4.25. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Genevieve Wheeler and St Martin’s Publishing for the ARC. When I looked at Goodreads to see what this book was about someone there had written if you liked Normal People you’ll probably like this. Well that’s all it took. I loved Sally Rooney’s Normal People and couldn’t wait to read this. (Actually the author even mentions Normal People in this book!). From the first paragraph of the Prologue I knew this was going to be an emotional journey. Mental health/illness can be really difficult to read about or live with. And if you are in love with someone who is emotionally distant or physically distant for days on end with no explanation whatsoever that is hard. When you give and give but often times you are left feeling unseen, unloved, unwanted or misunderstood by the person you are in love with - that’s hard. There’s a lot of foreshadowing in this novel and I knew the main character was headed toward something hurtful and I wanted her to escape before it happened. This ultimately is a book about life - the ups and the downs in live and in life. It’s a slow journey through the highs of life in your 20’s taking on the world - and some of the grief that also comes. I very much enjoyed this emotional book.

I just finished this book and I am still reeling from it so this review will likely be biased. It's usually better if I sit with it for a few days. I read this whole story in one sitting. First of all, I loved the writing style. It pulled me in immediately. I connected with it.

I also connected with Adelaide even though we are not very similar. It's hard not to fall in love with her. It's hard to not get swept up by the story of someone who falls so hard for someone who just will not love them back equally. It's so hard to watch her suffer as she navigates her relationship before, during and after. It's so hard to both want to yell at her to get out and also deeply understand why she just can't let go.

I underlined so much of this book. There are some beautiful, beautiful passages in it that spoke to me deeply. It reminded me of my two favorite books from the last few years: Normal People and Sorrow and Bliss. I absolutely loved it.

with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book brought me back to the toxic relationship cycle of feeling like you like someone more than they like you, and how that feeling is all consuming. Great, nostalgic read about the hard feelings of a love where it given back to you.

My Thoughts
For the biggest chunk of this books story our American character Adelaide Williams is a hot mess.

She proves to be very likable to everyone she interacts with but unfortunately not lucky in love.

Her entire history with men, past and present to date, has consisted of heartbreak.

Her never ending quest for an HEA has to happen someday, right.

Read the book to find out if Adelaide finds her one and only, be prepared for quite the up and down journey with her.
[EArc from Netgalley]
On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC. I couldn’t put this book down. I loved Adelaide’s feminism, her confidence, and the way that relationships were written so completely and beautifully throughout this book - both positive relationships like those with her girlfriends and Adelaide’s relationship with very toxic Rory. This book also tastefully tackles mental health and abusive relationships.

Thanks very much to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of this satisfying debut novel about about finding one’s way in the world when you’ve suffered terrible trauma in the past and the agony of loving someone who does not reciprocate those feelings. Like Acts of Desperation, which I also enjoyed recently, this is a painfully accurate depiction of what it’s like to date a pouty, selfish man-baby. It also deals sensitively with mental illness issues. I wish I had friends as devoted as Adelaide’s! Lovely prose, as well. I’ll look forward to the author’s next novel.

Absolutely beautifully written book. Heartbreaking and honest. I had a hard time putting this book down as I wanted to keep reading! Thank you for the advanced read!

I’ve been thinking about this book for days and had trouble coming up with a review. Promoted as a “milenneal romance” this story of Adelaide and her difficult journey to find love and acceptance is not exactly an easy read. It’s filled with heavy topics and struggles that are relatable and also challenging to read. It reminds me of Beth O’Leary, but heavier. Those British Rom vibes, but with content warnings that you need to read.

Light and fun, it is not. But it is stuck with me for days. Sometimes that has just as much weight on a read and review than rom com feelings.

as an American twenty-something living in London, Adelaide falls into an incredibly toxic relationship with a British man named Rory Hughes. I felt that this one does mental health really really well. highly recommend, & then talk to me about it when you’re done! content warnings for toxic relationship, suicide, rape, & fatal car accident.

Adelaide was not my typical genre but I enjoy debut novels and this was a very interesting read. The writing style came across as frantic and scattered and truly lent itself to the issues Adelaide was dealing with. Wheeler created both likable and annoying characters and I found myself reading straight through one afternoon just to find out how it ended. I almost sense we were given too much unnecessary detail regarding Adelaide’s work and earlier life but Wheeler may have felt it needed to create the story. Certainly a book for readers who enjoy the busy lives of the 20-somethings and how it can be a very challenging time in many ways- self discovery, relationships, establishing a career and coming to terms with unforeseeable issues. My rating is 3.75 actually.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #St.MartinsPress for and advanced reader copy of this book.

