Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC. I also chose it for my BOTM!

Before diving into the content, I want to get this one gripe out of the way. I know it’s a stylistic choice, but I hated the use of italics in this book. It was difficult to discern what thoughts were running through Adelaide’s head, and which words she actually said aloud. I had to reread so many paragraphs, and it was annoying. I prefer when authors use quotation marks, but maybe that’s just me.

So. What’s the opposite of a book boyfriend? Because whatever it is, Rory Hughes is a prime example. I don’t think I’ve ever actively disliked a male lead to this extent. I would love to climb into the pages of this book and smack him. He’s garbage, without being an outright villain. But honestly, I think that’s what makes this book so appealing. Rory Hughes is every reader’s most underwhelming ex. He’s the one you date before you meet the love of your life. He’s the one you obsess over until you realize you deserve better. But he’s not without purpose – he’s the perfect foil for “The One.” Know what I mean?

I really enjoyed this book, and I identified so closely with Adelaide. My heart broke for her, and for my younger self. Genevieve Wheeler explores the concessions young women are willing to make in the name of “love”, and what happens when that woman happens to be intelligent, self-sufficient, confident and self-aware. Wheeler forces us to accept that “surrendering to patriarchal subjugation” is often disguised as “an unapologetic embrace of the sex-positive movement.” Are we really taking charge of our sex lives? Being vocal about our emotional needs? Setting fire to all who dare to sl*t shame? Or are we merely acting like we have reached this stage of sexual enlightenment and emotional freedom while secretly doing so to garner male attention? Are we actually the cool girl? Or are we trying to look like the cool girl?

I can’t get into details without spoiling some major plot points, but some of Adelaide’s actions were so spot on that I felt a physical ache in my chest. Her acts of service, tireless devotion to an undeserving prick, and willingness to forfeit her own needs? 100% classic, mid-20s Bethany. I felt seen. Even now that I’m happily married, I still catch myself deprioritizing my own needs to placate people in my life – friends, family, coworkers. It’s this manic need to appear easy-going, agreeable, magnanimous, generous, stable, and secure. In those moments, I want to impress you, to win you over with my thoughtfulness. I want you to want me, need me, love me, admire me, want to be me. I’ve gotten better about it as I’ve aged and matured, but occasionally, I am still crippled by the fear of disappointing people whose opinions truly shouldn’t matter.

Now, as I march through the last days of my 30s, I look back at my younger self with this particular breed of second-hand humiliation as I remember my most pathetic and cringe-worthy efforts. I can see the foolishness in my thinking – that if I could just say the right thing, do the right thing, write the right thing, I could make someone love me. Just like Adelaide, I remember seeing other people’s relationships from the outside and thinking, as Wheeler writes, “This. This is what you could have if you weren’t so goddamned broken. If only you were someone else, someone better.” And I cannot begin to tell you how many wine-fueled text message manifestos I have written in the wee hours, only to wake up with a pounding headache and serious regrets. Like Adelaide, I was always two seconds too late in realizing that I occupied such a small space in someone’s mind that my efforts were in vain.

If any of this rings true to you, you will love this book. It’s not a romance – definitely not a romance. But it is a bit of a coming-of-age story. I’ll leave you with a quote from my all-time favorite book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I have always loved this quote, but I so often fail to apply it to my own life. “We accept the love we think we deserve.”

How is this a debut?! This was such a beautiful story about so many things: love, mental health, friendship, grief, toxic relationships, and finding the courage to get out of something that no longer serves you even if it’s the hardest move you will ever make. I was rooting for Adelaide on every page and by the end I wanted to reach through the book and give her a hug. This one will stay with me for a long time.

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler
It’s wild how timing works sometimes. I finished this book after work today on the anniversary of one year being in therapy. This is not a love story but it is a story of love. Meet Adelaide, someone I can relate to full heartedly, caring for someone so hard no matter the return and burying all the other roots that run in hamster wheels in your head. I can’t recommend this book enough. For me this also had 500 Days of Summer energy, but so much more elevated with the real realities of how women especially cope with mental health. I received this as an ARC from @netgalley and am already planning on buying a hard copy to hold dear to my heart.

If you are in a Tell Me Lies hangover (like me!), then you will really enjoy Adelaide. I fell in love with the Adelaide and I found myself really, really invested in her story and rooting for her happiness. This is a very real story and something that happens to women daily. It’s really important for stories like this to know you are not alone and your feelings are valid. Loved this book!

