Spiralling cover art

Spiralling

No boyfriend. No job. No clue.

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Spiralling

By: Cal Speet
Narrated by: Jonathan Case
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About this listen

'Oh, by the way, Gabe. I know what happened with Seamus! Everybody at Kiss does.'

How did Mitchell know any details about my breakup? I felt my jaw tense. Why did everybody at the third most popular bar in The Village also know? Did Seamus tell them? My heart rate switched from a pulse to a vibration, and my limbs stiffened. Were they all talking about it and laughing at me? Did they, for some reason, now hate me?

Gabriel is at rock bottom: a scandalous break-up with his wannabe poet ex-boyfriend, followed by a sudden sacking, and he’s spiralling. Thank God for his best friends, Tasha and Evie, who are committed to pulling him out of his depression hole and back into the world of work and dating. But suddenly there are new problems: How can he convince DiscreetHung from Grindr to go on a real-life date with him? Could the gorgeous man in the Post Office be The One? And why is Tasha’s boyfriend, Scott, trying to get between her and Gabe?

©2025 Cal Speet (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers City Life Friendship Genre Fiction Humorous Literature & Fiction Urban Heartfelt

Critic reviews

'This book honestly floored me. It felt like it had been written by one of my best friends. It was side-splittingly funny, made me cry, and was such an important foray into mental health and the importance of friendships, honesty, and living your life to the full while you can.' The Express

'A witty, heartfelt portrait of queer friendship, heartbreak and rebuilding in Manchester.' PinkNews

‘Spiralling is a hilarious, heartwarming celebration of queer love, friendship & chaos.’ MCR Wire

'Spiralling is a messy, moving, thoroughly modern dive into queer single life, and a love letter to the friendships that define your twenties. Reading it felt like hanging out at brunch with my besties and getting all the dirt from the night before.' PJ Ellis, author of We Could Be Heroes and Love & Other Scams

'A hilarious, down-to-earth, heartwarmingly honest celebration of queerness in the north: I’ll be recommending Spiralling to everyone I know!' Bonnie Woods, author of Kindling

All stars
Most relevant
Funny and engaging with Working class characters that you can relate to regardless of sexual orientation or gender.

Excellent

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I think this is a debut novel. There are hundreds such in the LGBT category and I've listened to a lot of them. Most are good, some are awful, but this is different - its clever, moving, very funny, so naturally and pleasantly narrated. There's a lot of words, but none of them is wasted and the author chooses them so carefully. Or maybe it just flows naturally for them. Very impressed and I'd like to encourage the writer to write more.

Funny, moving, beautifully written

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I was initially drawn to the title of the book - and boy did it deliver: a hilarious tale of a gay guy unravelling and then picking up the pieces of his life over the course of a year. The author uses humour to move the story along, but the story has also got some serious points to make. Would highly recommend.

Funny and fun

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Excellent read really enjoyable and modern. Love the stories and drama along with the end.

Excellent read, really enjoyed

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