Hooray for a sapphic romcom!

When I was first starting this book, I expected a typical romance but it is so much more.

Ally lives with girlfriend Emily on her houseboat in London. When Emily breaks up with Ally and tells her that she is now seeing Sara from work, Ally feels like she has no choice but to move back in with her dad in Sheffield, taking cat Malcolm along too.

She is desperate to get Emily back and after rekindling her friendship with childhood friend Jeremy, they decide to give themselves a purpose. Jeremy is reeling after a heartbreak too and when he discovers ex-boyfriend Ben is running the half marathon, they decide to give it a go too. How hard can it be?

I really enjoyed this book. It is less about trying to get your ex-partner back and more about finding yourself outside of a relationship. It is obvious that Ally lost herself during her relationship with Emily and it seems like she was quite dependent on her. It was lovely to read about her being her own person and doing things for herself.

I absolutely love the characters of Ally and Jeremy and I wish I could be their friend! This book really made me laugh out loud at places and it is quite relatable in parts too.

The Split, Laura Kay

Brutally dumped by her girlfriend, Ally is homeless, friendless and jobless with just Malcolm the cat for company.

Heartwarming & full of humour this was a nice easy read.
I liked the character description & it made you feel like you wanted to know what happened, some of it was a bit obvious but it was a cute read that left me smiling.

@whatkelreads

I really enjoyed Spilt and did not want it to end . I love the characters Ally and Jeremy they both were going through breakup and it’s lovely they where there for each other through it and became best friends. I am really glad what happened at the end . I wanted things to work out for Ally and to bump into Jo again. This is heartwarming and funny book. I totally recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley and Laura Kay. I will develop reading her books again.

That's Netgalley and the Publisher. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, really liked the characters and it had a great storyline. Would recommend

This book was good. It was an easy read and it was quick one to finish.

I wasnt a huge fan of the main character Ally, I just found her too desperate but it didnt put me off the book.

The relationship between Ally and Jeremy is brilliant, cute, fun and really well developed.

I'm pleased to have come across Laura's work and look forward to reading more.
⭐⭐⭐.5

How do you fix a broken heart? Well if you’re The Split’s main character Ally you kidnap your now ex girlfriend’s cat Malcolm and retreat back to your childhood home, which in this case is Sheffield, into the welcoming and loving arms of your dad. Leaving London and her life with Emily behind, jobless and with a heavy aching heart, Ally, like a wounded animal enters a self imposed hibernation, a period in which to lick her wounds and simply wallow in her misery eating as much cake as she can possibly stomach. And it’s a lot! That is until her dad suggests meeting up with childhood friend Jeremy, someone in a very similar position to Ally and so these two find themselves thrown into each other’s company nursing their broken hearts, comfort eating Ally’s delicious creations and drowning their sorrows with plenty of alcohol. Perfectly normal ways to deal with the indignity of being dumped!

The Split is a contemporary romcom that is refreshingly different from the norm, featuring a lesbian couple and a gay best friend. However labels matter not one iota when it comes to affairs of the heart. Lesbian, gay, bi or straight being dumped isn’t nice. It hurts! Ally could be any one of us who’ve taken rejection to heart, caught up in a maelstrom of emotions, mourning the loss of a relationship she didn’t want to end. In a way the sudden collapse of Ally and Emily’s relationship is a bit like an unexpected bereavement, the range of emotions that Ally experiences from anger to denial through to acceptance is so relatable which is why I found this storyline to be a realistic portrayal of a break up. It’s so easy to identify with this character and feel her pain although there are times when she becomes quite frustrating but as someone who wears their heart on their sleeve I recognised parts of myself in Ally.

Although this is a novel I enjoyed immensely from start to finish there are two aspects of this storyline that I appreciated the most. One is the blossoming friendship between the equally lovelorn Jeremy and secondly the running element, the rather off the cuff bonkers decision of Jeremy’s to participate in the local half marathon dragging Ally with him! Laughter is the best medicine and in this case the comedy element arises from Ally’s over the top, slightly ridiculous emails to Emily and her juvenile teenage like behaviour at attempting to make her ex jealous. But really it is Jeremy’s decision that they both run the local half marathon that had me in hysterics. Whilst pushed together as youngsters due to their parents friendship it’s only now they are realising how much they have in common. Kindred spirits they are indeed, with Jeremy also living back home with his mum and sister, stalking his ex boyfriend Ben on social media. Both are wallowing in their unwanted singledom but at least they’re not wallowing alone! I loved how they find comfort and solidarity in each other’s problems, always on hand to dispense (dubious) advice and champion their efforts to move beyond their heartache. Their new found hobby may just lift them out of the doldrums and give them something to focus on other than their failed relationships. Sore feet, aching calves and burning lungs are inevitable but this running lark might just open up possibilities for love as well as proving to themselves and their exes that they are capable of anything they set their minds to. As a long distance runner for many years until a persistent injury forced me to hang up my trainers for good, I could sympathise with Jeremy and Ally’s valiant attempt to transform themselves from couch potatoes to medal winning runners. Hills were often my nemesis too!

