Overspill is an exceptional debut from Charlotte Paradise. Sometimes when I find out a book is a debut, I feel a little pang of disappointment that I can't go and read everything else that the author has written. I felt that with Overspill. I cannot explain to you just how fast I sped through this book. The rawness and depth of emotion felt on every page is something that is hard to find, something that Paradise has written exceptionally well.

Overspill navigates love and life amidst the glaring background of trauma, the reclamation of your body, and female desire. Sara, who is 25, cannot use a tampon without having a panic attack. Except it's not quite what you're thinking, this actually has nothing to do with the tampon. When Sara when she goes out to meet Miles for a first date, she doesn't expect much. Actually she expects it to go exactly how they've all gone as of recently. Except, little does she know that this date is the start of many. Her preconceptions were totally wrong. For three months, Miles respects her boundaries and they don't so much as touch. Ultimately what both of these individuals are searching for is love. Someone to love and who will truly love them in return.

How does one navigate this relationship without a compass and any sense of direction? How is it possible to connect with someone else, when you don't feel connected to yourself?

After fighting against your body for so long, , is it possible to feel comfortable in your own skin once more?

In this sparkling debut, Paradise redefines intimacy. Intimacy is the act of truly knowing the other, found within the folds of trust and honesty, it is not solely found within the physicality of a relationship.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Akan Books for sending me this e-ARC! I have a feeling that Overspill will be playing on my mind for the foreseeable future.

This book is beautiful and I absolutely devoured it, but the central relationship hit really close to home for me. I think I’ll have to curl up in a corner after this. Such amazing characterisation and so moving, I really loved it. An excellent read.

I must admit I only read around half of this book. As o found the subject quite unsettling.

I do appreciate the raw honest storyline and other readers no doubt will enjoy reading it .

Thank you so much to Akan Books for the ARC!

4.5 stars rounded up!

I needed a moment to gather my thoughts and feelings of this when I finished. I got the ARC and began to read & annotate and only stopped when I needed to sleep.

The writing within this is something that is so raw and familiar. Brutally honest and relatable that you get dragged into it relating to maybe everything that Sarah herself mentions, has experienced, or even just little parts.

The subject matter within the story is deep and crushing. Extremely crushing. Especially to witness a character we have been on a journey with try to gain some control on things, understandings of herself and her new relationship with Miles, we see the changes she tries to make, the things she does, the way she thinks, etc. and yet it just seemed to be piling up and up until it would actually overspill into a different yet related level that Sarah herself and the reader is now confronted with.

The writing is stunning and looking back on things that are scattered here and there and how they were within the story to where it leads to and ends just makes everything hit you with force even more. I loved how talking about bodies was so natural as well and the love/hate with bodies within it. You can't help but find at least something you have thought about. I found several LOOOOOL

I will say this, the way I was absolutely taken by Miles. Wow. He has his flaws don't get me wrong lol
What a debut!

This book is not an easy read but it is very well written. Basically it deals with CPTSD. The trauma is revealed slowly through the book but it is nevertheless a page turner. The book is very sad but there is hope. I was glad to be offered the book in advance of publication in exchange for an honest review. It is not a book I would normally have picked up but I learnt a lot from it. The characters are well depicted and relatable.

This is a really hard book to review. It’s certainly not a book I can say that I enjoyed- Sara’s trauma and distress is evident at every point and there is very little levity to be found. It feels like a story that needs to be read, but it is very heavy going.
From a more technical point of view I wasn’t a massive fan of the author’s style of writing. There are some beautiful parts, but generally I found the writing a little too dense- maybe I just prefer a more sparse prose im not sure

Let me first preface by saying that I think this book is well written and should be read by most people. It has insights into important topics that are shaping the reality of 20 year-olds these days, and it is likely beneficial to all to learn more about these.

