True Love follows the lives of Keely and Finn who are both really relatable characters. Despite its heavy themes, it’s a a beautifully crafted, melancholic love story.
An emotional and worthwhile read.

A complex tale of personal and family relationships

Although complex, this story is told in a simple and a most readable manner. It’s a story told with great care for the emotional complexities of the characters. It’s written in reported speech with little dialogue. It’s as if the author is continually present, narrating and commenting on what could be a personal tale from his own history.

In part 1, we meet the first principal character, Keely as a young girl, working with her father, scratching a subsistence living from sea-coaling. Having already lost her mother, the family loses her young brother to drowning. This is a book about loss and tragedy.

Part 2 introduces a second main character, Finn. Like Keely, we meet him at an early age and see him shy, lacking in social confidence, perhaps neurodivergent. Although early on, he has friends, he soon transitions to being an outsider, isolated and seeking solace in his obsessive interests: stones, stuff under his bed. He has a first girlfriend, Amy, a student nurse.

In Part 3 Finn finds fulfilment as a lyricist and singer in a band. After a gig when he has become separated from his bandmates, he finds Keely crashed out under a tree, drunk and isolated. They hook up and the love is intense and passionate. Time passes and over three years, he never goes back to playing with the band but lives with Keely. She becomes pregnant and in time becomes a teacher. Finn visits his grandfather to find him receiving care from the community nurse, Amy. They grow close and become lovers again. Finn’s dilemma: Keely from whom he is now emotionally distant and Amy with whom there is a relaxed closeness.

Three more years pass and we find Keely with a daughter, Anna. She and Finn have split. We don’t see the scenes in which they decide to part. The author is skilful in giving us enough detail to bring the scenes alive but keeping plenty in the shadows so we are asked to wonder at what has taken place.

The closing episode builds to a climax in a snowstorm in which Finn while having weekend access to Anna, goes in search of Keely. The final scene shows Finn and Keely together. Is it a reunion and a rekindling or an attempt to return Anna to her mother? The internal monologues blend and crosscut between their minds almost as if they are blending into a single mind.

This is a novel which shows relationships coming together then being pushed apart, sometimes by inner weaknesses, sometimes by external forces. It’s best read slowly as events move slowly and it would be easy to miss the nuances that are skilfully built in. Sometimes these reflections are a tad too long and the pace dips. The conclusion is not wholly successful. It attempts to shift away from simply recounting these often-sad tragedies into an open-ended situation as if to invite us to wonder what will come next.

Keely grows up alongside her father and younger brother in a tight-knit community of seacoalers, where life is tough but mutual support abounds. However, when tragedy strikes, Keely grapples with the unpredictable dimensions of loss and grief. It's in this tumultuous time that she crosses paths with Finn, who carries his own burdens of trauma.

I found myself completely engrossed in their stories, devouring the novel in a single sitting. Paddy Crewe skillfully draws readers into the lives of his characters, leaving me both hopeful and deeply moved by the book's conclusion. With two distinct novels already to his name, I eagerly anticipate Crewe's next literary journey, for he has proven himself to be a truly remarkable novelist, and this latest work stands as a testament to his talent.

Keely has been brought up with her father and younger brother in a small community of seacoalers. It’s a hard life, but those living in the camp look out for each other. When tragedy strikes she has to learn that loss and grief have no fixed dimensions. Then she meets Finn who has had his own traumas to deal with.
These two souls seek salvation with each other, while muddling their way through to adulthood.
Written in a subtle understated way, reminiscent of Donal Ryan, I found myself being pulled into the story and rooting for these two young people.

I think this book will appeal to a wide range of readers, including young adults.

Many thanks to Penguin Random House & NetGalley for an ARC

Truly emotional, this was a heavy read, but one that was crafted with so much care and attention to detail. The main characters were well written and fleshed out, and their struggles and grief really were palpable. I think books like this are important as they make everyday emotions more accessible, and I’m glad to have read it.

Paddy Crewe's second novel, after the very well received My Name is Yip (which was shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize), is a novel which is tonally and totally different to his debut that I had to check it was the same writer.

Keeley and Finn are two lost souls who come together, their broken and bust-up lives providing the backdrop to a very low-key melancholic love story. This was beautifully written, a tale of small towns and small lives excavated with nuance and heart. It reminded me very much of Donal Ryan at times.

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.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Keely and Finn are two lost souls who have not had much love in their short lives, when fate throws them together. Are they to0 damaged to sustain what they have found and pull themselves out of their pasts into the future? All of the characters in this book have depth, even the most minor ones. The depth of feeling described is exquisite and demands to be savoured. This s a beautiful story, beautifully told.

What an absolute gem of a read. I couldn't put it down and spent a glorious Saturday immersed in this beautiful writing. Keeley and Finn will reach in and catch your heart and then your soul. Paddy Crewe has created two characters who are flawed and broken yet allow themselves the risk of falling in love. Their journey is written with such empathy and understanding that I felt like I was part of their story. There is a deep understanding of human frailty throughout the novel and even the most peripheral character has a purpose and a personality. It's truly a work of pure beauty.

So excited for this one! I cannot wait to read Keely and Finns love story! It seems absolutely beautiful and touching. I will be sharing full thoughts and a review very soon! Cannot wait to share this beautiful touching love story.