Talking at night ft Nutella treat

I was drawn to Talking at Night by Claire Daverley the moment I saw the title—it had that quiet, emotional weight that made me curious. I ended up listening to the audiobook, thinking I was in for something moving and reflective. At first, it had me. Set in the UK, the story introduces us to Rosie and Will, two teens on the edge of a complicated love story—he’s the popular, charming one; she’s the brilliant, thoughtful one. And of course, he’s her brother’s best friend. I thought, okay, this is giving Normal People vibes.

The beginning pulled me in—the setup had all the makings of a slow-burn love story. But what came after was a drawn-out mix of tragedy, miscommunication, and heavy will-they-won’t-they energy. And I mean heavy. The characterization of Rosie and Will (and yes, it took me way too long to remember his name) felt overly complicated, almost like the author was trying so hard to make them deep and layered that they ended up feeling a bit hollow.

By the middle, I was frustrated. By the end, I was just tired. The story leaned so hard into the spiraling inner lives of its characters that I kept wishing they’d just step out of their own heads and live a little. Maybe then we would’ve gotten a more grounded, emotionally resonant book. Instead, we were left with two people who seemed permanently stuck in their own emotional fog.

This wasn’t a "don’t judge a book by its cover" situation—more like, I did judge it by the title, and sadly, it didn’t deliver on what I hoped it would be.

As for the treat? I went in the opposite direction. I paired this read with a Nutella dessert that looked a little odd at first but turned out to be absolutely delicious. I wish I could say the same for the book—but alas, looks can be deceiving.