The Orange Room

For readers of Coco Mellors and Megan Nolan, a poised, vivid and deeply relatable novel about a young woman finding her way back to herself—from the author of 2019's buzz debut What Red Was.

Rhianne expresses her inner world through line and colour. This summer, though, back home in the west country, she is seeking distraction in heat and noise. Art school in London has ripped away her confidence and sense of safety—better for now to be swept along by the hotel kitchen where she's working, where the pressure is high and the dangers are more obvious. Sharp knives. Hot plates. Little time to think.

Her dad, Dominic, is concerned for Rhianne but relieved to have her close. Her step-mum, Melissa, is on alert, though trying to tread carefully. But then there's Callum, just across the chef's pass, with his controlled manner and intent gaze. There's attraction. There's everything that comes next.

From the acclaimed author of What Red Was, The Orange Room is about the narrow line between passion and control, and an insidious kind of violence that is difficult to name. Asking what it means to see clearly, and what courage it takes to be seen, it is the story of a tenacious young woman who—through her art, her strength, her determination—finds her way back to herself.