David Nicholls is one of my absolute favorite writers and he never disappoints. I've been reading his books for years and will read anything he writes. He writes beautifully about love and relationships, and his dialogue is funny and touching. Sweet Sorrow is a beautiful, heart-wrenching coming of age novel and a reflection of a high schooler's first love. The characters were wonderful and came alive on the page. I can't recommend Sweet Sorrow enough and await patiently for David's next book.

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to @netgalley for an advance copy of this book for review (although the review is somewhat belated in this case 🤣)

I really enjoyed One Day by David Nicholls, so when I heard Sweet Sorrows was coming out, I was immediately interested (doubly so because of the title, an allusion to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet). Much like Romeo and Juliet, Sweet Sorrows viscerally captures the experience of being young, swinging from hilarious to endearing to heartbreaking and back again in a single chapter. It follows lost boy Charlie as he becomes inexplicably entwined in a theatrical production of Romeo and Juliet in order to win over his crush, Fran. I adored this story, which sees Charlie navigating not just first love, but also the dissolution of his parents’ marriage, his father’s depression (and his own), friendships both deep and shallow, and his future. I think this quote, from the end of the novel, captures it best:

“This is a love story, though now that it’s over it occurs to me that it’s actually four or five, perhaps more: familial and paternal love; the slow burning, reviving love of friends; the brief, blinding explosion of first love that can only be looked at directly once it has burnt out [...] and married love, too.”

TW: depression, suicidal thoughts, alcohol abuse

SWEET SORROW is a coming of age novel.
The story begins with the soon to be married Charlie Lewis reminiscing about the summer he fell in love. Sixteen year old Charlie is not doing well in school. His mother and sister left the family home and Charlie is living with his depressed father. While out on a bike ride Charlie meets Fran Fisher. Charlie is immediately smitten with Fran but the only way to see her is if he joins the summer Shakespeare troupe she is belongs to. The troupe is always in need of participants so despite his lack of acting experience Charlie is allowed to join the group. They are rehearsing the play Romeo and Juliet with Fran playing the lead female role. Charlie is assigned a supporting role.
As the summer passes the relationship between Charlie and Fran continues to develop.
SWEET SORROW is a novel not only about young love but about family, friends and the struggles that face teenagers.
I liked SWEET SORROW. Charlie was an engaging character and I found myself emphasizing with him even when he strayed from the straight and narrow.
SWEET SORROW is an engaging read and I would recommend it.
Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read the advanced ebook.

I turned to "Sweet Sorrow" when I needed something to get me through news of the recent death of my first love. As suspected, David Nicholls delivered. His writing is so evocative of time and place, conjuring images from an adolescence long forgotten. "Sweet Sorrow" is a tale of first love, friendship, family and the absolute buzz of amateur dramatics.
The book also gifted me new old music in the form of Mazzy Star, for which I shall be eternally grateful. On that note, La Nicholls has made an accompanying playlist on Spotify. How fabulous?! You can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Fl3SSh0a940ysvU7U8o4T?si=vttIpVxQQWaYMLKZhDX7KQ

Between his words and music choices, I finished the book and promptly bawled my eyeballs out. Nobody writes about young love the way that Nicholls does so if you want your heart pulled out though your nostrils, this is the man for you. He really is one of the very best writers in the UK plus he writes smart women extremely well, which is an added bonus. I'm now off to watch his adaptation of "Us" for BBC, whilst I still have some tears left.

Have not had a chance to read this yet, but will keep it on my list for a rainy day! Appreciate being offered the reading copy!

Thanks to the publisher for the early copy of this in exchange for a review.

I tried a few times to read this and could not get into it. Not going to read it.

Having really liked Nicholls' previous novel and been recommended this one, I was excited to dive into this book. I have tried and tried to read this and just can not get into it. It is so slow and the author uses a chapter to say nothing at all. This book is just not for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy.

An outcast British teenager falls in love with a more mainstream female while rehearsing for a Shakespearean production. Their love is doomed from the start . It was hard to like dislike either character but their backgrounds were too dissimilar for a happily ever after. There is reflection on a lost love which is thought provoking.

What a great book! I loved the relationship that Charlie had with Fran. Then had some good conversations.

I am so happy to have read this book. It is one of the most perfect little romance/adult novels that I have read yet. I love how talented a writer the author is and how so easily develops characters that seem like real people you would meet around your town. I also loved how talented the author is when it comes to timelines and understanding how to tell a story and use time as a major plot driver and device. The way this story is told really adds to the overall plot and makes the ending even better. I love how simple and bright the cover for this book is; it makes it feel very vibrant. This story melted my heart. I cant wait for it to come out so that I can share it and how much I loved this story!

