Delivers the most delightful aspects of classic romantic comedy — snappy dialogue, realistic relationship dynamics, humorous meet-cutes and misunderstandings — and leaves behind the clichéd gender roles and traditional marriage plot ... Alderton excels at portraying nonromantic intimate relationships with tenderness and authenticity ... She doesn’t need to try so hard ... Jen’s illuminating perspective reminds the reader of the socialized gender dynamics that are impossible to escape in heterosexual relationships — ones that are damaging to both parties, but especially unfair to women.
Warm and generous ... The narrowness of scale could risk feeling repetitive or leaden, but Alderton captures the myopia and obsessiveness that sudden heartbreak can bring, using both satire and compassion ... here’s much to enjoy here, not least Alderton’s willingness to allow in some narrative ambivalence: while Andy’s sorrow is humanely sketched, it also often leans towards self-indulgence. She’s got a good ear for dialoguehere’s much to enjoy here, not least Alderton’s willingness to allow in some narrative ambivalence: while Andy’s sorrow is humanely sketched, it also often leans towards self-indulgence. She’s got a good ear for dialogue ... May not rewrite ideas about contemporary sexual politics, nor offer new insights into the minefield of mid-30s dating, and more space for Jen’s fascinatingly anguished storyline might have provided a piquant counterpoint to the novel’s bouncy and very British comic sensibility.
Readers are taken along the emotional roller coaster that Andy is on, and they will get a front-row seat to all of the questionable things people do when their hearts are broken. This warm and relatable novel about relationships and heartache will please Alderton’s many fans.
