Very late to the party review. I have thoroughly mixed feelings about this one - ranging from "I don't like/get it" to frustration and dissatisfaction. The MC isn't likeable at all and, at first, I couldn't relate to her at all. Her motives seem utterly incomprehensible. I also feel like the relationship, described as "obsessive love", is actually closer to delusional obsession and I am uncomfortable with the former description. Yet, as I read on the MC reveals significant background information about her past and I had a moment of stunned recognition, re: the self-destructive behaviour. This aspect piqued my interest but sadly it isn't really addressed - I was left feeling the MC's emotional damage still hadn't been recognised and, as such, there isn't a fully satisfying resolution to her story.

I love Louise O'Neill's work and this is no exception. So moving and eye opening. Thank you to the publisher for letting me read this book.

Unfortunately I no longer wish to review this book as the first few chapters did not reel me in. Thank you for the opportunity.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Louise O'Neill has done it again, creating yet another uncomfortable and thought-provoking read.

Sarah is in love with Matthew. And it's painfully clear to everyone but her that this isn't reciprocated. The eventual breakdown of their relationship is inevitable, and it's the consequences this has on Sarah's life that make for such uncomfortable reading - we've all had the friend that needs a reality check, and here it is played out in minute detail for us all to see,

This is a reminder to us all to value ourselves, and to make sure that our friends value themselves too.

A gripping but sometimes difficult-to-read book about a woman in her 20s who becomes obsessed with an older man who quite obviously doesn't care about her at all. We flit back and forth "before" and "after" the affair and we find out how her obsession with this horrible guy makes her horrible to everyone around her.

I liked the fact that it wasn't always easy to sympathise with the protagonist, even though she was in an abusive relationship. I thought they way she was represented was very cleverly done, and I enjoyed that the book was challenging and could make you feel uncomfortable at times.

This was a really quick read and I didn't want to put it down.

DNF @ p34.

I normally wait at least 100 pages or 25% to DNF a book but, honestly, 10% in I knew this book just wasn't for me. I didn't like the characters, nor did I care for the writing style. Unfortunate, as I really enjoyed O'Neill's 'Only Ever Yours'. Perhaps I'll enjoy her other work more!

Almost Love is such a powerful novel, it’s one of the best portrayals of how a person can lose themselves in the midst of a destructive relationship. It follows Sarah in the before when she meets Matthew, an older man, and gets into a sexual relationship with him. This is alternated with Sarah a couple of years in the future when she’s living with a different man in a committed relationship. Sarah falls for Matthew very quickly, she has feelings for him and she wants to be with him. Matthew wants something else from Sarah and she makes herself into the person he wants. He does things she doesn’t like but she can’t say no because she wants to be perfect for him even when she’s hurt by him. I found this so hard to read because I could absolutely see my younger self in her. I think a lot of women will be able to. It’s obvious he will never give her what she wants but she believes this will change. Somewhat inevitably she begins to self-destruct. The pain and hurt from this relationship is something she carries with her, it’s damaged her. She then hurts others without meaning too because her self-worth is so low. Sarah isn’t always likeable in this novel but she is relatable. This is a novel that I haven’t stopped thinking about since I read it. It was a tough read at times but it’s absolutely worth reading!

This book was an intense read.

At some times it made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but i think anyone would feel uncomfortable reading it.

However, it was also a good book at the same time.

This book is quite intense and quite an uncomfortable read. The way Louise writes the story of this obsessive, controlling relationship and the impact it has on the people involved is perfectly captured. I don't think readers will particularly like the main characters but this story is well very written. This is the first Louise O' Neill book I have read but I will definitely be reading more.

Two and a half star rating.
Sarah always seems to want what she can’t have and if she does get it, no longer wants it! So that’s pretty infuriating, so well done to the author for introducing a flawed character like that, but quite a few others in this book were unpleasant too. I thought this would be more like stalker obsession to be honest. It was OK, didn’t hate the story but didn’t love it either sadly but no doubt others will.

"Love was holding your breath until they texted you. Love was waiting for them to decide that you're good enough."

This book is about Sarah, a struggling artist and a teacher and her story of falling in love with Matthew when she was 24 years old. Matthew was 20 years older than her. He was very clear of what he wanted from the beginning, sex and nothing more. Sarah was ok with it but then she wanted more. The more became an obsession. The story switches between the past and present. It is so depressing in the sense that I can see what she is doing wrong .

I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I will be honest, this has been on my mental TBR list for some time now, but it seemed to be difficult to track down in the UK, so when I saw it on Netgalley I had to request it and I was so happy when I was approved.

“Almost Love” was originally published in hardback and has just recently been published in paperback format- this may be why it has been on Netgalley.

“Almost Love” tells the story of Sarah and her obsessive relationship with an older man, who just so happens to be the parent of on the children in her art class, and the affect this relationship has on the rest of her life.

There is a lot of “then” and “now” in this novel, the “then” chapters focus on her relationship with Matthew and how it changes her relationships with her friends and her work life.
Whereas the “now” chapters focus on Sarah’s relationship with Oisin and her still apparent addiction to Matthew.

Honestly, Sarah is not a likeable character at all, but she isn’t meant to be, she is written as flawed and selfish, and I think that is what keeps the reader interested.
There is definitely more to her than she lets people see, but ultimately she lets herself play roles that men want her to, she wants to please them (despite how this makes her feel about herself), it is very apparent throughout Sarah’s relationship with Oisin that she likes to be desired, yet the idea of marriage and settling down seems to make her push away.