As a big fan of David Nicholls, I was eagerly looking forward to reading this. It follows a teenage boy called Charlie the summer he leaves school who joins an amateur dramatics group putting on Romeo and Juliet, primarily because it gives him the opportunity to spend time with a Fran, who is playing Juliet.

A story of first love, and of teenage angst, what Nicholls does so well is in capturing teenage emotions, something we can all relate to, without ever straying into the schmaltzy, and with a good sprinkling of humour along the way. For me it took a bit of time to get going but the further I got into the book, the more I warmed to Nicholls' well drawn characters and the more I found myself reminiscing on my own teenage years. Whilst not my favourite of Nicholls' books, I did really enjoy it and look forward to his next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I ended up not finishing Sweet Sorrow. I desperately tried several times to get into the story, but the pacing was far too slow for me, and I wasn't captivated by the main character.

Nicholls perfectly writes about endless summers and teenage angst in this story. Charlie admits that he is nobody's hero early in this book-the chronic underachiever who is living with his unemployed, depressed father. The story takes place outside London after Charlie has finished his schooling and is looking for some way to fill his summer. While reading in a field, he is surprised by Fran Fisher who pulls him into her theater circle and probably manages to save him. I loved the way that the the theater company was represented and also the way that his friends past and present were depicted. Most of the story takes place as an adult Charlie looking back at his past. I thought that there would be more of the present Charlie than there was but in retrospect, it was perfect.
Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the ARC in return for my honest review-even though my review occurred after the publication date.

Sadly this was a DNF for me. I am a huge fan of One Day and was eagerly looking forward to Sweet Sorrow. I struggled with the slowness of the story, and couldn't connect with Charlie unfortunately.

Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

A great coming of age book. I enjoyed this audiobook and would recommend it to friends. The characters were likeable and were realistic in the story..

After loving the book one day i was worried this may not live up to my expectations - i was wrong. It was just such a wonderful read i did not want to put it down. I really hope it is made into a film as well #SweetSorrow #NetGalley

This is the second book I've read by David Nicholls. I loved One Day and now also love Sweet Sorrow! It's a beautiful coming of age story about first love filled with poignant moments.

Sweet Sorrow was my first David Nicholls novel and it will not be my last. Mr. Nicholls really made the characters come to life for me. I felt like I spent the days it took me to read it like I met some new friends.

The story follows the journey of Charlie, an easily relatable normal boy, who has been dealt lots of reasons to be unhappy. While Charlie is struggling to deal with his disconcerting relationship with his parents and his sister as he is taking his first step onto adulthood, he meets a girl. A girl who changes his summer, his life. Charlie joins a Shakespeare troupe, something he would have never dreamed of before Fran. He meets new people; he has new experiences; the world looks and feels different. Teenage love captured, with all its ups and downs, with all its angst and euphoria.

Sweet Sorrow evoked memories and feelings long gone. The transition between Charlie's present and past is handled wonderfully. Adult Charlie was as real and likeable to me as teenage Charlie. All ends neatly tied up. Read this book, you will not be sorry and you will have a lovely journey with a great bunch of characters.

This book was very uneven. The dialogue & the scenes with the theater company were snappy, but Charlie's narration was dull. Nichols books have a dreamy quality to them that didn't work as well here as in his previous books. Unfortunately I don't see myself remembering much about this book a few days, weeks, months from now. It was also frequently difficult to determine who was speaking, but I'm not sure if that's because of the ARC formatting or if the book was written that way.

Be still my nostalgia-loving heart! In SWEET SORROW, David Nicholls beautifully captures that summer feeling when school has ended and “life” has yet to begin. Add in a first love on top of that, and you end up with a bittersweet gem of a novel.

Charlie is one of those characters who I would have hated if I knew him in high school. He and his friends are woefully immature and sometimes even cruel (to each other and their classmates), and he employs the far too common tactic of teenage boys where he pretends he’s too cool for everything and that people who try or care about things are lame. So I will admit that it took me a while to warm up to him! However, as the story goes on and Charlie begins to let down his guard little by little, a far more complex (and interesting) character emerges.

The truth is that Charlie actually cares immensely—if not about things, perhaps, then definitely about people. Because of course this is a love story, but not just a romantic love story: it’s also about his family, and his friends, and his future wife, and yes, the girl who first stole his heart. And maybe even Shakespeare 😉