This is anything but a love story.

This is an emotional roller coaster of raw feelings and emotions and trauma triggers. I can’t say Adelaide is for everyone. As with a lot of the reviews I’ve read, you may or may not have to be at a certain place in your life to read this. Any sensitivity to emotional trauma should steer you away from it.

That being said, I could not love this book more. Easily one of my favorite reads of 2023 thus far. This book is a reminder of the people that enter your life for a purpose, whether it’s temporarily or indefinitely. Not everything in life is meant to be a fairy tale no matter how hard you chase it.

Characters are vulnerable and relatable and it’s difficult not to feel involved with them, to not feel like you’re a part of their story. Everything is put out there. You’ll have a sense of understanding of where and why each character is in their life and it’s because of this that you don’t know how to feel. At times I wanted to cry for the characters and at times I wanted to be angry, but I couldn’t because I understood where they were coming from. Thus, an emotional roller coaster.

There are definitely strong trigger warnings that should come with this book so be weary. When I say it’s raw, it does not hold back.

Huge and many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story. -500 Days of Summer

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler is a story about love...but not so much a love story.

This book gave me vibes along the lines of Normal People (it's even mentioned in the book), Sex and the City, and, in part, 500 Days of Summer, all of which I LOVE. So to say I love this story would be accurate. It is also accurate to say that this story is heavy, and deep, and realistic, and frustrating...and beautiful.

Adelaide is a 20 something American living and working in London. She is looking for love whilst also looking for herself. A traumatic high school relationship followed by a series of meaningless flings have left her in a vulnerable state. When she meets Englishman Rory she envisions a future with him. One of happiness and love and babies together. Rory on the other hand is emotionally unavailable. Hung up on past relationships and quite possibly more in love with the idea of Adelaide than the woman herself. It seems as if everyone around them can see the relationship for what it is. But what will it take for Adelaide to see it?

The writing style of this book is unique. While it may not be for everyone, it definitely worked for me. I am generally not big on third person but this book flowed so well. Thoughts, dialog, and narration all jumbled together made for a quick paced read.

Caitlin Kelly did an amazing job of narrating this book. She brought the characters to life with different voices, and accents, and her timing was perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Publishing April 18, 2023. 4.5 stars.

Thank you so much to Macmillon for the advanced audio book. This book was really heavy and as a personal preference, I tend to avoid books with such heavy topics. I did not have content warnings going in as this book is not published yet but if I had, I think I would have been able to change my expectations a little bit. This is a really beautiful story of growth and friendship but I would caution readers going in that this is not a light hearted romance or women's fiction as good reads of the cover would suggest.

CW: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

💐 Adelaide - Genevieve Wheeler

4 ⭐️- A story about grief, love, friendship, finding yourself, and mental health struggles. Honestly, there’s something for everyone to identify with in this book. I was happy, sad, angry, annoyed, and excited all at different times through this story. Adelaide surprised me and I think she’ll surprise others too.

Adelaide is a 26 year old American girl, fresh out of graduate school, living in London. She meets the man of her dreams, finds job opportunities, and travels, but is that enough? When Rory, her man, is struck with tragedy, Adelaide does everything she can to hold him together, but is it worth losing herself? How do you keep yourself together when the ones you love are falling apart?

As a debut, this was really good and I did enjoy it. At times it read like a memoir of Adelaide and I felt I could really connect with her. Other times, I felt sad or angry for her. This is not your typical love story, it’s much deeper than that. It had an important message about finding yourself, the important of mental health, and is incredibly raw and honest about romantic relationships.

Thank you Netgalley, St Martin Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced reader copy and audiobook!

Oh, Adelaide.

Adelaide is a 26-year-old American living in London when she meets Rory and falls hard. This is a classic case of the now outdated phrase “He’s just not that into you”.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for bringing this story to me on audiobook. The narration by Caitlin Kelly was brilliant. Her voice, so fitting for Adelaide and coupled with her fantastic English accents made this a treat to listen to.

Adelaide is a story about the title character and her successful, yet fledgling 20-something circle of friends, bar hopping in London, buying French croissants and iced lattes but it is also a sober story about mental health.

I related to this story hard. I was in my early thirties when I was living my dating life similar to Adelaide’s. When you are someone who gives love so so freely, unrequited love can be your downfall. It happens to our Adelaide, and it happened to me (multiple times tbh).

