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ADELAIDE by Genevieve Wheeler Kirkus Star

ADELAIDE

by Genevieve Wheeler

Pub Date: April 18th, 2023
ISBN: 9781250280848
Publisher: St. Martin's

A young woman searches for love but ends up finding it in the wrong person.

When Adelaide Williams met Rory Hughes, her life split in two. Before, she was an American grad student living a dreamy existence in London. She went dancing with her friends Madison and Celeste, hooked up with strangers in bars, and aspired to land a job in publishing. Adelaide was finally overcoming her fear of relationships after a high school experience with emotional and sexual abuse and had hoped that she would be deserving of a happy ending. She'd first met Rory, briefly, two years ago at an outdoor pub, where she, drunk and barefoot, told him he looked like a Disney prince, and then she met him again on a dating app. After that, all she wanted was him: “Adelaide had not fallen in love slowly, or carefully, or with intention. She had fallen in love the same way one slips at the grocery store, despite the CAUTION: WET signs lining any given aisle—quickly, accidentally, and fully aware of the mess into which she was getting herself.” As she falls harder for Rory, it becomes apparent that he's not only emotionally unavailable, but clearly hung up on his former partner of six years, Nathalie. When an unexpected tragedy strikes, Adelaide is determined to be whatever Rory needs, but what if she has already given all of herself away? Wheeler’s debut is searingly raw, and at times, Adelaide’s heartbreak and desperation are difficult to read. Her whole soul is poured out onto the pages, and you’ll find it hard not to feel your own heart crack and stomach turn as Adelaide tries without avail to win the love of someone who simply can’t give it. Wheeler deftly relates Adelaide's journey of unbending friendship, grief, and passion, and for many readers, her tale will strike a resonant chord.

Vulnerable, tender, and impossible to put down.