This book is a romance novel with complex emotional themes at its core.  Whilst this is my usual genre, I did actually find it took me a bit of time to get into it, which surprised me actually.

The story is written in a way that the key events, spanning a life time, are slowly revealed to bring added depth to the feelings of each of the characters, but to begin with I found it hard to read.  It is written in a way that almost felt like a list and as there are no speech marks it was an unusual read.  For me this took a bit of time to adapt to and it wasn’t until about five chapters in that I was able to get into the spirit of the book.  As the story unfolded, I found that I needed to know more and this spurred me on to keep reading!

The characters were written very well and I did change my mind several times throughout the book, of the direction I would have followed if in the same circumstances.  The concept really drew me in; how different events and decisions could lead you down different paths and have different outcomes.  Very sliding doors.  We all have the “what if?” thoughts about life and how things might have turned out differently, so this really resonated and intrigued me.  The book is beautifully written and I was genuinely rooting for each of them to have their happy ever after, which is impossible when there are two love interests at the heart of everything.  I felt such emotion whilst reading this and cried several times – it is a story about the complicated nature of love and all the nuances that entails.  From heartwarming to heart-wrenching and everything in between.  This story will captivate you and get you questioning your own decisions in life.  It is a perfect read for fans of Taylor Reid-Jenkins and Paige Toon.

About the Book

One bright blue day, on a bench by the river, Nora’s partner Robin proposes.

It is unexpected; they’d always agreed that they didn’t need a wedding. But after a decade of in-jokes, dancing in the low-lit kitchen and sharing morning toast in bed, Nora says yes. Why wouldn’t she?

The answer lands on the night of their engagement party, when Bren turns up on her doorstep.

Growing up, Bren and Nora were the sort of best friends who everyone swore would end up together. But when a sudden heartbreak turned their lives upside down, Bren left, Nora stayed, and the silent longing between them remained unspoken.

Now, he’s back, and their tentative yet undeniable spark reignites, forcing Nora to ask herself:

How can you know your heart, if it feels like it’s split in two?

About The Author

Claire Daverley was born in 1991 and has been writing stories ever since she was six years old. After graduating with a degree in Fine Art from The University of Oxford, she began a career in publishing, writing about books by day but penning her own by night. Her debut novel, Talking at Night, has sold in twenty-two languages to date and was nominated in the Debut of the Year category at the Nibbies and shortlisted for the Nota Bene prize. People in Love is her second novel. She lives in Scotland with her husband and spaniel.

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