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Ordinary Love

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Ordinary Love

By: Marie Rutkoski
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
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About this listen

'An immersive, glamorous, sexy and gripping modern love story to gulp down hungrily and quickly' SUNDAY TIMES

'A page-turning romance' GUARDIAN

'This book will break you then put you back together again' STYLIST, Book of the Month

'An exquisitely tender portrayal of enduring love' OBSERVER
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There's no such thing as an ordinary love story

When Emily catches sight of Gennifer Hall at a party, she is transported back to the moment they fell in love as teenagers. Their connection was electric, and they thought it was forever.

Twenty years later, Gen is an Olympic runner, the career she strived for, while Emily is living a picture-perfect life: Manhattan townhouse, two young children and a wealthy husband, Jack. But Jack's controlling behaviour is spiralling, and Emily has lost sight of who she once was.

Now, despite Emily's fracturing marriage and the pressures of Gen's career, they are drawn back together by a magnetic attraction. After years of heartbreak, missed chances and misunderstandings, will they finally get a second chance at first love?

A sweeping love story about desire, friendship, mistakes and the possibility of second chances, for fans of The Paper Palace and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
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'A sweeping, decades-spanning tale of queer desire' MARIE CLAIRE

'Profoundly moving' EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL, bestselling author of STATION ELEVEN

'Almost unbearably beautiful' EMILIA HART, bestselling author of WEYWARD and SIRENS

'Had me hooked from the first page' JENNIE GODFREY, bestselling author of THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS

'I'm obsessed with this novel. It demands obsession' HOLLY BRICKLEY, author of DEEP CUTS

'Funny and moving and sexy' J. COURTNEY SULLIVAN, bestselling author of THE CLIFFS

'A gorgeously written love story' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'I loved this moving, tender story about lost love and second chances' RED

'Immersive and insightful' LISA OWENS, author of NOT WORKING

'[A] raw, gorgeous debut' THE i PAPER

'A tender romance' WOMAN & HOME

'Shining with rare clarity' SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE

©2025 Marie Rutkoski (P)2025 Hachette Audio UK
Contemporary Romance Marriage Heartfelt

Critic reviews

This is an almost unbearably beautiful love story. Emily and Gen feel completely real: on the rare occasion I managed to put this book down, I thought about them constantly. It broke my heart to let them go when I turned the final page. Ordinary Love is extraordinary. (Emilia Hart, bestselling author of WEYWARD)
I'm obsessed with this novel. It demands obsession because it is so rich with feeling and nuance; you fall into a vat of emotion as you read, the way its heroine falls into her desire. A must for lovers of Sally Rooney, extremely sexy love stories, and characters who feel so real you see them in your dreams. A must for lovers, full stop (Holly Brickley, author of DEEP CUTS)
This novel is remarkable and profoundly moving. A beautifully written, intelligent, quietly hopeful story about being lost and found. (Emily St. John Mandel, bestselling author of THE SEA OF TRANSQUILITY)
A brilliant examination of queerness, friendship, motherhood, longing and ambition. It's funny and moving and sexy. Above all, it's a stunning love story (J. Courtney Sullivan, bestselling author of THE CLIFFS)
A sweeping tale. Tender, truthful and gorgeously written, I devoured it in a few days. (Samuel Burr, bestselling author of THE FELLOWSHIP OF PUZZLEMAKERS)
Ordinary Love sparkles with the excitement, danger and wonder of love in all its forms (Sophie Ward, Booker Prize longlisted author of THE SCHOOLHOUSE)
Evocative and emotional, surprising and propulsive, the whole of it brimming with tenderness. Rutkowski's prose is poetic and sharp, writing to be savored. Perhaps most unforgettable is the chemistry between Emily and Gen, which crackles and explodes on the page (Carola Lovering, bestselling author of TELL ME LIES AND BYE, BABY)
All stars
Most relevant  
I love this sapphic romance. The will they won’t they have this. The evolution of their relationship I really enjoyed this to the last moments. And Rebecca Lowman of course has a great voice for this narration.

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