Whew— this wasn’t anything like I expected. It’s heavy. I’m going to give it another go later, but I’m just not up for the heaviness. The cover is beautiful and the writing is amazing…

4.5 stars and rounding up. Oh Adelaide!! How you hurt my heart, mostly because it's like looking into a mirror gazing upon you. A few details may be different, but Adelaide is every one of us who has struggled to fit a square relationship peg into a round relationship hole and who fights to remember that not only is it okay to claim your space in life, but to live that life loudly and proudly. The half-star reducti0n is simply due to pretty much every possible trigger being hit (non-con/rape, abortion, mental illness, abuse, death, suicide). I don't think there's anything missing from the list which is a bit over the top for my liking. I love a good read that can make you think and this one is certainly in that category.

Oh, Adelaide. You sweet, kind hearted, darling, doormat of a girl. You want to root for her, but her dogged pursuit of an emotionally unavailable man loving her back gets outrageous by the time the book draws to a close.

I loved the part of the book that deals with the relationship she has with her friends and how strong their bond is. They don’t really tell her the hard truth about how awful her boyfriend is, but they do support her in times of mental crisis.

I was tempted to stop reading this one a few times, but I really wanted to push through and see if Adelaide got a happy ending, or at least some sort of moderately positive resolution.

I won’t spoil it for you- you have to find out for yourself!

Thank you to NetGalley for this #ARC of #Adelaide

Adelaide-beautiful, lovable, endearing Adelaide. I’m sorry she is fiction, as she truly seems to be the perfect friend. She lives in the moment, loves fiercely and is there for those lucky enough to call her their companion and friend. What a wonderful book about love, loss, friendship, finding oneself and living life to the fullest.

I think for many people (especially millennials and Gen Z) reading "Adelaide" will hit very close to home. While there are some very heavy topics in here, I think some of it is all too common, especially the emotional abuse and unhealthy sexual relationships. I think Wheeler has done a good job here of giving our titular character some strength, but I wanted to see Adelaide love herself a bit more without needing validation from an external relationship. Maybe that's what makes it so real - that's generally easier said than done. A good read, but left me feeling a bit heavy.

📚 Adelaide
✍ Genevieve Wheeler
📖 Contemporary Fiction (wouldn't call it Romance)
⭐ 4/5
🌶️ referenced but not described

Adelaide Williams is a 25-year-old graduate student living abroad in London when she meets Rory Hughes, a fairytale handsome Brit whose path has aligned serendipitously and continuously with hers. Despite their immediate chemistry, Rory is often aloof and withdrawn but Adelaide is smitten and soon, infatuated with him. Their relationship is thrown into interdependence when Rory experiences an unexpected loss and Adelaide falls apart while trying to keep Rory together. Carefully crafted to expose the heartbreak of a lopsided love story, Adelaide is a raw, appraising look at an emotionally abusive relationship and what it takes to break free of the constraints of love.
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💭What I liked: Adelaide was far from a traditional happily ever after story about two main characters meant to be. It was breathtakingly poignant commentary on interdependent relationships and mental health. At times, it was devastating and heavy, but I so appreciated the way Wheeler depicted characters who defied so many stereotypes about living with mental illness- specifically that they can’t be the ‘givers or pillars’ in relationships.
What I didn't: Wheeler’s writing style worked for me for the most part. It’s similar to Sally Rooney’s books in that there’s no distinct textual differences between thoughts and verbalized communication, so it takes some getting used to. I was frustrated, however, by the constant foreboding commentary which felt unnecessary to pushing the story along.

Adelaide was incredibly sad and was bookended by deep discussions of suicide, so be sure to check trigger warnings and take care of yourself before embarking on this exploration of loving and being loved in a modern world.
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TW: suicide, abusive relationships, pregnancy loss, depression
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Read if you love:
*mental illness representation/stigma fighting
*stories about Americans abroad
*found family & great friendships
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See also: Normal People (Wheeler’s writing felt similar to Sally Rooney for me), Twice in a Lifetime, It Ends with Us

Genevieve Wheeler"s Adelaide is essentially a love story, and it is a grand one. Adelaide, a talented, intriguing young American woman is smitten with Rory Hughes, a well-spoken, charming, and handsome young British man. Hughes appreciates Adelaide's generous heart and kindness, but he is never quite able to reciprocate her love in spite of her overwhelming attraction toward him and his occasional attraction to her. That desire seems to always have an unidentified impediment that keeps Rory from moving toward further closeness with Adelaide.

