“So smart, so funny, so moving. I absolutely loved it.”—Bonnie Garmus, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

The “brilliant” (Ann Patchett) and much beloved author of the critically acclaimed Sorrow and Bliss returns with a tender and hilarious novel about heartbreak and the journey from isolation and loneliness towards love.

Sophie Pattison loves books. And as well as a dream job at a local book festival, she has a husband she adores, a lifelong best friend, Emma, and a brother she’s always been close to. Which makes you wonder why since Christmas Sophie has been living alone, estranged from Emma, avoiding her brother, and about to be fired.

Now it feels like the only thing she has left is reading. When Sophie re-discovers an author she first read in her twenties, the words on the page reach her in a new way—becoming both solace and company. Devouring every one of her novels, Sophie begins to dream of meeting her, knowing she never will. But what if she did? What if, by then, the author feels like a friend? What if, for Sophie, it feels almost like love?

In this much anticipated novel, Meg Mason captures the heartache and dark humor of our relationships in all their complexity, giving us a story about the power of connection and an ode to the inexplicable nature of the human heart.

I received an advance copy of this book courtesy of the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going into this one, and that ended up working in my favor because I really enjoyed it.

Sophie’s got a job she loves at a local book festival, a husband she adores, a lifelong best friend named Emma, and a brother she’s always been close with. Well, she used to. But now, almost everything in her life has quietly fallen apart. She’s single and living alone, estranged from Emma, avoiding her brother entirely, and on the verge of losing her job. With everything seemingly crumbling around her, books become the one constant Sophie can hold onto. She eventually finds her way back to an author she first discovered in her twenties, and this time the author’s words land completely differently, offering unexpected comfort during this difficult and lonely time. As Sophie works her way through every book this author has written, she starts imagining what it might be like to actually meet her, fully aware that it’s never going to happen. Except then it does, and the two have an amazing connection. Now Sophie has to reconcile the imagined friendship with the developing friendship.

Sophie was so easy to root for throughout the entire book. There were so many moments where I wanted to reach through the pages and just give her a hug. I think most of us have been some version of Sophie at one point or another, stuck in a period of feeling lost and let down, grabbing onto whatever unlikely thing manages to keep us moving forward. Like Sophie, I’ve personally turned to books during hard stretches more times than I can count, finding unexpected hope in exactly the way Sophie does here, so this particular thread was totally relatable.

I also really appreciated how the author handled Sophie’s situation. In less careful hands, the character could have easily come across as desperate or even a little pathetic. Instead, she’s handled with warmth and genuine hope. It felt less like a character spiraling and more like someone finding a lifeline in the only place she had left to look. You can tell that the author really loved Sophie and that, in turn, made me love her as well.

I really enjoyed this whole journey with Sophie. If you love character driven stories about loneliness, connection, and the special ways that books can save us during hard times, this one is absolutely worth checking out. It’s made me want to go back and read some of her other books.

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