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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This month has been heavy with literary fiction. No surprise since it’s Woman in Translation month and Booker season. But I felt in need of a palate cleanser and Talking at Night fit the bill perfectly. Will has a reputation as a bad boy. Rosie is most decidedly a good girl. Yet when they are teens a sweet almost-romance begins to blossom between them until a terrible tragedy intervenes and drives them apart. And yet they cannot fully ever let the other go and reconnect occasionally over the years, despite trying to and appearing to move on with the their lives. I have a soft spot for a good “the one that got away/ what might have been” storyline. This one has some solid mental health representation (OCD and depression) plus an LGBTQIA+ storyline. I liked both Will and Rosie as characters, although I was frustrated by the way Rosie seemed to use Will. I applauded their eventual growth and evolution. There is a trigger warning for cancer, but overall this was just the light, undemanding, enjoyable read that I needed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Abandonment, and Cancer
reads_eats_explores's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
One cold November night, teenagers Will and Rosie meet while sitting around a bonfire, surrounded by their school friends, including Rosie’s twin brother and Will’s good friend, Josh.
This is a story as old as time – the overprivileged, shy, straight-A girl who falls for the achingly handsome, wrong-sides-of-the-track bad boy.
But maybe as we follow Will and Rosie on their ‘will they/won’t they’ journey, things will not be quite as they seem.
Talking at Night begins in a small Norfolk town in the 1990s and is split into three parts entitled ‘before’, ‘after’, and ‘long after’, and as the book unravels, we learn about the shared traumas that give reason behind these headings.
The book overall felt very YA in narrative style, and I suppose 20-year-old me would lap this up; 40-year-old me wanted a grittier read that I could really get my teeth into.
Saying that, I did enjoy the read and found it nostalgia inducing and highly immersive (a book to binge in one or two long lazy sittings) once I got over my initial irritation with Rosie, much preferring Wills's point of view and backstory. I'll certainly read more from this author in future; this is undoubtedly a solid debut. 3.5⭐
Many thanks to the author and publisher for this advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.
Content Warnings
Minor: Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Addiction, Violence, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Vomit, Abandonment, Car accident, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Alcohol, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
iolexx's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“A essere sinceri è perché gli piace. La routine, o la calma. Il che significa che è da tempo che non sente il dire al cuore. Non sa cosa l’abbia fatto passare, esattamente. Se (..) o l’essere venuto a patti con le cose che ha fatto e le persone che se ne sono andate e il modo in cui il sole continua a sorgere, nonostante tutto.
Gli mancano certe cose. Certe persone. Sa però che è così che va la vita, e preferisce l’equilibrio, il riposo, poco eccitante e banale, e scopre che è tutto ciò che gli serviva. E burro buono, ovviamente. Un caffè decente. È stato cresciuto da una donna con delle priorità.
Ci sono cose che hanno senso, amici e risate e nutrimento, e altre cose che succedono e basta, perché è quella la vita senza tragedie, guidata dalla routine, più significativa”
Tragico, nostalgico e delicato, dolce ma con un retrogusto amaro che ti brucia lo stomaco.
Ottima scrittura, piacevole, leggera e poetica, delicata come il modo in cui tratta i temi, ma dice molto più di quello che mostra. Comunque incredibile per un debutto.
Personaggi troppo stereotipati per essere al centro di un romanzo del genere che si basa principalmente su di loro e le loro vite. Hanno comunque tante sfumature, ma rimangono bad boy x good girl di cui la letteratura è satura.
È uno di quei libri che apprezzi più quando non stai leggendo. È bello il messaggio e l’intento ma un po’ noioso e inconcludente
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death
Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Eating disorder
Minor: Alcoholism
megansnextbook's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Strong contender for book of the year tbh! I will not be forgetting this one in a hurry.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, and Cancer
julietealy's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Cancer
stephsbooktalk's review against another edition
5.0
Reread: I had been wanting to reread this one for a bit now because this story stayed with me for so long after I read it. This is such a beautiful romance and is nothing like the contemporary romances with the cartoon covers that you see everywhere. I was hoping there would be two narrators - one for Rosie & one of Will but there was only one. Perhaps I would have had a different experience while listening. I think this is one that I am glad that I read the book first. I still loved it so much and recommend when you want a little more of a romance that feels more realistic.
