CONTEMPORARY
The Burnout
Bantam £22, 400 pp
(Bantam £22, 400 pp)
We meet Sasha when she’s barely functioning at work due to burnout. When she has a meltdown that ends with her running into a wall and knocking herself unconscious, Sasha jumps at the chance to take time out at the Devon beach resort she remembers from a series of happy childhood holidays.
She plans to meditate, do yoga, drink kale smoothies, get grounded and have a total reset. But Sasha’s genuine desires to improve herself get off to a shaky start when she realises how threadbare the grand old hotel of her memories has become.
Further threatening Sasha’s pursuit of serenity and solitude is Finn, a moody male guest who keeps turning up on the stretch of beach she wants to herself. It’s not long before Sasha and Finn realise they’re here for the same reason and that they might have more in common than just their stress levels. Deliciously pacey and absorbing.
Divorced Not Dead
by Harper Ford
Avon £8.99, 384 pp
(Avon £8.99, 384 pp)
Frankie is 50 and newly single, starting life again and going on dates for the first time in 20 years. After such a long time in an awful relationship with a controlling, lying man, Frankie is ready to have some fun.
She signs up to two dating apps, one looking for casual encounters and one looking for love, and throws herself into both. She has also set up a sewing shop, called Sew What, where she hosts a weekly quilting evening for a small bunch of village locals.
Between bonding with the quilters and absorbing the rules of internet dating, it’s not long before she’s got new friends and a couple of love interests.
It’s a pleasure to witness Frankie chasing happiness as she morphs back into her pre-marriage self. After her bad experiences, she no longer believes in commitment or marriage, but a few epiphanies show her that proper love does still exist. A blast.
Guy’s Girl
Michael Joseph £9.99, 384 pp
(Michael Joseph £9.99, 384 pp)
Ginny finds it easier to be friends with men than to have romantic relationships with them. Keeping it light is easier than getting vulnerable.
She can’t imagine opening up about what’s going on for her, which is bulimia. (Noyes writes in an author’s note that she is also in recovery from an eating disorder and this is the book she desperately needed when she was at rock bottom with it in her 20s.)
Meanwhile, Adrian was 11 years old when he witnessed his mother’s utter heartbreak at his stepfather’s betrayal and decided he would never risk falling in love himself.
The narrative alternates between their viewpoints, as she tries to protect her long-held secret while he fails to deal with his trauma. It’s beautifully written, emotionally intelligent and brilliant on how speaking up is one of the bravest things you can do.
