In Ordinary Love, you follow the life of Emily : her first love, their break-up, her marriage and subsequent abuse, her two children, and her rekindling of that first relationship.

The characters here are so well-rounded, I really feel like I got to know them through the pages. Truly a highlight of this book.

It also offers a great portrayal of an abusive relationship. You truly understand why Emily got together with Jack and why she stayed with him as he grew more and more manipulative, and how she finally reached a breaking point.

Finally, Emily and Gen's relationship was wonderful. It was simultaneously cute, sexy, sometimes sad and oftentimes frustrating, but I was ROOTING for them. Though sometimes their conflict were based on misunderstandings (like their initial break-up), so if that's a trope you don't like be aware.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for providing with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story of love—tender, fragile, and fierce—between two girls who find each other young and fall deeply in their restless teens. But time, like tide, pulls them apart as college leads them down separate shores. In the slow drift of years, we witness how once-shared hearts can be shaped by different winds: Emily, caught in the quiet ache of a marriage laced with psychological bruises; Gen, soaring into the light of athletic glory and public acclaim. They become reflections in contrast—one bound, one breaking free. Yet even as their lives unfold in opposite directions, told in echoes of the past and pulses of the present, a truth persists: they are twin stars in orbit, incomplete without the other, each carrying a piece of the other's soul.

Marie Rutkoski’s Ordinary Love is a poignant exploration of identity, desire, and the complexities of human relationships. The narrative follows Emily, a woman who, despite a seemingly perfect life with her affluent husband Jack and their two children, grapples with the emotional void left by a past love. When Emily unexpectedly reunites with Gen, her high school girlfriend now turned Olympic athlete, long-suppressed feelings resurface, prompting a reevaluation of her life choices.

Rutkoski masterfully weaves between past and present, illustrating the evolution of Emily and Gen’s relationship from teenage infatuation to mature connection. The contrast between Emily’s emotionally manipulative marriage and the rekindled authenticity with Gen underscores the novel’s central themes of self-discovery and the courage to pursue genuine happiness.

The prose is lyrical and introspective, capturing the nuances of love and the internal conflicts that arise when confronting one’s true desires. While the pacing is deliberate, it allows for deep character development and emotional resonance.

Ordinary Love is a beautifully written narrative that delves into the intricacies of love, identity, and personal growth. It’s a compelling read for those who appreciate character-driven stories that challenge societal norms and explore the depths of human emotion.

What a gorgeous unconventional love story!! Emily had spent her childhood trying to people please - in particular her father who seemed to love a particular idea of her rather than trying to look behind that to the real her; her mother who often found it hard to communicate her feelings and made Emily feel unwanted, to her dazzling and rich husband who emotionally and financially abuses her in subtle but effective ways as he wants the world to see his "perfect" life. Emily and Gen have history as they spent their formative school years together in Ohio but it is only when they meet again after Emily's marriage starts to fall apart that they get the chance to truly embrace who they are and what they mean to each other. This is a searingly tender and emotional love story - a love triangle in many ways but as the book progresses we see Emily blossom into the woman she was always meant to be.... I absolutely loved it!!

I overall enjoyed this book a lot. I thought the way Jack was subtly abusive was very well done, and the kids were also convincing. I liked the relationship between Gen and Emily, and could understand why Emily made some of the (bad) decisions she made.

(4.5 stars)
Genre: literary fiction / contemporary fiction / romance / lgbtq+ fiction / queer romance / women’s fiction

Release Date: 12 June 2025

I was fortunate to receive an ARC copy of Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski, thank you NetGalley and Virago for the opportunity.

I adored this and found it to be a very moving and poignant story about reconnection, identity, and the unshakeable hold of first love. The writing is lyrical, powerful, and emotionally intelligent with moments that made me feel deeply uncomfortable, not because of the writing, but because of how sharply it captures the ache of lost chances, the destruction of abuse, and the fragility of desire. It felt raw and beautifully honest.

Set in the heart of Manhattan, Ordinary Love follows Emily, a woman whose seemingly perfect life; successful husband, two children, and a polished existence, takes a sharp turn when she unexpectedly reconnects with Gen Hall, her high school girlfriend.
What begins as a jolt from the past slowly unfolds into something deeper, more confronting, and impossibly tender. As Emily’s marriage begins to unravel, she is forced to reckon with the desires she’s buried, the heartbreak she never fully processed, and the love that never truly faded.

