I loved Marie Rutkoski‘s Ordinary Love. It is beautifully written and very moving. I loved Gen and Emily, and it was emotional and painful at times hoping they could be together, and wondering whether they would be. Highly recommended.

This was so compelling. I loved sinking into Marie Rutkoski's warm and emotional writing after work every day. Marie is one of those authors that can articulate extremely specific feelings or emotionally charged situations that you've never been able to put words to before and make you go "Oh, yeah that's what it is, that's what that feeling is". The characters were so believable- i feel like I know Emily, Gen, and Jack (unfortunately) so well. The kids were also very well written.

This is a saphhic story about first loves, emotionally abuse relationships, motherhood, self identity and finding yourself.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In such a crowded genre as Romance, you would think it’s nigh-on impossible to say something fresh and authentic but that’s exactly what I feel Marie Rutkoski has done here.

I am not bisexual and so can only hazard that the experiences written about in the novel represent something that feels true. The ways in which we can hurt those we love, both deliberately or unintentionally and the human tendency to be emotionally risk averse come across powerfully.

A book that will stay with you long after you finish it.

With thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an arc of this novel.

A delicate love story that survives marriage, fame and decades. Gen was Emily's first love but they find their love challenged by circumstance. Emily proceeds to get swept off her feet by a handsome, wealthy husband, has two kids and appears to be living the perfect life. But Jack is complicated and their relationship toxic. It's only when Emily makes the decision to separate that she thinks of Gen again. But there are many obstacles in the way to them finding each other again.

The characters are thoughtful, passionate and mutli-flawed. The only thing true are their feelings for each other. I typically avoid LGBT genre, as it harder to identify with the characters. This wasn't the case with this book. The romance and erotica was sensitively and beautifully handled. People are people. Feeling are feelings. And the genders almost didn't matter.

Loved the character development over the course of the novel. It has definite pain points, but I realized this is largely because of how relatable it is. The author has a beautiful writing style, and I will keep an eye out for her future work. Would have loved it to have had another 50 pages or so.

I honestly dont think I can quite put into words how much I loved this book.

This was such a beautifully written story about live, heartbreak and finding yourself.

I never wanted it to end.

This has genuinely become one of my favourite books.

I cant wait to read more from this author.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for providing me with this arc

Immediately one of the best books I’ve ever read. And I say that as someone who doesn’t normally enjoy the romance genre. Not that this is only romance, but certainly it plays a large part.

Ordinary Love, while not my usual read, sucked me in from the blurb (as well as that stunning cover) and the moment I started reading I. Could. Not. Stop. The plot centres around Emily’s relationships, past and present, with Gen and Jack. It is not a spoiler, since it’s in the blurb, to say the exploration of coercive control in her relationship with Jack is so poignant and infuriating that you can’t turn away, even if you want to. While the constant fluctuations in her relationship with Gen, the captivating want, ensures you cannot put this down - for very different reasons, albeit at times also frustrating! The characters are rich (not just wealthy!), fascinating, beyond belief yet believable - their stories just as enthralling as Emily’s.

5 stars, an instant favourite.

This was an immersive, gripping, spicy and smart romantic novel that is so much more than this suggests. Tender and beautifully written, it's a perfect escapist read.

When the past fractures the future
—
Emily and Gen were best friends at school, all the way to college when they became lovers. Twenty years after, Emily is married to Jack with two children, but the marriage is falling apart, and Jack, well, Jack’s no paragon. Separated from Jack, Emily goes to a friend’s work party, and bumps into Gen, now a highly successful athlete. Can Gen forgive Emily for how they ended things and become friends again? Or have things not changed at all, and the years apart not dulled their passion? Only one way to find out.

This will break your heart and put it back together again. The Emily and Jack flashbacks contrast with the Emily and Gen flashbacks, showing us different kinds of romances, but knowing that both are doomed. It’s in the juncture when the two pasts meet and collide to fracture the future that the book begins to lift, asking what is love, what love looks like, and what being in love is really about.

Thanks to NetGalley, Little Brown Book and the author for this advanced copy.

This book awakened some deep rooted social and psychological fears in me. A gripping story of a queer woman’s life, that covers her life; from her first love and then her relationship with her future husband and then to how that marriage ended. This was by no means the plot or the main point, but to me it was really interesting how her life, especially being in a mother/wife role, unfolded as the man she had fallen in love with and grown to trust had failed and abused her. It was really painful and stressful reading a good chunk of the book, as it made my own fears and insecurities as a bisexual woman, more and more apparent to me. As mentioned this was not what the story was about, but the author did a great job of portraying this aspect of her life.
Her life and decisions as a mother and her relationship with her own mother was interestingly dissected and portrayed. But more importantly, her love and affection for Jen; the pains, miscommunications, and adversities they overcame was depicted with great nuance and depth.