In Adelaide, I saw my younger self blended in with a couple of my friend’s personalities. My trauma different from what Adelaide experienced, and so similar to that of women I know well. Some of the ways Adelaide gave herself to Rory were like looking into a mirror. The caring and generous sprit who is craving generosity of the heart in return, reminds me of an old friend. The inevitable confrontation from Adelaide’s loved ones when she has put the needs of a man like Rory above herself and those who are truly, madly, deeply in love with her stung as I recalled similar regrets and confrontations.

This is my kind of romance. But don’t go thinking it’s a trendy cartoon covered rom-com. It's not. Personally, I laughed, I cried, I saw my younger self. I got lost in the world of being a young American in London. It was absolutely a 5 star experience.

This is a time when the audiobook just wasn’t enough for me though. I need a physical copy to annotate and display (that cover 😍). There were many quotes and moments I bookmarked throughout my listen, so that’s my sign I need a copy.


You can be like me and preorder a copy of Adelaide, or buy it where books are sold on April 17th.

I’m delighted to say my debacle of dating and unrequited love had a most perfect ending. Grumpy vs. Sunshine, “It’s always been you” sort of thing. 😉

And I know our fictional girl Adelaide is also living her best life in the arms of someone who deserves her big feelings.

At first, I had high hopes for this book being another Normal People or Tell Me Lies, but Adelaide ruined it for me. It's hard for me to articulate my dislike for Adelaide throughout *most of this book without sounding like a jealous, catty mean girl or an entirely insensitive monster.
Her woah-is-me complex drove me nuts.
Perhaps I related too closely to her struggles and shared in so many of her dreams that I just wanted to shake her for not waking up and living. She had everything handed to her on a silver platter -living in London, landing dream jobs, having loyal, sweet friends- yet she chose to focus on this loser guy who she had no reason to love and sob for chapter after chapter about his dead ex-girlfriend. And her whole schtick with never growing old... just live, girl.
She needed therapy, not Rory.
Everybody goes through stuff -especially in their 20s- and I just felt embarrassed for her way of handling things... holding hands with her coworker under the bathroom stall while they stress-vomited- like that was such an adorable manic-pixie-dream girl moment (a true full-circle question for her mental health diagnoses)? As someone who's struggled with bulimia for years, I cringed. As someone who lost her girlfriend to suicide at 21-years-old, I cringed at Adelaide opening admitting that she wasn't that sad over a friend's passing in the same manner, instead relating it back to herself and her acceptance of her own eventual death. As someone who was also told I'd potentially never get pregnant &/or struggle to carry a baby to term, I cringed at her lack of dealing with the trauma of her miscarriage.
Trigger Warnings all over the place, Btw.
I feel like the author felt like she really did something with Adelaide, and I feel I may have written a similar Adelaide 10 years ago, but now I only wince for her immaturity and lack of self awareness. Maybe this would go over better with a younger audience? But then I think Adelaide's version of life would have been a super unhealthy take to read in my youth.
When it all came to an eventual head and she finally had a diagnosis for her inappropriate reactions and blasé take on her own life and its importance, it almost felt too late, because I was already so fed up with her. Maybe her diagnosis should have been included in her suicide attempt at the beginning of the book to garner more understanding throughout. It makes me sad for people with undiagnosed mental health struggles. At its core, this book should have focused SO much more on her friendships and the people who stood by her when she couldn't stand by herself and should definitely NOT be marketed as a romance in the slightest.
The audio narration is really well done, but it took me a while to get through this one because I really struggled to *want to listen. I struggled with Adelaide's story and her reactions and I kept telling myself to just get through the chapter so I could take a break.

A heartbreaking story about relationships and find yourself. Adelaide enters a relationship where she is giving all of herself, only to be met with half effort. You feel all of her sadness, heartbreak, and frustration. The heartbreak and struggle includes mental health and it’s just really well done. I appreciated how Adelaide’s journey to her bi-polar diagnosis was accurate to how long it can take for women to be diagnosed accurately. I also appreciated the hopeful note it ended on. It was raw and real, and really well done.

