Honestly, Charlotte Levin has done it again with Outside. If you loved Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine or Sorrow and Bliss, this is going to be right up your street. I so wanted to read this book as I have read the other two and this one is so good .Outside follows Beatrice, a total rising star whose life completely derails after a massive tragedy. She ends up with severe agoraphobia, completely stuck inside her own house and terrified to cross the doorstep. What I love about Charlotte Levin’s writing is that she doesn't just use mental illness as a cheap plot point. You really feel the absolute panic and frustration Beatrice goes through, but it’s balanced with this incredibly sharp, dry humour that keeps it from feeling too heavy. I was laughing and crying in the same chapter, and it gave me all the feels. It's a gorgeous, messy look at grief, family drama, and how the walls we build to protect ourselves can turn into our own prisons. This is definitely one to add to your reading list if you love books about beautifully flawed, complicated people and you love Charlotte Levin’s writing, which is so brilliantly crafted with emotion and wit and humour. I’m being deliberately vague about plot because the best thing about this is how it unfolds and I don’t want to spoil a second of your reading .

Great book, I really loved this and all the characters. Bea was so likeable and relatable. The neighbour, Finn, Matisse and even the “therapist” and Gerard, she had such a good network and it just shows jr doesn’t matter what u have mental health can always show up. I would have liked slightly more from the ending and how she progressed though

This is an engrossing and immersive read that I devoured in a day. I loved the sensitive and authentic handling of the underlying issues that the protagonist experiences. I rooted for her but also loved that her storyline wasn't sacharine and predictable. I found this moving but also funny and loved the author's sharp and pithy observations.
Charlotte Levin has written her best book so far with this.

What a brilliant book. I cried and laughed out loud while reading this. All the characters are so sharply observed - who would have thought a parakeet could provoke such an emotional reaction? Charlotte writes with such a wonderful dark sense of humour and Outside is an absolute triumph. My favourite of this author's books so far.

This is the third book I have read by.Levin and, I think this is her third book. Levin breaks every muscle and bone of her characters, to only build them back with a surgical like precision.
A superb writer.
Matisse steals the show, but he was always going to.

An uplifting, beautifully written romance, which is an absolute delight from beginning to end. Beatrice is a wonderfully complex heroine whose struggles with grief, anxiety and isolation feel deeply authentic. I laughed out loud at her quick wit and broke down in tears on more than one occassion.

Her heartbreaking story is filled with a cast of unforgettable characters and the chemistry between Beatrice and Finn is tender and charming. I was so invested in them finding love and freedom in each other.

Charlotte, thank you for a wonderful story that will live on forever in my heart and for your bravery in sharing your emotions. I pray one day you see the ocean again.

Outside is an emotionally immersive and quietly devastating novel about grief, anxiety, and the desperate need for connection. Charlotte Levin captures spiralling thoughts and social anxiety with painful accuracy (so much so that, as a fellow sufferer, I cried), but still balances the heaviness with warmth, humanity, and humour.

There was such an emotional intimacy to the writing. The relationships felt nuanced and believable, particularly the maternal dynamics and feeling of lost safety, which added so much depth to the story. There’s a tenderness running through the novel even in its most uncomfortable moments, and I found myself completely invested in Bea’s emotional journey to ‘recovery’.

The atmosphere of isolation and grief is handled beautifully, but the book never feels hopeless. Instead, it becomes a thoughtful exploration of loneliness, vulnerability, and the ways people try to survive loss. It’s realistic and reassuring to see no such depiction of a miracle being performed, of a ‘cure’, but rather the little victories in overcoming, or handling, anxiety.

A deeply affecting and psychologically sharp read that stayed with me after I finished - along with many tear stains!

This could quite possibly be my favourite book of 2026 and one that will stay with me for a very long time.

Oh Beatrice… I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to you. I found myself completely invested in your story and desperate to know what happened next. Charlotte Levin has created such a memorable, beautifully written character that I genuinely need more.

The story is emotional, thought-provoking and utterly captivating. It pulled me in from the very first page and never let go. I laughed, I worried, I hoped, and I was left thinking about it long after I’d finished.

I can only hope Charlotte Levin gives us a sequel because I need to know where life takes Beatrice next.

A truly unforgettable read and an easy 5 stars from me.

Wow..

It seems weird to say you love a book when the subject matter is one that causes a lot of pain and grief for the person and their loved ones but this book deserves all the accolades. It would make for a powerful film or series and while I was reading it, it was being played out as a film in my head.

Charlotte Levin is an outstanding and gifted writer. Despite the subject matter, she finds time and the space to inject her humour and wit in this very human and emotional novel. She is wickedly funny and I laughed out loud many times throughout the book.

Charlotte wrote this book because she wanted to raise awareness of what it is like to have and live with agoraphobia. I think this book is a masterpiece and a triumph. I was rooting for Beatrice all the way through and lived through every single bit of joy and pain.. I loved the banter and the relationship she had with Finn.

This book deserves a wide audience. It's more than good. If I could give it ten stars I would.

Ever since a good book friend pestered me into reading If I Can’t Have You, Charlotte Levin has been a must read asap author.

Outside tells Beatrice’s story. She’s recently bereaved, her acting character was just about to take off and she’s agoraphobic. She can’t leave the house.

Charlotte Levin is truly gifted in empathetic, emotionally immersive writing. It’s meditative, thought provoking and deeply moving. Beatrice is one of the most memorable and complete characters you’ll meet in a book this year.

I know it won’t be for everyone but personally I loved it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Oneworld Publications