If you're having the kind of day/week where you just want to switch off from everything for a few hours, The Split is the book for you. It's a gentle read, about (surprise surprise) a break-up, and how sometimes we'll cling desperately to what's familiar, without considering what we actually need and want.

Ultimately, most of the characters who appear on page are kind and likeable, whilst remaining human. Each has their own little flaws, and I think that's what made it super readable, because you could relate to pretty much everyone in some ways. Ally could be annoying and selfish, just as easily as she could make you laugh and cheer her on through her ups and downs.

Obviously Malcolm totally steals the show, with his complete indifference to life, the universe and everything. My only criticism is that there should have been more Malcolm!! If you are looking to escape to the pages of a book for a few hours, and forget your own problems by walking in someone else's shoes, I definitely recommend The Split.

The Split was a lighthearted read that lifted my spirits through lock down, despite initially centring around a break up. I found this to be a wonderful read that more aligned with the New Adult genre than romance, reminding me of the value of old friends while in my twenties. I would recommend this book!

This is a very funny and warm book to read at any time, but reading it in ‘Lockdown’ really lifted my spirits. The main characters are a treat, emotionally messy and a bit immature but I loved them. Their families, friends and the cat just add to the whole thing, and I would happily buy this book for my friends I enjoyed it so much

The Split by Laura Kay. Pub Date 18 March 2021
After losing her job and being dumped by her girlfriend of seven years, Ally leaves London to seek comfort from her Dad by returning to the Sheffield family home. With her, she takes her ex-girlfriend's cat in the hope that Emily would come to rescue it.
Heartbroken and unsure what to do, she meets up with Jeremy, her childhood friend, who also deals with heartache after his boyfriend left him. By getting new jobs and new hobbies, including running the Sheffield half marathon, their friendship helps them recover from their breakups, see things from a unique viewpoint, and maybe find new love?
A story of relationships, love, family and friendship. Realistic and funny. A feel-good, easy read. A promising debut novel that I am happy to recommend.

🌿BOOK REVIEW🌿

The Split by Laura Kay

After being dumped by her girlfriend, Ally leaves London for her childhood home to find comfort from her Dad. In the hope that it makes her ex-girlfriend come visit her she takes Emily’s prized possession, her cat.

Ally reconnects with Jeremy, her childhood friend, who is also dealing with heartache after his boyfriend broke up with him. They come up with a master plan to get their exes back- they will run a half marathon together. However there is just one small problem... neither of them are athletic in the slightest so they seek out some moral support in Jo who runs the local running club.

This was such a lovely easy read for me and I absolutely loved that it was a sapphic romance without falling into the typical lesbian stereotypes! I really liked the characters in this story, however at points I did just want a bit more development.

Although this book comes under the romance genre I wouldn’t let that put you off. I’m reality I think this is a fantastic book about what life is like in your 20’s!

This is a great, light read if that’s what you’re looking for🍓🍓

Funny and sarcastic, full of love and friendship, the Split is the book you’ll need on a grey day, believe me. The story is about Ally, she goes to stay with her dad in Sheffield after her girlfriend Emily broke up with her, so she decides that she will take Emily’s cat… Because this is the only way Ally thinks that her ex will talk to her again. But, in Sheffield Ally will reconnect with Jeremy, an old friend who will convince her to make a marathon together to make their exes a little bit jealous. Their friendship will help them to recover from their breakups and see things in a new perspective; and maybe find some new love?
This is a sweet and emotive story, easy to fall in love with the characters and understand Ally’s bitterness. Because in a relationship there are a lot of things that can go wrong, is not something linear and both parts of the couple have their guilt for the break up.
I had some good laughs during this read and I loved that the story is full of LGBT characters, it’s time that we can find good books with all type of characters! Ready for “The Split”?

What a great debut novel and such an enjoyable and funny read. Ally has lost her job and then been unceremoniously dumped by her girlfriend. In an attempt to re-group and build her life back up she moves to live with her dad in her old family home. Completely heartbroken and unsure what to do she re-kindles her friendship with her childhood friend Jeremy, over tea and copious amounts of cake. Jeremy is going through a similar ordeal and in a moment of madness they decide to sign up for a half marathon to shake themselves out of their slump.

The book is not a typical romance as such, but more about the exploration of relationships and in fact the story mainly centres around Jeremy and Ally’s friendship. They have strong and supportive bond and perfectly compliment each other. I enjoyed their banter and some of their drunken text messages made me laugh out loud. As did the over-the-top and crazy emails Ally sent to Emily, her ex.

