One of those stories that feels so confessional and evocatively written that you forget entirely that it's fiction until you read about the author at the end and realise that this couldn't possibly be their personal story. Not only captures that sensation of first love (or obsession), but also the weight of nostalgia and regret.

Hugely nostalgic and touching. This debut novel is beautifully written - it's easy to relate to James' exploration of his body and emotions, and his loneliness and isolation is just heartbreaking. The unreliable narration adds tension and mystery to the plot and the result is truly bittersweet. An author to watch.

Oh the yearning in this book! Woah! It is so beautifully written. The lyrical prose reels you in and you just cannot put it down!

I spent all morning reading this book, I couldn’t stop. This book grabbed my attention and would not let go! Open, Heaven was written so beautifully with great flow, writing and characters. The character development was everything to me and the story was easy to follow but hard hitting. The book follows first loves and caring for others through adolescence. I nearly shed a tear at the end, it was just so beautifully written but reminded me so much of what adolescence is. The setting was ambient and I just adored this one. Open, Heaven is a short read but stunning read I highly recommend.

A wonderful coming of age story of James and his younger brother who has epilepsy.
James is gay but has not had a gay relationship yet, and meets an older boy who has already left school.
I loved the writing style, the setting, the story. It's packed with nostalgia for young love, that feeling of falling for someone for the very first time, of hope. Very poignant.

'Adulthood was burning through me that year - I was feral with it, and there were days that I felt caged.'

Sean Hewitt is a poet, and I mean that literally and also because the prose in this novel is just so beautiful, so concise yet full of meaning, that you could fill a whole review just quoting lines from the book. His observations of longing and love, of nature and the seasons, draw you in and break your heart. This is the story of James, a shy 16-year old living in a village in the north of England. As he is struggling with his sexuality, another boy called Luke is sent to live with his aunt nearby after his family implodes. Over the course of time the two become friends, and James falls big time for Luke. Is the love returned? And if so, what kind of love is it? And then 20 years later James returns to his home, and the memories.

Shattering, moving, lyrical, this is up their with the very best gay coming-of-age novels, and everyone should read it.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

3.75 stars.
The standout feature of Open, Heaven is the gorgeous, lyrical prose which is of course attributed to author Sean Hewitt’s poetic background. His debut novel features sensational, sharp writing that really brings the narrative to life. The feelings of isolation and othering that growing up in a tiny, traditional village can evoke in people once they start to grow up and break away from the expected path was captured so perfectly. I felt really seen by this, and found myself thinking about this book constantly when I last visited my home village. It has not left my brain.

I thought the prologue of this book works particularly well. It sets the tone of how the rest of it is going to unfold from the very first page, in a way that isn’t often done.

However, the main issue I have with this book is that I really needed it to be longer. The focus of the novel is the all-consuming love/obsession James feels for Luke, and how this has a profound impact on his entire life. The foundations of this relationship are set, but there was so much more to explore. By the time the novel draws to a close, the reader is told that the friendship the two boys have developed is pivotal and life-altering to both (though in different ways) but I really think it would’ve benefitted from having a few more scenes in which they become closer. To me, it felt as though it skipped over the majority of them actually becoming better friends. The book was only 224 pages, so it definitely had the capacity to allow for more.

Thank you to Vintage Books UK and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC. All opinions are my own.

Recently, I seem to be reading, and falling for, a few of these quiet books about first love, and this one is no exception.

Set in the early 2000s, James is a solitary boy who has recently come out as gay and feels trapped by his family and small village. He meets Luke, who has a troubled past, and has been sent to stay with his aunt and uncle.

This is a beautiful story about first love and how it can impact our lives forever.

Open, Heaven is slow and quiet, but oh so deep and beautiful. Here Hewitt presents us with a queer coming-of-age story that captures so well the feeling of intense longing.

It is a love story of sorts, but Hewitt doesn’t limit his focus; he portrays a wide range of complicated emotions not only relating to romantic love but also familial relationships, home, and the past. His rendering of nostalgia and memory is particularly thoughtful and moving. And the prose is lyrical and, quite frankly, gorgeous. I haven’t read a contemporary book so beautifully written in a while.

All in all, it’s sad gay literature, and what could be better than that? The answer is nothing. Say yes to heaven and read this book.

Thank you kindly to @vintagebooks.

This was beautiful, sweet and nostalgic. Seen Hewitt captured adolescence, obsessive love and not fitting in with the town you were born to so well. Often he articulated specific feelings I have never had the words for before. The prose was lovely, and I really enjoyed James and Luke, and little Eddie, and Barley the dog. If you want a heart felt summer read, with a bit of angst and 2000s nostalgia, I would pick this up.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this coming of age novel which is the story of James who lives in a small rural village with his parents and his much younger brother who suffers from epilepsy. James is gay and has come out as gay at school but has never had a relationship with another boy. On his milk round he meets Luke a slightly older boy who has already left school. Over the summer holidays, their friendship deepens and James fantasises about going further with their relationship.
The book is full of the yearnings and clumsiness of adolescent love it’s tender poignant and beautifully observed. Anyone who’s had a young love will recognise the feelings and insecurities described.

