Talking at Night: 'A beautifully observed, tender love story. A bit like Normal People. I devoured it' JOJO MOYES

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British author Daverley follows a young man and woman through decades of their lives as they experience love, tragedy, and heartache. An achingly beautiful novel about the people who change us irrevocably. This novel will consume you." - Jill Santopolo

Like the very best of Sally Rooney with added lashings of heart - I loved it. A captivating, nuanced and beautiful debut' ISABELLE BROOM A classic will-they-won't-they in the vein of David Nicholls, this novel is impossible to put down. A story of secret night meetings and calls, sunrises and bonfires, quiet moments and heartbreaking missed opportunities. Impeccable dialogue and wonderful characters that will stay with you for a long time.' Constanza Casati, author of ClytemnstraThis book kept me up all night! It's everything I want from a love story, the will they won't they, the romance, but also, there is the truthfulness of reality woven into it. This isn't just escapism, it is also full of heartbreak and human failings and mistakes. I loved it' KATE SAWYER Talking at Night is one of those rare books you don’t want to end. Beautifully written, incredibly nostalgic, and utterly heartfelt.’ Katie Bishop, author of The Girls of Summer

and what might a soul look like, if you could touch it, if you could dance with the light and the dark of it.' This book is the kind of story that will always call to me: achingly beautiful in its angst, filled with ups and downs between characters, and exploring the normalcy and oddity of life. Talking at Night is a love story, certainly, but it’s much more than that. I was rapt. I highly recommend this wonderful novel.” Deeply romantic. Reminded me of just how all-consuming first love can be' LAURA BARNETT, No. 1 bestselling author of THE VERSIONS OF USTalking At Night is a beautiful and tender love story, but it also a book about love. The small moments, the sweeping ones, and the swells. The early days, of youth and innocence. And the second and third chances that come after the passing of time, with new perspective and wisdom. It is also about the love between friends and siblings, and the different family dynamics that exist in different homes. And it is about the things we love, the things that anchor us, and all of the small things that make us who we are.

At 17, Rosemary Winters hopes there will be more to life than studying for her exams and counting calories to please her mom. Her energetic twin brother, Josh, has big dreams—he hopes to attend Cambridge. He’s taken to studying math with the broody Will White, a bad boy with a reputation for sleeping around, an absentee mother, and no current plans to go to university. Will first noticed Rosie singing at a bonfire, with her ever attentive doe eyes and enchanting voice, and hasn’t been able to forget her since. Rosie, on the other hand, could never imagine a boy like Will being interested in her, especially with her keen attention to school and what her friend Marley calls a “vanilla virgin” personality. And yet, one midnight conversation at the Winters’ house leaves Rosie noticing Will as much as he's been noticing her. The closer Will and Rosie get, though, the further Josh seems to pull away from his sister, until tragedy strikes and leaves their budding romance in shambles. Suddenly, Rosie’s dream of attending music school and Will’s travel plans are cut short, broken by the secrets they share and a loss they can’t overcome. As years pass, the two lose touch and find each other in different stages of life, but somehow, their attraction never wanes. Daverley’s moving debut outlines a lyrical story of unspoken words and one unending love: “But her voice keeps him awake that night. And again, the night after that.” While Rosie and Will’s love story is fraught with heartbreak and change, and although the journey is almost always tumultuous, their evolving friendship and unbreakable connection prove entirely worthwhile and real. Claire Daverley was born in 1991 and has been writing stories ever since she was six years old, inspired by art and film and her many trips to the library. After graduating with a degree in Fine Art from The University of Oxford, she began a career in publishing, writing about books by day but penning her own by night, on trains, and in the light of the early mornings. She has spent most of her life in Hertfordshire, but now lives in Scotland with her husband and spaniel. The story of Will and Rosie is one of missed opportunities and the different paths we choose that lead us to self-discovery. Daverley's writing is poignant and emotional, capturing the raw intensity of young love and the longing that accompanies missed chances. This novel is poignant and deeply moving, and written in beautiful, poetic prose that often had me in tears. It is one of my favourite books I have read this year and one I will no doubt reread.

yes, both books are about two 20 somethings who are too young, afraid, and marred by traumatic life events to act on the love they have for eachother but that's where the comparison ends. I suppose what I’d say to those aspiring writers who are hoping to land an agent, or a publisher, who are putting the time in, who are finishing those manuscripts, is just don’t lose the faith. If you’re writing because you have to – not because you want to get published, as validating as that is – you are doing the right thing. I knew I’d be writing my whole life, even if I never got a book deal. So if that’s the case for you, don’t forget it. It means you’re doing it for the love of it, and not the book deal. So keep the faith, and trust in the process, and just remember that you’re writing because you’re a writer. You’re already winning.