The side characters are wonderful too and Malcolm, the cat, completely stole my heart, he’s such a grumpy old loveable kitty and played a starring role having initially been ‘kidnapped’ in an attempt to gain Emily’s attention. Ally’s dad is a wonderful sympathetic character, he’s extremely supportive but not afraid to say what he thinks. He was certainly not happy about Ally moping around the house and with some encouragement soon put her back on the right track. My favourite character, however, is definitely Jeremy, he’s so sweet, caring and funny, I adored him.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves contemporary fiction with a sprinkling of romance and comedy. It is full of likeable characters and lots of fun food references, particularly cake! The pacing is good and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the half marathon training, I could really relate to this having run quite a few myself in the past. A lovely story which is light and quick to read and guaranteed tol have you smiling and laughing. I will definitely be reaching for this author’s work again and I am intrigued to see what she will come up with next.

Thank you to the publisher, via Netgalley, for my advanced copy.

The Split is a really cute story about love, friendship and finding the good things that can come out of a bad situation.

Ally and Emily live on a houseboat in London and have been in a relationship for seven years. But after drifting apart Emily splits up with Ally and wants her to move out. So Ally does the only thing she can think of, heads to her Dad's house in Sheffield and takes the pet cat Malcolm with her.

In amusing emails back and forth between the pair, we find out it's kind of a catnapping, as Ally is hopeful Emily will drop everything to come and rescue Malcolm and in the process have to talk to her again and fall back in love. But things don't exactly go to plan.

Back at home Ally gets in touch with Jeremy, an old friend who is also moping about at his parents after a break up. What follows in the coming months is a brilliant, honest friendship and pushing each other out of their comfort zones by getting new jobs and new hobbies, including running the Sheffield half marathon.

It really was the friendship's in this book that sold it to me rather than the romance angle. Ally and Jeremy are the perfect pair. And this was a really sweet, enjoyable book.

When we first meet Ally, her girlfriend has just dumped her. She’s heartbroken and has lost all sense of self. She moves back home to live with her dad, who definitely deserves a shout out as he is the biggest sweetheart. Whilst at home, she reconnects with an old friend who is going through something similar. Together, they do what friends do and help each other through the mess and to the other side.

I really enjoyed this book. It felt comforting just like a warm cup of tea on a cold day. Laura Kay has written a real albeit frustrating character in Ally but I think it’s ok to recognise her shortfalls as this is what makes her feel authentic. The sections of dialogue between her and Jeremy were some of my favourite parts to read as they reminded me of my friendships and made me long for a night out with my girls.

If you want to read a book about healing, self discovery, growth and friendship all wrapped up in a light, humorous way, you’ll want to read this one.

If you need an uplifting book, look no further that this. It’s is hilarious and all the characters are just so lovable. It is the feel good comfort blanket book we all need in these desperate dark times. A must read. One to curl up with on a Friday evening with a glass of wine or a lazy Sunday with a cuppa and some chocolate.

So most of us at some point will have the experience of being dumped and the sequence of events that come after it. From denial, self destruction, to the “I’ll show them what they’re missing...” and the new rebound you. We’ve all been there right?

Well let me introduce you to the BEST book I’ve ever read to portray all the above!

Without a doubt this is one of the funniest, most realistic, aftermath of a break-up books I have ever read. After main character Ally is dumped by her girlfriend Emily (for Sarah without a H), she boards a train to her hometown Sheffield with a bruised ego and Malcolm the cat. Here she reconnects with her Dad and an old friend Jeremy, who is also broken hearted and on a quest to make his ex notice him.

This is the first book I have read in this genre and it was refreshing, wise and shows that whatever sexuality you identify with, when love breaks down it hurts!

I really loved this book and seeing how Ally developed as a character. I was routing for Ally from the start as she navigated singledom and embarked on what she really wanted from life. I must mention there is a lot of reference to baking and cake so you may want to stock up on some sweet treats!

The relationships she builds are also so realistic. I loved the friendship between her and Jeremy, how they both propped each other up was just lovely. Also showing that for true besties, it doesn’t matter about the time apart. I also enjoyed the bonded between Ally and her dad Graham it was heart warming to see the little steps he was taking to help Ally rebuild herself - the way only a parent can sometimes.

Will Ally get over ex Emily and find new love? You’ll have to pick up a copy to find out!