No need to stress how well the characters were built, and the plot was engaging and neatly planned. I will certainly read more by the author.

I feel like the perfect audience for this book would be readers of literary fiction and romance.

What happens when you run into the love of your life at a party? Emily had thought that her marriage to Jack and the birth of their two children had solidified her life, what more did she need.? Jack's behaviour is beginning to become erratic however and when she runs into Gennifer Hall all the memories of their shared love come flooding back.

Gennifer now an Olympic runner seems to have it all but something has always evaded her, Emily.

Friendship and desire all wrapped up with nostalgia threaten Emily's marriage but what if Gennifer is her happy ever after, after all?

Evocative and sensitive.

The characters are deeply relatable, with complexities that feel authentic and true. The pacing is gentle, allowing the emotional layers to unfold naturally, making it a quietly powerful read about connection, growth, and the beauty found in the ordinary.

Marie Rutkoski’s Ordinary Love is anything but ordinary. This emotionally layered novel delicately explores the complexities of love, identity, and the ache of missed chances.

Rutkoski handles the themes of rekindled love and personal rediscovery with empathy and depth. The chemistry between Emily and Gen is palpable, and their history feels lived-in rather than romanticised. Their reconnection is not just about passion, it is about the rediscovery of self in a world that encourages women to erase parts of themselves to maintain appearances. Emily’s journey, in particular, is a moving portrait of a woman reclaiming her voice after years of emotional suppression.

The narrative excels in the quiet moments: a glance across a crowded room, a memory sparked by a song, the heaviness of a word left unsaid. Rutkoski’s prose is elegant and understated, balancing raw emotion with restraint. At times, the pacing slows and leans heavily into introspection, which may not appeal to readers looking for a more plot-driven arc. However, for those drawn to intimate character studies, this is a compelling read.

Recommended for readers who love: slow-burn emotional tension, complicated female relationships, and second-chance love stories with literary flair.

I stuck with this book till the end but didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped and almost gave up. I found the flitting from past to present confusing and the pace seemed quite slow. The writing was good so I’ve upped this from a 2 star to 3. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the early copy.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book, it was certainly different to what I thought it might be about.

This book covers love and relationships on so many different levels. From first loves, to coercive relationships, friendships and how they are tested over time and the resilience of true friendships.

Quite raw and emotional in parts, with some spicy scenes.

This book is an investment you make with characters, from their teenage years to adulthood.

A great read. Some of the passages between Emily and Jack had me feeling incredibly tense, it was very well written and I enjoyed this exploration of families, wealth and class whilst simultaneously examining long-lost romances and possible missed chances.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

Emily meets her teenage love Gen, just as her marriage to wealthy Jack falls apart.

The blurb says ‘…almost unbearably beautiful…‘ I found this book almost unbearable in 2 different ways and didn‘t want to pick it up, but that‘s the quality of the writing in both cases. Jack‘s controlling and gaslighting behaviour was very difficult to read. The sex scenes…well! 😳 Very blush-inducing (but not cringe-worthy at all). 🫠

A definite pick!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital ARC of this one! I had no idea what to expect of this, I have no experience with Rutkoski’s previous YA romance/dystopians, I just saw queer desire on Netgalley and clicked Request! I don’t read enough bisexual fiction, and for me this book ticked all of the boxes. Emily is a great character, well rounded and with 400 pages, I felt connected to her and (crucially) not annoyed by her decisions. She faces some really tough choices and a rough marriage with an emotionally abusive husband. The depiction of teenage first loves rekindling later in life was fab, it wasn’t easy or straightforward because Emily and Gen are completely different people now.

Honestly the author killed it with all the characters here, and their relationships feel so real. Jack is one of the most reprehensible, manipulative men I’ve come across in fiction. Meanwhile Gen, besides her gorgeous relationship with Emily, has such a beautiful relationship with her grandmother; that was the one that had me closest to tears 😭

Just a lovely, emotional rollercoaster of a book with plenty of depth, and one for lovers of layered, dynamics-focused fiction.

Emily appears to have a perfect family life, but not at all as it seems as her apparently perfect husband insidiously drives a wedge between both her and her friends and her ambitions. When she eventually finds the strength to leave him she remeets Gen who she knew in her teens, and who was the love of her life. A slow burning novel full of well-rounded characters who you either love or hate. A novel that exposes the power of the patriarchy and the strength that women need in order to succeed. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and will be very interested to see what the author writes next. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the A.R.C in return for an honest review.

A beautiful poetic but heartbreaking love story. The writing was beautiful and really captured love in all it's forms.