Thank you Netgalley and the publishing house for this wonderful e-arc. I cant stress this enough... I LOVED THIS BOOK! nothing and I mean nothing has captured my attention like this book. The topics are a bit dark but this book was so good. Just read it, I promise you wont be disappointed.

“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐀𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥.“


This was a HARD book to read- hard because I have never felt more seen by a book- but an incredibly amazing one. This is not a romance. This is a contemporary women’s fiction about just how messy, emotional, complicated, and heartbreaking every day life can be, especially when it comes to toxic relationships and dealing with mental health.

Right away I connected with Adelaide, an American in her 20s living in London (my dream!), through her love of reading and books. “𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬—𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲—𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.” Reading is her constant and escape throughout the hard times. When she has trouble sleeping she listens to Harry Potter audiobooks to soothe her. That is something that I myself do almost every single night.

Throughout this book Adelaide definitely goes through it. She bends over backwards repeatedly for a man who does not prioritize her and suffers physically, mentally and emotionally in order to make sure his needs are met. I wanted to shake her, but it was only because it can be hard seeing someone behave in a way that you have also behaved.

The brightest aspect of her life is her circle of friends. They are absolute angels. I think all of our hearts would feel a little bit safer with an Eloise in our lives.

There is a happy, yet realistic, ending to this book. I am so proud of our main character for overcoming all that she goes through and learning to take care of herself.

I loved Adelaide and am so thankful to have received an advance copy. I will be revisiting it for years to come.

—

The writing style in this book took a little getting used to but once I got the hang of it I loved it! I have not read Normal People but from what I hear the writing is similar/comparable.

3.5 stars rounded up. This was a tough book and read for me. The writing was beautiful and well done, and it’s hard to believe it’s a debut book. But it was painful to read coming out of a decade long abusive relationship. Adelaide’s pain was so visceral and she is for the most part an example of someone being emotionally/mentally unwell most of the story and in the end it really was a story about mental and emotional health. Perhaps I should rate it higher as it was very well done, but it wasn’t a book I could say I enjoyed to be honest as it was just too close to home.

Please check out the trigger warnings before reading (abusive relationship, depression, suicide, anxiety, rape, etc.)

I’m not sure what genre to classify this as, as there is some romance, but a majority of the book is not-romantic-romance and incredible cringe worthy and sometimes sad. Seemingly romantic coincidences are featured in the book, even though they mostly end up being not of the healthy kind to notice.

thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Genevieve Wheeler for the ARC copy to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗲 - 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿
Release day - April 18 2023

4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This may be one of the most complex books I’ve read in terms of where my emotions were. There were instances that I was happy, sad, angered, and down right uncomfortable between the pages of this book. I hated this book but loved it at the same time and to me anything that can provoke that much in terms of how I feel reading, it must be doing exactly what the author intended and that’s why I gave 4 stars.

There were some things I disliked about the book - Rory being the main thing - he was so narcissistic and terrible to Adelaide who didn’t deserve any of it. He was downright an awful person. I didn’t like the books lack of quotation marks, it blurred the lines between thought and spoken word.

There were also things I really loved about the book - although it was hard to get through at times, I felt like this read as if it was a memoir. I also loved the representation of the strong, healthy, relationship between Adelaide and her girlfriends. By the end I loved that Adelaide was choosing to take her past and turn her life into more instead of settling for what she thought she deserved.

If you’re very sensitive to topics like abuse, rape, self doubt, and suicide i’d read with caution or maybe avoid this one.

Thank you to @netgalley, St. Martins Press, and the author for providing me with a copy of this book for an honest review.

Adelaide is a good person who just wants to be loved. She’s sure he’s out there right now and she’s going to find him. Along comes Rory, who catches her eye. He has some drawbacks, like ghosting her for days, but she works hard on her thinking to make him perfect.
This book is about a young woman who doesn’t trust her own feelings or instincts, isn’t true to herself, making herself appear to be a person she thinks people will love, and is determined to make Rory the love of her life, no matter what. Courageous at times, and sadly needy at others, the years that Adelaide wastes being unfair to herself is the most unfortunate aspect of her story. It’s an emotional read that captivates you to the end.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is April 18, 2023.

