From bold new voice Ella King, Dear Darling cuts to the heart of some of the most complex issues of our age. With thanks to Dawn for her review.

This book is such a powerfully emotional and disturbing read, with a theme unlike anything I’ve read before. I honestly don’t quite know where to begin putting my thoughts into words.

The story is told across a dual timeline, following vulnerable “Lolly” — the nickname given to Lauren when she is just 14 — alongside Lauren in the present day. I don’t want to give anything away, but the tagline, “He is going to prove he loved me. I am going to prove he ruined me,” gives you an idea of the difficult subject matter at the heart of the story. The book’s summary also references #MeToo, so I think it’s important to say that readers should definitely check the trigger warnings before picking this one up.

This was, at times, an incredibly uncomfortable read. There were moments when I genuinely wasn’t sure how I felt about what I was reading, and I think that’s partly what made it so compelling. It’s not an easy story, and it certainly isn’t one that I could plough through quickly.

What I did find was that I was constantly questioning what had really happened and where the story was going. Ella King kept me guessing about the eventual outcome right up until the very end, and I really didn’t know which way things were going to unfold.

It’s also impossible not to appreciate how talented Ella King is as a writer; to take such a disturbing and difficult subject and weave it into a story that keeps you emotionally invested and guessing until the very end is no mean feat.

I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about Dear Darling, even having finished it — but perhaps that’s the point. It’s a deeply unsettling, thought-provoking and emotional book that has definitely stayed with me. Not an easy read, but certainly one I won’t forget anytime soon.

About the Book

Dear Darling,

So begins the letter from Daniel Prior.

The man Lauren had sex with when she was fourteen years old.

The man she fell in love with, long before conversations about power and consent and #MeToo.

The man she locked away in the deepest part of her memory.

Eighteen years later, the world is changed, and Lauren, a wife and mother, is changed too.

But now, fresh out of prison, Daniel wants to meet.

And Lauren must finally confront the electricity and devastation of the man who’s loved and harmed her more deeply than anyone in her life…

About The Author

I’m a British-Singaporean novelist, an award-winning writer (3rd in the Aurora Prize for Short Fiction 2019 and winner of the Blue Pencil Pitch Prize 2019), and a graduate of Faber Academy’s novel-writing program. I’ve worked as a corporate lawyer and for anti-human trafficking and domestic violence charities.

Purchase the Book

This book can be purchased in our store either on its own or in a cosy Book Box. Paperback coming January 2027!

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