Perhaps, to me, the most compelling part of the book is Adelaide's ability to create and sustain friendships with her female friends from various times of her life. She is a remarkable and supportive friend, and her soft heart propels her to always help others.

Adelaide has tragedy and joy in her life, and she also struggles with depression and feeling unloved. Her ability to deal with such challenges and forge ahead is inspiring and heartening. This love story is one almost any reader can relate to, and it has the beautifully written balm needed for any reader who wants to love and be loved.

Thank you to Saint Martin's Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this lovely book.

Heavy and heartbreaking, Adelaide is a millennial (could it be considered love?) story about a 20 something American girl who falls in love with an attractive Englishman while living in England in a work visa. There are so many trigger warnings within this book (suicide, sexual abuse, mental disorder, etc. etc. etc.) but one of the biggest issues is that this is not a romance book. Far from it, actually. I wouldn’t even say this is considered chic lit. It’s women’s fiction, but it’s heavy, I-can’t-believe-she’s-putting-up-with-that, drop-him-now type of story. Of any themes, I feel that this is more of a book about friendship and perhaps growing, but certainly not the typical romance novel. I feel like I went on a very, very emotional rollercoaster and now I’m stepping off like “wow, that was more intense than I expected.” Adelaide is a raw and emotional story that probably many will relate to in one way or another, but though it is truly funny, this is not a happily ever after type of rom com book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.75 stars!

If you enjoy reading Sally Rooney, I think this may be another book for you — Adelaide isn’t a regular romance novel, more so a novel about romance. It deals with the repercussions of all encompassing love, when love takes over you completely and trying so hard to make someone love you when you know deep deep down that they don’t.

This relationship is often back and forth, frustrating, and miserable to read about. It is very real and relatable and heartbreaking. Countless times I wanted to strangle the male main character. But that’s what made this an interesting read. It’s refreshing to read something this, unfortunately, realistic. Especially after reading countless romance novels that make love seem so easy.

Adelaide gives so much time, effort, and love into someone who doesn’t reciprocate it. But she still puts her heart into it every time, despite how he acts.

I wouldn’t say this is a favorite book of all time, but I really liked it. And respectfully, I really hated the covid mention. I just don’t want to read about that in any book no matter how briefly it’s mentioned!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC. Adelaide comes out April 18th, 2023, hopefully you all are able to get your hands on it!

Very excited to have received an ARC of Genevieve Wheeler's debut. Adelaide was so so well written. This is not a romance, but it is a story about love. Unrequited, messy, heart-wrenching, emotional love. This is probably the truest representation of dating in your 20s, tbh. On top of the love story, this book gives a true picture of friendship and how much meaningful friendships can impact your life. I wanted to highlight just about every page. The prose was beautiful and thought provoking.

I would absolutely recommend Adelaide to anyone and everyone.

What a very real-feeling story. Adelaide is a caring, romantic young woman who falls for a man who, I presume, will evoke a lot of hate from readers.
This was a great story, It was interesting, I cared for Adelaide… very well written. Highly recommend.

Oh wow. I finished this book and sat. I had to dial my emotions in and tell myself it’s fictional. It’s not real. You can’t get yourself wrapped up like this on a book. But it didn’t work. Because the next day I was sharing it with someone and while telling the story of Adelaide I kept saying, “I mean I know it’s a book but…”

Adelaide is trying to find herself. She is you. She is me. She is pain. She is mental illness. I think I’ll always remember this book because it resonates with life. You know an Adelaide, may be an Adelaide. You know a Rory… want to strangle a Rory… but can’t because you love a Rory. This book is just a beautiful depiction of everyday life. You can’t talk negatively about any of the characters because you know why they are the way they are and you want so badly to see them realize “all the things.”

I’ll recommend this book for sure. It truly moved my heart and had my emotions all kings of jacked up. That’s great storytelling and Wheeler nails it with this book.

Five amazingly beautiful stars for Adelaide! I felt joy, heartache, frustration, and all the emotions reading this, which is a testament to the author's great writing style. What a fantastic novel that I absorbed like a sponge; it's truly a millennial love story that hit too close to home at times. I will happily recommend this to all my friends and look out for anything else Genevieve Wheeler writes. Grateful for the ARC from St Martin's Press/Netgalley <3

First thing I wish I would’ve known before reading is check the trigger warning for this.
A couple are suicide, rape, miscarriage, and toxic relationship.
I did like this a lot and I would recommend this book to so many people but just with the warning of how triggering and emotional this book can be. I did have to stop for a couple days and mentally prepare myself for the fact that this book triggers a lot of feelings for me and I definitely would warn people that they need to be in like the right headspace to take on this story. I feel like I was definitely able to relate to the character to a certain point which could explain why it was so triggering. It’s been a couple days since I finished and I am still processing this book.

