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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
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:
Yes
so frustrating and heartbreaking i loved it
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Self harm, Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
i enjoyed parts of this but overall pretty frustrating. i grew to dislike rosie more and more, and at some point it got tiring to read the string of repeated bad decisions.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was indeed a bit like Normal People but without nearly as much sexual tension. Will and Rosie are characters that I rooted for and their stories felt well-earned by the end of the book. Definitely a sad and reflective read but nothing that ever felt too gratuitous. I enjoyed the dynamics of the Rosie-Will-Simon friendship and appreciated the nuance of how complicated a relationship can be when a person loves two people. Mostly as I was reading this I was thinking of how badly I wanted Will and Rosie to find good therapists and spend a year or two working on themselves.
Frustrating. Beautiful. Infuriating. Real.
Talking at Night broke me in the best and worst ways.
From the very first pages, I knew this wasn’t going to be a typical love story — and I was right. It’s heart-wrenching, endearing, agonizing, and deeply moving. I found myself furious with the characters and the world around them, only to ache for them the next chapter. Claire Daverley doesn’t just tell a love story — she tells life, in all its imperfect, chaotic, beautiful glory.
Let me be clear: this is not your average romance novel.
Yes, there’s a love story at its core — a deep, soul-aching kind of love — but it’s also about grief, mental health, family pressure, tragedy, societal expectations, and the quiet fear that you’re not living the life you were meant to live. It’s a thunderstorm disguised as a whisper. A slow burn that leaves you scorched. If you didn’t enjoy Normal People (like me), don’t write this off just yet. Yes, I get the comparison — the realism, the emotional depth, the infuriating miscommunication between people clearly meant for each other — but this feels more tender. More raw. More lived in.
Will and Rosie are messy. They get in their own way. They miss chances. They feel everything too much. And yet… you root for them. Even when Rosie’s indecision made me want to scream or Will’s pain made me want to cry, I stayed. I had to stay.
Claire Daverley’s writing? Absolutely stunning.
There’s a rhythm to her prose — lyrical, breathless, intimate. The lack of quotation marks might throw some people off, but for me, it added to the flow, like a stream of consciousness you don’t want to interrupt. It felt like reading someone’s soul.
This book will break your heart. Then rebuild it. Then break it again. But somehow, in the most meaningful way. It reminds you that love isn’t always neat, or fair, or easy. Sometimes it’s just true — even if the world won’t let it be enough. If you loved One Day, Love, Rosie, or anything by Sally Rooney — or if you’re drawn to stories about soulmates who can’t quite get the timing right — this one’s for you. Just be warned: it’s not an easy read, but it’s absolutely a worthwhile one.
Talking at Night broke me in the best and worst ways.
From the very first pages, I knew this wasn’t going to be a typical love story — and I was right. It’s heart-wrenching, endearing, agonizing, and deeply moving. I found myself furious with the characters and the world around them, only to ache for them the next chapter. Claire Daverley doesn’t just tell a love story — she tells life, in all its imperfect, chaotic, beautiful glory.
Let me be clear: this is not your average romance novel.
Yes, there’s a love story at its core — a deep, soul-aching kind of love — but it’s also about grief, mental health, family pressure, tragedy, societal expectations, and the quiet fear that you’re not living the life you were meant to live. It’s a thunderstorm disguised as a whisper. A slow burn that leaves you scorched. If you didn’t enjoy Normal People (like me), don’t write this off just yet. Yes, I get the comparison — the realism, the emotional depth, the infuriating miscommunication between people clearly meant for each other — but this feels more tender. More raw. More lived in.
Will and Rosie are messy. They get in their own way. They miss chances. They feel everything too much. And yet… you root for them. Even when Rosie’s indecision made me want to scream or Will’s pain made me want to cry, I stayed. I had to stay.
Claire Daverley’s writing? Absolutely stunning.
There’s a rhythm to her prose — lyrical, breathless, intimate. The lack of quotation marks might throw some people off, but for me, it added to the flow, like a stream of consciousness you don’t want to interrupt. It felt like reading someone’s soul.
This book will break your heart. Then rebuild it. Then break it again. But somehow, in the most meaningful way. It reminds you that love isn’t always neat, or fair, or easy. Sometimes it’s just true — even if the world won’t let it be enough. If you loved One Day, Love, Rosie, or anything by Sally Rooney — or if you’re drawn to stories about soulmates who can’t quite get the timing right — this one’s for you. Just be warned: it’s not an easy read, but it’s absolutely a worthwhile one.
3.5/5
terrible things do in fact always happen. but that’s what good coffee and real butter and people you love are for
terrible things do in fact always happen. but that’s what good coffee and real butter and people you love are for
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No