Really enjoyed this story and the different slant it brought to a relationship break up. Additionally the greater insight into influencers was really interesting to read about.

I DNF'ed this book. It wasn't my kinda book. The blurb spoke to me and the cover. But at 25% i stoped reading.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. At the beginning especially as I thought Willow, the main female character was a bit feeble. I'm pleased to say that as the book gained momentum and tackled so many issues surrounding relationships, friendships, family, mental health and the power of the artificial world of Influencers, I really got drawn in as Willow eventually tackles her own life problems and stands up for herself. It's a quick read and fairly fast paced but with a feeling of hope especially for women struggling in their 20s and 30s.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. If you like the idea of a book about friendships and relationships (and how being single is actually very ok), then I think this will be a good one to pick up. It is an emotional but fun read.

The story focuses around Willow, the FMC who is in a happy relationship and everything seems to be going great.. even perhaps a proposal on the horizon. Then, things aren't going so great in her life. With the help of her friends she rebuilds her life and the book follows her journey along the way.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Willow is the main character in the book and her group of long term friends. At the beginning she seems to have sorted her life out, live in boyfriend who she started a business with, beautiful house together, hoping he’s going to propose. Then it’s not.
Willow is commissioned by an editor she has worked with before to write an article about an influencer who is single and promotes the single life as opposed to being part of a couple. The editor thinks Willow is still with her boyfriend and wants her to compare their lives.
The book is a delight to read and I would have given it 5 stars if Willow hadn’t been so accepting of the awful way her boyfriend had treated her!

This is an enjoyable and relatable read. I liked the themes of female friendship and independence. It made me reflect on times when I've been single and the way I coped.
The story was a quick, joyful read.
The writing felt a bit adjective heavy, though. There were adjectives before most things described and I found that slightly grating to read. It pulled me out of the writing a lot.

Sorry, this wasn't one of my favourite books, but I think it is because I am older than Willow and her friends. Willow is alone, but doesn't admit to being lonely. She has seemingly good friends. Her experience with Naz, the 'influencer' is interesting, and really shows up what a tinsel life they have. I found the sweeping between time slots annoying. However, I thank NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

Table for One is frustratingly relatable - the confusion and slight jealousy towards Gen Zs (how are they so cool? How did they skip the awkward phase and go straight into adulthood?), the feelings of loss when a relationship you’d planned your future around comes crashing down out of the blue, the loneliness when you reach out to your friends but everyone is just so busy all the time. But it’s also joyously optimistic - building bridges, reconnecting, and finding that spark again that made you who you are.

All in all this is a great little read, it might be a little raw in the immediate aftermath of a breakup - but if you’re in that phase of finding yourself and finding joy in spending more time with your friends again, decorating your space without compromise, and putting your self first for the first time in what feels like a lifetime then this is going to be the perfect read. Only problem is, you’re going to have to wait until April to read it!

Willow is happy in a long term relationship with her successful boyfriend, Dom and is expecting him to propose. Willow has contributed to his success by being a part of the company he has started which is expected to grow in the future. When they go out for dinner on a date which Emma is expecting the proposal Dom breaks it off leaving Willow heartbroken. What follows focuses on Willow’s relationship with all the key people in her life, her friends from the past, her aunt Carla and Naz an influencer that Willow is writing about. Naz promotes being single and appears to have everything she could wish for, with a huge following. Willow’s editor is hoping for some gossip about Naz but when the gossip emerges Willow is not able to have it published as it goes against her integrity as a writer and as a friend to Naz. This was an easy read and interesting to read about the lifestyle of a Generation Z influencer. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this book – It is about friendships , relationships and how being single is also ok!
Willow is in a happy relationship and everything seems to be going great with her life until she discovers it isn’t … At this point a friendship or rather an obsession with someone is the start of her looking at her own life and with the help of her friends she starts to rebuild her life. This is a lovely read that only took me 2 days – it is fun, warm and emotional read .

I quickly became engrossed in Emma Gannon’s latest book, ‘Table for one’, which follows Willow and how she deals with the disruption to her clearly laid out life plans. As a reader we can see that all is not right in Willow’s world, even though she does not acknowledge this herself. As her plans change and she has to negotiate an unexpected future I soon became very invested in her story and at one point was willing her to not abandon her principles for the sake of her career. If you are looking for an inspiring and entertaining novel that tells the truth about friendships and relationships then I recommend this book! Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for the opportunity to read and review the ebook.

