Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler

I read this book in less than 24 hours as I just couldn't put it down.
I was totally drawn in to the story and at times felt like shouting at the book to get Adelaide to see things more clearly.

Adelaide is living in London, working hard and dating Rory Hughes who is sometimes her "disney prince" and other times missing in action. After tragedy strikes Adelaide works hard to support those around her.

I loved the way the story jumped in time and location as I felt it really gave depth and understanding to the story and timeline.

With strong themes of friendship, grief and mental health, Adelaide is an exceptional debut novel.

Thank you to negalleyuk, the publishers and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#Scottishreader #irishbookstagram #Adelaide

Was this an easy read? No, it’s bound to be one that will be triggering for some because it deals with some tough topics. However, for me this was a masterclass in characterisation. Adelaide is imperfectly perfect, the kind of character you fall in love with and ride the highs and lows with. Her relationship with Rory and her wonderful friendship group provide light and shade bringing this story to life. It goes to dark places, but it also feels relatable and full of hope. I loved every second of Adelaide.

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you @headofzeus for approving me on NetGalley for this one. I whizzed through this in 2 days, unable to put it down. Adelaide made me feel every emotion possible and I loved it so much more than I was expecting to. I would highly recommend you give Adelaide a read, but make sure you've got some tissues handy as it is bound to make you well up.

Adelaide is the most selfless, pure, thoughtful, kind person to ever exist. She falls in love quick and hard and ultimately ends up giving her all to someone who doesn't even give her the bare minimum in return. Wheeler did a fantastic job at making the reader feel heartbroken, confused, and frustrated along with Adelaide, and despite knowing from the start that this relationship wasn't meant to last (this isn't a spoiler) you can't help being shocked at the actions of Rory and devastated for Adelaide. This was so well written and laid out that at times I even questioned if I was overreacting to these situations, which just highlights that sometimes you can't see things for how they truly are when you are in the middle of them and so in love that you're willing to sacrifice yourself to make your partner happy.

Honestly this one was a rollercoaster and I'm just going to finish this off by saying Adelaide, you deserve the world! (yes I know she's fictional)

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for my ARC copy.

This is without a doubt one of the best books of 2024. I am completely obsessed with Adelaide and her story. From the first page I was hooked, and found the book to be completely unputdownable. It is such a gorgeous yet heartbreaking tale, and a poignant and compelling read. I actually found it really relatable and moving, and I know that I will be thinking about Adelaide for a long time to come.

Wow. This book gave me a whole lot more than what I was expecting. I expected it to be heartbreaking, but the levels of frustration, anger and hurt the author manages to portrayal is exceptional.

Adelaide falls head over heels in love with story Hughes the moment they meet. However, this definitely isn’t a love story. It’s quite obvious to the reader which way the story is going to go but I actually appreciated this. It solidified the fact that when you are in love, it’s hard to see how you are being treated, emotionally abused and walk away from that. Rory Hughes was a little shit (to put it nicely) OH MY GOD I wanted to punch him, so hats off to the author for stirring up this anger in me. I became so immersed in Adelaide’s story and wanted to protect her at all costs, how much she tried to make the relationship, the kindness and support gave hurt my heart. AND THEN, the outcome of Rory’s life angered me even more, that man should have been unhappy for eternity (!!!!).

But I honestly was so invested in this book I struggled to put it down. The ending was the perfect and I loved the style it was told in. There are a lot of heavy topics addressed but if you like stories about complicated relationships, messy characters who go on a rollercoaster of a journey you will thoroughly enjoyed this one I think.

Look, I was Adelaide at some point in my 20s. I am sure many women will have/would have had similar experience: the girl who gives her all to someone who doesn’t want it, respect it or appreciate it. Yes, this is another ‘sad girl’ book, but I don’t know what else to say.

The mental health rep in the book is really good.

My big issue with this read, has nothing to do with the book…this is not a love story, but I feel like it’s being marketed as one. This is a heavy book. It rarely felt happy. It rarely felt light. Now, with the benefit of the knowledge I have, my advice to Adelaide (and her friends) would be to wake up: if you aren’t getting anything, then don’t give anything. The friends….please, give different advice. I know in our 20s we are prone to do the relationship dissection and try to bolster our friends, but honestly, what we all actually need is a dose of reality and honest communication. Yes, I know it’s an age thing and Adelaide had a lot of things going on but honestly, I got annoyed and frustrated here and there.

