Alex and Leah meet at medical school and form an immediate and intense connection. Over the course of four years as they are caught in the push–pull of love and betrayal, longing and reunion, neither can quite give up the other, even as they question whether they are good for each other.

This story felt like a similar writing style to Normal People, though I enjoyed this more and found it easier to get into. It’s very much that love story of - two people drawn to each other that are probably not really good for each other. We follow them through the turbulence of their lives as they keep getting pulled back together.

While the story didn’t wow or deeply pull me in, it was still a good book.

This reminded me of normal people by Sally Rooney, I enjoyed it, easy to read but a little repetitive at times. I recommend it though and would read more of Miranda's books.

Wow — this one really got under my skin (ha!).
It didn’t go where I expected at all, but I was completely hooked from the first page. I tore through it in two days — it absolutely consumed me.

I’m always drawn to relationship dramas that span decades, and this one felt especially unique. It was gritty, often dark, and deeply uncomfortable at times — definitely one for a long trigger warning list. There were very few moments of light, but that heaviness felt intentional and well-executed.

Alex and Leah really took the miscommunication trope to another level. Normally that would frustrate me, but their personalities were so well-drawn that it actually made sense — I genuinely believed these two could spend 20 years failing to communicate properly.

I kept tapping at my eReader hoping for more pages. I would’ve loved just a few more, but I have to admit — the ending was the only one that made sense.

As a Victorian, I especially appreciated all the local references. It’s rare to read something that feels so grounded in familiar places — it made the whole experience hit even closer to home.

Thanks, Miranda and NetGalley for the ARC - looking forward to this one rolling out soon.

“She is like water. Taking the shape of every vessel that holds it, unable to assert her own boundaries.”

“To love without torture “

Written in a style similar to Sally Rooney and Normal People - New Skin follows Alex and Leah, two very damaged young adults who have both suffered trauma and rejection in their lives.

These two are M E S S Y!!!

We experience their first love through the immediate, and very intense connection formed between the two when they meet at medical school. As they navigate the emotional highs and lows and the vulnerability, excitement, and challenges of falling in love for the first time, we see unhealthy patterns emerging due to the intensity of their relationship. This intensity is mistaken as intimacy and is marked by cycles of passion and betrayal, longing and reunion.

As Alex and Leah's relationship evolves over several years, we see how this foundational relationship prevents them from forming subsequent suitable connections as they continue seeking emotional highs rather than building stable, trusting bonds in their relationships.

Ultimately, we see how love can endure through mistakes and distance, offering opportunities for reconciliation and renewed connection as both characters mature and reconsider what they mean to each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Alex and Leah meet at med school and this story follows them as they weave in and out of each other's lives over twenty more years. If the characters were more likable I think I would have enjoyed this book more. Each time the two met, they would fall into their old ways and it would be back to them getting together, regardless of whether they had partners of their own. The storyline was a bit too repetitive and the ending abrupt. It was an easy read though and as the author shows promise, I will read what she writes next.

New Skin by Miranda Nation is described as a love story. But there’s no silly fluff or cringe in this (I think) brilliant book.

This is my kinda love story - it’s dark, ambiguous, tense and enthralling. Leah and Alex are flawed, troubled, but also captivating and charismatic. Nation’s writing is accessible but not simple or average, I felt really engaged and the book was well paced throughout. I will definitely be picking up more of her books in the future! this is a 4.5 star book for me.

Thanks NetGalley for the eArc of this book!

Intriguing is the best word to describe this book. Leah and Alex have an intriguing relationship over a number of years. The book goes through their relationship and the way they continue to search for each other in a sense over the years. Whilst the storyline was very detailed at times I put the book down due to how the characters became as it got very deep and intense during parts of the book.

I have to admit from the outset that I really didn't enjoy reading this book. I requested it because it was set in Melbourne in the 1990s and I thought it would be a nostalgic read as I went to Melbourne Uni in the early 1990s (albeit 5 years before this novel starts). But Leah and Alex's lives are so different from my own lived experience that I found it very hard to relate to.

This is a bleak story about a destructive relationship between two very unhappy young people. There is a lot of focus on how much they love each other, but from my perspective it's more about obsession and co-dependence and they're certainly not good for each other. Their lives seem to be one crisis after another exacerbated by the drugs they rely on to dull the pain. The downward spiral never really seems to hit rock bottom.

Leah gets her act together in her 20s, but Alex can't seem to find happiness anywhere and they're both at risk of destroying all the good parts of their lives.

It's hard to say if this book is well-written because the subject matter was so depressing. I found the absence of quotation marks for speech difficult to come to terms with and a lot of the sentences were really short and choppy. But perhaps that was by design to represent the pattern of the characters' thoughts. The ending also felt a bit pat - 95% of this novel is a graphic description of how messed up these two people are over a 30-year period, and then it's all wrapped up in the last little bit. This book is described as a love story, but it definitely doesn't give the warm and fuzzies.