Out of Love is the story of a romance written in reverse which I was intrigued by but I felt didn't entirely work.

We know 'Angel' and Theo are going to break up, so I was looking for a reason to be invested in their story. Both main characters are so flawed but relatable and interesting to read about. However I still found myself at the end of the book thinking "what now?" due it not being the end of the story but the beginning. I would have preferred to have some reflection from the protagonist regarding the failed relationship and the lessons learned.

That being said, each chapter was like a short story in itself and Hayes writing is easily digestible with sarcasm and witt that still kept me entertained. Despite the heavy themes of abuse and mental health alongside the breakdown of a relationship, the prose is still light and thoughtful.

A great debut novel, and I look forward to reading more from Hayes.

This was a strange one for me and it took me a little while to get into. The story is written in reverse. We start the story at the point where the two main characters relationship has come to an end. Each chapter then goes back in time during their relationship and finishes at the point where they first get together. A clever idea which works.

Thank you NetGalley, Unbound and Hazel Hayes for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I finished this one a bit ago but realized I never got around to writing the review. A true shame because this book is a true gem. The format of this book, written at the end of a relationship and going backwards to where it all started. Truly brilliant and such an interesting take. The whole time I was reading I could picture this as an indie movie.
Your heart breaks more than once throughout this book so be prepared with a few tissues and maybe a pint of ice cream in the freezer. This is one of those books that leaves you with a bittersweet feeling. The kind of book where you need to spend a day or two reflecting on what you read before you’re truly finished with it. 5 stars!!!

hmm 3 stars maybe 2.5 for this book. It started off by breaking my heart and then just broke it again by letting me down and not fulfilling expectations until the end where it got good again. The concept sounded promising but then just didn't really deliver. I got invested in side characters only for the protagonist to not have met them yet which made me feel let down. I like to learn more as the novel goes on and in certain situations, I felt like I was learning less? The only fleshed out characters were the two main characters and their mothers with all others feeling distinctly lacking. Two scenes that stood out was the scene with the girl in the bar which I thought felt slightly non-consensual and deserved to be discussed further and the jump from the first chapter to the second which felt really jarring and like I was reading two very different stories with her emotions

Not my type of book. Book was over after the first twenty pages . Just skimmed the rest as no interest in the characters and how their relationship went south.

“You can’t fail at a relationship. That’s like getting off a roller coaster and saying you failed because the ride is over. Things end. That doesn’t mean the experience wasn’t worth it.”

Unlike Holly Bourne’s “The Places I’ve Cried in Public”, I don’t think that the narrative style worked for this book. To be honest, I wasn’t able to sympathise with the main character here, which might have been my biggest problem. From the beginning, the reader knows that Theo is a horrible man, but, after finishing the book, the main character could have seen this from the beginning of their relationship. The more I read, the less I cared about their relationship.
I saw other reviews that say that the book is a lot of telling and little showing, and I absolutely agree with this statement. While I definitely liked the banter between the main character and her friend, nothing else really stood out. However, I think Hazel has a knack for writing and I can see myself picking up another book by her, if she writes one.

I liked a lot about this book. Hazel Hayes is a good writer, with the sort of modern millennial voice I've come to expect and really enjoy from UK-set contemporaries. The concept of a love story told in reverse is definitely intriguing, and I did feel like I was still invested in seeing the trajectory of the break-up and learning more about the characters, despite knowing the ending from the beginning. I did feel like some of the book suffered from too much tell, not enough show, and that there were times when Hayes gave away a bit too much detail or not enough. But for a debut (especially a non-traditionally published crowdfunded one!) I think this shows a ton of promise and I'd look forward to reading more from Hayes in the future.

I had high hopes for this book but they didn't work out. I found the book to be quite bland. It is a love story in reverse but it lacked a lot of detail, I found the plot underdeveloped and couldn't gel with our unnamed protagonist.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book - unlike a traditional romance novel where there's a happy ending. Here you see the unhappy beginning and then get taken back to the 'honeymoon period at the beginning of their relationship. I really liked how it dealt with other sensitive issues like mental health and eating disorders. In general I thought it tried to do too much and there were negative aspects of Theo that I didn't really feel were addressed. I'm unsure of how the reader was meant to feel. It also felt quite disjointed, as I said I loved the concept but think it could have been done in a way that flowed more.

If I actually had a paper copy of this book, I would have flung it across the room at the end. It’s basically a love story in reverse, but it’s literally all over the place, and left me unsatisfied. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and Unbound for an ARC of the International Edition of Out of Love.

Out of Love tells the story of a young woman and her partner and the ending of their relationship, The twist to this is that the story is told in reverse, you begin with the end of the relationship and steadily progress back to their meeting.

This is a debut novel and that is very clear in the writing style, as with many debuts it feels as though the author is adding too much detail in the wrong places and not enough where it is needed. That being said, I would be interested to see what Hayes writes next and how her writing develops.

"I think I like stories because they're simple and contained. You establish a status quo, create conflict, then resolve it. In life, nothing is ever really resolved. Your story never stops. How can it, when all our stories are woven together, part of some greater tapestry of tales that make up our lives and the lives of those around us?"

Out of Love by Hazel Hayes is a love story told in reverse. It begins with the unnamed protagonist and her (ex) boyfriend Theo sorting out their belongings after recently breaking up, realising that this is probably the last time they'll ever see each other. Every chapter on takes a step back in time, as the protagonist tries to work out where it all went wrong. By starting at the end, the reader is able to see all points of the relationship through a different lens analysing the complexity of how we act and the flaws of people closest to us.

This bittersweet debut novel holds up a magnifying glass to modern relationships, exploring every detail including the highs and lows. Out of Love is filled with humour but also touches on serious discussions of mental health and sexuality which I wasn't expecting. I enjoyed reading this book, I'm almost tempted to read it backwards and pick up on any little details I missed 😂