This is a beautiful read. The characters are so well drawn, and the story could so easily have slipped into sentimentality, but it is perfectly pitched throughout. It is a joy to read such a well-written account of grief and loneliness and how we all navigate our way through. It deserves a wide audience - a wonderful book.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC

True Love by Paddy Crew is a beautiful and heart breaking story that truly shines because of the strength of the writing.
Set in the 1980s in the North East of England, the book tells the stories of Keely and Finn, two young people growing up in difficult circumstances whose lives connect when they fall in love.
This is a quiet book, driven by the characters so it is a good thing that they are easy to connect with. As a reader I found myself drawn into their world and really rooting for them to succeed against all the obstacles and tragedies that life puts in their path. Though very different in their personalities and outlook on life, I found myself invested in their hopes and dreams, to the extent that I was genuinely upset at some of the choices they made and the consequences of those choices.
The writing is beautiful, this was my first time reading anything by this author, but I was impressed by his ability to convey so much in deceptively simple phrases , the craftsmanship was impeccable.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I read a book a little while ago that had the same type of storyline as this - boy and girl both let down by parents and generally battered by life meet and fall for each other. This book, however, is everything that one was not.

The writing is beautiful. The descriptions of both Keely and Finn's lives are heartbreaking but uplifting. Two people who have no earthly reason to trust their feelings with another human being fall deeply in love.

This book is not without heartache and when it comes it is visceral. I felt every moment with them. Paddy Crewe has managed to take something so delicate and turn it into something powerful.

I loved this book. I loved reading it. I didn't want to rush a moment of it and advise taking your time reading it. It is worth savouring.

Highly recommended.

Thankyou very much to Netgalley and Random House for the advance review copy. Most appreciated.

Emotional character driven novel. Grief and loneliness, but also family and love, together with beautiful writing, make it a rewarding read.

It is the 1980s and Finn and Keely are growing up in the North East of England.
Keely is a fighter. Even in the face of loss she strives to seek connection, but finds that she’s not always searching in the right places.
Finn is quiet, sensitive, distant. He spends much of his time alone, yet deep down he wants to discover the thrill of relating to others.

This is an excellent read. The descriptions are phenomenal, the characters alive and their dramas are real. The prose, at times, is breathtaking. I really enjoyed the frank and honest way it’s written. At times it’s bleak but other times it is uplifting. Great read.

Beautifully written, heartbreaking and raw, the story of Keeley and Finn as they find each other, both from odd homes, both struggling to connect. It's a slow, descriptive story but there is hope at the end.

I read this in one sitting, drawn into these lives, and was left hopeful but bereft by its end. With two very different novels under his belt, I am very keen to see where Paddy Crewe goes next, for his is a very fine novelist and this a very fine work.

‘But there was still a choice to be made, a choice between the living and the dead. The dead don’t need saving, but the living do.’

Keely(Keg) lives with her father and her brother William (Welty) in a camp near the beach in Ireland where they eke out a living as sea coalers. Keely is twelve years old when we meet her, still grieving the death of her mother. And then another tragedy blights her life. Keely’s a fighter: she and her father move away from the camp, and they find other work. But Keely’s father never settles, and soon she finds herself alone. Alcohol provides some solace.

Finn lives with his maternal grandparents. He is isolated and lonely and lacks close friends. While he and others find some escape in music, he does not really belong. And one night, when he and the others were out of town playing a gig, the others leave Finn behind. Abandoned again.

‘Over the years, he’s come to be an expert in recognizing moments that might result in his being humiliated.’

Keely and Finn meet. Can they find true love? Or will their individual self-doubts, flaws and history prevent this? Two flawed individuals, shaped by circumstance and life, struggling to find happiness. Keely feels betrayal and rejection, Finn pays an enormous price for a moment of folly. How will it end?

‘He was here and now he’s not. This is a fact. Her life has been made up by facts and here is another one to add to the pile.’

I was drawn into the lives of both Keely and Finn, hoping that they could find the happiness that they both deserved. Mr Crewe takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster as Keely and Finn’s stories unfold. By the end of the novel, my despair had changed to cautious optimism.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Divided into three parts, this is the story of Keeley (Keg) and Finn. The first part deals with Keeley’s grief and coming of age struggles, the second part focus on Finn, and the third part is - voila - about the connection between the too.

While there are several interesting plot elements, this is more of a slow-burn, character study, narrating the inner lives of Keg and Finn.
I found the atmosphere, the themes and the mood palpable.
The writing and plot were not my favourite compared to the setting and characterisation, but this is not to say they are not good matches for this story. Overall, I liked it and glad I have read it.

3.5 stars.

This was such a beautifully written novel, it packs an incredibly heavy punch, brutal in places but with a definite sense of hope

A quietly beautiful story about the struggles, heartache and pain of growing and finding yourself. The story is a split narrative with two POV characters Keeley and Finn.
Keeley's life has revolved around the camp site near the beach from an early age. A tragedy strikes turns her life upside down and we follow her in the aftermath as she struggles to survive.
Finn is a quiet boy raised by his grandparents, struggling to fit in and finds himself and a purpose, through music. Keeley and Finns lives cross paths in their late teens and they become the sole focus of each other's life.
A very emotional read and slow paced that allows for development of both characters. Both Keeley and Finn are such wonderfully crafted characters and Crewe doesn't shy away from displaying their flaws. They feel like real people and you are drawn in to their experiences and emotions
A highly recommended read

A story about love and all that goes with it of joy, pleasure, heartbreak. It is beautifully written and even though it’s a work of fiction, we can all recall times in our lives when we have experienced these feelings.
I found myself wanting the characters in the story to experience love and happiness in every part of their lives but neither life nor love are always so obliging. The author recognizes this and the story has a reality about it of how we mess up and can spoil the love we have and then spend time berating and regretting our actions.
This really is a very touching story from beginning to end and I thoroughly enjoyed how it led me through a gamut of emotions. It is most definitely, one of those books you will miss once you’ve turned the last page.