So why not 5 stars? At times, the pacing lagged, and I found the back and forth between Emily and Gen a tad frustrating at times BUT, those are minor critiques in what is otherwise a gorgeous, intimate novel that stayed with me long after I turned the final page.

If you’re a fan of character-driven stories with emotional depth, complex relationships, and beautifully queer love stories, add this to your list.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected.

The book opens with Emily and her husband Jack away at their holiday home, when Jack does something unexpected and Emily finally snaps and threatens to leave him.

The book then jumps back and forth, throughout Emily and Jack’s marriage - from their meeting and courtship to marriage and children.

It’s such a good, if depressing portrait of an abusive relationship. Never physical, never really verbal, just hundreds of micro-aggressions, a death by a thousand cuts.

Contrasting with this is Emily’s relationship with Gen, her high school friend and later girlfriend, with whom Emily has lost touch. Gen and Emily cross paths again later in life, while Emily is miserable in her marriage and Gen is a famous athlete.

I loved this and devoured it. Usually in these kinds of split narratives I prefer one over the other, but in this case I actually really enjoyed both stories.

A story of women and love and friendship and marriages and wealth and happiness and abuse and entrapment. A beautiful story.

A compelling story about a woman’s journey of self-discovery, second chances at first love, and the courage to break free from the toxic cycles of life.

The pacing was a bit slow but I'm glad I kept reading. I really felt Emily’s emotional journey. It was super relatable, especially if you’ve been through something similar. Her fear of being alone and unwanted really hit hard. It takes so much courage to break out of a cycle and be yourself again, and the story showed that perfectly. I also love how Gen has always been truthful and so kind—such a comforting presence. The way they resolved the issues felt so real and believable. The ending was beautiful, the writing was easy to follow, and I loved how Emily and Jack met. The conflict was written so well too. Such a great read.


Thank you little brown group/Virago and netgalley for this early copy, All opinions are my own.

Emily and Gen meet as children and by the time they are in their teens they are in love ... or so they think. They eventually grow apart and part ways.
Emily marries young and Gen goes on to become an athlete.

Emily's husband is rich and they have a great life with two children. Or that's how it appears. Jack can be cruel and after several years Emily decides it's time to leave. By chance she meets Gen again after 20 years and their relationship, although strained, draws her back in and old feelings, deeply buried for so long, now surface.

This is a beautiful love story, well written and engaging. It tells of Emily's story with Jack and then with Gen. Their childhood home, friends and experiences are all explored.

I have not read anything by this author before but would be happy to read her again.

Thank you to all for letting me read an advance copy which I very much enjoyed.

I thought this was a really well written and beautiful book. I loved how the past and the present were weaved together. Some parts are absolutely frustrating (see Jack) but I loved the second chance romance element.

Ordinary Love was inevitably a book I would enjoy - it's Marie Rutkoski, after all, and I've never disliked one of hers. And, lo and behold, I did like it! The writing was as gorgeous as ever and the characters fully drawn out. Rutkoski takes the time to establish and develop the past relationship too, which is an area I always find second chance romance plots to struggle with, so you're rooting for the mains all throughout (although I did at times find I wanted the present-day plot to get a move on). Probably the only issues I had were that it never really felt like a new story, in that I felt like I'd read this one many times over, and also I just need to stop reading books about motherhood because I do not get along with them. That's all.

Emily and Gen met in high school Ohio. The early part of the novel is a coming of age tale of friendship and young love. However, the young friends go their separate ways after school, and the novel mainly follows the life of Emily. Until…

The book explores the themes of being true to yourself, enduring life in the wrong situation for fear of seeming to have failed, queer love, family problems, and the importance of friends. It mixes Emil’s suffering the psychological torture from her husband and the suspense of whether she will have the courage to do something about it and follow the course that her life should have taken.

An outstanding passionate, tortured, hopeful and gripping novel, which has parallel threads with ancient Greek literature as an interesting by-line. Thoroughly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC review copy.

This is another book I've been really excited about, and because I was in a bit of a reding slump, there was a lot of hope riding on this one. But it didn't quite live up to it.