Adelaide
by Genevieve Wheeler
A beautiful story of love and loss and coping. It shows the nature of mental illness and its affect on someone. Adelaide grew up with her sisters and mothers mental disorders. She did not see the problems that the illness caused just excused her obsessives compulsive tendency. The book shows the nature of mental illness is varied and not always the same symptoms. The books shows the path of mental illness, its bumps and problems. It does a beautiful description of mental health, and the path to feeling better. The author shows how getting help is important from the first page. She describes in detail the recovery and the work needed. I think this is something that should be read by many middle school children, not only showing sympathy, but giving a direct path that shows that mental health is important, and asking for help is normal.
the voice of the audio book is beautiful, and deep and tender. It adds to the atmosphere of the story.

Thank you so much to MacMillan audio for an advance copy of this book!

"But if we knew, if we truly knew the price of love was grief, we'd never do it. We'd never succumb in the first place. And once we do - once we fall in love, against our better judgement, with something or someone - we never want to let go."

I paired this book with the audio and doing so made me really look forward to seeing what was going to happen next to Adelaide. I definitely was sucked into her story. The narrator Caitlin Kelly did such a great job and I really enjoyed listening to her voice while reading the book.

One thing I thought was different about this book is that Adelaide relationship with Rory is a toxic one but its not an obvious toxic relationship. It is hard to explain without giving away so much. But his behavior towards their relationship is where the toxicity is, not so much how he directly treats her when they are together.

I thought this book also was good with showing how gradual things could get until one day it just all explodes and you don't even realize it until it's too late. As the reader, we see how she is drinking more, more insecure, questioning everything and just seeing Adelaide decline as story goes on.

"There are parts of our hearts we give away. Not lend, but sacrifice entirely. And there are some people to whom we give these pieces, knowing we'll never really get them back."

I kind of wish we got more of a conclusion as to why Adelaide was so affected by a death of a minor character. I think that is what bugged me the most. Could it have been because of her future diagnosis? Very well could be.

This book is told majority from the past with the epilogue in the present. And this book is only told from one point of view. But I wonder what it would be like if we did get a taste of Rory's point of view. I was surprised as to who Adelaide ended up with just because of the connection they had with another character.

I thought this was going to make me an emotional mess especially after friend's reviews and photos of them being emotional but no tears were shed. This book definitely had emotional moments but none that struck a chord with me. This book dealt with such heavy topics that its best to proceed with caution.
There was one mini paragraph that I could relate to SO much, marking it as a spoiler:

**SPOILER**

"One in two eighty two. This baby was exceptional, statistics-defying, a miracle. Why couldn't Adelaide have been a better host, created a better home for this little being? This miracle.She grabbed the doctor's hands and wept."

Lord have I been there and thought the same thing. And yes I have cried with nurses as they stick those needles in me to check my blood days after finding out about my miscarriages.

**END SPOILER**

This was a wonderful debut and I am looking forward to see whatever Genevieve has to give us.

5⭐️ In some ways this book reminded me of Normal People by Sally Rooney; however, when I read Normal People I remember thinking the title was a bit of a stretch for the characters in the book. In my opinion, Genevieve Wheeler does a much better job creating realistic and lovable characters trying to find both themselves and love while having fun in their 20s. With Adelaide and Rory's relationship, the reader explores the messiness of romantic relationships and the scars you carry with you from past relationships into the present. As their relationship progresses the reader sees how that baggage carried into a relationship slowly starts to chip away at their current happiness. We see the all too common imbalance of effort and commitment start to wear on mental health. Wheeler does a great job showing the unraveling of not only a relationship, but the slow unraveling of mental health and how the little things can build to seem insurmountable. Throughout it all, this is also a story of friendship. Adelaide has fiercely loyal and true friends who are not afraid to tell her the truth, but who will also be there to support her on her worst days. Would definitely recommend!

Thank you to Net Galley for this arc audiobook!

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler (Audiobook Review)
Release date: April 18, 2023.

This book is about a girl named Adelaide is an American 20 something girl living in England. Her love story is not like any other, as in it is no romcom. She falls in love with an English boy named Rory calling him "the prince of her dreams" and it is not what it all seems. She goes through trauma in her younger years, trying to block out the memories and live a beautiful life with Rory. This doesn't go to plan either. He's caught up in his own world, not fully including Adelaide in it, but all she sees is the love that she has for this English boy. From relationship with friends to relationships with boys, Adelaide goes through life trying to be happy and see all the good in people. People come into our lives for a reason, but maybe Adelaide is in Rory's life to make him better.

