Disappointing. Likable characters but not much to the story. Got the end and not much had happened. Not very romantic and not very funny.

'The Split' seemed to have an interesting premise about Ally and her life after breaking up with her girlfriend Emily. I love LGBTQIA love stories and believe that more of them should be read worldwide. Laura Kay has put her heart into the story but...well, there's this 'but' that spoils some of the fun.
Ally returns to her father's house after a shocking break up with her girlfriend Emily. She is stunned that Emily left her for Sara with no H. However, she's into a state of denial and still hopes that Emily would come around, at least for her cat who has almost been kidnapped by Ally. Here begins a saga of long emails and languishing days of existence, struggle for survival and acceptance of loss. Ally finds an ally in Jeremy, her school friend who's nursing a breakup too.
There are subplots, hints of future romances, a few understated romances and Ally's demure father who tries to support her through this phase. Honestly, I liked the subplots better than Ally languishing over lost love. Her emails seemed tedious and imposing.
I'd love to read more stories by Laura Kay though. I liked her writing more than her plot.

Enjoyable easy read, great characters you could connect with and lots of humour to boot. Good for anyone feeling in need of an uplifting story

Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me. I had expected Beth O'Leary vibes which it didn't quite match up too (although that is perhaps unfair to say because I don't know if we should really compare two authors as they are of course two different people with their own writing style). It is the kind of book that I really wanted to like, and loved the sound of, but the pay off wasn't quite what I hoped.

That said, I know a lot of people love it so I really think that it all just came down to personal preference! It has gotten so many good reviews, so it is an unusual instance that I would still definitely recommend it to my friends because there is still a high chance that they would enjoy it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, just not to my own taste!

This was a very easy read. Quite enjoyable, nothing too thought-provoking, but pleasant enough for a holiday read.

This was very disappointing. The main character was simply insufferable, and most of the other characters were one-dimensional at best. The humour was childish. A lot of effort was put in to make sure we know the main character Isn't Like Other Women, because she doesn't eat vegetables and she's a bit of a slob. The only bright spot was that the story wasn't about queer suffering. It's acknowledged that it wasn't exactly a walk in the park to grow up queer, but it's not the focus of the story.

Shame, because I was really looking forward to reading a good F/F romance. But this one just didn't work for me.

Busting onto the fiction scene and publishing today (18th of March), The Split is a relatable, comforting debut, the ultimate heartwarming queer rom-com dripping with distinctly British humour. Ally’s just been brutally dumped by her girlfriend and kicked out of their houseboat, in an act of desperation or self-love, she takes the cat and flees northward to her hometown of Sheffield.


Despite being a break-up story, the initial dark days post-blindsiding binning are still comical with understandable self-pity and comfort in the form of copious amounts of cheese and cakes. Ally is rudely shaken from her daily routine of obsessive Instagram stalking and wallowing by her ex-beard and family friend, Jeremy, who is coincidentally equally broken-hearted. Ally rebuilds her sense of self, recovering all the parts she’d buried in the name of love and the pair sign themselves us for the half-marathon in the hopes of either winning back their exes or at least making them really, really jealous.

Nestled back into her home, a time-capsule of her childhood when her mother was alive, all the appropriate nostalgia, panic and paranoia washes over Ally as she fights off a quarter-life crisis. But it’s so entertaining and heartwarming being along for the ride, her internal dialogue is genuinely hilarious, as well as the snappy back-and-forth dialogue between her Dad and Jeremy. Ally lifts herself, laying claim to her favourite flaws in a deeply honest and relatable way. Ally and Jeremy’s friendship is exactly what it should be, encouraging each other in post-run pub and chainsmoking sessions.
I was slightly concerned going into the book that running, or exercise in general, would be posed as the ‘solution’ to Ally’s problems. Luckily, that was not the case, I’m not a runner myself so I engaged heavily with Kay’s honest description of the searing lungs and leaden legs. Running gives the pair a purpose, as well as confidence and endorphins that they desperately need, but they soon realise it won’t solve all their problems for them. I especially loved that they drink all the wine and beer and smoke all the cigarettes they want throughout training. It’s all in the balance and jelly snakes for pudding always.

There’s also some beautiful and meaningful exploration of growing up queer in an industrial town, as Ally and Jeremy reflect in their former school to hand out pop at a year-7’s disco (an appropriate amount of chaos ensues). Positive mental health representation is included, Jeremy suffers from bouts of depression and anxiety and he talks about it with honesty and vulnerability. He explains with vulnerable and honest details how exercise isn’t a fix-all, just helpful maintenance that can help him to feel more like himself.


Overall, The Split is a heartwarming, funny and deeply relatable romantic read that is perfect for the post-breakup blues, or let’s face it, lockdown blues. It’s light but authentic with engaging writing and lovable characters who are mostly up to light shenanigans and acting like teenagers. It’s a story of starting over, starting fresh and starting with your best interests at heart (especially if those interests are cheese and cake).

