A slow burn but none the worse for that. We follow the relationship between Will and Rosie over the the years from when they first connected as teenagers. The characters are well portrayed and we follow them through ups and downs in their lives and their relationship. A good read.

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley, Claire and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book really reminded me of Sally Rooney's writing, in the best way. Rosie and Will meet as teens then come together and fall apart through their lives. It's similar to One Day which I loved too. Very much recommend this book.

A truly wonderful romantic novel. 'Talking at Night' is a beautiful love story and also a book about love. Without giving any of the plot away you will enjoy sharing Will and Rosie's lives, the good times and the bad times. I loved it. For me it was a perfect summer read by the pool but would also be a perfect curled up with hot chocolate in the winter type of book. Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an arc of this debut novel.

What a treat to read such a lovely story. The book centres around the relationship between Will and Rosie who meet at school when they are teenagers. We travel with them through ups and downs in their lives. The book was reminiscent of Normal People which I also loved. I enjoyed the skill of this talented author to give the characters authentic voices at the various times in their lives. I will definitely be looking out for more by Claire Daverley.

A sweet tale which burns slowly.

The characters and young teenagers who aren’t quite how they seem. Though you can feel early on there’s much to be uncovered I found this book to move too slowly to keep me captivated. I would encourage readers to keep going, however I had to give up 2 chapters in.

Rosie is the good girl next door, she does everything by the book and follows all her mum’s rules. One night she and Will her twin brothers friend start talking and telling each other things they have never said out loud before and everything changes but also stays the same. They develop a friendship which is outside the lines of is it more than friendship or not. The lines get blurred and Rosie’s fight to do the right thing pulls on their friendship. Will allows Rosie to be herself and pull on him even though he has so much to deal with himself.

I was pretty much hooked even though the chapters were immensely long and slightly drawn out. The storyline was great and I loved the push and pull from both Rosie and Will. There were times I wanted to shake Rosie to not do what is morally right and I wanted to shout at Will for letting things go but also not letting them go. It was annoyingly good.

I loved Rosie and her twin brother Josh’s relationship, the way they got each other and the way they were there for one another was beautiful. Will’s relationship with his Grandma was equally beautiful although at times felt strained but was portrayed realistically and heartfelt.

I’m torn on how the story ended, I think I actually said what the fork was that 🫣🤣

Overall though it was a great read and I’d say it had slight It Ends With Us vibes.

A brilliant story and unbelievably a debut. The story of Will and Rosie kept me hooked from start to finish. It was a real page turner for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review. It was a pleasure.

Will and Rosie met one night on the beach and neither of them forgot it.
They come from different backgrounds but their relationship grows with late night phone calls and walks.
Tragedy strikes which will change both their lives forever.
Can their future ever be together and at what cost?

This book was reminiscent of a book I’ve loved (and reread many times); One Day. Although I love One Day, though, I actually preferred Talking at Night. To be entirely transparent in the first part I was ready to have to plot through the pages; I was worried that there’d be a heavy focus on the characters’ lives as teenagers which, although no problem in itself, I find less enjoyment in than characters I can relate to as an adult. However the story tracks the protagonists over a period of time and I found myself entirely drawn in. It is beautifully written and I can’t wait to re-read in the future.

Talking at Night is a must-read. Claire Daverley has truly achieved something remarkable by capturing the complexities of love and relationships, interwoven with intricate themes of family and mental health. This novel will leave you feeling hopeful, heartbroken, and ultimately satisfied.

Little slow moving for my taste, couldn’t really get into this novel. Nothing against the style or story from what I read, just not for me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to try it out, though.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Talking at Night
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Claire Daverley
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Literary Romance
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 6th July 2023
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 8th June 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4/5

”She stands aside, lets him pass her into the bedroom, and thinks how all the old songs are true, how love is so often just pain, still four letters, the flip side of the same feeling.”

This book was an intimate and compelling exploration of a non-linear love story between our two main characters, Will and Rosie.