This is a novel driven by its characters, all of whom in their own ways bring warmth, friendship, support and love into Ally’s life. From the couple who own local bakery Bread and Butter to Ally’s very patient and understanding dad to Jo, leader of the running group and potential love interest, I liked them all, apart from Emily! An observation made by author Elizabeth Haynes recently during an online book talk about the relationship readers have with fictional characters springs to mind when writing this review. If you can imagine these characters before and after the short time you spend in their company then it makes them all the more believable and I could definitely envisage Ally with Emily, aboard their houseboat, in love with the idea of being in love and unfairly placing her upon a pedestal. Yet I could also imagine a future in which this period in Ally’s life is just part of the bigger picture,a temporary blip in the road to future happiness.

I call this a ‘copious amounts of tea and favourite biscuits’ type read, one in which you want to simply luxuriate in all the lighthearted hilarity it has to offer. Ultimately it is comforting, uplifting, full of laugh out loud moments, irresistibly warm characters and wonderful friendships. The inclusion of a much loved pet which in this scenario is the kidnapped Malcolm rounds the picture off perfectly. The charm of this novel lies in the abundance of warmth, wit and wisdom that accompanies both Ally and Jeremy as they cross the finishing line towards brighter, happier and more hopeful futures safe in the knowledge that broken hearts can be mended! This is a novel begging to picked off the bookshelf; it has READ ME written all over it. For a slice of heartwarming escapism you can’t go wrong and it might even have you reaching for your trainers!!! My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

Ally's relationship is over, and she's taking the cat' drew me in from the start.

I really like that the story is about someone coming to terms with the ending of a relationship. You go through all the stages with Ally and I was really routing for her.

The running element was a surprise edition and something I really enjoyed. The author captures the feelings of first time runners perfectly. That feeling of 'I am going to die, oh no I am an athlete, yeah ok I will die' had me laughing along and somewhat inspired. It's also very true to life that you make crazy decisions following a breakup (like signing up for a half marathon!)

By the end I didn't know if I wanted to dig out my running shoes or go buy doughnuts!

This was a really enjoyable read and anyone who has been through a breakup can relate!

i honestly thought this was going to be completely focused on ally and emily’s relationship but i’m so glad it wasn’t. it was so much more than their relationship; it was about ally going through a break-up, figuring out her feelings and what she wants to do. i absolutely loved it, it felt so much more realistic than other lgbt books i’ve read. i liked that it ends with an air of mystery without feeling like the story is cut short without an explanation.

thank you to netgalley and quercus books for the advanced copy.

Dumped by their partner out of the blue, jobless Ally returns to her childhood home with Malcolm to lick her wounds and decide what to do with her future. Unable to accept her relationship is over, she begins to assess her options and work out a plan to get it back on track. Surely her former partner is missing Malcolm? Jobless and sad, Ally is happy to sit at home waiting to be asked to return to the life she loved; e mails bounce back and forth, but it’s clear Sarah (with an H) has replaced her. Requests to bring Malcolm back fall on deaf ears. Ally needs him with her, he’s their only connection she has left.
Ally’s dad, fed up of her wallowing, reunites her with Jeremy who is also broken hearted following the collapse of his relationship so they commiserate together. Neither of them particularly athletic, they decide to enter the local half marathon to impress their former partners, but when Ally’s personal trainer shows a little more than professional interest in her, things begin to get complicated! Will the plan to reunite the former lovers work? Will they be able to run a half marathon? Who will end up with custody of Malcolm? A refreshing look at a break up, The Spilt is not your usual girl meets boy, girl loses boy story. A great first from Laura Kay, The Split will hopefully be the first of many.
Thank you to NetGalley for a complementary copy of The Split by Laura Kay in exchange for an honest review.

