I didn't go into this book with any expectations and actually only requested it because I liked the cover, but this story is one that I have found myself thinking about often in the couple of weeks since I read this book. Victor and Zoey's friendship felt real, as did the growing pains it faced and the way that it evolved over the course of the novel. As a girl in this 2020s world with many decades long friendships, this book resonated with me, and I would recommend it! I hope it gets the buzzy release it deserves.

I am turning 30 in February and I felt kismet when I saw this for the first time. This was brilliant, daunting, heartbreaking, passionate and just wow. I am going to shove this book down every single person I see.

Early Thirties by Josh Duboff brings both humor and lightheartedness to the painful fact that just because we’re older doesn’t mean dating gets any easier.

Victor and Zoey have been best friends since college. That means they’ve experienced every heartbreak, headache, and hangover possible for two 20-year-olds living their college years in New York, and now being in their early thirties, things have changed. Zoey’s career in the fashion industry is dwindling while Victor’s career as a gossip reporter is thriving, that is until a tragedy in Victor's life forces the two apart and to realize what they truly want out of life, both in their careers and out of the love they have for each other.

For his debut book, Josh Duboff writes an incredibly heartwarming story about growing up and realizing that life doesn’t always end up how you expect it to. His writing is realistic with just the right amount of laughter to distract you from the reality of what life, and love, can be. As someone who’s still in her 20s, one of my favorite things about this book was relating to how the characters acted when they were younger and how they moved on from the messes and regrets the older they got. The author’s writing felt very personal and like I was reading someone's life story told through a third party. The love the two characters felt for each other felt genuine and authentic and not forced like some stories can turn out to be.