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

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Compelling and propulsive, Talking at Night is an achingly beautiful novel about the people in our lives who change us irrevocably and who we will always carry with us, no matter what. Claire Daverley writes with elegance and grace as she mines the depths of human emotions. This novel will consume you.' Jill Santopolo, the New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost

Along the way, we meet a cast of keenly observed characters, from Will’s loving grandma, who acts as a surrogate mother after his own deserts him, to Rosie’s emotionally icy mother, who makes it clear she has high expectations for her only daughter. Beautifully written and keenly felt. It’s romantic but not a romance, for this novel is authentic to its bones. Beguiling, but also painfully honest, and that’s a rare and winning combination indeed.”And finally, what advice would you give to anyone thinking of entering the Caledonia Novel Award 2024? Talking at Night has been translated into at least 20 languages to date – for a novel that is so British in its setting, cultural references and humour, what do you think the appeal is for readers around the world? With shades of Sally Rooney, this is a lyrical, tender love story about two people, Will and Rosie, who meet as teenagers and seemed destined to be together until tragedy strikes.' Good Housekeeping

Too much sappy-ness and unrealistic promises of forever (yes, i know, it’s a romance book and I should’ve expected exactly that). I think, what bothered me is that I didn’t feel a strong enough connection between the two main protagonists, so the *overt, over the top* showcasing of affection just felt very forced. This is the perfect love story for the summer. It feels like a light breeze right after dinner. The atmosphere that surrounds the two young people falling for each other, growing distant, and learning what love is really about is Daverley’s greatest strength. She crafted the perfect vibe for these characters to inhabit.’ Debutiful I didn’t love this book. I felt myself rolling my eyes at choices these characters made. I also felt like Rosie kept Will around just in case, and he held a torch for her. Their relationship wasn’t healthy. And Rosie marrying a man because he was helping fill a brother shaped hole in her heart was weird. Will was a jerk of a character. He was upset that Rosie married someone else and he disliked the guy, so he treated a perfectly nice person like crap initially. I also hated that there were no quotation marks. I should have listened to this one on audio. One thing I wanted to establish right off the bat: this is one of those books that is hard to place into any one genre, since it’s technically a mix of several, however I would strongly caution against classifying it as a typical “romance” novel. Sure, there’s a “love story” at the core of this one, with a main “couple” that it’s pretty much impossible NOT to root for (more on this later), but there is actually so much more to the story than that. This is a story with a tremendous amount of emotional depth and nuance, told in a way that is raw, honest, heartfelt, and realistic. Talking at Night captures perfectly all the messiness and missed opportunities, waiting, watching and longing between Will and Rosie. Can you tell us a bit about how you built these two highly-relatable characters and their story?

Spellbinding, beautiful, lyrical and tender, Talking at Night is a dazzling debut. I loved every word and was left longing for more.' Rosie Walsh, New York Times bestselling author of The Love of My Life

They fall for each other as teenagers at a bonfire and start meeting at a nearby lighthouse to talk late into night. Bauer Consumer Media Ltd, Company number 01176085; Bauer Radio Limited, Company number: 1394141; Registered office: Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA and H Bauer Publishing, Company number: LP003328; Registered office: The Lantern, 75 Hampstead Road, London NW1 2PL I absolutely adored Talking at Night--it should be on everyone’s must-read list. Beautiful, poignant, and heart-wrenching.' Carley FortuneDeeply romantic. Reminded me of just how all-consuming first love can be' LAURA BARNETT, No. 1 bestselling author of THE VERSIONS OF US A poignant and emotional will they/won't they story that cleverly captures both the thrill and trepidation of first love This 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, author of The Stranding However, even I, one of the five people who likes a good miscommunication trope, had my patience tested. At times, the stagnancy, misjudgements, and omissions felt overdone for plot convenience, and there’s only so much suspension of disbelief you can ask of me.