Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC! I absolutely loved this novel, it broke my heart but did do its best to put the pieces back together. TW, it does deal with domestic abuse in a queer relationship. I know the comparison is too easy since there aren’t many books dealing with the subject, but if you loved Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House then I’d definitely recommend reading this fiction novel to explore the topic further.

Sorcha is tired of the fleeting hook ups that litter her late 20s, so when she meets Chris, looking like a dyke Leo di Caprio from the 90s, at the farmer’s market, she lets herself be swept off her feet, tugged along by her desire for a stable relationship and a child. What follows is a devastating spiral which sees Sorcha trapped in an increasingly (emotionally) abusive relationship, all the while gaslighting herself that everything’s fine. This book really nails the ‘frog in a pot of boiling water’ analogy. Chris really gets under your skin, like I felt anxious and claustrophobic as a reader so I’d say Burnet does an excellent job of depicting an abusive relationship.

There’s also some mystery and intrigue in the form of a family drama, and I enjoyed the way Burnet wove Sorcha’s backstory throughout the book. I definitely agree with another reviewer than some of Sorcha’s behaviour/inner monologues in the second half come off as biphobic, but I think (hope) it’s meant more as something Sorcha has to unpack and unlearn than an actual representation of something normal to think - if that makes sense!

Overall, a fantastic debut full of emotional depth.