This book had everything; including cats!

The Split follows Ally as she moves out of the house with her partner and back home to live with her dad. It was funny, heartwarming, and showed people in all their messy glory.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for the opportunity to read and review.

A delightful, uplifting book that I recommend. As a lesbian, one of my goals is to see more LGBTIQA+ characters in 'mainstream' books/ shops, and this one didn't disappoint. It's cute, and it's got people talking. I love reading good books, and while I read a heap of lesfic, I also read a heap of 'mainstream' books, but sometimes want more characters I relate to. This one gave me that, and I recommend it!

★★★½☆☆

"In all my wildest dreams growing up in the house just a couple of miles up the road. A tiny gay cake enthusiast, I could never have imagined that I might find other people like me on this street. And the idea that I would know them and work for them, well, it would have been utterly unimaginable."

Laura Kay’s 'The Split' was a comedic, light delight. It was breezy and fun, with thoughtful, realistic characters. Anyone would want Ally and Jeremy as friends.

This felt familiar and comforting, yet Kay does have that unique voice we all look for when discovering debut novelists.

Cake baking. Copious trips to the pub. A messy break up with persistent claims to the shared cat. The Split has everything !

- Queer stories
- Comedy & romance
- Boy-girl friendships

**Thank you to author Laura Kay and NetGalley for sending me a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review !

I have to say that I was a little disappointed. I thought this would be a really great romcom, I think there was a statement calling it "Louise Rennison for grown-ups" and yet I never really laughed.
It's quite a light story about a girl called Ally who breaks up with her girlfriend and takes the cat with her to Sheffield to move in with her dad. It made me smile from time to time but it certainly wasn't laugh out loud. Perhaps I have been spoilt by the hype, sorry. I would give it 3.5 stars.

3.5 stars

A light, easy read with a great relationship between Ally & Jeremy. I didn't laugh out loud much but did smile a bit

An enjoyable, summer read. Friendship and romance, some humour and good secondary characters. I'd have taken the cat too.

READ THIS IF… you like cats, rom-coms, baking, and lesbians.

THE STORY… When Ally’s girlfriend dumps her seemingly out of the blue, her response is to take the cat and run - back to her Dad’s in Sheffield. Reuniting with her ‘first beard’ Jeremy, the two decide to run a half marathon to impress their exes. But Jo, the leader of their running group, might change Ally’s intentions.

THE SPLIT… is everything I want in a novel: a host of loveable characters, a seemingly impossible goal, and a cat who is, on more than one occasion, described as ‘seething’. Everything about this book feels alive, to the point where I was gutted when I got to the end. I loved the romance between Ally and Jo, but my favourite relationships were with the men in Ally’s life: Jeremy and her Dad. Laura Kay has done a brilliant job at portraying the struggle for men expressing emotion, and ultimately showing that these men care about Ally and are not afraid to show it.

I’m intimately familiar with the East Midlands train to and from St Pancras, and loved the descriptions of Sheffield. It was strange to read about people running up hills that I have struggled to walk up!

I listened to the audiobook of this and can’t recommend it highly enough - Imogen Church is an excellent narrator and really captures the fun essence of this book.

NOW… I’d recommend this to anyone with a beating heart. I’d love to read some more lesbian/sapphic romance novels like this - can anyone recommend me some?

'The Split' by Laura Kay is a charming exploration of finding yourself after a break-up. It is almost a 'coming of age' despite the protagonist being almost thirty. Ally's girlfriend unceremoniously dumps her (for Sara with no H), causing Ally to land back in her father's house in Sheffield, complete with grumpy Malcom, Emily's cat. Ally is not only broken due to the end of a relationship she has been in since university, but she is jobless, penniless and in a rut. Once in Sheffield, she is reunited with her childhood friend Jeremy, who suggests they start training for a half-marathon. Her first run ever to 13 miles in just a couple of months sound simple right?

Ally makes some suspect choices in this novel, particularly in her exploitation of Jo from the local running shop. Jo is used for her running expertise and as a tool to make Emily jealous, a rebound fling, but Ally does not seem conflicted enough about this manipulation until it is too late. There were some hilarious moments in the novel (Disco for Syria anyone?) but Ally needed to face more of a comeuppance for her awful behaviour.

The main highlight of the novel was the amazing friendship between Jeremy and Ally. I loved what a hilarious pair they are, bringing out the good in each other. Overall, a charming comedy with a flawed protagonist at its core, peppered with hilarious yet satisfying moments as we see Ally navigate her heartache and out the other side. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a lovely little book; about heartbreak and friendship and falling back in love with life and figuring out who you are after a major breakup. Ally, the central character, is funny, likeable, relatable and does not always behave like her best self - but then, who would in the midst of major life upheaval?