A beautifully written, tender, slice of life novel about two people who have been propelled together by their own personal circumstances.

Told from dual perspectives, Keely and Finn are two young people who don't really fit in and who have felt like outcasts in society. This book spans across their younger years and the years spent together.

Fans of Sally Rooney and Donal Ryan will love this story.

This novel is unusual in the twenty-first century novel landscape because it features almost no dialogues but instead plenty of haunting descriptions of challenging lives on the margins of society, as well as internal monologues that grant us some insights into the character as individuals. Particularly compelling is Keeley, a twelve year-old girl who lives in a coastal encampment in Ireland. Having already lost her mother, Keeley soon also has to come to terms with her younger brother’s drowning. She and her father continue to eke out a living as sea coalers, at the mercy of the harsh climate and ostracized by many of the other locals. But then their lives intersect with a similarly marginalised person by the name of Finn, also an orphan, who only really communicates through his love of music. Will Keeley and Finn find the true love that the title alludes to and that these marginalised individuals so desperately need?
An unusual, sometimes difficult but very thought-provoking read. I wish to thank the novel’s publishers Transworld and NetGalley for allowing me to read the advance copy that enabled this honest and independent review.

The language of this book is beautiful and evocative of the pain of rejection and longing to belong. Both the main characters experience loss and a sense of being outside of a normal family scenario. It’s hard to believe what some parents put their children through, sometimes unknowingly, by not being there physically or emotionally. Love is there but not there, people let you down, they expect more than you can give. All these things add up to a troubled life, but will love win out at the end of the day? I was gripped by the telling of the story, I invested in the main characters, and wanted them to survive.

This book was close to a 5 star as I was drawn into Keely’s life. She lives in a camp on the coast with her father and younger brother as they try to cope with the death of her mother. When her brother drowns both father and daughter struggle to come to terms with it. Her story is heartbreaking yet hopeful as Keely, underneath it all, displays a remarkable resilience.
Then we meet Finn, living with his grandparents having been abandoned by both parents. He doesn’t talk much or make friends and is perhaps neurodivergent. He eventually does find his voice through music. As a character I found him somewhat introspective and infuriating at times.
When Finn is abandoned by his bandmates after a gig he meets and moves in with Keely and maybe just maybe the tide will turn for these two characters.
This is certainly an emotional read from an author able to draw you into the lives of these two characters. My frustration with Finn is no doubt due to how well the character was portrayed and developed. It’s not always an easy read but I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

4.5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley.co.uk and the publishers for this DRC in exchange for this honest review.

4-5 stars

We first meet Keeley, also known as Keg, when she’s twelve, she’s blonde and skinny, her ma is dead, there’s just her and da and her much younger brother, Welty (William) who is small and somewhat feral. They live in a camp by the sea in Ireland, where her da is a sea coaler and they’re joined by many who used to work in the mines. Coal is all they know, the women are the backbone of the group.

We first meet Finn at a similar age to Kelley, he grows up with his maternal grandparents, his ma never spoken of. He’s shy, extremely quiet, has few friends but plenty of issues, he’s lonely but it’s hard for him to articulate it. They grow, with no knowledge of each other, two lost souls in pain, full of heartache and desperately seeking solace. Will they find it in each other?

This character driven novel is sad and profoundly moving in places and is beautifully written. There’s no dialogue as such but there are internal monologues through which you grow in understanding of this complex pair. They do make things hard for themselves, they’re outsiders in so many ways and their experiences have made closeness hard. Keeley has suffered blow after blow which affects her adversely and deeply. Both have encountered loss and therefore the tone is a melancholy one. You pray for the leaden skies to lift and hope for the warmth of sunshine which they both richly deserve. The storyline follows them through their highs and lows and I find myself becoming increasingly deeply immersed in their lives. It builds well, the ending is good and you dare to be optimistic.

Overall, a stunning, emotional and touching read and though it’s not the most joyful of reads, it’s a very rewarding reading experience. It’s obvious that Paddy Crewe is an extremely talented writer who has mastered the art of the understated.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK, Transworld for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I nearly didn’t take up the offer of this as I didn’t enjoy Crewe’s My Name is Kip. I’m so glad I decided to try it - it’s a beautifully written study of family, loss, love, the ties that bind us and how the decisions - good and bad - we make along the way help shape us and our families.
Written with empathy, Finn and Keely feel genuine and I was emotionally absorbed in their stories.

Booker longlist at least, I would hope.

As the title suggests Paddy Crewe’s novel is a love story but far from what you might call a romance. Keely’s mother died when she was five and her brother was almost one. After another terrible loss, her father sinks into a depression leaving his daughter to cope alone. Reading is her haven and continues to be so when her father deserts her but it’s not enough to save her. Brought up by his grandparents, Finn seems not to know how to be in the world. Bullied at school, he finds a surprising escape, performing with his only friend on stage.

Crewe devotes two long sections to establishing his main protagonists, beginning with Keely then switching to Finn. They fall deeply in love, opening themselves to each other in a way they’ve never done with anyone else, each seeing the other as their salvation until the first euphoric heady months are over and reality sinks in. Some might find the pace a little slow although it worked well for me, Crewe taking the time to develop his characters so that I came to care about what happened to them, and much of the descriptive writing is striking. I enjoyed this tender story of two deeply damaged young people and the healing power of love.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.