This novel is a masterpiece by Madeline Gray. She has done an impeccable job of writing, instilling an intimate, honest, and raw voice that makes you feel as if you are one with the main character, Hera. The trials of life in your early twenties are such a difficult, astounding, raw, and chaotic era, as depicted by Gray. Hera has left high school, wondering what the point of a mundane job is and barely flitting through life with only an ounce of true happiness. To catch up with her friends, Hera lands a job in an office as a Comment Moderator, which in her opinion is the lowest of low, but is it enough to get her by and join in on the ‘corporate life’ so many in her circle have flourished in? When Hera comes across Arthur, a middle-aged, married, and gorgeous British journalist, she finds something fun to cling to in her acutely boorish life. What could go wrong? A definite must read for anyone in their 20s or older.

Anne's Review 

Hera Stephen is in her mid-twenties, underpaid and overworked as a comment moderator in Sydney by day and hanging around with her two best friends by night. Instead of stability she has acquired many a hangover and a collection of old novels.

All her friends seem to have a sense of direction and purpose, but she has not. She just feels that she is being left behind.  That is until she meets Arthur, an older married man in her workplace.  Intoxicated by the promise of ordinary happiness he represents, she falls into a romance that everyone, including her, knows is bound to fail.

Sounds boringly basic but this is a well written and profound novel in many ways.

I enjoyed it enormously!

Publisher's Review
A witty, profound and painfully relatable debut novel exploring solitude, desire, and the allure of chasing something that promises nothing.

Publishing October 3rd 2023.