I really enjoyed this book, it had me reflecting on my 20's in a different way and thinking about the defining moments that I had similar to Adelaide and her life before and after Rory. The relationship that she put all of her hopes and dreams into while getting little to nothing in return.

This book is beautifully written and while there are a lot of content warnings, it'll leave you deep in your feelings, hoping that Adelaide will come out of her cocoon of grief and trauma and develop into the beautiful butterfly that she is.

I can't wait to read more from Genevieve Wheeler!

An absolutely breathtaking book. I thought the first half was beautifully written and developed, but the final third of this book is something really special. It handles the subjects of love, friendship and mental health in a fresh and really lovely way. I loved this book.

Ughh...I don't even know where to start! This was a heavy read. The author is an excellent writer, but 90% of the book was about Adelaide's relationship with Rory who was emotionally abusive and honestly a waste of time for Adelaide. I would have loved to have read more about how Adelaide's future unfolded as she overcame and/or learned to live through her obstacles and found true love and herself. Instead, most of the ending was wrapped up in a couple of chapters and a short epilogue that acknowledged her future love and plans.

Adelaide is an easy 5 stars from me and it should feel relatable to anyone out there that has a heart that is a little bit fragile.

Adelaide is a 26 year old American living in London; she's finishing up grad school, has some great friends, and finds herself hopelessly in love with a real life version of a Disney prince. Unfortunately for Adelaide, her prince is emotionally unavailable and leads her into a world of pain and heartache. The story is written beautifully and elegantly portrays the anguish of unrequited love.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC, I have already ordered a copy for it's April 18th release.

This is a story about finding love, experiencing toxic relationships, heartbreak and grief while navigating mental illness and finding yourself along the way. …It’s a heavy one!! ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
First of all, kudos to you @geewheeler for writing such a powerful debut! 😯👏🏼

This book won’t be for everyone, but what I appreciated about this book is how raw and honest it was. You really get to understand the ripple effect of mental illness on someone’s life and in love. Adelaide Williams will be such a memorable character for me, she is selfless, and full of so much love.. I just wanted to hug her through the pages 😭

The ending was done well! I can’t say too much without spoiling it, but let's just say it felt realistic and I was satisfied 🙂

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞:
The pace of the book felt slow, it felt like not much was happening, yet so much was happening emotionally (if that makes sense). I wasn’t sure if I was going to even finish it, but so glad I pushed through.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫:
✔ honest representation of mental illness
✔ strong female friendships 🫶🏼
✔ heartbreak and grief
✔ a strong main character that you will root for!

⚠️TW: A lot - message me if you would like to know.

oh my gosh! I absolutely loved this one! A mid to late twenties coming of age filled with so much heart, loveable and real characters, as well as dysfunctional and toxic romantic relationships. This book covers some very heavy topics (suicide ideation, grief, anxiety/depression, and death of a loved one), but it is done so with care. All the feels and stars for this one!

This is an important book to read, and the book hooks you from the first page, but I found it difficult to get through, mainly because of the relationship with the main characters. Something about Rory felt off, which is exactly what we're supposed to feel, I guess, but that led to an inauthentic feeling for me through the story. The themes are heavy and the question the book asks--"When love asks too much of us, how do we find the strength to put ourselves first?"--is both timely and so crucial to understand, I applaud the author for writing a book so steeped in mental health and well-being and for writing so honestly.

Ugh this was not from me. From the very start Adelaide was selfish, whiny, and annoying. Then comes all of the Rory drudgery. Their oh so special favorite book choices were all a cliche. Adelaide seemed stalkery and just plain insane at times. I felt like the author was really reaching for that Sally Rooney feel but couldn’t quite make it. I’m not a Rooney fan either but I am willing to admit that the author does better writing wise.

