Oh goodness. I haven’t been this attached to a character in a long time. I felt Adelaide’s presence in many forms. I saw myself, at that age; I saw a best girlfriend, a sister, a daughter. I remembered the pains and the beauty of being a 20-something year old. And I feared for that bittersweet phase that my own daughter has not yet entered. Thank you, Genevieve Wheeler, for creating this visceral story, that felt so real and relatable. I am planning on getting my hands on a physical copy and, for the first time ever, annotating a book.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. Truly.

Adelaide, Adelaide, Adelaide. This book was an emotional ride for me. I honestly absolutely loved this book. It all felt close to reality with messy relationships, imperfect people, mental health struggles, navigating life and more. My heart hurt but also rooted for Adelaide. She feels like a piece of who I used to be.

*this book is not for the faint of heart, there are many sensitive topics throughout*


A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my arc!

WOW. What an incredibly heartfelt, impactful, and emotional read. This book literally looks inside your soul - explores what it's like to struggle with finding yourself, your passion in life, and self-worth. This book tackles an extremely complex (& toxic, in my opinion) relationship very delicately but in a way that lands in your heart SO hard. This is exactly my favorite type of book. If I could read this over and over and over again - I would.

Highly recommend this for fans of Sally Rooney, Dolly Alderton, or any British contemporary/lit fic!

Whew! This was 4 powerful stars.
I had no idea that this novel held so many feelings and it wrecked me. It was the sort of novel you have to read or listen to when you’re in a good place. It was narrated by Caitlin Kelly and she was phenomenal. Perfect for this.
I felt heartsick, angry and then determined. Some or most of the relationships are complicated and messy. You’ll see. It ended up balanced and I found it painful. The writing was good. I hope this was helpful.
Thanks Macmillan Audio and St Martins Press via NetGalley.

this book was missing something that would make me truly care about the characters. no one felt "real" and the story felt flat. i was expecting more but was disappointed.

thank you to St. Martin's Press for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is for the people who give their all in relationships, the ones who love too hard. This isn’t a happy, sappy love story but it is about all types of love - friend love, partner love, self love, family love. It’s about finding yourself and learning that everyone isn’t meant for you.

I could find myself relating a lot to this book and to Adelaide, which is why I think I enjoyed it so much.

It took a minute to get into it, but once I did I couldn’t get enough. I also didn’t love how instead of quotations, conversations were in italics, but I got used to it after a while. The timeline was a little hard to follow (going back and forth from the past and somewhat-present and remembering what happened in what year, but it wasn’t too bad.

Just a warning - there are a lot of really heavy topics in this book which may make it not for everyone.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’m so glad I had the chance to read and review it. Thank you to Genevieve Wheeler, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the eARC!

I liked but did not love this book. The subject matter can be difficult and triggering for those who are not aware that it begins with suicidal ideations.

I'm so glad for the opportunity to review this ARC.

I can't say if this book was for me or not. I fall in the middle of liking it and not enjoying it. Firstly, I wouldn't classify this as a romance at all. It's contemporary fiction. Maybe going into it with that expectation would have changed my reaction to it. I was expecting a heart breaking, tearjerker of a romance, and instead it was the opposite. Rory was the most unlikeable character I've ever read. I understand that Adelaide was with him because her confidence was low and she was depressed, but I was screaming at the pages for her to punch him in the face and walk away.

Other than the story, I didn't love the writing and format. Quotation marks weren't used, dialogue was italicized. That would've been fine but internal dialogue was also italicized so it made it slightly confusing. There were a lot of parenthesis in the writing as well and it got redundant. Lastly, some parts felt so hurried, like the author was rushing us through but then non-consequential scenes were laid out in great detail. All in all, I was just a bit confused by the writing.

Overall, the story of Adelaide is great, but the execution fell short for me. The writing was distracting and the expectations I had going into it also likely led to some disappointment. If you're a fan of general fiction, this may be more your style.

For those picking up "Adelaide" after seeing the Romance genre tagged to it expecting your typical sappy, feel-good novel... pause. While this novel does indeed focus on relationships, this is far from your usual read.