I found the story very difficult to get into, and I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters. I did think it was well written, however, but up until the last few chapters I found myself wondering “what’s the point?” At the end, I did understand the author’s intention but I wish it had been made clearer earlier on.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Im not sure if this would be truly classified as a romance. I felt like this was more of a journey of trying to find yourself and trying to figure out your worth in life.⁣
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Adelaide is a 20 something American living in London; she has a traumatic history of a bad boyfriend that she felt was her first love but wasn’t a great guy, she meets Rory when she isn’t really looking for love and tries to do everything in her power over years to get him to love her and while he at times acts like she’s wonderful, he also ghosts her at times and doesn’t act like he appreciates her which really irritated me at times, because she was trying so hard for his appreciation.⁣
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This really hits on mental health awareness and how you can be trying so hard to light others up that it drains you and dulls your own shine. ⁣
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I did absolutely adore Adelaide’s best friends and their love for her and always being there for her and each other. ⁣
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I also liked the writing style of this. It was really unique. ⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This officially falls into the category of one of the best books I’ve ever read. I immediately connected with the main character, Adelaide. Her story of heartbreak, self discovery, and highs vs lows is one I will never forget. So often I felt myself reading words that I know I had thought myself. The icing on the cake for this novel is the omniscient narrator that gives you a glimpse of the future before you even turn the page.

Bravo to Genevieve Wheeler on this debut. I cannot wait to see what you write next.

4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

This book was beautiful and heartbreaking, and at times painfully relatable.

I think almost everyone would be able to see a bit of themselves in some part the Adelaide’s story. Adelaide is a 20 something American living in London trying to balance career stresses, mental health struggles, comparing herself to others, maintaining friendships, pursuing love, and constantly feeling like she is not enough. One of my very favorite elements of this story were the female friendships portrayed between Adelaide and her circle.

I’d advise readers to check content/trigger warnings as this book handles quite a few heavy topics. I will also note, I would categorize this book as Contemporary Fiction rather than Romance.

I was highly impressed with this debut from Genevieve Wheeler (I found myself highlighting many, many quotes) and will definitely keep an eye out for future releases.

This was a great read. From the start, you brace yourself for Adelaide’s journey. There is ominous foreshadowing - future Adelaide making comments about past Adelaide - that creates a sense of foreboding as you read along.

It’s a bit like “Tell Me Lies” in that we’re watching a toxic relationship between twentysomethings, there’s dealing with mental health issues, etc. Adelaide is well-educated and relatively privileged. I think fans of Sally Rooney’s books will really enjoy this; I can see it being a hit with young women.

The story is about Adelaide’s descent, but I would have enjoyed seeing more of the aftermath and the good things that came after her “situationship” with Rory. It’s nice that we did get an epilogue that showed there’s hope around the corner, even if you don’t think there will be.

Wow! I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into with this novel. A friend highly recommended it, so I moved it up my TBR list. It’s beautiful- not an easy read, as there are some tough subjects covered, but there was also enough light and joy to keep it an enjoyable read. Look for content warnings if you are sensitive to any subjects, but I won’t spoil anything here. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

My goodness. I had been hoping to read this book ever since I first saw its description many months ago, and it absolutely lived up to my expectations. Let's get into it, shall we?

Adelaide is a stunning debut by Genevieve Wheeler - a compassionate, thoughtful and vulnerable portrait of a young American (the eponymous Adelaide) living in London and struggling her way through a relationship with the emotionally unavailable Rory. Adelaide is the kind of person for whom life seems to exist only in extremes. After she meets Rory on a dating app, she falls head over heels for him, despite the numerous red flags that pepper even the earliest days of their relationship. Things take a turn when Rory is unexpectedly thrust into grief, and we're left as readers to watch Adelaide give up so much of herself to a man who gives less than nothing in return.

I was blown away by many parts of this novel - it's not perfect, but it's an exceptional look at a toxic relationship, one that many of us find ourselves in without realizing, suddenly in too deep and struggling to extricate ourselves. I found myself frustrated with both Rory and Adelaide - wanting her especially to open her eyes and get out while the getting was good. But the beauty of this novel is that it didn't cut corners or let her (or him) off the hook.

