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Ordinary Love

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About this listen

'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 portrayal of enduring love' OBSERVER

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

'A page-turning romance' GUARDIAN

'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 LGBTQIA+ Creators 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
This cleverly written, literary novel is not plot driven and it takes a long time for the characters to get to their final destination but stick with it because it's worth it and the author is exceptionally good at showing us rather than telling us, which makes the book deeply engaging and immersive.

The slow pace did not bother me because the author uses it for careful character construction and psychological portrail. However, it did take me a while to really get into the audiobook because it is padded with many descriptive passages that go off at tangents where I felt I could no longer see the wood for the trees. At one point I nearly gave up listening because I found the descriptive prose sent me to sleep, but some of this may have been due to the tone of the narrator, although she did a good job overall. If I had been reading I probably would have skipped a few pages.

Ultimately I was very glad I didn't give up listening because the second half of the book, which concentrates more on the two women, is more tightly written with many passages that are very moving and frequently beautiful.

Warning: Story contains abusive and controlling behaviour

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Beautifully written story of misunderstandings and repairs, of love and loss and of hope when all seems bleak.

Beautiful

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Good sex too little of it….. characters need more development….,look forward to next book…

A long read about a narcissist

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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.

Love this

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