Emma Gannon’s writing is like a comfort blanket, I loved Olive and loved this book too. While a little predictable, I loved the messaging in Table for One, and it was extremely moving especially towards the end. It tackles online influencer culture head on, as well as self love, bad relationships, and the relationships that matter most. I can’t wait to read her next novel!

I did enjoy this book but I didnt love it as much as Olive. I found the main character quite unlikable but I soon found myself invested. A good mixture of light and dark themes. Overall, a good solid book.

Another good read from Emma Gannon. Whilst the plot was predictable in places, I really liked the characters, felt the friendships were portrayed in a way I recognise as a millennial, and read the book in two sittings. Would recommend to friends.

While this did take me a little while to get into, I did enjoy it much more once the toxic boyfriend has disappeared - though I read in fear of Willow reconnecting with him. Similar to Olive this focus on how female friendships grow around changing and sometimes converging adult lives and it's refreshing to read about more varied mid-30s female characters.


Overall, enjoyable though slightly predictable, Emma Gannon's writing is, as usual, like a hug from a familiar friend in book form

This book felt like both a hug, and a slap across the face. Describing it as a romance novel felt a bit weird, until I realised that this is a book all about Willow falling in love, with herself and her life again.

I knew that I didn't like Dom the second he cut Willow out of the acceptance speech. So I'm glad I was correct in my initial assessment.

I didn't know what to make of Naz to begin with. I spend enough time on tikTok that I could picture exactly what her 'life' looked like, but I grew to love this lost, and trapped young woman.

To me, Carla was the real shining light. What an absolute model of a woman living life her way, with no concern for what others might think of it. She is my new hero!

I’ll admit, it took me a little time to find my footing with Table For One by Emma Gannon. At first, I wasn’t sure how to feel about Willow - the protagonist who seems to have it all “figured out” until her life unravels. But as the story unfolded, I found myself completely immersed in her journey of heartbreak, loneliness, and ultimately, self-reclamation.

This is such an uplifting and life-affirming read. It captures that quiet, often messy process of rediscovering who you are when life doesn’t go to plan. Emma Gannon writes with warmth and wit, creating characters who feel real and relatable. I especially loved Willow’s Aunt Carla - her unwavering support and fierce love made her one of my characters in the book. We all need a Carla in our lives!

What I appreciated most was how the book shows that finding happiness isn’t always about grand gestures or perfect relationships - it can be about learning to sit comfortably at your own table, even when it’s a table for one. The friendships, both old and new, are heartwarming and remind us how vital our support networks are in life’s toughest moments.

By the end, this story felt warm, raw, and completely uplifting. If you’re interested in a story about the beauty of new beginnings, quiet strength, and the power of self-love, Table For One is a really enjoyable read.

This book had a lot to live up to because I loved Emma Gannon’s debut novel ‘Olive’. Table for One is a heartfelt, funny, and empowering novel that explores the beauty of solitude and the complexity of modern relationships.

I enjoyed Willow’s transformation from initial heartbreak to self-discovery and her reconnection things she previously loved such a journalism as a form of creative expression and reclaiming her identity. Willow’s ethical dilemmas in the influencer world and her media background felt very current for the world we live in.

Although a little cliche Table for One is an interesting take on romance that centers self-love over finding “the one.” I think it’s easy to relate, as someone in their early thirties, to having friends in many different stages of life and feeling left behind whichever way you look.

Table for one is one of the best books of the year if not one of my favourite books ever. So touching so hopeful so relatable. Please read. Everybody needs to read this beautiful book.

I really enjoyed Emma Gannon’s first novel, so I was genuinely excited to see what she’d do next and Table for One absolutely didn’t disappoint. It’s a story that feels quietly familiar, gently hopeful, and filled with the kind of emotional honesty that lingers.
We follow the journey of a woman who’s learning to enjoy her own company truly. After years of feeling the pressure to fit a certain mould, relationships, routines, expectations, she takes a step back and begins to build a life shaped by her own values. What unfolds is a warm, inspiring exploration of self-connection, possibility, and learning to be content without needing to be “complete.”
💭 My Thoughts
This book hit all the right notes for me. Gannon has such a comforting, grounded style; thoughtful but not heavy, uplifting without ever slipping into the overly sweet. The story is about solitude, yes, but more than that, it’s about agency. About choosing yourself, not because something else didn’t work out, but because that choice is enough.
There’s a real sense of lightness here, even as deeper emotional threads are explored. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to take a solo walk with a coffee and think about what joy and fulfilment mean to you.
🌸 What I Loved
• A quietly empowering storyline about living life on your own terms
• Relatable and thoughtful themes around identity, purpose, and self-trust
• A hopeful tone that gently nudges you toward self-reflection
• Emma Gannon’s voice—warm, clever, and full of heart

Final Thoughts
Table for One is the kind of novel that feels like a quiet exhale. Uplifting, thoughtful, and full of soft encouragement, it’s a celebration of solitude, independence, and the joy of being exactly where and who you are. If you loved Olive or just enjoy books that make you feel gently seen, this one is for you.

Well I’ve never read an Emma gannon book but wow and I’m glad it was this one. This take on life and relationships of women in their late twenties to thirties just hits the spot, willow was so easy to get on side with. To want her to survive but not only thrive. Her relationship with Carla and the Naz just make you feel full and heartfelt. Emma’s amazing written work is just one to pass onto any female friend that needs to feel hopeful in a life full of change

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the e-arc of this book.

