot that is clear and believable. Lovely writing, with evocative descriptions of place and emotion. Rebecca Russel has a great ear for dialogue and is at times laugh-out-loud funny.
The humour is a great foil for the difficult topics dealt with: love (familial, romantic and of friends), loss, forgiveness and moving on.
Fun but serious, I highly recommend this book.

[Estelle Howes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. From the preamble, I thought it was going to be one of those predictable stories where the heartbroken girl goes home, doesn't really want to be there, but everything turns out just fine. And yes, it ticked a lot of those cliché boxes. But two things really made it stand out.

First, there were a few unexpected plot twists that I genuinely didn't see coming. Second, and most importantly, the characters. More than once I actually laughed out loud at some of the lines, and I found myself completely invested in all of them.

This book is superb, I read it in about 5 days. I really look forward to more from this author.

[Tina Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the characters, which are clearly drawn, each with a distinct and individual voice in the dialogue. The author’s experience as a writer of plays and screenplays shines through, and for me, it’s always the sign of a good book when I miss the characters after I’ve finished reading the final chapter.
The plot and narrative kept me reading, wanting to know how things evolved and resolved, and I found the descriptions of locations, events and people evocative, as if I were seeing them through Eve’s eyes.
As others have already said, this is a great holiday read, and I look forward to Rebecca’s next novel.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this first novel by Rebecca Russell; it was funny, uplifting and heart-warming. The writing is humorous, highly entertaining and at times beautifully descriptive. I really wanted to find out what would happen to the main character Eve and what choices she would make - whether she would go back to the dastardly Julian or get together with the mysterious German Lukas - and whether she would stay in small town Devon to run the bookshop or return to the bright lights of London. All in all totally absorbing and a fun and enjoyable read!

[CJ Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved this book and i honestly thought it might not be for me or that it would be a bit similar to other books. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the often similar life falls apart so head home/ somewhere else scenario, there were unexpected twists and secrets that keep you hooked. What I really enjoyed as much the storyline was the style of writing. The development of the characters, the description of places, the poetic narrative in parts, the emotions, all incredibly well done. I hope to read more from this author. I received this book to read as an honest review.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and loved that it was a debut novel. I will definitely be looking out for more books by Rebecca Russell.

Eve was a barrister in London and lived with her partner Julian until he tore her world apart. At the same time Eve was contacted by her father’s solicitor.

Eve goes back to her home town and to her childhood home and the family business of Chapters the bookshop. I loved all of the characters and how they interacted with Eve.

A fab read and one I would definitely recommend.

[Jane Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Rebecca’s first book. The story is relatively straightforward with a start a middle and an end but plenty of surprises along the way. The sort of book you can pick up and lose yourself in for a few hours or put down and pick up a few days later without losing track of the plot. I found the descriptions of people and places particularly evocative. And I was disappointed to get to the “end” as I was so invested in the characters. Luckily the epilogue picked up the loose ends.

[Lwalalba · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a first novel....

This was such a great read. I loved the whole concept, characters, journey and although you knew where it would end up it didn't detract at all. This was in measures funny, heart warming, heart wrenching and thoughtful. I loved it and look forward to reading more from this author.

[Angie Petty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy to read book. A little bit repetitive and you know exactly what is going to happen you just don’t know how or when. Got a bit fed up at the halfway point but then it picked up again. Very likeable characters and you want a good ending for them all. A good beach read or a wet day sat by the fire.

[Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a gentle, satisfying story. In some ways predictable, but that adds to its charm - a good holiday read.
Sure, there were some aspects that didn't quite work for me - the raffle for instance - but I loved the bookshop and the characters within it (although it took me a while to get used to the fact that Winston was the human and Dave the dog!).
Definitely worth the read.

[Clive · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly good, can't put it down, first novel from Rebecca Russell.
A story about the closeness between love and loathing, and a story of love overcoming hatred and grief.
The characters are are memorable, with much humour in the storytelling, as well as the serious content of the plot.