This was a very standard, middle-of-the-road novel. Nothing exceptional, nothing egregious--but just okay, middling. The character development, storytelling, writing - it was all serviceable, but I wanted something to really impress me, and nothing about this did.

Ordinary Love follows Emily as she navigates separating from her emotionally abusive husband, Jack, and reconnects with her ex-girlfriend and star athlete, Gen. Beautifully bittersweet, this novel navigates divorce as a parent, acceptance of the self after years of emotial abuse and the journey to accepting love and queer joy. My heart ached after finishing this book.

Beautiful story and so well told. Enriched by many themes - endeavour, loss, the hurt we can cause - but, above all, deep and enduring love.

I loved this book. This is not a romance but boy is it a love story.
It is walkthrough of Emily's life, how she got to this point in her life and why.
We look at Emily's life and love from her perspective. We look at her childhood and her friendship and then relationship with her next door neighbour and school friend. They are both devastated by splitting up at college when both of them thought the other had ended their relationship.
Emily meets Jack - who although beautiful and rich is also manipulative, damaged and cruel.
The story follows Emily through this marriage, her children and how she extricates herself from it. As she is finally doing this Gen comes back into her life.
Emily then tries to navigate her life to provide what she wants for herself and her children.
Needless to say when she looks back on things her adult take on it is not the same as the view of the child/young person she was when she experienced it.
There is much information in this book which took research - Emily talks/writes incessantly about the Greek gods, the lifestyle of the rich, grief and of course manipulation and coercive control.
I really enjoyed it.

'Ordinary Love' was an immersive, emotive, deeply moving account of one woman's life told through the lens of her two main relationships. Married young, to a narcissistic and abusive older man, Emily tries so hard to make things work, But her true love, a woman called Gen, haunts her. The characters were so well drawn, I felt I was reading a true account of a woman's struggles. Love is complicated, and Rutkoski writes about our conflicting emotions, and the difficult choices Emily has to make, with precision and insight. Great stuff!

Stunning. Really. In fact there is nothing ordinary about Marie Rutkoski’s Ordinary Love, neither in terms of its impact not in terms of the love story between MCs Emily and Gen.

This is a story of a love between two girls who meet young, fall in love in their teens, and who find it hard to navigate their relationship across distance when both go to college. As their lives drift away from each other, we see how former partners’ lives and paths can diverge so greatly. This is especially shown in Emily’s marriage and the psychological abuse that she suffers, while Gen goes on to athletic success and notoriety. Both of these developments are facets that show just how opposite the girls are in so many ways. And yet, in their apposition, it seems, as we progress through the story told across the present day and the past, both girls need each other to be fulfilled and to complete themselves.

What the author gives us is a superbly engaging and at times heart-wrenching journey as we watch Emily and Jane tentatively find their way back to each other, with perhaps two steps forward and one step back as they go. Or is it the other way around?

This book deals with pain, anxiety, and abuse, but Ms. Rutkoski is clever here since she treads a perfect line between never trivializing the issues or shortchanging the reader while never letting any of those elements overshadow—rather, inform—strands of the story. Each of the issues presented here directly informs character and decisions, and of course consequences and onward story.

The writing is always lush and clever in places, and you will enjoy tearing through the pages enjoying the prose and narrative voice, desperately hoping that Emily and Gen can find their way towards resolution.

Ordinary Love is anything but ordinary. It avoids many of the tropes you would find in a typical romance novel, and that’s because this is romance told differently. Indeed, this s more than a “straight-told” romance. It’s about self, about friendships, about sacrifice, about bravery, about venturing into the unknown. Don’t get me wrong, I love tropes! To hunt, bag, and consume them for tea! But it is very refreshing to once in a while read a book that features a near all-consuming love that charts its own path so brilliantly.

Thank you to the author and the publisher, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to very much enjoy this ARC.

An outstanding exploration into young love, how society and circumstance can pull people apart and push them back together and how timing is everything.
Both female leads are great characters and the story flows seamlessly between then and now and between Gen and Emily.
A must read!

Really lovely, moving book about love and second chances of all kinds – felt, at its best, like one of those really classic 90s romantic movies.

Ordinary Love follows Emily, who meets her old love, Gen, years after their first romance.
The story is easy to read and full of emotions. It talks about finding yourself and taking another chance at love - it’s a book that keeps you hooked until the very end.

A beautifully read about first love, second chances, and the people who shape us.

A beautiful queer love story. Very well written with great characterisation and real heart. I couldn’t put it down.

Such a beautiful book. I loved how real the characters were and the way the story flowed with the second chance romance trope was perfect. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this!

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy!

I remain ever a fan of Rutkoski's dream-like prose, and her ability to craft characters who climb into your chest and never come out.

This was a lovely read about first love, second chances and the people who stay with us. The writing flowed easily and the characters were well fleshed out

Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski is about second chances and reconnections with characters you root for and a story that draws you in.

Another compulsive read from an author who seems to do no wrong. I absolutely devoured this one… You will want to clear your afternoon to read this one straight through, so riveting!!!!

Ordinary Love intertwines the past with the present, exploring Emily’s relationship with Gen as they had their first love as teenagers, and then their reconnection as adults. I fell in love with this story and these characters right from the beginning. None of the characters were perfect, and at times they frustrated me so much that I wanted to scream at them, but they felt real. I truly believed in their story.

Ordinary Love is the perfect book for those who can’t help but wondering what if things worked out with the one who got away.

Thank you to Little Brown and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really loved this book & Marie's writing. I think this book is going to totally blow up & be a blockbuster a la Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Well done Marie!! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Marie Rutkoski, Little, brown book UK, Virago and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Book review || Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski
Edition : ARC
Rating : 5/5⭐️
⚠️Spoiler review⚠️

Quotes :
-The truth is, we were never really friends. Never just that.
-You are my friend and you are my family. But I also want you to be mine.

I’ve been reading more non fiction books recently especially about LGBTQ+ themes. I loved this book it was very interesting. From rediscovering your life outside of a marriage, to being who you truly are. I loved every part of it. Very grateful that Gen was so welcoming to the children and saw a future with them, it’s not everywhere that this happens. Overall this was a very pleasant read. I kinda wish we got more chapters towards the end but I enjoy open endings.