Following her superb debut novel Bellies, Disappoint Me confirms that Nicola Dinan is a writer of great talent. That said, there was something that niggled at me about this book: the writing was artful and accomplished but I also felt somehow distanced from the characters, who largely inhabit a very economically privileged world.

Let me tell you, I screamed when I got my hands on this arc. Having adored Nicola’s exquisite debut Bellies, I wondered if anything could top it. But she’s done it again (and Disappoint Me might even be better…)

We follow Max and Vincent as they navigate their new relationship which is tender yet fraught, filled with the complexities of navigating identity, societal expectations, and the ghosts of their past. They are forced to confront questions of forgiveness and ultimately decide whether it's possible to love people who’ve made mistakes.

The “main” narration is by Max in 2023 but dispersed throughout we flip to Vincent’s pov during a pivotal gap year trip to Thailand in 2012. I enjoyed both timelines and both characters equally - Nicola has a gift for writing characters that feel so vivid that they leap off the page, and Max and Vincent are no exception. Their journeys had my attention from start to finish and honestly, it was one of those books I didn’t want to end.

Nicola masterfully captures the messy, imperfect realities of life with a balance of humour, heartache, and sharp social commentary. Her emotionally charged storytelling remains grounded, offering poignant and deeply relatable insights. With this book, Nicola Dinan has firmly secured her place on my auto-buy list and if she isn’t on yours, she should be.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nicola Dinan and Random House UK for the arc!

Dinan tackles a fascinating and contemporary situation of a trans woman well in this novel. Sometimes the pace of the novel was a little lagging, but essentially, the characters are well-rounded, and the storyline is, in itself, a good hook. Enjoyable. My thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Dinan has triumphed again with her second novel. I loved Bellies and so was expecting great things from this. Although it took me a while to get into this one, once I was settled into the structure and knew the characters I absolutely loved it.

The book is told from two perspectives: Max and Vincent. The two of them meet at the start of the novel and strike up a relationship. Max’s story follows her as she navigates the new relationship as a trans woman and deals with some traumatic health issues, and Vincent’s story is almost like a flashback to his time in Thailand with a friend which goes horribly wrong after they both hook up with the same girl.

Once this novel got going it really grips you. Dinan is so good at writing deep, emotional scenes which you can tear your eyes away from. I love how her books are still about being trans, but they are more about friendship, betrayal and growth. The friendship group wasn’t as strong as the one in Bellies but the two main characters in this one really made it for me, and I thought it was amazing. I definitely recommend if you like books about messy friendship groups but which will have a big emotional impact on you.

Disappoint Me was one of my final reads of 2024 and it certainly did not disappoint (see what i did there...). It was beautifully written, hugely emotional, and just everything I wanted it to be. I'm probably reading Ninans books in a different order that most on here. I have Bellies on my shelf ready to go, but it has fallen victim to the TBR pile. Then I received a copy of Disappoint Me from @doubledayukbooks and jumped into it, loved it, and it has now pushed Bellies to the top of that TBR pile. I'm so excited to read it now if the writing was even half as beautiful as Disappoint Me.

Disappoint Me tells the story of Max, a trans woman, and her relationship with Vincent. Told in two timelines of present day and Vincent’s past during his gap year, we unravel their stories of how they are the people they are today. Whilst also learning of their family dynamics and friendships, Disappoint Me features lots of important topics that need to be talked about, and Dinan tells them superbly with characters you can't help but connect and empathise with.

When I finished Bellies it stuck with me for a long time and even now when I see it on a shelf in a bookshop, I’m reminded of how much I enjoyed it so in some ways I had high expectations for Disappoint Me but equally I didn’t expect it to be as good.

I was wrong, Nicola Dinan does it again and what a book to start the year on!

It’s so hard not to become entirely invested in the lives of the characters Dinan creates and my only criticism is that I want more of Max and Vincent’s story!

Thank you to NetGalley, Nicola Dinan and Random House UK for the chance to review this brilliant book.

I have not yet read Bellies so have not had the pleasure of Nicola Dinan's writing before. If this book is anything to go by then I cannot wait to read more.

