People in Love

From the bestselling author of TALKING AT NIGHT comes PEOPLE IN LOVE: a love triangle that will split your heart in two…

‘Dazzling. Heartbreakingly romantic, exquisitely told. I****t has one of the best endings I’ve ever read’
CLARE LESLIE HALL, AUTHOR OF BROKEN COUNTRY

‘Tender and compelling’
ALICE WINN, AUTHOR OF IN MEMORIAM

‘Pure heartache, pure poetry. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen, even though I never wanted it to end’
CATHERINE NEWMAN, AUTHOR OF SANDWICH

Full of warmth and the everyday intimacies that make a life’
FLORENCE KNAPP, AUTHOR OF THE NAMES

‘Beautiful, brimming over with heart and heartbreak’
BOBBY PALMER

‘I adored this gorgeous, grown-up love story’
DAISY BUCHANAN

‘Claire Daverley – queen of tugging at heart strings – has done it again.’
ROXY DUNN

A GOOD HOUSEKEEPING MOST ANTICIPATED NOVEL OF 2026

One bright blue day, on a bench by the river, Nora’s partner Robin proposes.

It is unexpected; they’d always agreed that they didn’t need a wedding. But after a decade of in-jokes, dancing in the low-lit kitchen and sharing morning toast in bed, Nora says yes. Why wouldn’t she?

The answer lands on the night of their engagement party, when Bren turns up on her doorstep.

Growing up, Bren and Nora were the sort of best friends who everyone swore would end up together. But when a sudden heartbreak turned their lives upside down, Bren left, Nora stayed, and the silent longing between them remained unspoken.

Now, he’s back, and their tentative yet undeniable spark reignites, forcing Nora to ask herself:

How can you know your heart, if it feels like it’s split in two?

Tender and compelling, People in Love is a story about what-ifs and maybes, and the moments of misunderstanding that can shape our lives. It’s a book about living one life while musing on another, exploring how our choices shape our relationships and inform our regrets, and revealing, in the end, that the real love story is not always the one you’d expect.

PRAISE FOR TALKING AT NIGHT

‘I was rapt’
ANN NAPOLITANO

‘A perfect thing’
CHRIS WHITAKER

‘So gorgeously harrowing and romantic’
CATHERINE NEWMAN

‘Tender and true, this is a stunning debut that reminded me of Sally Rooney’
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

‘A classic love story in every sense, and yet in Claire Daverley’s hands, it felt entirely new’
MARY BETH KEANE

‘A beautifully observed, tender love story’
JOJO MOYES

‘A passionate, page-turning debut’
DAILY MAIL