Special mention to the titled chapters! I’m a nerd that lives for that over a number!

A fun, realistic romcom that kept my attention throughout!

4/5

I was disappointed with this book, the characters didn’t really have any depth and the story didn’t really go anywhere, there were bits of it that I still don’t know why it happened, usually if a character goes to an event something happens or they meet someone, not in this book it just happens! I feel there are gaps that need filling and padding that needs removing ...... it has a very abrupt ending

An enjoyable read and some of the characters were wonderful, the cat Malcolm and Graham, Ally’s dad. I was just a touch disappointed with the main characters who didn’t seem too believable, adults in their late twenties but acting more like teenage kids.

I thought this was a heart-warming and funny read. It isn’t ambitious in scope, it’s a small contained story of love, family and friendship. The friendship being an absolute highlight of the novel as well as the relationship between Ally and her father. It made me laugh and I thought it depicted heartache very well. I also very much enjoyed the early running scenes - relatable if you’re someone who doesn’t do much exercise! A lovely escapist read - perfect for right now.

Thanks Net Galley for allowing me to read this pre-publish day for my review. Alison has split from her girlfriend, left her job, moved back home to Sheffield and to top all that stolen her ex’s Cat Malcolm.

She is back in touch with her childhood friend Jeremy who is also recovering from a break up.

They decide that they could get their ex’s back by doing a Marathon! Not that Ally can run but grudgingly agrees!

I’m afraid this just wasn’t my cup of tea and didn’t end up finishing the book.

I couldn’t connect with Ally at all. The fact that this is also a decent sized book I decided to not complete it.

Well if you haven’t heard of this book THEN READ THE BLURB AND GO AND GET IT NOW.

This book was one of my favourite reads of February. It had the right amount of humour, seriousness and Cake that made the book just right. It was like reading whilst receiving a warm hug so it is no surprise that I read this book in one sitting. Laura Kay brought something fresh to a contemporary read. Oh and did I mention that the main character is Sapphic? Well now you know and that should be even more of a reason for you to go and read this book.

The book follows Ally, she has just been dumped by her girlfriend who she feels she was in love with, the kicker is the girlfriend has decided that she can’t be with Ally but moved on with Sara, no H. We follow Ally on her journey of self-discovery along with her friend Jeremy. There are ups and downs BUT there is hope and of course a bit of cake or two. It also made me laugh that Ally stole Emily (the ex-girlfriend) Cat – Malcolm and took him with her when she left all the way up to Sheffield.

You see Ally return home to her childhood home where she moves in with her dad. He is supportive of Ally and doesn’t push her. You can see that Ally is suffering with her Mental Health when she first arrives back with her dad. She is low after the break-up of her relationship and lost all motivation. He doesn’t push too hard but encourages when he can. The best thing he did was get Ally back in contact with her childhood friend Jeremy. The two together are a scream and they support one another as well as push each other out of their comfort zones.

Ally was a great character, I felt that she definitely grew as a character and that I was cheering her on from my end! Her friend Jeremy also brings that little bit of brightness to the book and made me smile whenever they were together. They were serious moments between the two however there was light-heartedness as well, they were each others cheerleaders and you could tell that the friendship between the two was for life.

Lets talk characters – all characters in this book (apart from Dad and Jeremy’s mum) are LGTBQ+. I loved that about this book and I think I enjoyed it more because of this. I admit I don’t read many books with Sapphic characters but I will definitely be searching out more.

I found it clever as well that you got to see a bit of Emily the ex-partner. This was through the emails between Ally and Emily. I found these amusing especially on Ally’s part however you could also see the hurt that she felt towards the break up. I found Emily mean, is that the word I’m looking for? She was quite hurtful towards Ally, I found that I didn’t like her, she went about things the wrong way and when Ally started to move on and be happy she came back and messed it up. AND YES I KNOW ALLY IS ALSO AT FAULT. Sorry that did deserve capitol letters, I am not saying Ally was not at fault as she was but that made me like her more. She was portrayed as human and we all make mistakes.

The end of the book was what I was hoping for in this book. Ally and Jeremy did the the run they planned, and didn’t really train for. They both grew as characters and did jobs and hobbies that made them happy. They became better people as they found themselves and found happiness through their own growth.

This is a nice read, it's nothing wow but it's a nice feel good story about recovery after the heartbreak of a split. Ally has split up from her girlfriend Emily so she's taken the cat, Malcolm, and moved back to her dads house in Sheffield. She rekindles her friendship with her school friend Jeremy, who is also nursing a broken heart.