I was a little concerned to begin with. I've read quite a few books about abusive husbands and relationship issues and the imbalance of power, and I was worried this would be the same and I'd have no real compassion for it, but Marie did prove me wrong there at least.

I really felt for Emily, she is a wife and mother who may have lost herself somewhere on the way, and seems to do everything her husband says because he owns the house, he earns the money, and she goes with it because it's not worth refusing, especially in regards to her children, and I can't blame her for that. She was lovely. I immediately disliked Jack, which I suppose is what Marie wanted.

Marie is telling two stories I think. There's one about this tumultuous marriage, and the other is a decades-long love, just not to the same person. This gives her the chance to write two different Emily's, with different loves, moods, interests, and passions, which I thought was interesting.

This is my first of Marie's books and it was an interesting one. Entertaining, well written, and fleshed out characters. But I do think it was a tad long. The story was good and had a lot going for it, but I did find bits were drawn out and could have been dealt with quicker. Which in turn makes some of the dialogue stilted. Yes I know it's a novel and isn't real, but this isn't a fantasy story, it's a real-life contemporary piece of writing and therefore I expect the dialogue to be closer to reality than other genres. But some of it, it just made me very aware I was reading a book instead of a real conversation.

I've seen some reviews that talk about how emotional they found it and maybe I've just got a heart made of stone because I didn't really find that. The love stories are lovely and Marie can clearly write emotion, but I didn't feel anything strongly about the story in terms of how moving it is Although it definitely did get better as it went along, and the final 1/4 of it definitely made up for the rest in that regard.

I think my overriding issue with it - and I know this is a me thing, rather than an issue with the book - but I found not much happened. My favourite books have something happening, a danger or peril or shock or big romantic gesture. This sort of toodled along nicely, pleasantly, but sort of all on one level and I was wanting something a bit more to happen. But again I' aware that is my preference. I can't fault her actual storytelling ability.

Wow, I devoured this! I feel like we often hear books described as unputdownable but my relationship with this book was almost obsessive and slightly addictive. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. The story, the characters, how it would end.

Emily is in the throws of what's sure to become a messy divorce with her manipulative, abusive, powerful ex husband. Simply put, he's not a good guy. Married and pregnant straight out of college, Emily's world has become so small, Emily has become small. She's isolated from everyone in her life who cares about her and she's looking back on her first love - Gen - who she never really got over. Stuck in this life she never imagined for herself, terrified of losing her children and starting over in life as a single parent, Emily and Gen reunite after over a decade and their connection is immediately electric.

Ordinary Love is about accepting the love we think we deserve. It's about speaking your truth and being true to who you are. It's about sexuality, identity, desire, first love, misunderstandings, complex relationships and family. It's about telling the people you love that you love them, telling them you're sorry when you are, it's about how it's never too late for a second chance.

If you love emotionally charged stories, this one is certainly for you. If you want yearning, tension and passion, this one is for you. There's so much heartache, I felt overwhelmed by the emotions this book made me feel - heartbreak, sadness, pure blinding rage but also hopefulness.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for the opportunity to read this early copy. A huge congratulations to Marie on such a stunning novel - in my opinion, it was perfect!

(Lastly, I feel strongly about protecting your own peace and mental health, please check the trigger warnings as this book contains various issues that might be destressing to some readers).

Marie Rutkoski’s Ordinary Love is a rich, layered exploration of human connection, told through the lens of a woman grappling with the weight of her past and the constraints of her present. At its surface, it’s a love story — poignant and passionate — but beneath that, it’s a profound meditation on all the ways we give and receive love: romantic, platonic, parental, and self-directed.

The novel follows Emily, whose life unfolds from adolescence into adulthood, charting the arc of her early queer romance with Gen and her later entrapment in a controlling and emotionally abusive marriage. Rutkoski handles these dual threads with nuance, contrasting the tender, electric connection between Emily and Gen with the chilling unpredictability of her relationship with Jack. The depiction of emotional abuse is both haunting and heartbreakingly realistic, showing how fear and manipulation can erode a person’s sense of self.