Our protagonist Adelaide Williams is a 26 year-old woman living in London, after having grown up in the States. Like everyone else, she's been in her fair share of relationships but when she (re-)meets Rory Hughes, she's sure she's found <i>the one</i>. At first glance, their relationship is picture-perfect and Adelaide falls head over heels in love with him, imagining their future together... but when cracks begin to appear, Adelaide is forced to confront the question of if her love is enough.

There's so much that I loved about this novel, including just how raw and true-to-life Adelaide was, and the extent of experiences she's gone through. She's still dealing with the memories of being abused and mistreated by her first boyfriend in high school; attempting to climb up the corporate ladder and achieve her career goals; and juggling her separate relationships with her friends and peers. And just like many women, Adelaide never feels good enough, constantly comparing herself to others and Rory's ex, Nathalie. I think many readers will connect with and empathize with Adelaide and her situation, and the many frustrations and struggles she deals with. More than anything, I appreciated how Wheeler highlights just how fruitless romantic relationships can be when they don't have the right foundation, and how important and strong female friendships can be in contrast.

Wheeler's writing is descriptive and poignant, crafting such complex characters that you can't help but feel your heart break for them. I know this novel will tug at many readers' heartstrings when it's published in April of 2023.

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler is an emotional coming of age story about Adelaide Williams.

The story follows Adelaide who is living in London for graduate school. Adelaide meets Rory, her “Disney prince”. Adelaide sees life through rosy glasses. While she has bad taste in men Rory does a number on her.

Adelaide covers heavy topics (abusive relationships, rape, miscarriage, mental health, and more). While the story is well written at some points hard to read.

If you enjoy emotionally heavy reads, like I do, Adelaide is a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down, and when it was over, I found myself wishing I could read it for the first time all over again. Adelaide is a twenty-something American woman living in London, navigating career changes, mental health struggles, friendship, and love—or is true love after all? At first glance, Rory Hughes is a real-life Disney Prince, the charming man Adelaide was fated to meet. But when tragedy strikes, it becomes clear that Rory can't reciprocate Adelaide's love, and doesn't treat her the way she deserves to be treated. Can Adelaide break away from this toxic relationship and finally show herself the same kindness she's always giving to everyone else?

Adelaide is such a well-developed, lovable character, and I was rooting for her from start to finish! The strong, supportive female friendships were also a huge highlight of this story for me—I loved getting to read about them, as well as about Adelaide's life in London. The setting was so vivid, and it was easy to get completely absorbed in Adelaide's world. I think that many people will be able to see themselves reflected in Adelaide and in parts of her story. This was a beautifully written, thoughtful, and poignant novel, and I am so excited to see what Genevieve Wheeler writes next! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I adored reading this book! I sympathized with the MC. Adelaide is a twenty something American living and working in London. Wheeler writes all about the relationships she has and most of the book focuses on her love life with a man named Rory.

You’ll fly through this book. Your emotions will go on a roller coaster ride but in a good way. I have a feeling I’ll be thinking about Adelaide for a long time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review. Five stars!

I went in blind with Adelaide and I was immersed in a very emotional, real, relatable and fully alive story of a 25 year old American woman who is trying to live her life to the fullest in her English dream life. She met Rory Hughes who she has claimed her Disney Prince. Rory was amazing, he is handsome and so easy to love but does Rory love Adelaide back?

At some point in our life we have been in Adelaide’s shoes. Someone that is so dear to us, can be a friend, a sister, a co-worker has at some point or another, was once an Adelaide. Full of love, full of life, bubbly, happy, hyper, extra high and super low. Someone who pleases someone, someone who was thoughtful, who deeply cares, who has your back, who seem to have everything together until they break. And once they’re broken …… What are they exactly?

The feelings in this book exists! It is real, it reminds, and it thugs and knocked my insides out! Looking at the mix reviews of this book just proves that reality was breathing in these pages. It was very hard to get through at some parts but just like life, one has to do anything to keep going and do what needs done to get by.

The writing is beautiful, and Caitlyn Kelly’s voice narrated so spectacularly. It was like having a best friend that constantly looks out for you. A life message that needs to be out out there and the story needs to be read! I enjoyed it and I am super thankful to St.Martins Press via Netgalley, Macmillan Audio via Librofm for both ebook and audio files for review! a solid 4.5stars, half a star off because I would have wanted a little more of Bub’s being highlighted! I recommend this beautiful story of Adelaide!