I loved the friendship between Ally and Jeremy and there were a few laugh out loud moments at their banter.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for the ARC

When I was offered an advance review copy of this by the publishers, I said ‘yes please’. Whilst I read a lot – I don’t think I’ve ever read a chick lit style book (I know it’s not the most complementary of descriptions – but you’ll know what I mean if I write that) where the main characters are gay. I have to say it wasn’t an important part of the book – the relationship woes were exactly the same as any book in this genre. Here’s the blurb:

“A brilliant, heart-warming and intensely funny story of love, heartache, friendship and family. Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes and Beth O’Leary.
Brutally dumped by her girlfriend, Ally is homeless, friendless and jobless… but at least she has Malcolm. Wounded and betrayed, Ally has made off with the one thing she thinks might soothe the pain: Emily’s cat.
After a long train journey she arrives home to her dad in Sheffield, ready to fold herself up in her duvet and remain on the sofa for the foreseeable. Her dad has other ideas. A phone call later, and Ally is reunited with her first ever beard and friend of old, Jeremy. He too is broken-hearted and living at home again.
In an inspired effort to hold each other up, the pair decide to sign up for the local half marathon in a bid to impress their exes with their commitment and athleticism.
Given neither of them can run, they enlist the support of athletic, not to mention beautiful, Jo. But will she have them running for the hills… or will their ridiculous plan pay off…?”

Whilst the book starts with the breakdown of Ally’s long term relationship with her girlfriend Emily, the real story of the book is Ally finding herself again. She’s clearly lost herself in Emily’s shadow over the years – not really thinking for herself at all – but over the course of the book finds herself again. This is with her relationship with her Dad, her old friend from school Jeremy, Jo who runs the local running group, and the women that own the local bakery. Each relationship brings something else to the table and all are really well written.

I loved Ally and Jeremy’s friendship – and how it developed over the book from initially feeling a bit wary and forced back together by their parents – to actually being inseparable BFFs!

Sheffield itself plays a starring role in the story. Having visited the city for the first time last year to visit my cousin, I hadn’t realised it was so hilly (built on seven hills, just like Rome – which I can imagine is a bit like when locals to me say ‘Birmingham, do you know we have more canals than Venice?’) Walking from my cousin’s flat into town for dinner was exhausting – so running round there must be horrific – and so I could really imagine how Ally and Jeremy struggled!

Ally’s relationship with her Dad was also lovely – and evolved during the book. He was a typical old school Dad and found it hard to help Ally – but you knew he had her back 100%.

Overall this was a lovely, easy read and I really enjoyed it.

i absolutely adored this book.

a lesbian romance based storyline, where refreshingly the focus was not obsessively about her sexuality, but simply on navigating the "what next" when your long term relationship blurs in an instant.

as a queer woman, i was thrilled to read a book that normalised queer relationships and spoke of them no differently than anyone would a straight relationship.

5* without a doubt!

I found this book an easy chilled read. The story line was easy to follow which was just what I needed at the moment!

I loved Ally in this book, the way that her relationships changed and developed throughout the book. I did grow to hate Emily as I read the book which to me shows great writing skill, embroiling you with the characters! I enjoyed the rekindling of Ally’s friendship with Jeremy and how they helped each other along their heartbreak.

I also enjoyed the running aspe Cx of this book although I was gutted at the end I would have loved to have read they had continued this!

Part of the book had typos with certain parts of se t’ancra missing which was a little annoying and left me wondering what I’d missed!!

On all a 3 star book. Anyone who likes a romance read will enjoy!

With thanks to Net Galley and Quercus Books for allowing me to read an eARC of The Split for an honest review.


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Brutally dumped by her girlfriend, Ally is homeless, friendless and jobless... but at least she has Malcolm. Wounded and betrayed, Ally has made off with the one thing she thinks might soothe the pain: Emily's cat.

After a long train journey she arrives home to her dad in Sheffield, ready to fold herself up in her duvet and remain on the sofa for the foreseeable. Her dad has other ideas. A phone call later, and Ally is reunited with her first ever beard and friend of old, Jeremy. He too is broken-hearted and living at home again.

In an inspired effort to hold each other up, the pair decide to sign up for the local half marathon in a bid to impress their exes with their commitment and athleticism.

Given neither of them can run, they enlist the support of athletic, not to mention beautiful, Jo. But will she have them running for the hills... or will their ridiculous plan pay off...?