“Carla: the woman who always encouraged me to be brave, to move forward; to be OK on my own. To love deeply, to see the world, to believe in myself.”

I loved this book, it definitely got me out of my reading slump. I loved following Willow’s life, from the time in her perfect home whilst being so in love, to when she no longer has any of that and her life has “fallen apart” and she has to start over again. This book dives into heartbreak, love in all forms, strength, hope and female solidarity. Lots of empowering messages which really made me take a look a how I’m living my life.

An easy read which I got through so quickly and I really enjoyed my time reading it.

Familiar, hopeful and inspiring
—
Willow has it all: the perfect home, the perfect job, the perfect boyfriend. Until it all goes away in one moment, the man she’s been supporting all these years in their joint startup deciding that Willow isn’t who he wants any more. So what’s a woman to do when life hands you a figurative dumper truck of lemons?

The beats are all very familiar, the situations as you’d expect, as if there’s a great self-actualisation novel generator that takes all the tropes of the sub-genre—a little bit romcom, a little bit self-help—shakes them up and throws them back out in a neat list. It’s all very hopeful and inspiring but, like the best fast food, it was great going in, utterly forgotten straight afterwards.

Willow's world falls apart when her long-term boyfriend and business partner decides he wants to go it alone. In one fell swoop Willow loses her partner, her business and her home.

What ultimately gets her through this period of intense grief is her beloved Aunt Carla, her friends and a new career opportunity. Invited to write a piece on Naz, an influencer who advocates the single life, she slowly begins to remember who she was before she settled for a life that wasn't meant for her.

Table for One is a love letter to female solidarity and love in all its shapes and sizes. It's a story about finding what sparks real joy and daring to live bravely.

Willow and her boyfriend’s start-up business is thriving and she’s sure it won’t be long until they marry and start a family. But Willow is mistaken, she finds herself single and pushed out of the business, trying to rebuild a whole new life she’d never imagined. She becomes infatuated with a Gen Z influencer who markets her single status as the ultimate goal and Willow reignites her old passion for journalism when she writes a piece on the influencer. Along with the support of Willow’s fun and caring (dachshund owner) aunt Carla, Willow discovers the beauty of her new unexpected and independent lifestyle.

This was a very easy read (despite being blind sighted by a sad event at the end). It’s very much a reassuring book for anyone going through a breakup or trying to embrace a newly single life, although I couldn’t relate at the time I read this I still found Willow’s journey to finding peace comforting.

Emma Gannon’s books are so good at making the reader feel not alone, from Olive to The Success Myth and now this. This is a sweet reminder of the importance of self-love and female relationships.

Heartfelt, funny, and wonderfully relatable 💫. Table for One is a love letter to independence, self-discovery, and learning to embrace your own company. Emma Gannon writes with warmth and wit, turning what could be a lonely journey into a joyous adventure of growth. I adored the message that happiness isn’t defined by relationships but by knowing yourself—and that sometimes, the best company is your own. Full of charming anecdotes and sharp insights, this book is a must for anyone navigating life solo, or simply needing a reminder that solitude can be beautiful.

What happens when you need to start over in your mid 30s after a 10 year relationship ends? This is exactly what Willow has to figure out when it happens to her.

For the last 10 years Willow has slowly lost herself and she didn't even realise, so when Dom decides to tell her he wants to make his company (a company she helped start) bigger and better and move to New York alone, shes very hurt and shocked as she thought they were moving to marriage and babies.

Willow has the opportunity to write a piece of journalism for an online magazine about the difference between a settled millennial and a single self loving Gen Z, but is everything we see online really as it seems and how can she write this piece now she isn't in a settled relationship and feels in limbo.

This book really captured not only starting over in your 30's but also the way friendship change as we grow up and also how you each fit into each others lives when you are all at different stages.

Thank you NetGalley & HarperCollins, for this ARC.

I'd recently read Really Good, Actually, and this is the mature, grown-up, sensible version of that story that I enjoyed so much more.

It's the standard "what if the life that you've built for so long, and expected to continue, sidelines you and begins to break down", but it's told well. Willow is a likeable character because she bears a lot, but learns to adapt to her new life in a way that is wholly believable and quite wholesome.

Willow's support network is strong and also features characters that aren't just there to support her, but are characters in their own right. It's also lovely to see Willow exploring her own passions again, but without compromising her morals.

It doesn't reinvent the genre, but it tells it well.

Emma Gannon crafts a great novel. I enjoy the writing style. The characters are brilliant. It was a great read!

A very quick and easy read about Willow. Very funny in places, and it's written really well. Would definitely recommend

Olive was one of my favourite books the year I read it, so I was very excited to read another fiction book by Emma Gannon.

I liked the messages in this book and how this showed friendships can become strained. How some people gradually lose themselves in a relationship and are unable to empathise with how their single friends may feel.

Unfortunately, I found Willow an incredibly frustrating character. She spends a lot of time wallowing in self-pity and is a massive hypocrite. While she does experience some growth, I felt it could have been handled in a more satisfying way. The way her friends’ storylines were wrapped up also felt rushed and random.

This hasn't put me off reading more books by Emma Gannon as I still enjoy her writing but unfortunately this story wasn't for me.