Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler is the book I'm currently recommending to all my friends. This coming of age book takes you back through all those pivotal moments in your own life. Beautifully written and engaging. A five-star read.

In her debut novel, Genevieve Wheeler tackles the complexities of love for young people and what it’s like finding your way in life. Adelaide, which comes out April 18th, is already getting critical acclaim and I anticipate even more praise for this story.

This book is so unique and moving that I don’t even know where to start this review…

This story isn’t a romance, but it is. This story isn’t a tragedy; but in some ways it is. It’s just a story about a woman’s life and how she interprets and tackles the things life throws at her.

This debut novel is just so honest in its approach to love and youth and trying to find your way in life, even when it feels like the world doesn’t love you back. This book touches upon a lot of heavy subjects like grief, loss, death, mental health, and toxic/abusive relationships, but also highlights the beauties of the world like love, music, literature, traveling, friendship, and found families.

The non-linear timelines and alternating POVs make this book more engaging and kind of mirror Adelaide’s thoughts and philosophy about living life in the moment.

If you’re looking for your next book club read or a book with a realistic storyline and an honest take on romance, then check out this book!

*I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5 Stars round up to 5! This book has multiple content warnings that should be reviewed prior to starting!

Adelaide, the main character of this book, is a young American living in London. Adelaide's narration is difficult to endure at points, but not because of how its written, but of how the character views the world. We all encounter people in our lives that don't value themselves as much as they should or are battling with mental health, and Adelaide is no exception. Although it is difficult to read, it does provide insight into how someone like Adelaide might think and operate.

Other characters that are worth noting are Rory (the absolute worst), Celeste, Madison, and Eloise (the absolute best). Rory is "the boy" that is noncommittal and still in love with his ex, a theme that sadly continues throughout the continuation of the book and was extremely frustrating for me as a reader. The shining characters are Adelaide's friends Celeste, Madison, and Eloise, each of which are great examples of lifelong friends that continue to pick up Adelaide regardless of what has gone on/what is going on currently.

This book is filled with heartache, mess, and trauma. It is dark and sad but it has it moments of sun shining through, and I think that is the point of it. For many people, this is how their life is, dark and sad with little moments that bring the sunshine. This book has stuck with me after reading it, and to me that is always the sign of a good book.

Phenomenal debut novel by Genevieve Wheeler!

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

This is a painfully accurate first-person view of a) dating in the modern world and b) living with undiagnosed mental health challenges. The characters are by turns loveable and totally unlikeable and the author makes it totally worth it to stick with them until the end.

I really did not enjoy this book. It was so slow. The last few chapters when Adelaide decided to address her problem, rather than just use some outside force as a buffer, we're much easier to read. I'm glad the character got to that point. I know people who have experienced depression and I think this type of media is important. However, I still wouldn't recommend it. I read for enjoyment and I would not have finished this book had I not needed to provide a review.

This is definitely not a rom com, but a heavy contemporary fiction novel that covers some pretty serious topics – and I loved it so much. Adelaide is a 26 year old American expat in London who meets the guy of her dreams, and she falls hard. But as Adelaide tries harder and harder to make Rory happy, he doesn’t give the same effort back – leaving her to question whether she’s the problem. I couldn’t get enough of this book, and really empathized with Adelaide, even / especially as she revealed herself as messy and imperfect. (She felt like a real, flawed human rather than the “hot mess” caricature I loathe in many novels.) I can’t recommend it enough!

Adelaide was raw and relatable. It wasn’t an easy read all of the time because it hits some heavy topics, but it was good.

Be prepared to cry. This book is incredibly moving and hits home as someone who struggles to realize what they deserve. I wish I could have been Adelaide’s friend so I could yell that Rory was trash from the beginning. But so happy she got her happy ending. Great mental health rep, but TW for suicidal ideation.

Oh. My. God. I cannot love this book enough. Frustrating, sad, heartbreaking and so relatable.

"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."

MY HEART.

I'm feeling very anxious lately and I'm not sure this is the story to read because reading how Adelaide is treated by Rory is anxiety inducing on its own. Rory does not deserve one bit of love in his life. He needs to be in a relationship where he gets back exactly what he dishes out. I never believe anyone should be strung along. If you're not into someone like they are into you just be honest for f*cks sake. This story is a shining example of loving someone with your whole heart and getting minimal effort in return.

This book hooked me right from the start. The main character was extremely relatable. The writing kept me on the edge of my seat. I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak.

