Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley (Preorder)

A grown-up love story told through ten years in the life of one woman as she finds a perfect partner, builds a longed-for family and career, and works desperately to be all things to all people without losing herself.

When she first meets divorced dad Adam, Coralie is new to London and feeling adrift. But Adam is sexy, witty, generous and devoted, and the existence of his charming four-year-old daughter only adds to Coralie's thrill as the couple falls in love. Gradually, alongside Adam, Coralie builds the life she's longed for, including two babies, a wonderful stepchild, a continuing career and a warm, safe home. Ten years on, however, something important is missing. Or maybe, having gained everything she dreamed of, Coralie has lost something else she once had: herself. "Mother, writer, worker, sister, friend, citizen, daughter, wife. If she could be one, perhaps she could manage. Trying to be all, she found she was none." When she hits her breaking point, the results will surprise them all.

Set against an eventful decade in the UK that included the soap opera of five Prime Ministers, plus Brexit and Covid, Consider Yourself Kissed puts the subjects of love and family on a grand stage, showing how the intimate dramas in our homes inescapably compete for energy and attention with the shared public dramas of our times.

Effortlessly balancing humour with heart, sweetness with bite, and the public with the personal, Jessica Stanley offers an honest, entertaining portrayal of the sacrifices women make for their families, and demonstrates the true, grown-up meaning of "happily ever after."