-----------------
Thank you so much to Pamela Dorman Books/Viking & Random House for an advance copy of this!
This will be published on June 20, 2023.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
I had first heard about this book while listening to a podcast and the host was talking about it and how much she loved it. So when the widget arrived I was really excited to read this book.
I definitely would say this is women's fiction more so than a romance BUT romance plays a part in the story as the love between Will and Rosie is very present.
I am having trouble coming up with things to say. Not because I didn't enjoy this but because I enjoyed it so much and I just want to make sure I am able to express my love for it. I also want to be careful I don't say too much and spoil the story.
I do warn those who read that this is a book without quotation marks. This was my first to read a book without them on an ereader and it definitely took some getting used to.
Sorry, he says to her.
What for?
For taking so long, he says.
I kept finding myself wanting to keep reading this book even when I was balancing a few others. My mind kept thinking about Will & Rosie and where the story was going and how it was going to end. This book is told over a decades of time starting as late teens until the are in their late 30s. The push and pull of their relationship and the gravity of their attraction is present throughout the whole book and you can't help but root for them.
Will was my favorite character in this. He had such a great arc throughout the book and I was so proud of the man he became. It is not that I didn't mind Rosie, but I had some issues with being such a people pleaser and never doing things for herself. It took awhile for her to finally speak for herself and I'm glad Will was there to give her that push to be the Rosie he knew she could be.
The couple went through so much together that as a reader it was getting frustrated when you wanted it to go one way but it went the complete opposite. And multiple times I kept saying "why can't they get their happy ending", "will this be the time they stay together?" or "what is going to happen next to them".
I wish we got an epilogue because I needed to know what happens a year from where the book ended. Though I guess it would be up to us as readers to decide their future.
I am not sure if this book will be for everyone but I thought it was fantastic and I am so glad that I have read it. I think this would be a great choice for book clubs as there are lots of layers to discuss. I cannot wait until my reader friends read this and get their thoughts.
These characters will stick with me for awhile and I may have to revisit them again.
-----------------
Thank you so much to Pamela Dorman Books/Viking & Random House for an advance copy of this!
This will be published on June 20, 2023.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
I had first heard about this book while listening to a podcast and the host was talking about it and how much she loved it. So when the widget arrived I was really excited to read this book.
I definitely would say this is women's fiction more so than a romance BUT romance plays a part in the story as the love between Will and Rosie is very present.
I am having trouble coming up with things to say. Not because I didn't enjoy this but because I enjoyed it so much and I just want to make sure I am able to express my love for it. I also want to be careful I don't say too much and spoil the story.
I do warn those who read that this is a book without quotation marks. This was my first to read a book without them on an ereader and it definitely took some getting used to.
Sorry, he says to her.
What for?
For taking so long, he says.
I kept finding myself wanting to keep reading this book even when I was balancing a few others. My mind kept thinking about Will & Rosie and where the story was going and how it was going to end. This book is told over a decades of time starting as late teens until the are in their late 30s. The push and pull of their relationship and the gravity of their attraction is present throughout the whole book and you can't help but root for them.
Will was my favorite character in this. He had such a great arc throughout the book and I was so proud of the man he became. It is not that I didn't mind Rosie, but I had some issues with being such a people pleaser and never doing things for herself. It took awhile for her to finally speak for herself and I'm glad Will was there to give her that push to be the Rosie he knew she could be.
The couple went through so much together that as a reader it was getting frustrated when you wanted it to go one way but it went the complete opposite. And multiple times I kept saying "why can't they get their happy ending", "will this be the time they stay together?" or "what is going to happen next to them".
I wish we got an epilogue because I needed to know what happens a year from where the book ended. Though I guess it would be up to us as readers to decide their future.
I am not sure if this book will be for everyone but I thought it was fantastic and I am so glad that I have read it. I think this would be a great choice for book clubs as there are lots of layers to discuss. I cannot wait until my reader friends read this and get their thoughts.
These characters will stick with me for awhile and I may have to revisit them again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cancer, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming and Alcoholism
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