The story is written as a dual narrative between Max and Vincent. We meet Max on New Years Eve as she begins the year uncertain and fresh out of a break up. She is questioning her life and her abilities after her published poetry book received mixed reviews. She works as a lawyer in her day job, posing as AI for a firm, whilst having one day a week to write. She seems to be in a writing rut, unsure of herself and what to do next.
Max then meets Vincent. We are taken through their growing romance as Vincent battles with guilt and shame from actions he has taken in his own past.

I have not read any books before that explore the dating world as a transwoman and found this incredibly educational. It is heartbreaking that this presents a barrier when meeting new families, and thinking about possible futures. It is shocking to live in a world where someone would question themselves based on who they are attracted to, out of fear of judgement or a label this may give them. Everyone should read this book to gain greater understanding and to realise that we should we treating everyone equally.

I enjoyed reading key moments in the story that explored forgiveness and redemption. Should people be punished for past mistakes? What is too much to forgive? It was fascinating to see who I judged for their pasts and what I felt the outcome should have been. This would be a brilliant book to read in a book club and discuss, for this reason.

Another key theme that I took from this book was friendship. This wasn't just about romance. It was about the other relationships in life. Family and those who become family to us. Old friends who may not be prominent in our day to day lives, but share an important history.

A brilliant book to start 2025.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC!

Bellies was one of my favourite reads of 2023, and I always think a second novel on the heels of an excellent debut must be one of the scariest things to write! But Nicola Dinan has risen to the challenge, cementing her in my eyes as one of the most exciting authors writing today.

Disappoint Me follows Max and Vincent as they navigate turning 30 and all of the expectations that come with it. Vincent is also grappling with the past, something terrible he did that he’s managed to keep secret. This is probably one of my favourite things about this book, the nuance with which Vincent’s bad thing is written. Because it is bad. Very bad. But people aren’t (generally) all bad or all good, they occupy a space in between and Dinan writes that space so beautifully.

As I’m writing this, I actually think Vincent overshadowed Max in terms of character development, but I still loved her. Max often gets sort of dimmed by the people in her life; she seems more defined by her relationship to Vincent, her brother, and her best friend (who is awful lol). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as these relationships are so exquisitely written. But Max as a whole entity, undefined by those around her, remains a little out of reach.

But overall, gorgeous, stunning, already eagerly awaiting book 3!

told in dual perspectives and timelines, disappoint me follows max and vincent, two 30-something-year-olds who meet on a dating app and begin a relationship. exploring transness, complex relationships, how our lives and experiences shape us, and forgiveness, dinan's creates deeply empathetic and flawed characters. there is so much wonderful growth and setback and very real feelings of trying to make sense of who you are and your place in the world. max and vincent's anxieties going into the relationship and during the relationship were well-written and realistic, and i liked seeing them both come together and fight to understand each other over the course of their relationship.

i cannot write a review for nicola dinan without mentioning her stunning prose; i would read anything she writes at this point. i loved her inclusion of mundane details, something i also loved about her debut novel, bellies, and how much it adds to the characterization and making her protagonists feel real and whole.

the ending left me with more questions than answers, but it felt true to life and deeply cathartic.

a quiet, beautifully-written and thought-provoking novel, that is more than worth the read.

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC!

4.5

At least Disappoint Me didn't make me cry. It was, however, just as beautifully written as Bellies.

Disappoint Me tells us the story of Max, a trans woman and her boyfriend, Vincent - a man with secrets.

The dual timeline follows Max and Vincent's relationship but also Vincent's past during his gap year.

It is a simple story but it is beautifully told and the richness of the storytelling sets it above other novels.

This is a very different novel to Bellies exploring, as it does, relationships between families, romantic ones between men and trans women, forgiveness and acceptance, understanding that we all make mistakes and being able to admit our faults.

I loved Bellies and I loved Disappoint Me. I look forward to Nicola Dinan's next novel.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advance review copy.

This was an absolutely beautiful, brilliant and poetic book. I love Dinan‘s writing style which brought me both to laughter and to tears and the novel‘s characters are some of the most real, touching and raw. A touching and magnificent exploration of love, identity, friendship and family. I can‘t really say much more other than you must read this book.

