Genevieve Wheeler

In love . . .
For twenty-six-year-old Adelaide Williams, an American living in dreamy London, meeting Rory Hughes was like a lightning bolt out of the blue: this charming Englishman was The One she wasn't even looking for.
Is it enough?
Does he respond to texts? Honor his commitments? Make advance plans? Sometimes, rarely, and no, not at all. But when he shines his light on her, the world makes sense, and Adelaide is convinced that, in his heart, he's fallen just as deeply as she has. Then, when Rory is rocked by an unexpected tragedy, Adelaide does everything in her power to hold him together--even if it means losing herself in the process.
When love asks too much of us, how do we find the strength to put ourselves first?
With unflinching honesty and heart, this relatable debut from a fresh new voice explores grief and mental health while capturing the timeless nature of what it's like to be young and in love--with your friends, with your city, and with a person who cannot, will not, love you back.

A Novel

Adelaide

Coley T

What if she was broken, she wondered. What if she'd been broken as a teenager and was now incapable of eliciting adoration, affection? What if her heart-or whatever thing existed inside of a person that made them worthy of love-was irrevocably damaged?

Her sister Izzy had a mantra, one Adelaide had learned decades earlier: Pain is pain is pain. It was important to recognize your privilege, yes. To show gratitude, to count your blessings. But it was also important to acknowledge and accept your pain, to understand that no matter how large or small your problems, your losses, your wounds they are yours. And you're allowed to feel them. The hardest loss will always be your own.

For once, Adelaide didn't feel the need to shrink down, to make herself smaller.

Adelaide quotes

Join the club