minor spoilers below

2 ½ stars

To be honest, The Split was a wee bit disappointing. Not only did the MC got on my nerves big time but most of the characters came across as very one-dimensional and the narrative's attempts at humor were puerile. On the plus side: a sapphic rom-com in which the main tension does not originate from our MC or her love interest's queerness. While the author does acknowledge the realities of growing up gay the story is not about queer suffering. Which, dare I say, was refreshing?
Sadly, the author's characters leave a lot to be desired, characterization wise. Our narrator is twenty-nine-year-old Ally who after quitting her teaching job has been in a bit of a slump. When her longtime girlfriend breaks up with her Ally leaves London, taking her now ex's cat Malcolm with her, and seeks refuge in her hometown of Sheffield. Her dad, also a teacher, is incredibly understanding and supportive of Ally but also encourages her not to spend her days' longing for her old life and ex. She reconnects with a childhood friend, Jeremy, who is also recovering from a breakup. It is Jeremy who 'ropes' Ally into taking part in a half marathon partly in the hopes of getting back to her exes partly in hopes of winning them back. Ally sends many emails to her ex, and their exchanges were painful. Ally offers idealized visions of their shared history while her ex sends emails that came off as entirely unconvincing, voice wise at least. I just didn't buy into her. Kay tries to make her seem kind of mean and logical, but, for the most part, her emails were the equivalent of an actor flatly reading some not so great lines. The story follows the usual romcom formula, which I wouldn't have minded (after all I am a fan of some of Kinsella's books), but, jaysus, Ally was unbearable. Okay, her moping and being pathetic about her ex is 'understandable'. But, I am so tired of female protagonists who are the embodiment of the Not Like Other Girls™. Other women in this book care about clothes, the way they look, their diets, but Ally hates vegetables, loves donuts, wears old knickers, is sometimes a slob, etc etc. The author's relentless attempts at making Ally into a relatable character end up making her into yet another Not Like Other Girls™ girl. Her ex and her new gf are vegans, they fake-care about the planet, they exercise. Ally likes take-outs and brownies and vies running as torture. Ally's attempts to force her ex to travel to Sheffield were...cringy? Creepy? The worst thing about this book is the way Ally treats Jo. Jo doesn't have a personality other than being younger than Ally, into running, and beautiful. Ally is immediately attracted to her and their relationship might have developed into a cute romance but no, I guess we can't have that, Ally decides to use Jo to make her ex jealous. She crosses many lines and by the end, the narrative excuses her behavior by saying "oh well, good people make mistakes". Except that Ally is not good. Yet, the narrative casts her ex into the role of villain, painting Ally as merely 'misguided' as opposed to manipulative and exploitative.
If you were able to enjoy this, I'm happy for you. The above review is expressing my personal thoughts towards this book and I am afraid that these were less than favorable.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book and its focus on LGBT+ and having Ally front and centre as a main character was so refreshing to read!! I felt really connected to the characters and felt I could completely relate!
It was beautifully written with a focus on loss and rebuilding that is so present in life but it was handled with such an uplifting and positive outlook.
Im going to be recommending this to everyone, it is the perfect book for the summer, especially in the uncertain world we are livijng in at the moment. !

The Split was not at all what I expected, which I’m SO glad about! It’s a modern day love story that we can all relate to, with characters that you fall in love with. My only issue is that I found the lead character Ally a little irritating & frustrating but I am pretty sure that is how she is meant to come across, after all- no one is perfect!

I really really enjoyed this book - it was really great to read a book like this with a queer focus! I also lived in Sheffield for many years and really enjoyed hearing descriptions of places I recognised - Tom's especially - always a pub closing time decision! And the parties in the big terraced houses - I miss it!

On the face of it. this could be described as typical rom-com but I think the characters make it a bit more realistic, they make bad decisions, do bad things and don't suddenly become marathon runners!

This book explores friendships, finding who you want to be and love - I really enjoyed it!

I really really enjoyed The Split by Laura Key and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for something light and beautiful..

Although the book touches on serious topics including breakups and death, it's a fantastic rom-com that made me laugh out loud. I fell in love with Malcolm and Jeremy but most of all, with the sense of purpose and self-worth the protagonist finds in the end. It's wonderful!

This was a cute little romcom that had me chuckling and awing at Ally's and Jeremy's struggles. While Ally wasn't the most likable of characters, I did understand the motivations behind her actions. Jeremy? Not so much.
I wasn't really invested in their romance but after seeing that people recommended this to readers who loved The Flatshare, I almost feel certain that that is the perfect recommendation since I couldn't really get invested in those characters, either. Which just goes to show how subjective romance can be!
Really think people are going to love this book!

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a review.