The book is the story of a young woman in her 20s, trying to understand the physical and emotional barriers that make it hard for her to be intimate with men, despite having the usual desires and passions of any woman her age. At the beginning of the book our protagonist meets a young man roughly her age, and the story follows their relationship growing and struggling. These struggles, in their own right, help our protagonist learn more about herself and discover more about traumatic events that plague her on a daily basis.

For me the story and the writing were illuminating. I learned a lot about what dating these days looks like for young people, how they deal with trauma and stress, and what shape honestly and clear communication take in this day and age.

I did find myself struggling with the book and myself as the story progressed. This struggle, on a meta level, is the reason I would recommend reading this book, actually. On the one hand, I found myself annoyed with the apparent self indulgence of the protagonist, and her need to have everyone around her understand her, accept her, and adjust to her. This was equally applicable to the larger things, as well as to the smaller ones (like veganism). The book was full of hyper sensitivity, hyper awareness of self, and an overwhelming amount of psychological self diagnosis. On the other hand, I had to face the reality of the trauma afflicting the protagonist, and the fundamental inseparable truth of the need to heal it. On balance, it was an educational experience for me, even though I finished the book feeling that, while the trauma is ubdeniable, it doesn't mean the the person suffering from it is expemt from the need to be empathetic to others.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an opportunity to read the book ahead of its release in return for an honest review.

Overspill is an incredibly powerful and well-written debut novel that explores C-PTSD, navigating love alongside trauma, female desire and self-reclamation. Another element I found really interesting involved the reflections on Miles’ religious upbringing and the impact it had on him around desire and the shame that follows. I really do recommend Overspill; as you can imagine it can feel suffocating at times due to the subject matter but at the same time it’s an overwhelmingly raw, honest and brave book that reminded me of Jaded by Ela Lee (one of my favourite books from last year.) It’s being published just under a month today in the UK on the 24th April 2025 so one to add to your radar. A big thank you to Akan Books/Harper Collins - via Rachel Quin Marketing - as well as Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this one.

I inhaled this book in one devastating sitting. Unflinching and wholly empathetic, it was hard to read at times (in terms of the trauma discussed), and it did take a different turn to what I was expecting - but completely worth it. I can’t decide if I liked having the occasional pov of Miles (the protagonist’s love interest) or not. But, irrespective, an enormous achievement. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the privilege of this ARC.

Even though I find this topic of the book quite reletable, especially in my teens, I could not really get into it.
The first chapter was not good. Really. Maybe if she put it in a different chapter whole vibe of the book would change for me. Pacing was off a bit, too. It got better, though.
I really enjoyed the story and main characters. They were annoying at times, but overall very nice.
Topics discussed and writing of this book are the reasons I reccomend it. Maybe not for me, but it's definitelly worth to give it a try.
I am sorry that this review is kind of all over the place, but so are my feelings.
Can't wait to see the authors beautiful language in some other book. I will definitelly read it.

Thank you to net gallery shelf and marketer for earc of the book.

I feel very grateful that I could not relate to this book. But I did find it a struggle.

Sara has sexual trauma. It means she doesn’t want to be touched, can’t be touched and has a panic attack trying to use a tampon.

She meets Miles and she wants to be able to be intimate with him but she is unable too.

As I said I am very grateful to not relate to Sara but it meant I struggled with her and a lot of her relationship with Miles. I’m glad it was interspersed with his perspective.

The realisation at the end gave a lot of context and I like how everything wasn’t tied up neatly at the end but I don’t think this one was for me. However I can see this being incredible helpful and healing for some people so I’m grateful it exists for them.

★★★★☆

I can see this being a very popular bookstagram book, and with good reason. It discusses a lot of topical issues with style and nuance, and Sara's struggles are relatable whether you have been through similar circumstances or otherwise. Miles is a bit of an odd character for me, in that he seems to just shift quite abruptly at one point, but could be that that was intentional for his character.