Spoilers
I am live typing this as I finish Adelaide. I am 85% complete and it is wrecking me right now. I just want to hold Adelaide and tell her everything will be alright. That in fact, I was Adelaide a few years ago. I wish I had this book then to not feel so alone. Also, Wheeler's writing is amazing. Even though we are getting an outside narrator with snippets of Adelaide's thoughts, it sounds like we are still getting Adelaide's voice, tone, character, everything.
I just finished The Rachel Incident and reminds me a lot of that, and of course, Tell Me Lies. But I relate more to Adelaide than the other two.
Her guilt for feeling, for letting people down, and for missing work and feeling her feelings is so familiar. And when it's a character in a book or your best friend it's always easier to tell them they are too hard on themselves. But we can't do the same for ourselves.
I want her and Bubs to be a thing! Give me a happy ending!
Oh 2020, still has to be better than Adelaide's 2019.
Also, I am always curious about how author's incorporate Covid/2020 in their books.
THE EPILOGUE.
Crying. I will read everything Genevieve Wheeler writes.

I received an eARC from #netgalley of Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler. I saw a spoiler that it would be a BOTM choice, and as I researched it I was intrigued but hesitant as I am not much of a romance reader, and this novel was originally marketed as such. If, like me, you aren’t much of a romance reader, I urge you to pick this book up anyway, as there was so much more to it.

Adelaide is a twenty something American trying to find her way in London. When we first meet her, she’s working to finish her Masters degree and is casually dating different men that she has been matched with on a dating app. Enter Rory Hughes, the British Disney Prince-esque, seemingly man of her dreams. Rory, however, is a bit of a self-centered sod, as they say.

I could relate to Adelaide and her quest to make Rory love her, all while trying to figure out life in her 20s. She was a charming character and I found myself rooting for her from the beginning, as well as thinking, “Girl, he doesn’t deserve you.” Her friends were lovely characters as well.

If you were once a floundering twenty something and/or a fan of the movie He’s Just Not That Into You, pick this one up for sure. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a great debut! The writing is phenomenal - precise and emotional. I found myself relating so much to Adelaide and her struggles. I read and enjoyed Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering earlier this year and Adelaide explored a lot of the same themes: toxic relationships, the lies we tell ourselves to justify staying in those relationships and the mental toll it takes on us.

"Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift." ~ Mary Oliver

Adelaide is a young woman that has moved from Brooklyn to London for her career. She is kind, caring, and generous and has a group of friends both back home and in London that would do absolutely anything for her, as she would for them.

One night, while tipsy and barefoot, she approaches a man at the bar and tells him that he looks just like a Disney prince. She then laughs and runs off only to cross paths with this same man months down the road after meeting on a dating app. It's fate, serendipity, Adelaide believes. These two were simply meant to be. His name is Rory and he's everything she has ever dreamed of in a partner.

Sure, he doesn't always return her texts. Sure, he sometimes vanishes for a weeks at a time. Sure, he doesn't ever reciprocate her giving nature but he does take, take, take...time and time again.

"She was always going to jump into this lake, no matter how dark or dangerous it turned out to be; she was too intrigued by its shimmering surface to even consider turning away. There was no world in which she wouldn't dive headfirst in love with Rory Hughes. This was the only way."

Over the course of a year and a half Adelaide's heart will break time and time again. With every break it becomes increasingly more difficult to pick up the shattered pieces to make her heart whole again. She gives, and gives, and gives until she has nothing left of herself anymore. She just wants the darkness to make it all go away. The pain is far too exhausting to live with. What's become most apparent to her in all of this is that she isn't worthy of love.

"Pain is pain is pain. It was important to recognize your privilege, yes. To show gratitude, to count your blessings. But it was also important to acknowledge and accept your pain, to understand that no matter how large or small your problems, your losses, your wounds - they are yours. And you're allowed to feel them. The hardest loss will always be your own."

These types of books always needle their way into my heart and soul. My heart ached for Adelaide and I wanted to swoop into the pages to save her from herself. I wanted her to see who Rory really was. He was not the Disney prince her romantic heart wished him to be. You don't need to have bumps, breaks, and bruises for it to be an abusive relationship. Emotional abuse cuts sharply and does plenty of damage without leaving so much as a physical mark. Thankfully she had such wonderful friends - Eloise, Nico, Madison, Celeste, Sam - who all came through for her in her time of need. Always supportive, they'd drop anything to rush to her side when she needed them. Thank goodness for friends.

This book gets dark and can be depressing, even triggering for many. Especially to those who have had a Rory in their life. People who have never experienced this first hand can't understand it. I do. I teared up on several occasions. I felt that the portrayal of mental illness was done accurately and respectfully. What made this book so rewarding was Adelaide's character arc and journey. It brought me so much hope that when I turned the last page it was with tears of happiness rather than sadness and for that I am thankful. 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my complimentary copy.

