I'm blown away by this novel! I can't believe this a debut. Coco Mellors is a beautiful storyteller. I was hooked from the first chapter. Normally I don't gravitate to love stories, but this one is different. This is about a toxic relationship between Frank and Cleo. There's 20-year age gap, Frank is an American, and Cleo is British. They meet during New Year's Eve and fall for each other very quickly. They marry 6 months later, and the relationship is pretty much doomed from the beginning. This novel deals with some heavy topics such as: alcoholism, depression, self-harm, traumatic childhoods, infidelity, race, gender, class, and drug dependency.

I've read a lot of of novels surrounding mental illness, and I must say this one does an accurate job. We also get to read other point-of-views besides of Cleo and Frank. Each character storylines came full circle at the end. This book is dark but gorgeously told. The ending is somber but satisfying. I felt deeply connected to Frank and Cleo. Their unhealthy relationship - the good, the bad, and the ugly felt very realistic and relatable. There's nothing I didn't like about this book. The dialogue was fantastic! I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. Absolutely stunning. The cover art is stunning as well.

Thank you, Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the digital ARC.