The Split is the sort of book that makes me think of holidays, and travelling - in the non-Covid timeline, it should be sitting prominently on the bestseller list in every airport WH Smith’s, ready to cheer you up on the plane and keep you company by the pool. Of course, with so many queer characters - and a brilliant, cantankerous cat - I can imagine some major booksellers opting to file it in a dedicated section instead. But that really shouldn’t be the case. File this smart, absorbing take on the contemporary/romance novel next to the likes of Beth O’Leary. Loved it.

Ah what an utter joy it was to spend time with The Split! Laura's created a world of fully believable, messy characters who you just want to hang out with. They are all so relatable with how they navigate relationships with loved ones, wanting to be loved, and with family, in all its complex dynamics. Also - huge love for giving a cat a decent storyline as well... This is a funny, romantic, warm, gorgeous book.

This book was sold as a rom-com. I did not read much romance, nor comedy in this book.
I thought I might like it, especially since the blurb sounded quite nice and all, but... Upon actually reading this book, there was nothing nice about it. Nothing funny.
My biggest issue: What sounded actually mildly hilarious (the catnapping) was... not funny at all. If you take your ex-girlfriend's cat, YOU are the one who has to get it back and no matter what your ex did to be your ex - you bring the cat back, you fall to your knees and you beg forgiveness for taking it! You do not make your ex come and get HER cat which YOU stole, you insuffereable excuse of a human being!
Also, the REASON for the catnapping is ridiculous! Snatching the kitten just so your ex has to write you (which is more or less the same reason why you refuse to give the cat back, that's pathetic!) - let's not forget the simple fact of even WRITING stuff like that to your freshly-baked ex-girlfriend?! I am surprised Emily did not call the police on Ally.
I have no sympathy at all for Ally. Literally, none. She is a whiney, selfish girl who cares nothing about her ex's feelings (that cat was a BIRTHDAY PRESENT, FFS! How low can you sink?!) and just keeps whining even when she meets the New Girl!
Nope. Absolutely nope. I do not recommend this book. Do not read it, do not buy it - what crazy sense of humour do you need to have to find this funny? And that's coming form ME, the person who's humour is very questionable!

I received a free copy by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ally goes through an unexpected break up with someone she thought she would be with forever. She leaves her home in London and travels home to Sheffield to the comfort of her dad and her childhood home. Picking up the pieces of her heart and having to start over again. Ally and Jeremys friendship is adored and refreshing to have two gay protagonists, with no intention of sleeping together! There is no age to do any certain thing and this book proves it doesn’t matter how old you are or what you should be doing, as long as you’re happy. Totally recommend for a light hearted, fun and uplifting read. Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for allowing me early access!

‘The Split’ is the latest book by Laura Kay.

Brutally dumped by her girlfriend, Ally is homeless, friendless and jobless… but at least she has Malcolm. Wounded and betrayed, Ally has made off with the one thing she thinks might soothe the pain: Emily’s cat. After a long train journey she arrives home to her dad in Sheffield, ready to fold herself up in her duvet and remain on the sofa for the foreseeable. Her dad has other ideas. A phone call later, and Ally is reunited with her first ever beard and friend of old, Jeremy. He too is broken-hearted and living at home again.

I started this book last night and I reluctantly had to put when I had to go to bed.

This debut even though it’s about heartbreak is fun, uplifting and incredibly warm-hearted.

The story is seen solely through the narrative of Al and begins at the moment that her girlfriend Emily breaks up with her. Heartbroken, Al returns home to Sheffield with Malcolm the cat for company, even though he’s technically Emily’s cat.

Back under her dad’s roof, Al is at a loss at what to do next with her life, disinterested in a career, her passion is for baking and is delighted when an opportunity to work in a bakery arises. Her childhood friend Jeremy is also recovering from heartbreak after his boyfriend broke up with him. Together, they find solace in each others pain and decide the best way to get over heartbreak is to do a 13 mile marathon even though they’ve never ran a day in their lives. It’s through running that Al, meets Jo and thinks that she might help with the heartbreak and distract her from emailing Emily.

I adored this book with all my heart, it’s a genuine love story and life affirming book all rolled into one. I loved Al, she’s kind, witty and has a lovely nature. I loved her interaction with Jeremy, their banter and support for each other when things got tough. I enjoyed their nostalgia journeys as they reminisced their school years and struggling with their sexuality.

Laura has written a wonderful story, flowing at a lovely pace with relatable characters and scenarios and eager dogs and moody cats. I loved this book from start to finish, wonderfully written ‘The Split’ is a fantastic debut about recovering from heartbreak and finding yourself along the way. I thoroughly recommend this book and fully understand why it’s one of Quercus’ lead debuts of 2021.

You can pre-order ‘The Split’ from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops from 18th March 2021.