This book evokes so many feelings. The story weaves together beautifully, but it is heavy. Weighty. But oh, so realistic. The themes of mental illness and healing is deftly and gently handled by Wheeler. And she creates such a beautiful soul in Adelaide. A lovely, thought-provoking read.
Thanks to #NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Adelaide is everything: she's a lover, a giver and everything in between. Her life story is told in bursts of past and present leading up to her mental hospital stay. The past: Rory and his wishy-washy ways of keeping Adelaide from leaving him. It's complicated and definitely not a love story. But, it's Adelaide's story.

Knowing from the start that this wasn't a love story made this novel easier to read through. It does deal with challenging topics, suicide and grief, and did take me about a week to read through. However; Genevieve Wheeler was able to keep my curious mind flipping through the pages. This is a debut novel that will stay with me for a time. I enjoyed listening and reading Adelaide by novelist Genevieve Wheeler.

Thank you MacMillian audio via Libro Fm and St. Martin's Press for my alc and earc in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

oh boy. a painful read for all the girls who have ever been made to feel like they’re “too much” for a boy.

twenty-six year old adelaide’s tumultuous relationship with a man who will never love her back becomes more complicated when he suffers a personal tragedy and she feels the need to support him.

i liked how this story showed how there can be multiple important relationships in our lives, and that our story doesn’t end when we fall in love. I also think the struggle of wanting to feel wanted and feeling undeserving were very well-portrayed.

i understand that adelaide’s narration was very much internal, but i wish her friends had spoken to her about her relationship sooner–it felt odd that they only expressed their concerns toward the end of the book.

i went into this book having no idea that the MC had endometriosis rep, which really excited me. while the rep wasn’t inaccurate, per se–some people do have very mild symptoms–I feel apprehensive about the fact that the only time Adelaide’s endo significantly affected her life was when it came to thinking about pregnancy. again, this is accurate to how SOME people live with endo, so it’s not inaccurate, but endo is a full body disease with a whole host of symptoms that affect most people with it much more severely than being limited to struggles with fertility and the pain easily treated with birth control that are described in the book. this is also a very common way that endo has been represented in books– as solely affecting one’s fertility. there was no mention of endo affecting adelaide’s romantic relationships or mental health, for example, two pieces that would have fit nicely into a story that is already about romantic relationships and mental health.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

WOW🥰🥲

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

Take note by "love story" it means it's referring to the messy, emotional, mental health awareness kind ... Trigger warnings.

This story was so gut wrenching, heartbreaking and absolutely beautiful. I just wanted to hug Adelaide through out this whole story...heck I wanted to hug them all!!

This book was heavy and hard, but I absolutely loved this book! I was in tears for a majority of the read because it was so full of emotion and incredibly relatable. I will happily recommend this book and on the look out for anything else Genevieve Wheeler writes.

Thank you St Martin's Press, Netgalley and Genevieve Wheeler for the ARC of this incredible story.

Adelaide is a solid protagonist who finds herself while accidentally finding love. I loved this book! She's a modern woman with progressive sensibilities. Adelaide is not a typical "love story," but who needs typical? The timeline moves at a nice pace and the setting details are clear. Give this unique story a chance. Love to hear what you think.

Adelaide was the beautiful and raw story of a girl in her twenties navigating love, careers, friendships and anxiety. As I began reading and getting to know who Adelaide is, I realized that I am her. I know so many Adelaide's as well. We follow her as she meets her 'Disney Prince', Rory Hughes and a rollercoaster courtship ensues. They are what the kids call a 'situationship'. As the reader, you can feel Adelaide's anxieties and confusions going through the ups an downs of dating someone new. 'Do they like me?' 'Do they want to see me?' Waiting for those messages, waiting for those dates, holding hope that they feel the same. Overthinking until you make yourself dizzy with anxiety. I felt for Adelaide so much and I loved that she had a solid group of supporting characters to be there for her through it all. Slowly and all at once, we can see her mental heath deteriorating as the story builds and ends. This book was so raw and real with handling anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. Adelaide sank to her lowest low and then there was hope. There is always hope, there is always help, and there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Genevieve Wheeler's prose was beautiful with her third person narration. We had some different timelines to see Adelaide throughout different stages and phases of her life to make it all make sense. I never wanted this book to end and it will stay with me forever.