This is an easy book to read, with a fresh voice that carries you along. One of the its highest points of recommendation is how warm it is: despite the main character splitting up with her girlfriend, the book is primarily gentle and affectionate to all of its characters throughout it (including the ex-girlfriend). The main part of this book, honestly, that I enjoyed were the scenes between Ally and Jeremy, as they become friends again, start running, and compete in the half marathon. Honestly, I felt a little proud of them. Also, there are many bits where this is funny and light-hearted and some bits that felt very familiar to me: I liked that they send each other voice notes, that they're often ridiculous and dramatic, etc.

All that said...this book is not for me! It's fine. There's nothing to be like 'that is a bad book' other than I didn't really connect with it and I found it flimsy. It's a quick read, so I finished it, though. I found I wanted more than what was there, though, and while there were plenty of lighter, breezier moments I just didn't feel like there was any real depth of connection there. Other people may do, but for the most part these characters were flimsily sketched. Not so much the mains -- I understand Ally, I got Jeremy -- but the rest of them felt like they were half a character. Jo, the sort of romantic interest, is just not really a fully realised character imo. The other supporting characters don't feel vibrant to me.

genuinely this is one of those cases were again I feel a bit bad not liking it, because I think it's clearly feel good froth but it's not froth that worked for me. I guess I felt fine when I finished it, so I wouldn't tell people not to read but it's not memorable. It's a way to pass an evening.

Ally’s girlfriend Emily breaks up with her, Ally moves back home to Sheffield to stay with her dad and takes the cat, Malcolm, with her. Through Ally’s breakup, she rekindles her friendship with Jeremy, who also moved back home to Sheffield after a breakup with his boyfriend and losing his job.
Such a wholesome and pure read, really easy to follow and a big page-turner. Exactly what is needed at the moment. I couldn’t put this down. It’s incredibly honest and witty and although Ally’s decisions were somewhat questionable, she held herself accountable for her actions which made me root for her even more. I was ridiculously into this book and did not expect it to enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did.
I loved Ally and Jeremey’s relationship and they’re running journey. I felt really close to them and
The Split has a variety of characters, those combatting grief, depression, lesbian, gay and bisexual characters too.
It’s not so much a romance novel as the main relationship is the focus on Ally and Jeremy, their friendship and support of each other. But The Split is certainly very funny, I very rarely laugh out loud at books but at multiple points, I did laugh.
If you’re looking for a light and easy read that’s guaranteed to make you laugh, feel happy and have some enjoyment, then The Split will definitely provide.

Honestly this book had me in stiches throughout. I could definitely relate to their thoughts and feelings in their early attempts at running around the village. The early email exchanges between Emily and Ally post break up about the catnapping were also a highlight of this book. It was uplifting and the characters were so lovable! As with all romance books there are points where you’re like aww, this is so cute, and others when you’re like oh no you messed up there…. My favourite part of this book wasn’t even the romance part, but the friendship that Jeremy and Ally rekindled when she returned home, because together they are absolutely hilarious.

This was a super fun read, and I’d definitely recommend to lovers of The Flatshare and The Switch which I know are booksta faves!

A riveting read that captured my interest from the first page, it kept me intrigued and entertained throughout.
The characters are interesting and you really find yourself willing them on to succeed.
I loved how an old friendship has been resurrected and allows the characters an opportunity to heal and move forwards.
A fabulous book that was uplifting and fun to read!
I absolutely adored Malcom! ❤️

I loved this book, it focused on an LGBT+ main character, without their sexuality being their entire identity which was so refreshing to see!! I loved that the characters were truly developed and relatable, I think everyone who is in their 20s and struggling to know who they are should read this. It was such an important story about personal growth, friendships, relationships and not knowing what you’re doing when you feel like you should. I loved that this book acted as a reminder that sometimes everything can feel like its falling apart and that you aren’t where you feel you should be but it will work out ok in the end, which is a feeling most people can relate to at some point in their life and was such a wonderful positive reminder.

The book focused on the main character Ally, losing her girlfriend, home, job and life and feeling utterly lost. It follows her moving back home, healing a broken heart, and trying to get her life back on track. I loved that this book felt so utterly relatable and highlighted so many issues we face in life in an honest and uplifting way. The author showed how hard it can be too let go of a love, how lost we can feel when we’ve been in a relationship and how hard it can be to feel like you have nothing going for you whilst the world moves along past you.

The author beautifully showed the difficulties of love and loss, as well as the strength we have to grow, and the importance of friendship, trust, and self-belief. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels a bit lost, unsure, or worried about their existence for Ally is sure to reassure you that it will all work out, somehow.