This book does a great job with all of the different ways lives can overlap. Here it's focused on a messy web of romanctic and sexual connections, weaving across 10 different lives. It spans marriage, relationships just starting, open relationships, sex work, casual one night stands. The transition from person to person is pretty seamless. Almost gives the feeling of short stories but we already have a little insight into each character before they become the lead.

Was not a fan of this book and after plenty of persevering, I DNF.

I found the chapters too large and there were far too many characters which weren't necessary.

There is something very beautiful about this book, how the threads of all the narrators are subtly interwoven together. I found it absolutely fascinating. William's has managed to pull something very clever off here, weaving all the threads into one tapestry that gives us a view of one Summer in Manchester. The differences of each narrator, the challenges and the unique vulnerability she gives to each of the voices made for an insightful and moving read. I appreciate that Williams didn't veer from harder topics and managed to bring a nuanced subtly to them that, in many ways, made them all the more raw. Overall a beautifully done work that gives a keen insight into all the quiet ways our lives are connected. I look forward to placing it into the hands of friends as a gift in the future.

Holly Williams’s episodic novel consciously reworks aspects of Arthur Schnitzler's famous play La Ronde, first produced in 1897. Like Schnitzler, Williams follows an apparently disparate series of individuals whose lives unexpectedly overlap and intersect through their physical, primarily sexual encounters, eventually forming a circle of sorts joining first to last. Williams’s story’s rooted in the present. Set in and around the north of England, it opens in Sheffield with Will who’s using Tinder to get over a failed relationship, meeting with women but dreaming of one man Elijah he’s been flirting with for weeks.

Williams deliberately features a diverse cast – ten in all – offering glimpses into their expectations and thoughts about intimacy and connection. So, we’re presented with characters like middle-aged academic Anthony, lesbian Prisha, sex worker and single mother Soo, pansexual sixth-former Jasmine and non-binary JB. Williams delves into their experiences as part of a broader exploration of contemporary relationships, questions of intimacy and power and how they might manifest in queer or hetero or polyamorous settings. Williams used advisors and sensitivity readers to craft the scenes and figures outside her own experience.

It’s a lucid, fluid, clever piece, carefully observed, themes and surroundings echo each other – references to art, artists, ways of seeing surface throughout. There were times when the perspective reminded me of an airbrushed, more self-conscious Eliza Clark, at others a less sanitised version of the kinds of stories writers like David Nicholls are known for. There were numerous pleasing, entertaining elements but I wasn’t quite the right fit for this one. I sometimes found William’s approach a frustrating mix of superficial and overly earnest. And the structure made it difficult for me to fully invest in her characters or their individual predicaments - I wasn’t surprised to find out this is a candidate for a television series, I could definitely see it working as a raunchier, Brit-style Modern Love.

This book skillfully illustrates the intricate interconnectedness of our lives, stretching the concept of 'a friend of a friend' to its utmost limits while still maintaining believability. The notion of these connections is reinforced through the repeated references to specific descriptive terms and objects throughout the narrative. For instance, the recurring mention of the 'ancient floral duvet' serves as just one example of this interconnected web, consistently eliciting a smile whenever it resurfaces in the story.

I tried so hard, read sixty percent, but couldn’t summon any real interest in the ridiculous characters.

Understanding the complexity of human connection is so difficult but Williams seems to do it so perfectly. Each character feels so real and are connected to one another in such real ways. Beautiful to see in literature.

The Start of Something is Holly Williams’ second novel although some might call it a very closely linked set of short stories or, perhaps, episodes. This new book follows ten disparate characters over the course of a summer, stringing their stories together rather like a daisy chain, beginning and ending with Will whose partner left him after persuading him to move with her to Sheffield.

This is such a cleverly structured novel, the baton smoothly passed from one character to the next with occasional back references neatly slipped in, all at the start of something new, sometimes welcome, sometime not. The overarching theme explores sexuality, gender and identity with empathy, compassion, and the occasional warm-hearted flash of humour. Each character has slept with the next in the chain providing a link between them but it’s their backstories and relationships which grab your attention. Many are lonely or sad, several are trying to please their partners at their own expense, others are heartbroken, but Williams chooses to end her book with a welcome episode of joy and hope.

Relationships. Complex and intertwined.

Unfortunately, to keep this reader engaged, the characters need to be interesting an believable.

This book shows just how interlinked our lives can be. It pushes the idea of ‘a friend of a friend’ to its limits and yet still remains believable. The idea of this connection is emphasised further by the repeated mentions of particular descriptive terms and items throughout the book. The ‘ancient floral duvet’ is just one example of this and a smile always appeared on my face when I found another!

The reader immediately falls into the intriguing story of Will in chapter one. I raced through this but will admit I found chapter two slowed down a little and this is why I haven’t given the book five stars. I didn’t connect with the main character as much and I felt some scenes or conversations could have been shortened slightly. From chapter three onwards however the pace really picked up. I felt every bit of Si’s emotional turmoil and I could have believed I was actually at the festival with Rachel. Each chapter flows seamlessly from one to the next and it’s interesting to have the opportunity to see each encounter or relationship from both sides.

What a great read! Very enlightening to be able to explore different people and relationships and to see beneath surface, loved it.