What comes to mind when you envision London? Have you been or do you want to go?

I would love to go, but I’m afraid it will be like any large city, and I am not a fan. While I would love to see the history, I probably wouldn’t last long.

Adelaide is an American living in London and falls deeply and madly in love with Rory. Hes cute, hes charming, but he also goes missing for days and doesn’t always return texts. Yet Adelaide looks past this and sees him as the light in her life. When Rory is faced with a personal tragedy, Adelaide tries to be his everything, but will she lose herself in the process?

This is a story of struggle, of dating, of romance, and mental health. This book is deeply toucing and heartwarming, while I also wanted to punch Rory in the face. This coming-of-age romance book packs some important things for us to consider, including knowing your own worth, and how to deal with loss. I also particularly enjoyed the friendships that Adelaide had during this time, they were profound and deep and it touched on how deeply important friendship is. This debut author has tons of potential and knocked this one out of the park.

The narrator for this one was fantastic and did a wonderful job telling the story.

Please check your trigger warnings on this one as it deals with some very deep and dark triggers. They’re done well, and worked for me, but please check.

Thank you so much to the publisher McMillian Audio, @mcmillianaudio, St Martins Press, @StMartinsPress, the author, and @Netgalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I normally am not a fan of romance books, but thanks to Netgalley I had the opportunity to review the audiobook and was not one bit disappointed. The story has realist characters that touch on mental illness, close friendships, sexual abuse and a complex relationship.

Im not sure if this would be truly classified as a romance. I felt like this was more of a journey of trying to find yourself and trying to figure out your worth in life.⁣
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Adelaide is a 20 something American living in London; she has a traumatic history of a bad boyfriend that she felt was her first love but wasn’t a great guy, she meets Rory when she isn’t really looking for love and tries to do everything in her power over years to get him to love her and while he at times acts like she’s wonderful, he also ghosts her at times and doesn’t act like he appreciates her which really irritated me at times, because she was trying so hard for his appreciation.⁣
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This really hits on mental health awareness and how you can be trying so hard to light others up that it drains you and dulls your own shine. ⁣
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I did absolutely adore Adelaide’s best friends and their love for her and always being there for her and each other. ⁣
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I also liked the writing style of this. It was really unique. ⁣I also enjoyed the narration and how animated the narrator was for emphasis at different chapters.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This officially falls into the category of one of the best books I’ve ever read. I immediately connected with the main character, Adelaide. Her story of heartbreak, self discovery, and highs vs lows is one I will never forget. So often I felt myself reading words that I know I had thought myself. The icing on the cake for this novel is the omniscient narrator that gives you a glimpse of the future before you even turn the page.

Bravo to Genevieve Wheeler on this debut. I cannot wait to see what you write next.

I simultaneously read and listened to this book and I have to say the performance was just ok. I much preferred reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley- GoodReads- and Macmillan Audio. I recieved the ARC paperback and I also recieved the audiobook version. Everything I write is of my own personal thoughts feelings and opinions. I am in no way affiliated with or compensated for my time or review.
This is not a book I would have finished had I started reading the physical book- hence I love audiobooks. This book is emotionally charged with lots of gaslighting and mental forms of abuse. It touches on the loss of a early pregnancy too.
I did like the audiobook enough to finish it and rate it at 4.75 stars. A book should make you feel something or have a takeaway of some sort. This book the big takeaway for me is that she keeps repeating that everything happens for a reason or someone is in your life for a reason or season. Adelaide so badly wants to be in a loving realationship but the Guy Rory she fell in love with is just a class A jerk. Then the book drags on about his ex that died tragically in the book. They could have easily left that part out.
I know this review is terrible but really I dont have much more to say. I think this is book I will have to read/listen to a second time around to fully appreciate it.

Well well well. How I wish I had read this book in my 20s! How often have you just given so much of yourself in a relationship that you've lost your identify? Your joy? Your spirit? This book is SO relevant. I couldn't believe how much Adelaide spoke to me. Wheeler deals with issues of mental health, suicide, recovery, and toxic relationships with grace and kindness. Her characters are flawed and real. I encourage every young woman to read or listen to this book.

The audiobook is very well produced. At first, the narration was a bit irritating, but by the end of the story, I couldn't even imagine Adelaide's voice belonging to anyone else.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is womens fiction not a romance, with that being said I loved this. This is about a toxic relationship, where one character is flaky, constantly playing the victum, and always putting themselves first by putting the other down. While the other person in the relationship makes excuses for how they are being treated, does everything they can to make the other one happy and blames themselves when the other isn't happy.

If you have ever been in a toxic relationship this is going to speak volumes to you because it is like someone took my own thoughts during that time and wrote them down. If you haven't this is a glimps into what that experience might be for someone.