This book is advertised as a typical love story, but it is far from it. There is so much pain and emotion through this story that I was not expecting to read about. The narrator did a really good job of expressing the pain that Adelaide has all throughout this story. If you struggle with suicide, abuse, or things of this sort, this is not the book for you. It is raw and real and the feelings Adelaide have are sad and hard to read at times. I think this kind of book is something that we need though because not every relationship is chocolate and roses. We got to see the real side of what a sad and scary relationship could look like.

Although this was a sad and painful book to read, I did enjoy my time listening to it very much.

Thank you so much to NetGally and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy of Adelaide in exchange for an honest review. All opinions given are my own.

Adelaide is an adult contemporary about a woman who's desire for love leads her to lose herself. It's full of hope, love, friendship, heartbreak, struggles with mental illness & grief, and tons of honesty.
My first thought is that this book is exceptional in everything it aimed to achieve. But when a main character is one you can relate to in so many ways, it makes a book so much more than just words. There was times I literally had to replay parts of the audiobook to hear it again and again, because it was that beautifully written. It sometimes felt like the author was pulling emotions and feelings from my brain that I've never known how to say. As soon as I finish writing this review I'm pre-ordering this book.
Adelaide is often infuriating with how she tried so long to save a relationship that was clearly going no where, but it makes sense. It's so real and raw and, for me, relatable. Her anxiety and intrusive thoughts were so well written I could see Adelaide as a real person. Wheeler created such a perfect creation in Adelaide. We are told Adelaide feels everything, but we are shown it so beautifully and tragically through her journey of hopeful love, ups & downs, heart break, and healing. I'm not sure a contemporary has ever hit me quite this hard.
I hurt, laughed, cried, smiled, and grew angry alongside these characters. Wheeler's writing gave me goosebumps a number of times. Her ability to write emotions is where I think she excels the most. Somehow there's so much hope within all the hurt, pain, and tragedy. When I picked up this book, I never wanted to put it down. When it was over, I wanted more, either of Adelaide or of Wheeler's writing in general. I cannot wait to get this book physically and see these words, relive Adelaide's journey all over again with tears and hope and goosebumps.
If you love hard hitting contemporaries that make you both cry and smile, you'd be missing out to skip over Adelaide. I also highly recommend the audio, the narrator was fantastic.

Once again, I have another debut to recommend to you all. I’ve said it once, and I’m sure that I’ll be saying it again and again, but my gosh, the debuts are really coming in hot this year. Wow! 2023 is the year of the debut, my friends! So, how do I best describe Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler? I’d call it a character study/coming-of-age/complicated love story mash-up. Adelaide Williams is a twenty-six-year-old American woman living in London. She meets the handsome Rory Hughes, and is quickly swept off her feet. Sadly, the relationship just goes downhill from there. “Ohhhh, Adelaide.” I kept whispering that phrase to myself, and holding my hand to my heart while reading this novel. I felt so much compassion for this young woman. Her luck with men in the past just hasn’t been the best, and she just can’t seem to shake it. Quite frankly, she’s an asshole magnet! Adelaide is a character that you’ll want to put your arm around, give her your shoulder to cry on, and then try steering her in the right direction. You’ll want to take her under your wing, and let her know that everything will be okay. She may even remind you of yourself, or one of your close friends at that age. This novel took me back to my early twenties in more ways than one. I love how the author really got down to the nitty gritty in this novel. It’s quite emotional and explores some heavy topics like mental health, toxic relationships, gaslighting, and desperation border-lining on obsession. If you enjoyed Carola Lovering’s Tell Me Lies, you’ll definitely want to read this one as well. Adelaide comes out on April 18th, and I highly recommend that you pick up a copy!

Highly recommended. An honest and true story of longing, abuse, and mental illness. This was a hard read for me. My heart broke for the main character, and I hated watching how others treated her. But, I think the ways her boyfriends treated her is unfortunately very common. Very sad.

I really loved the mental health rep and found it to be an ambitious and needed story overall.

I think many readers will love this story. It reminded me of IT BEGINS WITH US but less flashy and more with an upmarket or bookclub feel. Recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this ARC. This book is about a young couple’s relationship and what unrequited love can do. The author is able to convey the nuances of young love and the stories we tell ourselves to justify bad behavior. While I read this book a part of you was thinking ‘ why the heck does Adelaide stay?’ The other half of you is sympathetic and understands.

I don’t want to include any spoilers, but this was a very satisfying read, and quite a surprise. The writing was superb….. the story flowed easily, and was never melodramatic. I look forward to reading future books by this author.

