Review by Booklist Review
In her U.S. debut, Stanley follows a decade in the life of Coralie Bower, beginning in 2013 when she's newly arrived in London. A chance encounter with Adam, a handsome journalist, blossoms into a romance, and her life becomes everything she's hoped for. But the reasons she left Australia--family issues, an abusive boss--still lurk. Adam is her rock throughout numerous life events, but when their first daughter's birth coincides with a major book deal for Adam, Coralie finds herself struggling to stay afloat. As the years pass, Coralie feels like she's surrendered herself to motherhood and managing the household, abandoning her own dreams to ensure that Adam succeeds. By the time COVID hits, the resentment has built, and Coralie realizes that something must change. Stanley cleverly entwines British politics with the plot of the story, grounding the narrative in a specific time. The trajectory of Coralie and Adam's relationship is authentic, and the family relationships enhance the story, providing further detail about the characters' motivations. Fans of Jojo Moyes will be drawn into this emotionally candid deep dive into a long-term relationship.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Stanley (A Great Hope) serves up a charming and intelligent story of a 20-something Australian copywriter and aspiring novelist who builds a new life in London. Soon after arriving in England in 2013, Coralie meets political journalist Adam in a park and falls in love. He's amicably divorced from his ex-wife, Marina, with whom he shares custody of their four-year-old daughter, Zora. Coralie is intimidated by Marina's "intellectual credentials," and after she moves in with Adam and helps raise Zora, she senses that Marina views her as a "low-level functionary who nevertheless oversaw an important part of her (Marina's) life." Coralie's creative ambition keeps getting deferred; drafts of the novel she's working on live first under a sofa cushion and then in an IKEA bag under the bed. Adam, on the other hand, churns out books, including a biography of Boris Johnson. As the narrative progresses to the present day, Stanley portrays domestic and political developments with wry humor and sharp prose, depicting how the Brexit vote and a family loss each put a strain on the couple and how Coralie finally grapples with her desire to write. Readers will root for Stanley's endearing heroine. (May)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young woman builds the life she thinks she wants over the course of a decade. Stanley's expansive sophomore novel follows one couple over the course of 10 years. On the verge of 30, Coralie Bower has recently relocated under duress from Australia to London. She works as a copywriter at a brand agency and harbors dreams of writing a novel. One morning at a cafe, she has an alarming yet charming meet-cute with Adam Whiteman, a political journalist, and his 4-year-old daughter, Zora. Adam, a divorcé, has a cordial relationship with his ex-wife, Marina Amin, and shares custody of Zora. Coralie and Adam's chemistry--which is heavily rendered through playful banter--is immediate. Seemingly overnight, Coralie becomes a stepmother and moves into their family home, her life grafted onto theirs in ways she cannot quite see yet. The novel follows the couple's relationship as they navigate home renovations, parental loss, unexpected career trajectories, parenthood, global turmoil, and complicated family dynamics. With the novel set between 2013 and 2023, politics weighs heavily on its plot--including a revolving door of British prime ministers and the Covid-19 pandemic. While Adam's career catapults with every political scandal, Coralie struggles to manage her career, their shared home, and an overwhelming share of the childcare. The unending politics can feel exhausting at times, but also helps amplify Coralie's feelings of claustrophobia, weariness, and anger. Stanley writes beautifully about the tension among wants, needs, and desires, especially in motherhood. When Marina gets pregnant, Coralie can admit her desire to be a mother: "The gap between having a baby and not having one yawned so large. Not having one: your longing made you silly, at the mercy of fate, a clichéd figure of fun, mockable." However, when she becomes a mother, Coralie realizes she is both closer and further from herself in equal measure. This realization, which leads to the novel's climax, offers Coralie the opportunity to find herself again. A tender and realistic cataloging of a relationship as it shifts, changes, and grows over time. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