Its not an easy read due to the topic but I found it very compelling to read and finished this in 2 days.

I think this is going to be a very polarizing book. If it is marketed as a romance people are going to be disapointed, if it is marketed as womens fiction or a book about a toxic relationship I think it will do well. The writting style could also be polarizing. It bounces around a lot with timelines and there are no quotation marks, when someone is speaking it is in the middle of the paragraph and italizised. I think some people will like this and others will hate it.

There are so many trigger warnings in this so please look them up if you need to.

This is a stunning and stoic debut. But it is not a romance. Not sure why it’s being marketed that way.

As a single 20-something dating online, dealing with past trauma, and trying desperately to seek approval whenever I can, this book was too relatable. The prose is beautiful and tragic and addicting.

The audiobook was great, I was very impressed with the narrator.

2.5 stars

Don't come to this book for romance; come to it to learn about Adelaide's late 20s in which she makes a mistake that MOST people make in their late 20s: devoting herself fully to someone who can't or won't return the favor. Folks who are in the same life position that Adelaide is for most of the book or who were recently may enjoy the shared experience/commiseration, but as a person who was there and did that a couple of decades ago, well, I guess we all have to make our own mistakes but reading about them can still be tedious.

Adelaide, the m.c. and titular character, starts off her own novel with a real bang, and it's clear that she's in the thick of some intense mental health struggles. That noted, her attitude and narration about this are somewhat flip, and while I think that's a realistic portrayal, it may rub folks who are grappling with their own challenges (hello, the last few years!) the wrong way. Readers are quickly transported back into an explanation of how Adelaide gets here, and it - for me - was grating from start to finish (or at least a return to present day). Adelaide has a super gross Disney prince idea of love, and she finds *the guy* she thinks matches that. It's not surprising that he doesn't. And he's not THAT bad. He's a really typical representation of that guy. You know him. Maybe you dated him. He's not the worst; he's just thinking other/ different things than you/your friend/your whomever who is unfortunately dating him at this moment in his (under)development. Adelaide's responses to this situation are not proactive. She isn't bad; she's just also super typical. And herein lies my main issue with this novel overall; everything is so expected. I was hoping for something a bit fresh (this "millennial love story" could really be many people's stories and there's not much love involved TBH).

I do think there's an interesting attempt with Adelaide's mental health, but you know, just because environmental features seem to be improving doesn't mean that one's outlook does. For me, there are aspects of this discussion that felt oversimplified and also clumsily injected at times.

This is my first completed book of 2023, and my main takeaway is "Will 2023 ALSO be great in theory but lacking in execution? Just more of the same?!" Oh, no. This is an entertaining enough read (or listen, in my case, and the audiobook narrator does the character justice), but prepare to potentially also interact with "NO! Why, Adelaide?!" If you want that sort of live action _Rocky Horror Picture Show_ group screening scenario from your next book, this might be the one for you.

The professor in me feels compelled to leave off on a happier note. As mentioned, there is potential in the character and construct. As much as I wanted to shake Adelaide (often), I also am interested in reading more from Wheeler.

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler (audiobook review)
Available on April 18, 2023 (4.5/5).

Adelaide is not a typical rom-com love story. The audiobook is deep and touching. The author addresses grief, friendship, and mental health. Despite the obvious heartbreak, Wheeler's characters are realistic, flawed, and loveable. This raw, honest book captures being in a complex relationship with a partner who breaks your heart and spirit. It is relatable and hearts grabbing. This is a wonderful pick for book club discussions.

Thank you NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio, for sharing this incredible audiobook with me. Your kindness is appreciated.

#Adelaide

Absolutely fantastic debut novel. I really liked how mental health was written. Adelaide was Adelaide and didn't have red flags and stereotypical symptoms of bipolar. And after her diagnosis that didn't become her label, it didn't become who she was, it was just mentioned and we moved on. In a lot of books tons of red flags would have been signaled and then it would encompass their identity, but that isn't reality. Everything in this book was like that, it was just written with care. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future books by this author.

The audiobook narrator was also great. She sounded like Adelaide, her voice fit perfectly.

The summary of Adelaide, written by Genevieve Wheeler, resonated with me and who I was in my 20s. The book was written so well and evoked so many emotions within me that it was hard to believe the author when she said it wasn't based on real life events. I found Adelaide to be completely believable and relatable to anyone who's ever been in an (emotionally) abusive relationship. The 1-star reviews that find it unrealistic, illogical, or call Adelaide weak are from people who likely have not experienced this firsthand. While that's truly great for them personally, it shouldn't be used to invalidate someone else's experience.

Caitlin Kelly was a great narrator. Her accent range is pretty impressive, and I enjoyed listening to her.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ALC.