Chloe Michelle Howarth

Shortlisted for the 2023 Nero Book Award for Debut Fiction It's the early 1990s, and in the Irish village of Crossmore, Lucy feels out of place. Despite her fierce friendships, she's always felt this way, and the conventional path of marriage and motherhood doesn't appeal to her at all. Not even with handsome and doting Martin, her closest childhood friend....

January 1965. The orphaned O'Leary siblings—Tom, Jack, Anna, and Peggy—arrive in the village of Ballycrea, tight-lipped about their troubled past and desperate for a fresh start. After being met with suspicion from most of the locals, the family is thrilled when they are taken under the wing of their well-respected neighbours, Bill and Betty Nevan, who offer them work, companionship,...

January 1965. The orphaned O'Leary siblings Tom, Jack, Anna and Peggy arrive in the village of Ballycrea, tight-lipped about their troubled past and desperate for a fresh start. After being met with suspicion from most of the locals, the family are thrilled when they're taken under the wing of their well-respected neighbours, Bill and Betty Nevan, who offer them work,...

"Tackling topics of queer identity, teenage angst, and religious guilt, this romantic novel burns with the intensity and yearning of first love." — Harper's Bazaar THE INDIE BESTSELLER, with additional exclusive content inside. For fans of Normal People, a queer, coming-of-age debut of impossible first love, first loss, and first heartbreak… It’s the early 1990’s in the small town of...