One of the novel’s great strengths lies in its emotional intimacy. The characters feel wholly lived-in, their desires and struggles rendered with care. Emily’s journey toward self-acceptance is deeply moving, particularly in how it intersects with her queerness, which is denied or dismissed by significant figures in her life. Through Gen and her found family, Emily is gradually able to reclaim and reframe her identity.
The secondary characters — Florencia, Violet, Rory, and Elizabeth — are more than just background figures. They’re vital threads in the tapestry of Emily’s world, each offering love and frustration in equal measure. Their presence reinforces one of the book’s central messages: that love, in all its forms, is often messy, imperfect, and deeply human.

Rutkoski’s prose is elegant and immersive, allowing the emotional weight of the story to unfold naturally. Some may find the pacing leisurely, but this expansiveness allows the novel to fully delve into the complexity of its themes without rushing. The portrayal of mother-daughter dynamics, in particular, is handled with sensitivity, showing how love can persist even through missteps and silence.

Ultimately, Ordinary Love is about the courage it takes to choose happiness — especially when that choice isn’t easy or obvious. It’s a beautifully told story of rediscovery, resilience, and the many shades of love that shape a life.

Thanks, NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Emily and Gen met at 10. Their connection was something new to them both but became the strongest connection either of them would ever have.
The story is of the 2 growing up and finding their attraction for each other but it doesn’t last through college. Emily married and has children and Gen becomes famous as a track star. I love the twists and turns and the pure honesty of their feelings in findings themselves separately and ultimately together.
A lovely book that makes you smile at the end. What’s not to love.

The relationships in this book were beautifully written. Emily’s relationship with her controlling husband and how she attempts to break free of it was particularly intriguing. The way the book peeks behind the curtain of a seemingly perfect marriage was just fascinating. The structure was cleverly handled, gradually revealing the problems in both Emily’s marriage and those that lead to the initial break up with Gen. Emily journeys to reaching a level of maturity to handle the relationship and life she really wants and that made for an enjoyable read.

I liked this book! It was a lovely read about first love, second chances and the people who stay with us. The central relationship between Emily and Gen is written really beautifully, not perfect but real. The book handles an abusive marriage and flawed family relationships really sensitively. The writing flowed easily and the characters were well fleshed out. It’s not my usual type of book but I’m so glad I gave it a shot as I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a beautiful, if not heart-wrenching story and I’d definitely recommend it. Thanks for the ARC.

Overall an enjoyable book but sometimes I found it hard to follow with the switching back and forth at the start of this. However I’m glad I stuck with it as it was a beautiful story about resilience and love.

Ordinary Love is the story of Gen and Emily. From a fledgling relationship in their teens, circumstances – and their own personalities – force them apart and in their own way, each moves on with her life. However, not all loves can be forgotten.

This is an achingly beautiful love story – two people clearly meant to be together, but their insecurities mean that they make mistakes and throughout the whole book the reader is asking the question of whether they will be able to overcome their own struggles successfully enough to be genuinely happy.

Stories like this can run the risk of becoming angst ridden and overly introspective, but Ordinary Love avoids this trap. Both women have such genuinely hard choices to make and that they struggle to resolve these in a way that is both practical and centred around their own wishes, is only to be expected. The reader never gets frustrated with their decisions and inability to be honest with each other, because both are completely understandable. Instead, we are rooting for them to work things out because like all the best fictional relationships, these two characters are so clearly meant to be together, that we feel there is no other option. There ‘has’ to be a happy ending. But of course, at the back of our minds, we know the author may not feel the same way and so there is a sense of real jeopardy that things might not work out the way we want them to.

The antagonist, Emily’s husband, Jack is also an interesting character, albeit not one I would wish to encounter in real life. Their story is an all too familiar one and makes for scary reading. It brings home quite how easy it is to end up stuck in a toxic relationship, isolated from your friends and family. That Emily is an intelligent, well-educated young woman is also vitally important because it breaks the stereotype that women who fall for the ‘charming’ men lack intelligence for not being able to see who they were before the relationship became serious. Away from the realm of fiction, it is so important that people recognise how easy it is for anyone to get taken in by such men and also how difficult it can be to leave the relationship. Too many people find themselves in this predicament and it’s important for literature to reflect this, if only to educate people about their own friends.

This was a brilliant read and I loved it from start to finish.