I think, for me, this book was raw, real and relatable so if real life isn’t your thing, then maybe it won’t be for you. It started strong and finished strong, but the middle frustrated me at times.

I absolutely adored this book. Lost two sleepless nights to it in fact because I couldn't stop reading. The author's voice is so unique, warm and funny you fall in love with Adelaide instantly even as she's car-crashing her way through life. The writing is off the scale fantastic and the blend of humour and heartbreak along with the unforgettable cast of characters put me in mind of Sorrow and Bliss. It's that good. Can't wait to see this book fly.

This raw and emotionally loaded novel really blew me away. It nearly brought me to tears on multiple occasions, as well as to laughter. The way that Genevieve Wheeler depicts friendship, love and heartbreak is truly phenomenal. I can already think of multiple people who will love this and who I will be recommending it to. Trigger warnings to bear in mind are grief, suicidal thoughts and sexual abuse, and this is at times, quite a heavy and hard hitting book. It is, however, a beautiful rendering of what it means to go through your 20s, feeling everything, both the highs and lows, to the fullest.

My heart ached for Adelaide, someone who tried so hard and felt she was either too much or not enough! This book covers some heavy subjects, please check yes. I read this one very quickly and it definitely is an emotional read.

📚 review 📚
adelaide - genevieve wheeler

where do i even start with this book? we all know by now that i am a sucker for a #sadgirlnovel and you don’t get much sadder than this. for me, adelaide is a modern day esther greenwood - this is a very raw, very real and so millennial it hurts story of a girl living in london just trying to be enough and feeling like she is failing miserably.

if you’ve ever felt inadequate - this book will bring you to your knees. i think we’ve all been adelaide at least once in our lives and as bleak as her story gets at points,
there is a resounding no hopefulness that shines through.

there are quite a few content warnings so look after yourself and check before diving in. adelaide isn’t always an easy read but one that will leave an impact and me being the lover of #sadgirlnovels that i am devoured it.

this was originally indy published but now has a rerelease and a new cover (ngl i preferred the original!) adelaide is out on 7th november, big thanks to @netgalley
for the early copy.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for advanced copy for my review.
The book follows Adelaide and begins with her in hospital feeling suicidal after a relationship break up so we know we are in for a bumpy ride. The book covers topics of mental health, loss, love and friendships. Adelaide is living in London after moving from America. She is living with housemates and works in events. The book explores the highs and lows of falling in love with someone who doesn't love you and how you can lose yourself whilst trying to make other people happy. This is a good character based book and I really enjoyed reading this. 4.5 stars. I will be recommending

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the e-ARC of this book.

Firstly, please check all the trigger warnings if you are thinking of reading this book, there is a lot going on...

I had really high hopes for this book, I love anything that explores relationships, grief, love, individuality, but this really fell flat for me. In short the characters all felt quite unrealistic, from wannabe it-girl blind to all bad behavior to a walking red flag we are meant to feel sorry for? Felt like trauma was being pulled out from every corner of this book and with no good reason.

On another note, I found the writing itself quite basic in the language and format.

I do appreciate what the author is trying to achieve with this, and it definitely has a market, but just didn't work for me.

*Adelaide* is a heart-wrenching yet tender exploration of love, mental health, and self-worth. Genevieve Wheeler's debut novel follows Adelaide Williams, a young American expat living in London, as she navigates the ups and downs of a relationship that leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew about love.

Wheeler beautifully captures the complexities of unrequited love and the emotional toll it can take on one's mental health. The prose is poignant, at times gutting, but always honest. Adelaide's struggles with anxiety and depression are handled with care, making her journey toward self-acceptance both relatable and deeply moving.

What stands out most is the authenticity of the characters—Adelaide feels like someone you know, or even like yourself, and her vulnerability is what makes the story so powerful. Wheeler doesn't shy away from the messy, uncomfortable emotions, instead presenting them in a way that feels real and raw.