SYNOPSIS:
- Adelaide Williams is a 26-year-old American living in London.
- Adelaide falls for Rory Hughes, who unfortunately doesn’t reciprocate Adelaide’s feelings.

MY THOUGHTS
- I am shocked this is a debut novel by Genevieve Wheeler. If this is her debut, I can’t wait to see what Wheeler has in store, as I thought this was a remarkable book.
- This isn’t a light read. I would suggest looking into trigger warnings, if you have try to avoid certain topics (being vague for spoiler purposes).
- I loved the characters in this book. They are well-developed, realistic, raw, and relatable.
- The ending was amazing, and I loved how Wheeler chose to close Adelaide’s story.
- Wheeler does a perfect job capturing what these one-sided relationships feel like. Even if you haven’t experienced one yourself, Adelaide has several close friends, and Wheeler does depicts what it feels like to watch someone you love be in a toxic relationship.
- I wish this book had come out when I was younger, as there were many parts of Adelaide that feels like staring into a mirror of younger me. As “older me” read this book, my heart broke for Adelaide. There are so many cringey moments where you want to shake her.
- This book is poetic, beautifully written, and I can’t recommend it enough. It made me feel ALL my feelings. I love Wheeler’s writing style. I couldn’t put this down, and ended up reading it in all my free time I had over a day and a half.
- Here were some things that I thought Wheeler does amazing job capturing through her writing:
- trying not to be “too much”
- trying to make others like you or love you
- thinking everything is meant to be, a “fairytale”, a “love story”; in reality, you don’t even know this person!
- making someone love you isn’t a thing (by being nice, by being “low maintenance”, by neglecting your own needs, by paying for everything)
- feeling like you aren’t worthy of love (or, even just a healthy relationship).

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️One of the best books of 2023 (if not THE best). Masterfully written book looking at the complexities of a one-sided relationship.

Adelaide grabbed my attention as soon as I read the synopsis, but this book ended up being so much more than what I had originally thought it would be. This book squeezed my heart and punched me in the gut, repeatedly. I always say that if a book doesn’t affect you in some way, it isn’t doing its job. Well, Genevieve Wheeler did her job and then some. I felt every moment, every part of this book right to my core.

Adelaide Williams is an effervescent, intelligent, ambitious, caring, loving young woman. She truly is a good person. She loves fast and with her whole heart. She’s quirky and walks to the beat of her own drum, but that’s all part of her charm. It was impossible for me not to adore Adelaide. Did she always make the right decisions? Definitely not. Did she do things with the best intentions for others? Absolutely. I will confess that I did want to give her some strict words of advice and give her a big hug, simultaneously. She tried so hard to be everything to everyone, but she often times just ended up running on empty.

Adelaide was making her way in London. She was working, hanging out with friends, and she was falling in love. I felt every emotion right along with her; the quick rush of attraction and love that encompasses us in our youth, the insecurities, the self-doubt, and the fear that we will never measure up or be enough. It was heartbreaking, honest, raw, complicated, and deeply moving.

I don’t want to delve into too many details of this wonderful novel and spoil the journey for any other readers. Genevieve Wheeler has written a must-read novel. I devoured the words, felt the sting and the heartache, and was on Team Adelaide right from the start. This debut will definitely be gracing my list of favorite books of 2023.

*5 Stars

Absolutely phenomenal debut! I will read anything this author puts out. I even cried at the end- and I never cry at books.

Ugh, my heart! This was such a relatable, heartbreaking, but wonderful read. I think everyone will be able to relate to this story in some way- such a good one!

Gosh, my heart hurts. Any woman who has ever been in love — and lost herself along the way — needs to read this. The writing is beautiful and it's all just so captivating and heartbreaking and exquisite. I haven't flown through a book like this in a long time but wow, Adelaide.

The characters are so real and I love Adelaide's wonderful support system. I also really appreciate Rory's POV and the author's choice to include his perspective, as it allows readers to understand him better. Even though his behaviour cannot be excused, we get to see that he too is a deeply damaged and troubled individual.

And while I was at times frustrated with Adelaide, it's worth noting that it's all so clear to me and easy to talk when I'm an outsider on the sidelines. I am sure my friends thought similar things when I was the one with rose-tinted glasses, lol. And you know what they say about how the things we dislike most in others are a reflection of what we like least in ourselves 😬

This is a book that I wish I had when I was younger and going through similar experiences. It's a book I will definitely encourage all the females in my life to read. A book that you want to hug and a book that will make you feel so much.

