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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. It 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

Publisher Review

Claire Daverley's love stories are heartfelt, full of warmth, and show the everyday intimacies that make a life. -- Florence Knapp, bestselling author of THE NAMES PEOPLE IN LOVE is magnificent. Claire Daverley is uniquely alert to the texture of a life, both internal and external, and renders it in such detail that one has the pleasure of fully inhabiting her characters. Not only their days-their living rooms and kitchens-but also their families, their memories, and their hearts. Daverley writes with wisdom, kindness, and humour about the glory and pain of love in all its forms. I am particularly admiring of the depth and complexity of her characters and of the beauty she finds in their humanity. -- EMMA KNIGHT, author of THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE COMMON OCTOPUS People in Love is pure heartache, pure poetry, pure, brilliant moonbeam Claire Daverley. The revelations in this novel glow like opals: fiery, clear, milky, the way life is. I couldn't wait to see what would happen, even though I never wanted it to end. -- CATHERINE NEWMAN, NYT bestselling author of SANDWICH No one writes love like Claire Daverley. Yearning drips from her books like honey but her stories, although always achingly romantic, are anything but predictable. -- LAURA PASHBY Daverley is tender and compelling. People in Love is a wistful love story that grapples with the conflict between reality and idealism. -- ALICE WINN, author of IN MEMORIAM Claire Daverley - queen of tugging at heart strings - has done it again with People In Love. A story full of warmth and tenderness that examines what form true adult love takes and reaches a refreshing conclusion. -- ROXY DUNN, author of As Young as This Claire Daverley has Maggie O'Farrell's ability to render human beings, their relationships and their flaws so vividly that you want to reach out and comfort them. A really beautiful book, brimming over with heart and heartbreak and everything in between. Have tissues to hand. -- BOBBY PALMER Tender, wise, deeply satisfying and so beautifully written - I adored this gorgeous, grown up love story. -- DAISY BUCHANAN People in Love is dazzling: it heartbreakingly romantic, exquisitely told and so wise on the small decisions that can dictate a life. It has one of the best endings I've ever read. Claire Daverley is now a must-read author for me. -- CLARE LESLIE HALL, author of BROKEN COUNTRY I ADORED this novel. A grown-up love story that delves into matters of the human heart with such nuance and insight. Claire's prose is so finely woven that every beautifully honed sentence immerses you fully into the emotional dilemmas of her characters. I stayed up until the early hours reading it. It deserves to be a huge hit' -- HANNAH BECKERMAN