LoveReading Says
Finding the love that’s always been right in your face is at the heart of Liv Little’s Rosewater, a read-in-one sitting joy that fizzes with the desires, disappointments and dreams of 28-year-old Londoner, Elsie.
A confirmed “queen of no-strings”, to quote one of her friends and regular hook-ups, Elsie works in her local gay bar on an impossibly low wage, and longs to land a publishing deal for her poetry. Largely estranged from her family, when the worse happens with her flat, she moves in with her best friend, with escalating complications. The truth of how darn difficult it is to survive on a low income, how hard it is to find creative work that pays, and how having no stability “can fuck with a person” is brilliantly explored. As Elsie remarks in the wake of being dealt disappointing blow after disappointing blow, “Fucking life. Never stops, does it?”.
And that’s the case for all aspects of Elsie’s existence. Alongside her financial and creative struggles, Elsie’s family relationships are strained, though there are glorious moments with her Guyanese grandma.
In time, Elsie also finds moments of elation as Little lays bare complex truths of the heart, the nature of love and desire, and the power of staying true and strong. Elsie’s story will have readers rooting for her along every step of her passionate path.
Joanne Owen
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Rosewater Synopsis
Winner of Lambda Literary's 2024 Randall Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction
A TODAY and LGBTQ Reads Most Anticipated Book of 2023 A Goodreads Buzziest Debut Novel of the New Year An Electric Lit Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Book of Spring 2023 A Bustle Most Anticipated Book of Spring & Summer 2023 A Nylon April 2023 Must-Read Book An Ebony Required Reading Pick for April
For fans of Bolu Babalola and Tia Williams comes a "tender, soulful, and sexy" (Phoebe Robinson) debut novel about finding love in an unexpected place.
Elsie is a sexy, funny, and fiercely independent woman in south London. But several things in her life have gone terribly wrong. She's estranged from her family; is failing to make it as a poet; and has just been evicted from her social housing. As fierce and independent as she is, even Elsie must admit that being a carefree 28-year-old is proving difficult-and that she's running out of options.
Juliet, her best friend since childhood, has always been Elsie's lifeline. So even though they haven't spoken in months, Elsie is soon snuggled up on Juliet's couch, back at home among the mismatched cushions and knit blankets.
Between their reruns of Drag Race and nights smoking on the balcony, something surprising begins to glimmer in Elsie's heart. And as the days turn into weeks and then months, this feeling quickly becomes too fierce to ignore. Will Elsie be brave enough to open herself up to love?
Featuring the poetry of Kai-Isaiah Jamal, Rosewater is a deliciously steamy queer romance from a bold new voice. An electric and captivating debut, Elsie's story teaches us that sometimes home is not always where we are, but who we are with . . .
"Simmering." -New York Times
"Sensuous." -Electric Lit
"As buzzy as it gets." -no kill magazine
"Fresh, zesty, and sexy." -Bernardine Evaristo
"Sensuous, urgent, and pulsating with youth." -Xochitl Gonzalez
"I laughed, I cried, couldn't put it down." -Monica Heisey
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781638930228 |
| Publication date: |
8th June 2023 |
| Author: |
Liv Little |
| Publisher: |
Zando - Get Lifted Books an imprint of Zando |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
313 pages |
| Primary Genre |
General Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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