I started reading this book the same week I started listening to Good Luck Babe by Chappell Roan, and the song encapsulates this story perfectly. Similar in tone to the Achillean Giovanni's Room, this story follows Red and Mara, two women in Second World War London, as they struggle to hide their relationship from Red's family and Mara's husband.

What made this story so interesting for me was Red's brutal honesty. While she seems to want to paint Mara in an ideal light, as the story progresses she has to come to terms with her own faults, and the failures that caused their relationship to break down. It's a complex, messy story that feels like someone's lived experience.

I was surprised by the ending, and the questions it left me with. We know throughout the book that Red chooses to marry a truly deplorable man, and I felt Red made this decision to punish herself for losing Mara. Unfortunately, neither we nor Red ever get any closure about Mara's future, and while that kept the realistic tone, I really wanted the answers.