I really liked this moving, emotional book. I have owned the author’s debut for about a year now without reading it, but it has definitely moved up my list of books to read. She has a really easy to read, flowing way of writing that I absolutely devoured. The story is touching and the characters are so well developed, they felt very real. This was a great read.

This novel was excellent! 'Bellies' was a fantastic debut and Nicola's second book is even better. Max, a transwoman, falls for Vincent after a painful break-up and is stuck in a rut - a wannabe poet who has lost enthusiasm and in a job pretending to be A.I. Max discovers her the cause of her headaches is actually a brain tumour and a much needed break away unleashes secrets that question who Vincent really is. Max is left reeling from the revelation and trying to deal with her upcoming operation. What will Max decide to do?

I thoroughly enjoyed this, it touched on different topics - trans issues, life issues, trust and betrayal.

Many thanks to #netgalley and #Randomhouse for this ARC.

I enjoyed this book and it has made me think about the own choices I choose to do

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read arc of this book in exchange for this review

Vincent was the standout character for me in this book, although Max is equally well written there is just something about Vincent!
This is an interesting exploration of a developing romance between two people heading through their thirties and with hurdles that other couples may not face. There are some real soul searching moments and some gentle revelations about life for Max and being accepted for who she is by people who are important to those who are important to her.

yes to romance novels about trans characters! yes to complex romantic relationships that aren’t a straightforward predictable fairytale! yes to questions of accountability and forgiveness!
this was SO interesting and nuanced and just really really refreshing for a romance book and I want so many more books like this! even if it’s not perfect it’s such a good step in overhauling the romance genre and I’m such a fan because relationships are COMPLICATED and MESSY and not everything has a perfect explanation or ends well and that is exactly the stuff I want to read about!

I've been a huge fan of Dinan since Bellies, a book I devoured and adored. I'm glad to say that Disappoint Me is in every way as hilarious and heart-breaking as the debut, but even more brave.

Dinan's words and observations are razor sharp and capture the trans experience, and the rawness of humanity, so perfectly. Disappoint Me is a book that is genuinely hilarious and then immediately rips out your heart on the next page.

Already a strong contender for the best book of the year.

Dinan's début novel Bellies was so good—and such a surprise—when I read it back in September that I was really delighted to be sent a proof of her second. One of the things I liked about Bellies was how it deals with a part of young life that doesn't get a lot of coverage in fiction, namely those odd years after you've left university but don't feel like you're properly fledged yet and are trying to navigate a lot of sudden changes to your relationships/friendships with other people. Disappoint Me is set amongst people in their early thirties, some of whom have had some artistic success, but there's that same sense of not quite being convinced by your own adultness and yet also being aware that you do now have to act like an adult. (Well, apart from the fact that all these folks take a lot of drugs, which I can't identify with and have never been interested in.) Max, the protagonist of Disappoint Me, does feel a little bit like an aged-up Ming from Bellies—their wryness, their humour, their fears, are very similar—but Vincent, Max's boyfriend, felt like a really original creation to me. So much in this about having juuuust enough history, and enough perspective on your own youthful behaviour, to be ashamed by, and about trying to do better without exculpating your earlier mistakes. I wonder, also, if Hanya Yanagihara is a conscious influence; Dinan uses melodrama with similar panache. Anyway, a lot of people are going to feel seen by this and it's very good.

I adored Nicola Dinan's debut Bellies so was thrilled to have the opportunity to read Disappoint Me. And it did not... disappoint... me. Sorry but sometimes I simply must pick the low hanging fruit!

Max is trans, a lapsed poet and working as a lawyer at a tech company. On New Year's Eve she falls down the stairs at a house party and upon waking up in hospital decides to make some changes to her life.

Vincent is a practicing lawyer and meets Max on a dating app. On his gap year in Thailand with his best friend he had a fling with a woman named Alex, which reverberates through his life.

This is so complex and beautifully done. It is set across two timelines and they weave together beautifully. The characters are raw and real, especially Max who remains downright humorous in the face of everything in her life.

Loved it. Love Nicola Dinan!

A funny and interesting look at contemporary dating in queer life.

Likely going to be the subject of my January newsletter to coincide with the release.