Wow. It takes a little while to digest this audiobook. There's a lot of heavy stuff going on. Adelaide is an American living in England and maybe unknowingly trying to find her Prince Charming. She meets Rory and thinks he is her everything. In a way he is. There's nothing she won't or doesn't do for him. She is all in, but it soon becomes apparent to all but Adelaide that he is barely getting his big toe wet in their relationship. He just takes and takes and never gives in return.

I felt so sorry for Adelaide, because her life really is sad. I stuck with the audiobook, but there were definitely moments when I didn't want to. I normally don't read things that aren't going to leave me happy. When the happy finally came, it was almost too late.

The writing was superb and the narration by Caitlin Kelly was fantastic (definite change in voices, pacing and inflections), but it was just really hard to be exposed to someone like Adelaide who put herself last over and over again. She had great friends, but she was also putting them behind the emotional monster who was Rory.

There are also many triggers in this book. There are almost too many to name--abuse, neglect, suicide, mental health, miscarriage, anxiety, grief. It's just a really heavy story. I would not read this if you are already feeling down. Save it for later. It's worth a read, but you really need to be prepared for it.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio for the gifted copy of this audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

My Rating: 3 to 3-1/2 stars

You'll meet 20-30 year old Adelaide, an American living and working in London. She's an enthusiastic romantic trying to find the right man who'll love her and sweep her off her feet, but without much luck. UNTIL.... she meets Rory, who just might be Mr. Right. Or is he??

Note: There is a very brief trigger about consensual sex, as well as a slightly bigger trigger regarding mental health and suicidal thoughts.

Some of the interesting parts are how honest and flawed the characters are written, particularly Adelaide. The author, Genevieve Wheeler, has created a fun, interesting, and heartfelt book for those with, or those who have/had, dating problems and who hasn't!? Adelaide has trained herself to be the exciting and sexy woman that men dream about and she is promiscuous. The writing is sexually explicit at times, which may appeal to or put off readers. She meets Rory Hughes who is perfect in many, many ways and yet....why do days go by before he responds? Why doesn't he sleepover? Why hasn't she met his friends or family?

Even in my middle age, I can still remember the high-highs and the low-lows of dating, and the wishing and praying that someone could just be a little more this or that. LOL

I started to call it a DNF at 25%, then changed my mind. I'm glad I finished it because the last 1/4 of the book made it all worthwhile. I believe it could have been an hour or two shorter, as much of the middle was repetitive. You could say this wasn't my type of book. The narrator "speaks" really young, which I sometimes found annoying. I believe some people might relish and enjoy the life of a 20-30 year old single, dating, woman and might be more inclined to enjoy and relate to her. The author has woven very strong characters into Adelaide's life and created a deeply felt setting in London.

Thank you NetGalley, Genevieve Wheeler, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this audiobook ARC.

Don’t let the floral cover fool you. This is not a light book.

This is a heavy read focused on toxic relationships and mental health. It was a struggle to read.

Honestly the last 20% redeemed it a little, but this is not a book I’d recommend moving forward. I only finished it because I had the ALC copy.

ARC Review

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for sharing a copy of this audiobook in excellent for an honest review.

This was a journey. I felt deeply invested in Adelaide all throughout the story, but I really wanted to shake her sometimes and tell her she deserved so much more than Rory. For all of the trauma she went through as a teenager I just wanted so much more for her. I’m pleased with how the story wrapped up but I definitely was frustrated along the way. I hope Adelaide is healthy and whole in her fictional universe.

There were a couple things that I wasn’t a fan of in the storytelling. I partially appreciated getting some of the story from Rory’s perspective but it was incongruous with 90% of the book. I guess since he wouldn’t share himself with Adelaide there wasn’t a natural way to do it but I didn’t think it made me like him or understand him any more. I also got tired of the “but she doesn’t know that yet” comments. It got repetitive. And a minor thing but we really didn’t need the mention of Covid in one of those… the story jumped from January 2020 to April 2023. It felt like a weird footnote.

The writing was very good. The narration on this one was also well done. I think this will be a good fit for readers in their 20s-30s. As someone in her 40s, Adelaide’s earnestness in the relationship was too painful for me to watch because I could see the trajectory. The mom in me wanted to sit her down and warn her, give her advice. I stopped reading around 54%. This is a case of not the book for me personally, but I think it will be a book that many others find emotional and engaging.