The author has a beautiful flowing writing style. The novel is a relaxing enjoyable read .The setting in the countryside is everything to the novel almost a third character
The Characters themselves are described perfectly as all their reactions to each other
I read a copy of the novel on NetGalley UK in return for an unbiased review. The book was published in the UK on the 24th of April 2025 by Random house UK vintage

This review will appear on NetGalley UK, StoryGraph, Goodreads and my book blog bionicSarahSbook.wordpress.com
It will also appear on Amazon UK

Gorgeous, lyrical and so beautifully tender. The writing is incredible and it was just such a immersive and heartbreaking story.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

“Love confused me, bewildered me, tore me apart, but not because it was not love, but because I thought it was fake, some unreal version that did not accord with the love I had dreamt alone.”

Thank you to Vintage Books who sent me a copy of Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt via NetGalley to read.

This is a beautifully heartbreaking coming-of-age story. After twenty years away, the adult James returns to the village he grew up in, haunted by memories.

In the past, James lives in a rural English village; alone, stifled and isolated - his burgeoning sexuality at odds with his shy exterior.

Then, Luke arrives, the nephew of a neighbour, working the summer at the farm. Dangerous, different, dishevelled Luke, and James wonders…well, could he be in love? Could Luke possibly love him?

I was so drawn to James and had the overwhelming desire to protect him all the way through this novella. At the same time, although I’m a straight girl, the memories of growing up in a rural place, the awkward school parties at the rugby club…all of that hit home so vividly. Hewitt is a really gifted writer; you can tell he is a poet from the gorgeous sentences he creates.

I read this as part of a pile of 10 I took on holiday with me and this was easily my favourite. It really does capture so perfectly those first stirrings of love and the trepidation of it when you’re queer. Unsurprisingly considering Hewitt is a poet the writing is lyrical and evocative but what I really enjoyed was the clear tenderness and gentle hand of it during the teenage James sections that reflect older James’ recognition he couldn’t know or do better at that time. He was just a horny, confused teen experiencing the heady rush of first love.

Though as a very small town gay myself it was the mediations on leaving your family behind to spread your wings and the distance and guilt that creates that resonated with me the most. I have a great relationship with my family now but I still feel guilt for disappearing away to a city far away as soon as I could and never going back.

This book will stay with me for sure, an absolutely gorgeous read that I can’t wait to return to at some point.

Absolutely stunning coming of age queer narrative. I inhaled this beautiful story in one sitting and was utterly transported. Hewitt is such an incredible talent and receiving this arc was a privilege. Many thanks to NetGalley and Jonathan Cape.

This captivating novel is a journey of self-discovery. As an adult, James returns to Thornmere, the village of his childhood, to reflect on his transition into adulthood and, most profoundly, his love for his friend Luke who had ‘transcended himself’ into his life.

Through themes of renewal, woven into the rhythm of the changing seasons, the novel explores the complexities of love and desire, touching on religious undertones of punishment and redemption. Hewitt, an accomplished poet, infuses the narrative with lyrical, nature-filed language which captures the ache of teenage yearning, the intensity of desire, and the solitude of feeling like an outsider.

Thanks to Random House UK, Vintage Jonathan Cape and Netgalley for a review copy.

This was just wonderful and reminded me that excellent books still exist! The writing is poetic, the story touching and I could not stop reading or thinking about it. Highly reccomend!

“The only thing in my mind then, and all night afterwards as I lay in bed, was the vision of Luke’s face, like a bright mask, lit up in the dark field. A sudden apparition revealed by a glowing flare, his eyes starry with the fireworks. Even his hair seemed to blaze. I felt a pull towards him, like the pull a fire makes on the air, dragging things into it and blazing them into its hot, white centre.”

Open, Heaven is a thoughtful and lyrical coming of age story, primarily set in the early 2000s during the protagonist’s teenage years. When James meets Luke it sets a spark alight and nothing is ever the same. This is a beautifully written, nuanced novel about isolation, love and loss. Hewitt’s poetic style was wonderful and the characters came to life so beautifully and hauntingly. This is a book I’ll definitely return to – immediately an instant classic of its genre.

Thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Books for the advance copy of this stunning novel.

What a superb, nostalgic read. I absolutely loved this novel and, consequently, I recommend to everyone!

We meet James, a gay married thinking back to his childhood in rural England, where he meets Luke - a more rebellious boy, older, with a West Country vernacular - and quite different to James. The narrator realises he is gay in his teenage years and as an adult, he is telling the tale from his past. He is bullied at school and not very confident - but he knows he is gay. Meeting Luke is a monumental event in his life, one that sets the trajectory for his latter childhood years - and Luke is supportive of this.

I love how Hewitt takes readers to a particular time and place - it is very visceral in places and just lovely, the way he describes sounds and feelings, very much like I imagine James would have. As a gay man, and someone who came out later in life, I can completely empathise with James' feelings - almost like obsessions. At the end, Luke moves away with is father but James is just delighted to say goodbye to him. Essentially, as an adult, James thinks he sees Luke - and this triggers all of these memories from twenty years prior.

Sean Hewitt has written a book that brilliantly sums up what it means to be a gay man and what it means to have such strong feelings for someone else. It is perfect in many ways.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Although not a YA novel, I feel sure that this will find a passionate readership in more mature teen readers: I certainly would have devoured this classic coming-of-age tale as a teen myself. Beautifully written and lyrical, as an adult fast approaching 50 I wished for some more action to break up the solipsism, but it's that very quality that I think will appeal to younger readers.