There were some real highlights in the book concerning how Willow copes and then begins to transform herself in light of the end of her relationship (Dom was a thoroughly dislikable character from the outset!) told alongside her changing friendships with her longterm circle of friends, all of whom are entering different stages of "adulthood". For me some of the friend characters seemed a little formulaic (I did not like Naz!) and let the side down slightly given how well written Willow was. That said it is a great read with a lovely ending!

I’m a fan of Emma Gannon- that extends to Olive (her first novel), her non-fiction writing and her Substack, so I was really excited to read this. That may have been a drawback for this book.

While the plot in respect of the ending of a previously settled long term relationship was not true to her life, much of the other parts of the book were (Willow’s love of New York, the seaside, experience as a junior writer in a magazine). For me, I found it really difficult to suspend my disbelief and gel with the main protagonist because it did feel either too auto-fiction or else just quite lazy writing. I didn’t like the friendship between Willow and her three supposed best friends (I think the intention was to show friends in their thirties are at different points in their life but none were very well fleshed out or likeable). While I liked Carla, it seemed like a stretch that Willow’s Mum had just disappeared. Naz’s character was probably my favourite but even then I felt she was very heavily based on an influencer/celebrity in Gannon’s own circle and the secretly-miserable-wellness-influencer trope is already wearing thin.

That said, I found the ending very moving. I wished this book had started at 50% of the way through then carried on- it would have been really interesting to see Willow making her way in the world and maintaining and making new friendships as she went. Quite a lot of the start of the book felt like exercises a writer might do for character work in the course of a writing project.

This was a nice little bite size chunk of a book; one you can whizz through on a lazy Sunday. We join 30-something Willow on a journey of love, loss and self discovery as she worms her way through her millennial identity and out the other side.

Willow think she has it all. A good relationship with Dom, a good job in a company that she cofounded and great friends who are always there. Then everything changes. She loses her job and finds her friends are moving on.

Phew! What a belter that was- I’ve not put this down today, it was so good. I’d give it 6 stars if I could.

The story was so relatable and I’m sure it will be to many readers. I loved the relationship between the main characters. And whilst social media has its negatives, there also so many positives.

Find a comfy place and enjoy- you’ll not be disappointed.

This was a beautiful read about family, friendship and love and offers some very different but interesting perspectives on the attitudes of different generations, the face of social media and womanhood. Told in present time and also working backwards through key moments in Willows life we get a good view of the person she was and the influences people had on her life and the person she is now and the impact her long term partner has had on her. When she’s given the opportunity to write a magazine article about different generations approaches to relationships she becomes obsessed with an influencer but when her own relationship breaks down and she gets to know more about Naz she realises more about herself but also starts to question Naz’s own life. There’s a lot of bitter sweetness to this but such warmth too, it’s incredibly thoughtful and perceptive and the core message is incredibly relevant. 9/10

Olive was one of my favourite books of the last few years so I was thrilled to get an early copy of Emma Gannon’s latest novel Table For One. Willow has been in a long term relationship for years and is asked to write a piece on a single “influencer” who boasts about the freedom she has. But is she really as happy as she makes out? Willow suddenly finds herself single after all these years and is struggling to find her new identity outside of a couple. I loved this book so much. It’s warm and witty and gripping, I finished it in a day.

Possible spoilers


I had high expectations for this, after the authors previous book, and probably higher again when Frances Ha got a mention .
Thrilled to say it hit those expectations.

It went quickly from "what a loving couple" to "Dom is a dick" for me, I mean, in pages the hints were being dropped.
So many females, at different stages in their lives, living it their way, with love and support from all the women in their lives.
Shows some major ups and down, and I'm sure we can all find someone to relate to.
Heartwarming.


Came back to edit and say, left me with a tear in my eye!

I think this book was wonderful. I wish people would understand that not all people that are alone are lonely. Sure there are some tough times but sometimes it’s by choice and people choose solace and protecting their own peace. Beautiful book.