For anyone who's ever been in love with someone who couldn't love them back, or who's struggled with their mental health, *Adelaide* will resonate deeply. It's a book that stays with you long after the final page, reminding you that even in the darkest moments, you're never truly alone.

I will post a review on my page on release day - instagram.com/ce.readsss

LOVED this book! Definitely not what I was expecting. I thought it would be more of a typical love story read. The writing was right up my alley, I swayed from loving and hating certain characters, which made this a real rollercoaster ride.
Can’t believe this is a debut novel!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

This is absolutely my favourite book I’ve read of 2024, evidenced by the fact that I was awake until 2:30am as I just could not put it down.

From the first page of this book I was absolutely hooked and felt immensely connected to Adelaide and so many of the side characters throughout. This is a story that so many can relate to and the way in which the author writes makes it impossible to not be hit with nostalgia page after page. Adelaide is such a relatable character and even when you want to shout at the pages over her actions, you can’t help but empathise with her.

The format of the book moving between years and locations to focus on the different characters is very satisfying and allows the pacing to be perfect. I really enjoyed how our main character was Adelaide and we understood her thoughts and feelings, with just a dash of the insight into other characters’ perspectives.

Though the book focuses on romantic relationships and love as the blurb suggests, the strength of true friendships and family feels just as prominent and even more important. The interactions between Adelaide and her friends feel well thought out and real.

This book reminded me of ‘Everything I know about Love’ by Dolly Alderton and the series based on it in the best way possible. Before I was even 20% of the way through the book I was searching for more by this author and was astonished and disappointed to realise it’s her debut novel! I can’t wait to read more from her.

This book will have you in tears in every way imaginable and will conjure memories and nostalgia from the very first to the very last page. I couldn’t recommend this enough (I already have to numerous people).

Firstly, thank you so much to Aria & Aries for this e-arc of Adelaide, I was so excited to read this.

*Trigger warning: suicide, sexual assault, mental health

'Jumped in with hesitation. It was chilling and exhilarating, like swimming outside in winter: an icy rush. But it was also painful and numbing and impossibly cold. It was never a comfortable kind of love, no matter how desperately she tried to bring warmth to their relationship.'

Adelaide is working in a corporate job in London when she suddenly stumbles into her Prince Charming, Rory Hughes. Yet, their not-quite-relationship sets the narrative's downward spiral for Adelaide's mental state. She can never do enough for Rory, always not quite slotting into his life, and she is never quite as good as his ex. It is a narrative that asks: what are the people in our life for, what do coincidences entail, and how can we love fully without losing ourselves?

Genevieve Wheeler's narrative opens with Adelaide's suicide before her downward trajectory is retrospectively recounted in real time for the most part of the book. This felt so much like the Prologue to Romeo and Juliet to me. We know what eventually happens to Adelaide. We don't know how her story continues, but we know that Adelaide is only half-alive at the start of the novel. What follows occurs in a misty haze that is overshadowed by this startling opening reality.

I found moments of reading the slippage of Adelaide's spiralling mental health to be quite difficult, and it is certainly a testimony to Wheeler's ability to formulate very real, disturbing and honest prose that this is the case. She captures trauma, the core values and beliefs that bind and sometimes constrict us, and the fallout that happens when we are betrayed so very vividly. So, although it was at points difficult to stomach, I really appreciate and value how Wheeler portrayed these dark realities of human experience, and how she never censored the more taboo aspects of mental health that are so important to speak openly about.

What I would say, though, is how much Wheeler's prose sparkles with her ability to make emotions resonate, capture the beauty of female friendships and relationships, and how she still manages to balance the darkness of her narrative with hope and humour. She also portrays personal characteristics and personality qualities, like people pleasing, and makes them relatable and sympathetic, rather than demeaning, an aspect of her writing style which I really appreciate.

I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read more from Genevieve Wheeler in the future!

What a powerful, emotional, raw and beautiful book.

Thank you so much to the publisher and author for the advanced reader copy. This one will stay with me for a while.

I could not put this book down. I related to Adelaide so much - her big feelings, her endless empathy and her feelings of never being good enough.

I loved that this wasn’t a traditional love story. Instead, it showed what love should really feel like - comforting, and how friendships can be all the love we need.

