I'm fascinated by the concept of a back-up person, so Eleanor Goymer's delightful debut 'The Fallback' was reading catnip for me. At its heart this book both a slow-burn romance, and an exploration of society's expectations that everyone must be partnered up and have kids.

Scientist Rosie's ordered life is thrown into disarray when her best friend Mitch proposes they become in each other's fallback to have a kid if neither of them find a serious partner by Christmas. But what if Rosie is secretly in love with him and is undecided about kids?

Rosie and Mitch are the sorts of characters you'd want to be friends with and would be tempted to lock them in a room to deal with their feelings! Rosie is a dedicated virologist who loves data. Mitch is carefree, working as a science journalist after passing his PhD by the skin of his teeth thanks to Rosie. For Rosie, Mitch is her person, but she's unwilling to risk their decades-long closeness to express how she feels given Mitch dates an assortment of women who are her antithesis.

Despite being 34 she's also ambivalent about having kids. She's not outright childfree but she's in no rush either. In a gender reversal, it's Mitch who wants a family, yet, paradoxically, breaks up with his girlfriends as soon as they get serious (wonder why). Rosie was a bit frustrating by allowing Mitch to steamroll her into the plan, so I was pleased when she finally voiced her thoughts. Given kids are a relationship dealbreaker, I had no idea how this would be resolved so I was pleasantly surprised. If I had any quibbles, I'd have liked to have seen Rosie date someone who'd be a real contender in addition to that return of a blast from her past, just to up the stakes more.

Coupled with descriptions of Rosie and Mitch's London haunts (it made me want to go back!), I was utterly charmed. I am looking forward to reading more of Eleanor Goymer's next books to see how her storytelling develops

Thanks to One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the ARC.