''This debut novel about womanhood and expectations will be one of the most exciting of the year'' INDEPENDENT, the best fiction books to read in 2024

''A young woman''s life, told through the men she has dated. With glorious attention to detail and emotional fluency, Dunn charts the ways in which we are built and broken by love'' PANDORA SYKES

***

An irresistible and achingly relatable debut novel for anyone who has ever had to let go of what they thought their life would look like and open themselves up to the dizzying possibilities of chance.

Elliot. Joe. Tommy. Nathanael. Wren. Oliver. Malik. Zach. Frank. Patrick. Noah. These are the men Margot has loved, liked, lusted over.

Since she was seventeen, she’s pictured them like stepping stones – each one bringing her closer to finding someone to share her life with and, eventually, father the children she’s always imagined in her future.

From her first sexual encounter, to her first love, from grown-up dilemmas to spontaneous thrills, she’s soaked up every experience available to her, discovering friendship, joy and despair. Through all of this she’s refined her search until she believes she’s arrived at ‘the ending’ to her story.

So how did she find herself here, single at thirty-four, and about to make the biggest decision of her life?

''Raw, funny and beautiful . . . A really gorgeously observed novel about youth and womanhood'' DAISY BUCHANAN, author of Careering

''Relatable, poignant and gripping ... I read it in a single day'' LIBBY PAGE, author of The Lido

''Warm, witty, wise . . . A thoughtful and moving portrait that made me laugh and cry'' CHLOË ASHBY, author of Wet Paint