Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler! This book was kind of heavy, but wow, I loved the titular character Adelaide. She was so relatable in so many ways. She was someone I just wanted to squeeze into a big hug so many times. My fondness of Adelaide also translated to a pretty strong dislike of Rory, even though it was clear that he had his own demons he was wrestling with. Maybe a few more chapters from his POV would have helped with that.

My main complaint with the book was really just its formatting. The lack of quotation marks was a bit off putting, and at times a little confusing, though I was able to mostly get used to it by the end of the book. Ultimately, I really appreciated the sensitivity and care the author took with several triggering topics, and how the book wrapped up nicely without feeling fake. 4/5 stars!

Where do I even start with Ms Adelaide Williams. She was one of the most caring and thoughtful characters I have ever read about. I walked away from this book feeling like she and I would be friends which is wild since I'm usually yelling at my books when they're being dumb. Adelaide had her moments of being dumb (like every interaction with Rory) but for some reason I saw myself in her instead of being annoyed.

At 26 Adelaide made very similar mistakes to ones I made. She put so much thought, time, and effort into a relationship that was completely one-sided. Days without hearing from someone just made her more excited to finally hear from them. The smallest compliment or comment made her feel like the sun was shining on her instead of seeing it for the red flag it truly was. At 26 I was so similar to her (although I never had a surprise like she did thank gawd- I would not have been excited the way she was).

Adelaide was more than just a novel about romantic relationships. We saw her put that same loving and thoughtful energy into relationships with her family and friends. She's the type of friend to send you the most thoughtful gift you've ever received. She's the type of friend that will be your pillar when you are going through a tough time. She is the type of person that everyone wants in their life. But she needed to be careful to not choose someone who would abuse that and instead lift her up for it.

I will be thinking about this book for such a long time and really I can't wait to re-read it. The mental health rep that came in at the end was so good and not where I thought the story was headed at all. I was pleasantly surprised by every chapter and every page. I loved seeing Adelaide's life through her eyes and am happy she got her happy ever after (no that's not a spoiler it's me encouraging you to give this book a chance).

Millennial women who love reading about dating, relationships, work, stress, friends, and family will eat this book up. They'll see themselves in either Adelaide or her wonderful friends. Also THANK YOU for writing a book about a 26 year old realistically dating. I cannot with these 18 year old romances anymore. I was truly shocked this was a debut and I can't wait to read what Genevieve writes next.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Genevieve for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub day is April 18th, 2023.

Now, I was skeptical as soon as I heard - I’m feeling suicidal because of a boy. This is the MOST RELATABLE book about a relationship that I have EVER read. I also love the switch to reading about more mature MCs and not all 19-21 year old silly girls. Adelaide falls for a beautiful and charming British boy - who among us hasn’t! It was sometimes painful to read about the situations that Adelaide put herself through. It brought back painful memories of waiting for texts, being stood up, ghosted, etc.
Adelaide as a character was spectacular. We learn about her trauma, and how she has dealt with it - or not; about her family and their history with mental health, and finally we learn how desperately Adelaide wants be strong, successful and loved. Adelaide is not a silly, flitty, whiny, needy, insufferable MC where you can say - k chill out girl. She was so multifaceted and well rounded. For every messy drunk night out, there was a tender moment, a job promotion, a supportive friend. The formative moments of your relationships that inform your future relationships was shocking and stunning.
Basically I am Adelaide. I wish we could all go back and tell ourselves it was going to be ok - that that boy would not matter in the future, even though he felt like the WORLD at the time. The mental illness aspect was done SO WELL. I loved her entire journey, the descriptions of depression, grief, hopelessness, was heartbreaking.

Well, this one broke my soul in ways I haven't experienced in years. A somewhat simple story of a young woman who falls in love with an unreliable young man (a place so many of us have been in life), Wheeler gives the utmost depth to feelings that could instantly be written off as dramatic or unimportant. Adelaide is all of us, and we are all Adelaide in some way. I am a 42 year old married woman with 2 children, but this book reached out and grabbed my heart and transported it back to 25 year old me, and the specific ways I was messy and vulnerable and just trying to figure things out. I wish this review was more coherent, but I'm finding it hard to express and describe how much this book affected me. This one will be on my favorites shelf for a long time to come.

What an amazing debut novel! I am blown away by Genevieve Wheeler and her writing. Adelaide was beautifully heartbreaking. I have not felt this deeply reading a novel in a long time. I was gasping audibly while reading this and cheering for Adelaide the whole way. I loved this novel so much because I think it is easy to see pieces of yourself in Adelaide for every reader. I cannot wait for more from Genevieve! An absolute must-read!

What follows is a distinctly minority opinion.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The main plus was the depiction of the friendships between the main character, the titular Adelaide, and her friends Eloise, Madison and Celeste. There was also a realistic and sensitive treatment of mental illness and suicidal ideation - in fact, the book starts off with a bang, dealing with this topic right off the bat.

But the biggest portion of this story dealt with a rather toxic relationship between Adelaide and Rory. And I just couldn’t stand Rory or understand why Adelaide kept going back to him. I nearly DNF’d the book, but decided to keep going to see what exactly made Adelaide snap and break it off with Rory - or if something else was the reason.

Content warnings: In addition to the previously mentioned suicide ideation, toxic relationship and mental health issues - there is emotional abuse, sexual abuse, miscarriage, death of a young person, death of parents (past), grief

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient, as it allowed me to plow through it quickly. The audiobook narrator, Caitlin Kelly, did a good job with the various accents. (Adelaide is American and the story takes place in London, England.)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Genevieve Wheeler, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this lovely novel in exchange for an honest review. This book was absolutely amazing and I will be telling everyone I know. In Wheeler's debut novel she perfectly captures the plight of millennial dating and how easy it is to lose yourself trying do hard to love someone else. Adelaide Williams is a 26 year old American living in London who meets Rory Hughes and thinks he has to be the one. He says all the right things and does all the right things and looks like a Disney Prince. But soon a few perfect dates turns into spotty communication and a lack of commitment. Adelaide tries to balance finishing school, building her career, supporting her friends, all while falling in love with a boy who can't refuses to do the same but won't let her go either.

I think this book does a great job of describing a relationship with THAT GUY. Almost every woman I know has a story of a man that strung her along, that was perfect one moment and gone the next. It is so easy to lose yourself trying to re-spark that perfection and Wheeler captures that feeling perfectly. This book is a rollercoaster of emotions but I think it will be incredibly cathartic (and very needed) for its intended audience.

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.