Thank you to NetGalley the author and St Martin’s press for for trusting me with this arc.

I have a lot of feelings about this one. In short, it was simply not for me. This story is described as a 'timeless love story' and categorized as a romance on goodreads, and on that I would strongly disagree. The blurb does not make it sound like sunshine and rainbows, and that would be fine... but the 'romantic' relationships featured in this story for Adelaide were anything but healthy and loving relationships. Ever. At any time. Until the end, and we get truly next to nothing on that. The writing style itself is also difficult to read with abruptly changing POV's. I wasn't connected to the story, and in the end, I'm left feeling heavy. Which is not what I expected or hoped for going into this book. And while I suspect this is based on real life, that some will relate to, there was no preparation for how heavy and non-romantic this book would be, for me, a romance reader.

I'm not saying this is a terrible book. There is an audience for this book. The friendship element alone is well done. What I'm saying is that this is a heavy contemporary fiction read that touches on tough subject matter including (but not limited to) mental health, suicide, emotional and sexual abuse, rape, miscarriage and toxic relationships, that you should be prepared to read. It is just NOT a romantic story in my opinion. And, I would caution other romance readers going into this, thinking it is so.

* I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and given freely.

I was not sure how I was going to feel about this book at first, but I was thoroughly surprised and I really enjoyed it! This isn’t my usual cup of tea, but I am so glad I gave it a chance. I have seen a few of my Goodreads friends starting this too recently and cannot wait for everyone to love it like I did! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Adelaide is the epitome of someone with such a loving and generous heart as she truly wants to help others, that she forgets the wonderful person that she is without the approval of others. She loves others such as Eloise and Celeste so much, that she doesn't know how to love herself in an equal ferocity. One action that stood out to me waa giving the homeless man a scratch off card and bottle of water. To him, she is an angel. However, in spreading herself so thin and relying on others reiteration of value,.it was sad to watch her deterioration. Obviously, mental illness came into play of which I highly commend the author of really bringing such traits to life. I agree that one should love fearlessly, unselfishly, and with intention. I am just so.glad that with Bubs, she remembered how to live.

I enjoyed this millennial love story. I related to a great deal of the painful events, which was a little depressing. Overall, still a good read!

This kind of book is exactly my kind of book. I saw a book club “influencer” post about it and it is the fastest I have ever went to netgalley. Due to spoilers I don’t want to name them specifically but there are a few trigger warnings for this book you may want to look into if you research or avoid certain ones.

This book is described as a complicated millennial love story about a 20-something American, Adelaide, living in London. She’s not looking for “the one” but ends up meeting Rory and falls completely in love. Goodreads calls it “timeless” and I so agree. I was obsessed from first chapter and was sending the synopsis to people I knew immediately. This will most likely be one I end up purchasing for myself and gifting to a couple people I know. I hope it gets the praise it deserves. I can’t believe this is a debut. I will automatically read whatever is next by our author if we are that fortunate.

Some things that stood out to me were her pining for him and just hoping someday he would love her as much as she loved him. That she knew everything about him and waited for him to know anything about her. How much she neglects herself to carry and hold him up during his time of need. How there was a him both before and after the event that she supports him through and how very much she sacrifices herself for him. I don’t want to elaborate too much out of respect for spoilers and leaving the story to unfold for you. But if you love a indie romance feel of a book with a moody vibe I think you may want to check this one out!

Many thanks to our author, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced eGalley copy of the book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This will be published on April 18th, 2023. I hope if you choose to read it you love it also.

I really enjoyed this book, though at points it's relatable to the point of being painful to read. It had echoes of Sally Rooney's work or even a bit of The Lesser Bohemians, both of which are up my alley.

Adelaide is, by all accounts, a smart, motivated 26-year-old who moves to London from the States. She is -- for reasons that trickle out through the story -- rather inexperienced with relationships, intrepid, yet clearly very charming. She enters a whirlwind romance with a modelesque British suitor, Rory, that seems too happenstance, too aligned, too good to be true. Genevieve Wheeler is very good at getting the reader to fall in love with their love, which is why it's all the more painful when Rory's facade begins to fall away.

This book will either frustrate you to tears or tug at your heartstrings. For me it was a bit of both. I wanted to shake Adelaide at points, but I also found her incredibly sympathetic because I have, shamefully, been in her shoes. I had a few nitpicks with the writing style and some of the cultural references that aren't worth going into, but aside from that I really liked this novel.