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Start giftingOut of Love
A Novel
Narrator
Hazel Hayes
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Length
10 hours 40 minutes
Language
English
One of E! News' 13 Books to Read This September | One of Bookish's Debuts to Read in the Second Half of 2021 | One of Medium's Best Releases Out Today
“Hazel Hayes writes with such honesty and casual confidence and flowing dialogue, you feel you are overhearing it rather than reading it. The writing sparkles with wit and a poignant emotional reality. I love it.”—Matt Haig, bestselling author of The Midnight Library
“A smart, touching, time-bending romance. Funny and affecting.”—David Nicholls, bestselling author of One Day and Sweet Sorrow
For anyone who has loved and lost, and lived to tell the tale, this gorgeously written debut is a love story told in reverse, a modern novel with the heart of a classic: truthful, tragic, and ultimately full of hope.
Out of Love begins at the end. A couple call it quits after nearly five years, and while holding a box of her ex-boyfriend’s belongings, the young woman wonders: How could they have spent so long together? When did they fall out of love? Were there good times before the bad? These are the questions we obsess over when a relationship ends, even when obsessing can do no good. But instead of moving forward through the emotional fallout of a break-up, Out of Love moves backward in time, weaving together an already unraveled tapestry, from tragic ending to magical first kiss. Each chapter jumps further into the past, mining their history for the days and details that might help us understand love; how it happens and why it sometimes falls apart.
Readers of Normal People; Goodbye, Vitamin; and One Day will adore this bittersweet romance, a sparkling debut that you won’t want to miss.
Hazel Hayes is an Irish-born, London-based writer and director who has, until now, been writing primarily for the screen. Having graduated from Dublin City University with a degree in journalism, she went on to study creative writing at the Irish Writers Centre before finally finding her feet online and honing her craft as a screenwriter through numerous short films and series. Her eight-part thriller, PrankMe, won Series of the Year at Social in the City, as well as the award for Excellence in Storytelling at Buffer Festival in Toronto. Out of Love is her first novel. When asked why she wanted to make the leap from thriller and horror to a love story, Hazel said she could think of nothing more horrific than love.
Hazel Hayes is an Irish-born, London-based writer and director who has, until now, been writing primarily for the screen. Having graduated from Dublin City University with a degree in journalism, she went on to study creative writing at the Irish Writers Centre before finally finding her feet online and honing her craft as a screenwriter through numerous short films and series. Her eight-part thriller, PrankMe, won Series of the Year at Social in the City, as well as the award for Excellence in Storytelling at Buffer Festival in Toronto. Out of Love is her first novel. When asked why she wanted to make the leap from thriller and horror to a love story, Hazel said she could think of nothing more horrific than love.
Reviews
Praise for Out of Love"Hazel Hayes writes with such honesty and casual confidence and flowing dialogue, you feel you are overhearing it rather than reading it. The writing sparkles with wit, and a poignant emotional reality. I love it."—Matt Haig, bestselling author of How to Stop Time and The Midnight Library
“A smart, touching, time-bending romance. Funny and affecting.”—David Nicholls, Bestselling author of One Day and Sweet Sorrow
“Hayes has created a moving, memorable, layered story where each new revelation brings the reader to a greater understanding of both the narrator and Theo, the complexity of their relationship, and, indeed, who they are as people. This story deals unflinchingly with tough topics: Love, sexuality, heartbreak, and hope are a given considering the storyline. But Hayes also deals with trauma and abuse and how those experiences affect a person’s mental health, life, and relationships. It’s rare to finish a book and immediately begin reading it again. For many readers, this will be just that book. A gorgeously told story of heartbreak and recovery that still leaves the reader feeling hopeful about love.”—Kirkus (starred review)
"The main protagonist is someone so immensely likable I found myself begging the author to write a sequel about her...I couldn’t put it down and relished every page."—Zibby Owens, for Katie Couric Media
“If you loved Normal People and One Day, this moving, messy and magical debut is for you.”—E! News
"Fierce and often funny... It s counterintuitive to be hopeful for a relationship you know is doomed from the start, but the sheer emotional intelligence of the unpicking, from horrible break-up to magical first kiss, kept me hooked. Wise, compelling and beautifully written."—Daily Mail
"Hayes references Nora Ephron throughout the book and she s a pretty good successor judging from this debut."—Stylist
“[A] bittersweet love story without heroes or villains. Hayes strips away the layers to reveal the heart of a relationship between two flawed but appealing characters with their whole futures ahead of them. Recommended for fans of One Day (2010) by David Nicholls and Normal People (2019) by Sally Rooney.”—Booklist
"Hazel is a beautifully brazen, headstrong writer who portrays realities with a wonderful wink and wry smile in everything she does"—Grace Helbig, comedian and author
'"Hazel's book is funny and moving and bleak and hopeful all at the same time . . . Like Bridget Jones and Sylvia Plath setting the world to rights over a supermarket vino"—Paul Neafcy, writer and author
"This book is brilliant. Read it in two days I loved it that much. Laughed and cried and actually sobbed at the end."—Jade Thirwall of Little Mix Expand reviews