I received this book from Hachette Ireland in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book in one sitting - here: https://bit.ly/3cPHCnA

Ava is a young Irish woman teaching English in Hong Kong when she falls into a relationship with a wealthy English banker called Julian. As Ava tries to establish what she and Julian even are to one another as she moves into his spare bedroom rent-free, Julian leaves Hong Kong for six months and Ava meets Edith. Edith brings something else into Ava's life but as she begins to fall in love with the Asian-born lawyer, Julian texts to say he's coming back.

This is a really interesting novel full of some really interesting self-analysing moments from the main character Ava as she dissects her life, how she fits in with everyone around her and tries to make her life in Hong Kong work - all with a slightly dispassionate air to her.

I found Ava as a character a hard one to pin down. There were moments I felt like I could relate to and other times I felt like she really pushed the reader away from understanding her. There was definitely a level of detachment around Ava that I've seen other reviewers describe as cold, and I have to agree that sometimes Ava looked upon things in a clinical manner or in a way where she seemed to want something (like a relationship with Julian) because it's what she should want and it would be the piece that fit into the jigsaw of life.

I don't know hardly anything about Hong Kong and I definitely didn't get a lot more knowledge from this book but I still enjoyed the different surroundings than what you get in other books normally set in the UK or US. Ava's struggles in teaching "British English" to her students were also funny to read as "Irish English" can be so much different and the bits Ava pointed out were amusing. While I say this, this book isn't a really funny book. It didn't really make me smile or laugh when reading it but there is still a wry humour attached with could just be the Irish sarcasm that's heavily laid into everything Ava does and says.

I enjoyed my time bouncing between my thoughts on Ava and Julian, and Ava and Edith, and the different person she was with each of them, and the whole person she became when they were all three together. I liked both love interests and could see who Ava needed, though I think Ava wanted the best of both worlds.

In a way, Ava is almost a "kept woman" in this book in that she is having a sexual relationship with Julian, and living rent free in his apartment and has his cards at her disposal but there's nothing crude about them when they're together.

This book will definitely receive Sally Rooney comparisons and while they are a little bit similar, I feel like there is enough of a difference that Naoise Dolan will continue to develop a really strong writing voice that is already evident in her debut novel.