It's very readable despite the difficult themes and showcases the impact that trauma can have, even if that impact is subconscious.

cw// rape, sexual assault, mentions of PTSD, mental health

The pacing wasn’t always my favorite, with some moments dragging more than others, but Overspill remains bold, intimate, and sometimes unsettling, but that’s what makes it so compelling. Definitely check the trigger warnings, but if you’re looking for something beautifully written and thought-provoking, that tackles female desire, trauma, and self-identity in a way that encourages reflection and introspection... then this one is worth picking up.

Sara was a good main character, one you cannot help but root for. Oftentimes, I found myself wishing I could wrap her up in a blanket and keep everything and everyone from hurting her. Her story is heartbreaking, yes, but it’s not empty of hopefulness. 

Ultimately, it’s a story about what living with trauma can be like. It’s full of rich and complex characters that are extremely human. They make mistakes and miscommunicate and they’re just truly trying their best. 

The writing was so beautiful. I constantly found myself going back and rereading certain sentences so I could savor them. They were perfectly crafted. And this is a debut! I’m definitely keeping an eye on Charlotte Paradise and whatever she does next. 

Thank you for my ARC, which was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first 15% of this was a little slow to get into, but then I found it picked up and it got more engaging.
Sara is an extremely vulnerable, yet relatable character, with a lot of her thoughts and worries echoed in many women's lives at some point.
A very heavy read, which by the end of the book, I felt so many emotions that I still can't quite convey.
Lots of trigger warnings for this one.
Heartbreaking yet hopeful, an extremely raw and unfiltered depiction of trauma.
This book is guaranteed to stay with me for a long time.
Fantastic debut 👏

Thank you so much to marketer Rachel Quinn, publisher Akanbooks and NetGalley for the offer to read and review this eARC

Thank you to the publishers for my ARC.

This book is absolutely stunning and extremely emotive. It explores a lot of difficult topics such as trauma, mental health, and relationships and I feel as though many people will resonate and identify with the protagonist.

Such a wonderful, raw, complex read. An heartbreaking, yet hopeful story about what it's like to be a human dealing with trauma and trying to not let it control your life. These characters are so wonderfully crafted, and they feel so real; just people doing their best as they try to get through everyday life. The writing is so masterful and captivating, it makes it so easy to lose yourself into this world. I loved it so much, and it's definitely a story that will stay with me for a long while.

I feel the opening chapter set me up to not get on with this book. The whole set up of chapter 1 I feel jumps into things without fully explaining all the issues that Sara has, that for me then made it difficult to fully get into the story.

It's a good book but I'm not sure i can say I enjoyed it exactly. The subject matter is a bit of a tough one.
Sara struggles with lots of things, in particular with sex. As the book progresses it becomes clearer what is going on. The exploration of that is done in what seems like a very realistic way. I totally believed in what was happening and the way it played out.
The author has managed to get the pace just right, the story moved along but didn't feel rushed.
I'll be thinking about it for a long time.
Worth a read for sure but do check out the trigger warnings.

2.5 rounded up

The start is challenging for me with its discussion of bodily issues that 25-year-old Sara suffers from. She hasn’t been in a relationship since Nick and has only had a few dates, partly because of her body issues. Now, she starts to date Miles, she has to explain her psychological problems and initially he’s very understanding. How can she overcome a serious condition in order to truly be with Miles?

I’m not the right reader for this, I don’t enjoy the topic under discussion and I believe it’s suits a much younger age profile than mine. I find it very hard to read is it is extremely frank, upfront, honest and painfully raw about Sara‘s issues. It’s a bit too brutally honest for my taste. Her painful struggles come across very clearly and it certainly thought provoking and I’m sure that it’s a novel that will resonate with many. When the truth that lies at the heart of it all emerges it’s shocking yet in another way it’s not, because it has to be something very traumatic. It does make me feel terribly sorry for her which leads to greater understanding.

Although it’s well written but at times I find the pace is too slow and it doesn’t hold my interest. It’s an effort to push on in the hope that the pace will pick up.

Overall, it’s not for me as I find the subject matter makes me too uncomfortable.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins: Akan Books for the early copy and apologies that it doesn’t work for me.