Adelaide is a beautifully written story of a young woman’s journey through love, grief and a mental health diagnosis. Adelaide is finishing up school in London she meets Rory. Even though there are signs Rory might not be the best boyfriend material, Adelaide decides to fully dedicate herself to him. When both their loves get turned upside down by Rory’s ex-girlfriend’s unexpected death. Their relationship becomes even more strained and Adelaide’s mental health suffers as a result. Will Adelaide and Rory get the help they both need to make their relationship work or will come to an end? This book expertly weaves together mental health issues with romance in a very thoughtful way. The content could be triggering for some readers but it is worth the read to help others understand those who are struggling with grief, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts and how relationships are affected by by mental health.

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault, Suicide, Gaslighting, Manipulation

Adelaide is living the dream by moving to London. When she meets Rory, everything seems to come together. Except, Rory doesn’t always answer her texts. And sometimes he goes days without speaking to her. Oh and often manages to not cancel their plans until well after he should have already met her. Also, he tends to speak down to her and put down her thoughts and feelings. OK, so maybe Rory isn’t the Prince Charming she thought he was. She loves him though. So it must be meant to be right?

OK I am going to start with the only bad part of this book. There is a line talking about how great a particular author is, and how wonderful a certain book about humans that are just completely average was. (IYKYK and you know my feelings on that one!) I have also seen people compare this book to that one and to that I say, absolutely not. All I kept thinking while listening to this book was….damn I HATE Rory. What a terrible, horrible, not good, very bad person. Rory is to Adelaide what Stephen is to Tell Me Lies. OK maybe not exactly the same, but the hatred I felt was the same! I absolutely despised this man and the way he treated Adelaide as well as Natalie. I wanted so badly for her to recognize what a horrible human being this man was and leave his ass behind. If you enjoy books about super toxic relationships, you will enjoy this one.

Adelaide is a twenty something American living in London. While navigating the hardships of young adulthood, she struggles in her romantic relationship with Rory Hughes.

This is such a raw, riveting, vulnerable, and important read for young women! It touches on some hard topics like mental illness, toxic relationships, and not defining yourself by others. Adelaide is a lovable character, and her desire to be loved is heartbreaking. Genevieve Wheeler was able to write a a story that has heavy topics while also being an enjoyable read. Adelaide and her friends are likable and relatable! Wonderful debut novel!

This is the story of Adelaide an American young woman living in England who falls head over heels for a handsome man who consistently makes her feel “ less than”.. I so wanted to slap her for putting up with such treatment. That being said I could not stop reading this book and loved how it came all together , I was cheering for Adelaide by the end. An insightful look into mental illness. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this early e copy.

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler is a poignant and beautifully written story. Her struggles and triumphs are portrayed with sensitivity and insight, leaving a lasting impact on the reader. Highly recommended for those who enjoy introspective tales of personal growth."

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler is a book that I have been impatiently anticipating and was so excited to get an ARC. Adelaide is a 26 year old expat living in London who is experiencing the typical struggles that the mid-twenties offer: trying to find herself, find a partner, and find happiness. She meets Rory Hughes on a dating app and feels like she has found her guy. As their relationship progresses she starts to question if it is so great after all.

While this book is pitched as a love story it is really much more than that. There are some serious trigger warnings and topics explored through Adelaide's relationship with herself and her family. Much of the dating feels very familiar and true to the experience of many in the real world - the author did a great job of capturing that longing, anxiety, and tension that comes with being with someone who isn't always giving you what you need back. This book was heavy and unexpected - it may not be what I expected to read but it was better.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Adelaide is out 4/18/23.

Easily a five star review. I found myself looking for an opportunity to pick up this book through out the day. What a beautiful and painful story Genevieve Wheeler has given us. Adelaide made me feel truly “seen,” which may or may not be a great thing but it helps to normalize the conversation that everyone can be in a bad place at some point in their lives. Adelaide, an American studying abroad in London, finds herself experiencing deep depressive episodes through an emotionally manipulative relationship that pained and frustrated me to observe, but I really loved the female characters in this story so much and the empowering female relationships. I found myself thinking “That reminds me of me” too often. It was an absolutely heavy and I highly suggest checking the content warnings first. I don’t tend to re-read books but I look forward to picking this one up again. I can’t wait for whatever Genevieve writes next!