Notorious bad boy, Will, and stickler for the rules, Rosie, are opposites in every sense of the word. Will is emotionally numb whilst Rosie feels and worried about everything and more. Will is self-destructive and Rosie is an over-achiever. Yet they fill a void in each other that is worthy of the title star-crossed lovers.

This is a character driven novel, so the characters really do climb right out of the pages and enthrall me with their innermost thoughts and feelings. However, there was also an element of frustration there because both characters were so passive in their own lives; Will not caring enough about himself and others and Rosie caring far too much to form her own opinion on things.

But this just goes to show how masterful the writing and theme exploration is. The tone of the writing is so heartbreaking and tender, so melancholic in its delivery of themes of dysfunctional families, alcohol and drug abuse, grief, and depression, it’s difficult not to get completely engrossed in the sorrow of this story.

—Kayleigh🤍
@ Welsh Book Fairy🧚‍♀️✨

I had high hopes for this book, but oh my, it is a hard read. The style of writing is very much in the style of Roddy Doyle, but without the flow or rhythm to the prose. This means the love story doesn't really grab you and the characters all feel hollow. I gave up half way and took a break, but it didn't help. Sorry.

I couldn’t believe this is a debut - I was hooked and fully absorbed from the moment I picked it up. Rosie and Will are such strong, characters - this is gonna be huge.

This story is a bout Rosie and Will, flawed but such beautiful characters, who meet as teenagers. Although we get to follow their romance we also get so much more and without spoiling too much the grief aspect of it really touched me. I struggled a bit to get into the writing unfortunately, if you like Sally Rooney's writing style I think you'll enjoy this one as well. Once I did get into the writing though I enjoyed it more especially following such a real love story which was a bit of a roller coaster.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a free copy to review.

It took me a while to get used to the lack of speech marks when characters spoke, but I ended up liking the writing style.

I liked Rosie and Will at first, but their story was relentlessly depressing. The last few chapters were more hopeful, though. I didn't love the story, but it was good enough. I would read other books by Claire in the future.

I think I'm in the minority of people who didn't love this book. It's been likened to Sally Rooney and I didn't like the book I read of hers either, so I think it's probably just me.

The story centres around Rosie and Will, who meet as teenagers when Josh (Rosie's twin) asks for Will's help with his advanced Maths course. Tragedy strikes (I saw that coming!!) and suddenly they are broken but constantly drawn back to each other.

The positives (for me)
*I could understand the choices they (especially Rosie) made up to a point. Beyond that, see below.
*I loved the twin relationship between Rosie and Josh, and *spoiler alert* what happens when your twin dies and you lose part of your identity.

The negatives (for me)
*I found the writing difficult to get into with many short, punchy sentences. As a result I was about 25-30% through the book before I felt invested in anyway, I didn't feel connected to the characters or the story.
*I never really cared stongly about in the love story... after a point they were just sad because of the choices they made.
*Rosie frustrated me, never fully committing to her decisions and always keeping Will on hand to fall back on, and Will making the choice to never move on, going straight back to her whatever else he had going on.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'll be pleased I've read it when this is a hit in all the book awards.

I was unable to put this book down. The story of Rosie and Will was a true love story with many ups and downs. I loved how it kept the read guessing whether they would or would not live happily ever after. I hoped they would since they had been though so much together. Great characters and a truly wonderful read.

I absolutely adored this book! I read it feverishly in about 48 hours and I just could not get enough. Rosie and Will are both so well developed as characters you can't help but be drawn to them and their story and feel everything they are feeling. I can't wait to see what Claire Daverley writes next.

I just adored Talking At Night, a wonderful love story. Will and Rosie are meant to be together, they just won't recognise the fact and keep pushing each other away. This is no rom com, though, but a romance that covers real life issues that both beautifully drawn characters have to work through. While I usually find narratives that don't include speech marks irritating, for once it didn't detract from my reading and enjoyment, such is the skill of Claire Daverley's writing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read and review Talking At Night.