This was one of the best books I've read in a while. One of those that keeps you up because you can't wait to find out what's going to happen. The author is so talented, able to bring in such realism. You can feel Adelaide's pain and her joy.

When I first encountered this book on Netgalley, there was something about the cover and the summary of a love so strong, so intense it knocked you off your feet as the protagonist grapples with heartbreak, grief, mental health, etc. Frankly, I am trying to find another book that can be as emotionally visceral as Kristin Dwyer's Some Mistakes Were Made was because that book DESTROYED my heart and built it back up again somehow. It was a wild ride, and so... this could be it.


But also broken hearts can be discussed and read about so many times and every narrative will have something different to present. It hurts. It burns us on the inside, gets us angry and yet, there are so emotions that can't always be expressed on paper. Many may try to do it and some books make the reader think "ah, yes... this is similar to what I can relate to" but there are few books out there that can REALLY get into the core of the feeling of heartbreak, of losing oneself for someone else... of re-discovering yourself when everything seems to just be gone.


It was an unexpected ride to say the least. So, here we go.



Short Summary: When the knockoff of Juliet tries to poof herself out of existence after losing her "true love", she sets out to rediscover the lost parts of herself and to accept that the ugly parts can be beautiful too.


Long summary: When Adelaide Williams ends up in a hospital for trying to kill herself, she was supposed to have succeeded. After all, a life without Rory wasn't one worth living even if her life was just starting to reach the pinnacle of her career. Her mother was celebrating her birthday. She was starting in a new apartment. There were good things ahead of her.


But, with a broken heart, those things seem to not matter anymore.


Before the attempt, before her heart shattered, she was just a young woman falling in love with a guy that stepped out of storybooks, that captured all the good, all the beautiful, all the ideals of a woman, all in the shape of Rory. The guy who may not be great at texting back, but when he was around, he'd make her feel like the sun. Rory, the one who made her wish for a future with him, her true love.


Rory, the one responsible for leaving a catastrophe in his wake after an unexpected tragedy. And her life will never be the same once they meet.


Reading this book was an absolute emotional rollercoaster, but the story was so captivating and how she met Rory along with all the coincidences of how their paths kept crossing without the other realizing it was so powerful it felt like it was a whole star-crossed pairing. Of course, it leans more towards the tragic side and how a love story that may seem magical and causes the butterflies in your stomach to rise can just...


Go downhill.


Either way, it is one of those books that will stick with me as the year continues and as I continue listing those books that I enjoyed as I narrow it to my favorites of 2023.


Overall: 4/5 stars

Wow. This book felt so real to me in its depiction of love, mental health, and friendship. When Adelaide meets Rory, she is immediately infatuated. She strives to be a great partner by being present, responsive, and thoughtful. And yet, he doesn’t seem to be able to do the same. While this could be described as a love story, I see more power in the self-discovery and exploration of friendship in this novel. Highly recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC is exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book is the type of novel where I hope the author knows what an exceptional writer they are.

Adelaide is a hard read because I think that people either know an Adelaide or have been Adelaide at some point. Because of this, you'll find yourself so upset by her decisions. If you are a person who had a year of your life that taught you every lesson at once, you'll enjoy this.

Lots of triggers in this book.

LOVED the ending and the perspective on Rory.

Read if you like:
💕 Characters that love deeply
🧠 Mental Health Rep
📚 Fiction that feels like a Memior
❤️ Relatable Characters

This one was really well done! It really gave me the same vibes and notes of fiction feeling like a memior that I recently got when I read Maame and I truly love that raw, real, and honest vibe!

This one takes a look at the journey of a young woman as she gives oh so much to her partner with not a lot in return and looks at the importance of finding your tribe that will bring the same energy to you that you bring for them.

You get to see the impact that her relationship has on her overall as well as her self-image, her history with traumatic relationships, and her mental health in such a raw and real way.

If you are looking for raw and real emotion and taking a journey with a character through some of her darkest days before the sun can shine again I highly recommend checking out this debut!

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC copy in exhange for my honest review!

I wanted to like this book but I could not get past Adelaide's personality. Her codependency really made me sick to my stomach. I was given fair warning that this book was intense and expected abuse but I didn't expect the main character to keep going back for more. Maybe the point of this book is not to love it but to learn from it. I personally had a difficult time getting to the end.

My favorite book of 2023 so far!! I will be buying this book immediately. It was a wonderful, real, and raw literary character study, and Adelaide felt like my friend the entire way. Absolutely incredible. I'll be watching this author for her next release.