For fans of Sally Rooney and Torrey Peters, a taut and profoundly moving debut that follows a cast of intricately linked characters during a heatwave in London as simmering tensions and secrets come to a head over one life-changing weekend.

London, 2019. It’s the hottest June on record, and a whale is stuck in the Thames River. In the streets of the city, four old acquaintances want more from life than they’ve been given. On the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, their paths will intersect at a party that will change their lives forever…

Maggie, a once-hopeful artist turned waitress, is pregnant and preparing to move back to her hometown with her boyfriend and father-to-be Ed, leaving the city she loves and the life she imagined for herself.

Ed, coasting through life as a barely competent bike courier, is ready for a new start with Maggie and their baby, if only to finally leave behind his secret past of hooking up with strange men in train station bathrooms—and his secret past with Maggie’s best friend, Phil.

Phil, who sleepwalks through his office job and lives for the weekends, is on the brink of achieving his first real relationship with his roommate Keith. The two live in an illegal warehouse commune with other quirky creatives and idealists—the site of the party to end all parties.

As the temperature continues to climb, Maggie, Ed, and Phil will have to confront their shared pasts, current desires, and limits of their future lives together before the weekend is over.

Strikingly heartfelt, sexually charged, and disarmingly comic, Oisín McKenna’s addictive, page-turning debut is a mesmerizing dive into the soul of a city and a critical look at the political, emotional, and financial hurdles facing young adults trying to build lives there and often living for their evenings and weekends.

Some books grab your attention with a flashy premise. Others sneak up, slip into your life like they’ve always belonged there, and decide to stick around in your head for a while. That is exactly what this book was for me.

I’d seen plenty of glowing reviews before picking it up, but I stumbled across the audiobook on Libby during a lull, when nothing on my TBR fit my mood. Within a few chapters, I was completely captivated and knew I was experiencing a story I’d want to return to again and again. Halfway through, I’d already ordered a physical copy to keep on my shelf.

This book is rich in humor and heart. McKenna doesn’t waste time with caricatures or overblown drama; instead, he gives us people we know. People who could’ve been our roommates, our coworkers, or even ourselves a few years back. I knew them. I was them. Maggie, Ed, and Phil are flawed, messy, and so recognizable it almost stings. Reading them felt like looking at an old version of myself trying to figure out who I was and trying to squeeze into shapes that didn’t quite fit (before daring to make my own).

The setup is pretty simple: London, summer of 2019, the hottest June on record. A whale stranded in the Thames. Four old acquaintances whose lives reconnect in a way that sets the trajectory for the rest of their lives. In some ways it’s the shock they needed to get out of the rut they’ve been in. Even if it’s a bit jarring. It’s not long before their secrets and decisions start to unravel over the lead up to and during one unforgettable solstice party.

What I loved most is how much depth there is. Maggie wrestles with the tug-of-war between her creative dreams and the life she thinks she’s supposed to want. Ed drifts through his days, unable to leave behind his secret past of hooking up with men, even as he prepares to be a father. Phil, meanwhile, yearns for something more meaningful than weekend highs and is terrified that he might finally be on the brink of getting it.

It’s a character study disguised as a coming-of-age-in-your-20s novel, and it hits hard because it doesn’t flinch from the truth: figuring yourself out is never easy. The book is full of sex, sweat, art, friendship, and the unspoken things we do to survive. The writing is sharp, addictive, and layered with social commentary about the cost of building a life in a city like London. Yet none of it feels heavy-handed. McKenna keeps it funny, light on its feet, and devastating when it needs to be.

The audiobook narration by Isabel Adomakoh-Young elevates the entire experience. She nails the shifts in tone, balances humor with longing, and brings each character’s voice into crisp focus. Some narrators read stories; she performs them. Every beat lands, every emotion rings clear. It’s the kind of performance that makes the audiobook feel definitive.

By the time I reached the final chapters, I wasn’t ready to let these characters go. I’ll be thinking about them for a long time. If you’ve ever felt adrift, pressured to follow a script that didn’t suit you, or longed for something beyond the nine-to-five grind, this book will unravel you and then rebuild you.

This book is touching, funny, and unflinchingly honest. It’s a reminder that life doesn’t have to be orderly to be beautiful. Mess is part of the deal. And sometimes it’s the only way to get to who you’re meant to be.