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous read and one I will highly recommend.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for giving me an arc to read this book before it is published in exchange for an honest review. I read this in a day and couldn’t put it down.

I felt so many emotions reading this book, so many that I feel absolutely drained emotionally (but in a good way).
This book took me on a whirlwind of emotions, I was flicking the pages (kindle pages) as quickly as I could to not miss any emotions or story about them. I felt so much reading this book that I think that the author did an amazing job writing such a poetic yet emotional story.
I felt:
- Sadness: Adelaide has so much going but yet Rory doesn’t seem to see what she is going through and how he is being selfish not validating her feelings. He is so consumed with grief that I felt like slapping him and shaking him to see what a beautiful person he has in front of him (that he doesn’t deserve)
- Anger: Anger that Adelaide is not opening her eyes at how he is using her. But mostly anger at Rory for making her hope and deceiving her.
- Joy: The first few chapters were beautifully written and showed so much joy to the reader. Seeing how their relationship blossomed and how she fell for him.

This book is a masterpiece of emotions and I really do hope that people enjoy it as much as I did. I would even recommend it to younger readers (16 and above) because it is such a good book to understand emotions in relationships and how sometimes we believe in something and are blinded by reality.
I would say that this book is very raw, it talks about pregnancy loss, self harm, mental health, emotionally abusive relationships and rape. It’s not a romance in it’s entirety and although there is a happy ending you have to go through a lot of hard feelings to get to it.

3.5 stars

This was not an easy read, despite how fast I finished it. The whole time I was reading, my heart ached for Adelaide. I saw a version of myself in her (unfotrunately), and I know many others can relate. We have been Adelaide at some point, or we’ve had close friends who experienced this particular brand of heartbreak: being the girl with so much love to give, falling for a man who continually falls short of giving her the love she deserves.

Adelaide is such a giver, her generous heart shines throughout the book. She loves her family and her friends so fiercely. And when she opens her heart to Rory it’s incredibly frustrating to see how he doesn’t feel the same way about her. What makes it even sadder is that this is the first time Adelaide has considered pursuing a serious relationship after a traumatic event in her teenage years (plus a few years of engaging in strictly casual sex with different men as a response to that trauma). Adelaide believes she has found her Disney prince in Rory. But she was sorely mistaken.

As a reader, it was painful to watch Adelaide do everything she can to make Rory fall in love with her. And while you can see the red flags from a mile away, when Rory does choose to shine his loving light on Adelaide, their connection feels magical and all the shitty things become worthwhile (or at least very easy to ignore).

*Sigh*
Baby girl, no. Just. No.

This is a story about a toxic situationship-turned-vague-relationship. This is about falling in love. About doing everything right and trying to make it work. About how sometimes you don’t feel like you are enough (oh but you are, you are). About letting go, about finally believing you deserve better.

And this is also a story about friendship. Adelaide has such a loving and supportive friend group in Maddison, Celeste, and Eloise. Navigating life when you’re in your mid-twenties can be complicated, but with solid friendships and a judgment-free support system, everything becomes a lot more bearable. And I am truly so happy that Adelaide has her friends.

Now, on to some things I had a bit of an issue with
I felt like Adelaide’s teenage trauma could have been explored more. It obviously had such an effect on her, but it was rarely brought up. Also I’m surprised Adelaide doesn’t have a therapist early on, considering her family has a history of mental health problems. But then again, if she had a therapist from the get-go, this would have been a very different book. I also wished we had more time with Adelaide in her healing phase because only get this in the last few chapters and epilogue. I wanted to see her heal and shine and thrive!

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler is for the girlies who like sad books. This is for readers like me who enjoy being emotionally damaged by fiction, who welcome being vulnerable and emotional. That being said, there are some heavy topics in the book, please check trigger warnings before reading this.
Thank you to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for the ARC.

Review posted on Goodreads and StoryGraph
I will be posting a review on Instagram closer to publication date.

Adelaide is frustrating, annoying, and oblivious, but she is also Bridget Jones. My heart ached for her, and I adored her. I wanted to hit her on the head, cuddle her, wipe her tears, and give her a good shake. The author wrote a book about a character that I could really empathize with. I think this is the fastest I have read a book this year. I loved it and will get a copy for my daughter too.