Ordinary Love

Once in a while one of those truly brilliant books comes along that takes over your life - and, for 2025, Ordinary Love is the book hitting the spot * Stylist *
This summer’s smart beach read, with shades of Pineapple Street and The Paper Palace * Grazia *
An immersive, glamorous, sexy and gripping modern love story to gulp down hungrily and quickly * Sunday Times *
This sexy, summer romance slips down as easily as oysters and champagne * Daily Mail *
An exquisitely tender and beautifully written portrayal of enduring love * Observer *
A gorgeous queer literary romance * ELLE, The Best Books of the Summer 2025 *
A page-turning romance * Guardian *
Vivid … A sweeping, decades-spanning tale of queer desire and thwarted ambition … Beautifully rendered and touchingly told, this is one for romance fans everywhere * Marie Claire *
I stayed up way too late to finish this beautifully written novel, which had me hooked from the first page. A truthful, hopeful look at navigating family, life and love. – Jennie Godfrey, bestselling author of THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS
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
Shining with rare clarity * Sainsbury’s Magazine *
[A] raw, gorgeous debut * The i Paper *
This book will break you then put you back together again * Stylist, Book of the Month *
A tender romance that explores heartbreak, integrity and second chances * Woman & Home *
I ripped through this novel. Rutkoski has written a sexy page turner that treats the complexity of human relationships with candour and grace. One of my favourite sub-genres of novel is “erotically charged female friendship over time” and Ordinary Love is a welcome addition to my canon – Madeleine Gray, author of GREEN DOT

Marie Rutkoski is a New York Times bestselling author of several novels for children and young adults. She grew up in Illinois as the oldest of four children, and has lived in Moscow, Prague, and Paris.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.