During Sarah’s fling with Matthew she did lose a few friendships which she has struggled to repair in the future- in the “now” chapters we see that she had moved away from her home town and tried to change her life into something more glamorous yet there was an emptiness to her.

Matthew was clearly a very destructive character in Sarah’s life- although I don’t think he was a bad person, he himself had his own issues that he needed to deal with properly and was using Sarah as a form of distraction for a couple of hours.

It is clear to see that Sarah and her father have a strained relationship and I think this could have some impact on her relationship choices, I definitely got the impression that she didn’t believe she deserved to be loved so she would rather take what she could.

It would be nice to imagine that in the future Sarah does settle down with the right guy, but I did like that at the end she was trying to work on mending the relationship she had with her father.

This is only the 3rd novel by Louise O’Neill that I have read, but it is also the 3rd that I have loved and not wanted to put down. Louise has an incredible writing style that is just so raw and gripping you feel like you are there.

I will definitely be getting my hands on a copy of “Almost Love”.

This book was a real struggle for me to finish. I found the main character, Sarah, detestable. I don't need flawless characters but Sarah is so unlikeable that I was unable to sympathise with her and didn't care what happened to her. The object of her obsession, Matthew, is equally unlikeable lacking any charisma or charm and the supporting characters brought nothing to the story. A real disappointment.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I think a lot of modern women can relate to Sarah's experiences. Interesting read.
Thanks for the advance copy

Almost Love tells us Sarah's story, or at least part of her story. It's divided in two tangled parts: Now and Then.
In Then, we learn chapter after chapter of her relationship with Matthew, an older man and all around asshole.
In Now, we see Sarah's relationship with her new boyfriend, Oisin, crumble.

I thought I was gonna love this, I really did, but I couldn't. Everywhere, all I see is talk about how feminist this book is and I didn't see it. All I saw were toxic characters. They were extremely realistic and felt true but that wasn't enough for me. I don't need characters to be likable and that was a good thing here because none of them were... I did identify with Sarah at times but only on some of the things I cannot stand about myself. I guess what I felt most was anger, at everyone involved but not in a good way. I still can't understand what was so feminist about this book. I don't know how to feel really. I just know this was raw and honest but besides that and the anger I felt, I didn't feel much, I just couldn't care what was happening to Sarah. That's not true, at first I really did but, early on, I detached myself from her and just didn't care anymore...

I love Louise O’Neill! This book, like her others, was a big hit for me. It was gritty and honest without being too dramatic and tragic, and was incredibly thought provoking.

Every school should teach this book.

A truly gripping depiction of obsessive love- and how all consuming and dangerous to relationships new and old this can be. I was shocked to find the main character was someone I could relate to, and even like.

Almost Love, the latest from Louise O’Neill, examines an all-too-familiar trope – the attraction of the ‘bad boy’.

Twenty-four-year-old Sarah falls for Matthew, a successful property developer in his forties. Matthew has an ex-wife and a teenage son. His ‘relationship’ with Sarah is limited to hurried meetings in a nondescript Dublin hotel room. Despite their sexual relationship, there is no intimacy. Matthew insists on keeping their meetings a secret; responds sporadically to Sarah’s text messages; and shuts down Sarah’s attempts to make plans.

And Sarah does what most women have either done or witnessed in a female friend – she waits by the phone. She goes as soon as she is beckoned. She accepts being treated like trash. She begs and then apologises… It’s the familiarity of this destructive behaviour that makes Almost Love compelling reading.

Did all women take half-truths and implied promises and side glances and smiles and weave them together to create a narrative, the way she had done?

The death of Sarah’s mother when she was a child; her failed dreams of becoming an artist; and the description of a post-Matthew relationship, provide additional elements to the story, however, it is the flawed character of Sarah, who gives the story depth. She is unlikeable and thoughtless. She is self-centered, lacks empathy, and is a terrible friend.

Sarah’s unkindness to others is an interesting distraction from Matthew’s unkindness to her. Although the fact is that Matthew is a turd, the reader could stray into ‘she deserves what she gets’ territory, and this highlights the very point of the book – that there are gendered inequalities in relationships. Women are expected to be ‘nice’ and accommodating. Neediness and dramatics are not desirable.

In Sarah we see someone who believes that her ‘effort’ is an indicator of love. She falsely interprets the rollercoaster of emotions that she feels for Matthew as an expression of the depth of her love. It’s a slippery slope, constantly reaching out in the hope that someone will ‘love you back’, and allowing yourself to believe that the object of your affection will ‘change’ given the right circumstances.

I must mean something to him, I told myself. And he must mean something to me, if I allow him to treat me this way. He just needs time.

O’Neill quotes Maya Angelou – ‘…when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time’. It’s true, however, another Angelou gem came to my mind as relevant – ‘Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.’

Almost Love is a quick and thought-provoking read. Although the dialogue and some of the relationships described in the novel lacked the emotional complexity of O’Neill’s previous work, there are strong and interesting themes, particularly around how one relationship impacts those that follow.

3/5 Great book group fodder.

I received my copy of Almost Love from the publisher, Quercus Books, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley and quercas for the arc of Almost Love in exchange for a review and feedback.
This is a bit different to the type of books I read so took me a little while to get into it. I need to remind myself that not all characters in a book are likeable, and therefore the author has done a good job in creating a character. I think a of women will identify wlot ith Sarah at the same time though.
The book flips between then and now, I preferred the "then" section more, I felt we learned more about Sarah in the past. This book does make you think about how the past influences the present.