This was one of my most anticipated novels of the year, and it did not disappoint. This definitely isn’t a light, rom-com-style read, but the way the author writes about depression, grief, first loves, and heartbreak is so poignant, realistic, and relatable. This is a book I’ll be thinking about for a while. If you’re looking for an emotional read that feels real, raw, and even painful at times, but also leaves you with hope, Adelaide should be on your list. A beautiful debut!

This book was not for me, and I think it has been improperly marketed. Though I will admit that it elicited strong emotions in me. In fact, I found the discussions and writing in the last 20% of the book dealing with mental health to be enlightening and accurate. It was by far the best part of the book. Unfortunately, by that time, I was so put off by Adelaides decisions, that I had lost any empathy I had for her. I think a discussion of mental health earlier in the book would’ve gone a long way to provide more understanding in Adelaide’s motivations and subsequent decisions.

I did love the parts that included her friends, and I thought the character study of friendship was interesting and endearing.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

In Adelaide, the twenty-six year old American living in London takes us through her rocky relationship with Rory, her personal Prince Charming who proves himself to be less than charming. I could not read this book fast enough once I really got into it. I may have wanted to tell you at the characters in this book at more than one point but I felt so much for them. I really felt like I knew Adelaide and her friends/the loves of her heart once this book was over.

Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

If I had to describe this book it would be beautiful and eventful!! I wasn't able to put this book down I just wanted to read more and more. First off the cover is stunning!! The amount of mental health represented in this book is actually very wholesome. It's vey relatable for teens and others who are going through something similar just like the story line in this book. The book contains a few tough topics such as tramuatic experiences like (BPD, and depression) I can't recommend this book enough, I feel everyone some day must pick this book up and give it a go!

What an absolutely stunning book, I understand all the great reviews I’ve seen before diving it to read it myself.
Adelaide is the type of book that will break your heart and feel like a warm hug all at once.

Adelaide and Rory’s relationship takes you on a long journey - through their present together, their individual pasts that have helped shaped who they are, and begins to reveal what the future may hold for the two.
This also is not your typical girl meets Prince Charming, Prince Charming is perfect, girl falls in love type of romance story. At times, it felt more like reading Adelaide’s personal diary and a coming-of-age story filled with flawed and extremely realistic characters. Genevieve Wheeler took the time to give everyone such complex emotions, it’s hard to believe they aren’t real, which is also why I think it’s so easy for many of us to see ourselves within these pages.

On top of the relationship throughout the book, there is a depiction of what true female friendship is, it also highly touches on mental health (check trigger warnings), shows that it’s okay to ask for help, a wonderful exploration of grief, and shows what it’s like to love and be loved in return.

Like many others have mentioned in their reviews, a young Brianna would have also loved to read a book like this. But current day Brianna cannot wait to read what Genevieve Wheeler writes next.
Adelaide is worth the hype, pick up a copy today!

"Adelaide" by Genevieve Wheeler is a wonderful novel about love, mental illness, friendship. A compelling story about a young woman, struggling on many arenas, desperate to make relationships work, despite their quality. This story was honest, lovable and interesting. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I found this book to be beautifully heartbreaking. From the beginning I wanted Adeleide to love herself and put as much energy into herself as she did for others. But it was clear she would need help in order to see this. I am glad that she had a supportive group of friends and was able to get the help that she needed. Well written, three dimensional supporting characters and beautifully written phrases throughout the book. I read this nearly in one sitting, reading it on my phone while on the train to finish. Lovely read.

This well written book tells the emotional story of Adelaide, a young woman living in London who navigates dating, growing up, friendships, jobs, etc. Adelaide falls in love with Rory at first sight, and life is not the same for her again. This book touches on difficult topics like grief, mental illness, substance abuse with grace and sensitivity. The characters in this book are very flawed but that is what makes them so endearing. Parts of this book are hard to read as it's hard to watch Adelaide make some very bad decisions, but it's all worth it in the end. I loved this touching and moving story.

Adelaide is an emotionally charged debut novel by Genevieve Wheeler; with a protagonist that you will both root for and shake your head at-but ultimately hope she finds her way. Adelaide moves to London for a graduate program and we get a peek into her dating approach. She unexpectedly falls in love with the Disney-prince-esque Rory and the reader is fully immersed in their relationship. The angst, uncertainty and rush of love will ring familiar but there are a lot of under currents impacting Adelaide and Rory's relationship including secrets from both their pasts with whispers of mental health concerns. Overall, this was a great debut and while the style (without quotation marks) may not be for every reader, it did not detract from the story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.