What I loved the most about this book was the friendships Adelaide had with Eloise, Madison, and Celeste. The friendships we have in our 20s are amongst the most valuable things in the world - I felt it in my bones that these women would do anything for Adelaide, and in many cases, they did. This was a love story to the women who stand by your side when it feels like it's all falling apart, and I was so moved to see those sorts of friendships honored within this novel.

I'm sure there will be comparisons to Sally Rooney (Conversations with Friends and Normal People are both referenced in the book, in fact!) but this is so much more than that: more honest, more emotional, more fulfilling. 5 out of 5, even if there were bits that drove me a little mad. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Described as a "modern-day love story," Adelaide does not just explore the rainbows and butterflies of falling in love. Love is messy. It hurts.

Adelaide Williams is living what many would consider a "perfect life." She is living in London, finishing her masters degree, when she meets Rory Hughes on a dating app. Though hesitant of dating apps, and still reeling from a scarring and messy high school relationship, Adelaide takes the plunge and meets up with Rory. Rory and Adelaide's relationship does not follow the typical new relationships explored in rom-coms. If you've ever hurt, felt confused, wanted answers, longed for something, loved immensely, or couldn't sleep because your mind was reeling from love, this book is for you.

The writing was SO POIGNANT. I felt her hurt--I've been there. I felt her longing and her excitement.

What a treat for me to read something that elicited so many feelings. If you are human, you have been broken. If you are human, you have FELT. I couldn't believe the depth of writing. This was one of those rare books that I didn't want to end. I adored Adelaide's honest character and journey through early adulthood.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I was excited to read Genevieve Wheeler’s debut novel as I had seen some buzz about it on Instagram. This is a tricky review to write. There are some trigger warnings, but I don’t want to spoil the book. But on the other hand, I actually think Adelaide is somewhat relatable in certain ways. I mean, who among us hasn’t been in a relationship where the communication is not at the level you need it?

The first half of this book was a little bit slower and I felt like I was kind of waiting for the story to happen. Throughout the book we learn more and more about Adelaide’s life and I think those tidbits start to make sense when you get to know the person she is in the present time. At certain points I literally didn’t even know how Adelaide was functioning. I just kept thinking, she is the most productive person ever, but also she needs more sleep. But again, these things all start to make sense as you keep reading.

I also enjoyed when I got little sections from other characters’ points of view. I think it added to the book as a whole and really rounded out the characters.

The writing style was a bit different. Genevieve Wheeler chose to include future plot points in parentheses as kind of a note to the reader, thereby seeming to break what I would refer to as the fourth wall – but giving good insight into the story.

While I think this is accurately described as a millennial love story, I thought this was a thoughtful and honest book that deals really well with several difficult topics, and is overall more about Adelaide herself than the romance.

Fun fact: I really liked their date at the Globe Theatre as I have been there myself to see a Shakespeare play.

Description: “A millennial love story, Adelaide explores the complexities of grief, the power of friendship, and the nuance of mental health. With unflinching honesty, and zany warmth, this raw, vulnerable novel captures the timeless nature of what it’s like to be young and in love – with your friends, with your city, and with a person who cannot, will not, love you back.”

Publication Date – April 18, 2023

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Honestly, 5 stars is not enough.

WARNING: If you’re a person that avoids certain triggers, you definitely want to do your research before diving into this novel. There are A LOT of trigger warnings and heavy topics throughout this book.

I am blown away by the fact that this is a debut novel. I will AUTOMATICALLY be reading anything that Genevieve Wheeler writes from now on. This was such a beautifully done novel.

Adelaide is one of the most relatable characters i have read recently. She truly will do anything to please those around her, even if that means sacrificing everything she has. Reading Adelaide’s story was like looking in a mirror. I feel in some ways everyone can relate to what Adelaide has gone through.

I loved how the novel was set up in different seasons. It was super metaphorical for me because when Adelaide finally gets the information and diagnosis to help her become healthy it’s a diagnosis that normally is described as going through different seasons, and i adored that the author used seasons as part holders.

The side characters were extremely well done as well. I adored Eloise and she was such a powerful character.

I cried with Adelaide. I laughed with her. I hurt with her and I was overjoyed with her. The epilogue was everything i needed it to be and more. I’m so happy that she ended in a healthy place where she was truly happy with herself and healthy.

“Sometimes … things need to fall apart before they can come together in their rightful place.”

“Adelaide was learning that sometimes her needs trumped others’ minor irritations.”

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me the pleasure of reading this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I will 100% be purchasing a paper copy for my collection.