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The No. 2 SUNDAY TIMES Bestseller

An Observer Best Debut of the Year

‘Intoxicating … heralds a really good author to watch’
THE TIMES

‘Hilarious and profound’ DOLLY ALDERTON

‘Wildly funny and almost alarmingly relatable’ MARIAN KEYES

‘Monica Heisey is a genius’ NINA STIBBE

One of the most hotly anticipated, hilarious and addictive debut novels of 2023, from Schitt’s Creek and Workin’ Moms screenwriter and electric new voice in fiction, Monica Heisey.

I feel like when you get a divorce everyone’s wondering how you ruined it all, what made you so unbearable to be with. If your husband dies, at least people feel bad for you.

Maggie’s marriage has ended just 608 days after it started, but she’s fine – she’s doing really good, actually. Sure, she’s alone for the first time in her life, can’t afford her rent and her obscure PhD is going nowhere . . . but at the age of twenty-nine, Maggie is determined to embrace her new status as a Surprisingly Young Divorcee (TM).

Soon she’s taking up ‘sadness hobbies’ and getting back out there, sex-wise, oversharing in the group chat and drinking with her high-intensity new divorced friend Amy. As Maggie throws herself headlong into the chaos of her first year of divorce, she finds herself questioning everything, including: Why do we still get married? Did I fail before I even got started? How many Night Burgers until I’m happy?

Laugh-out-loud funny, razor sharp and painfully relatable, Really Good, Actually is an irresistible debut novel about the uncertainties of modern love, friendship and happiness from a stunning new voice in fiction, Monica Heisey.

‘Hilarious, heart-warming, wise’ PAULA HAWKINS

‘Monica Heisey makes me laugh hard and often’ ROB DELANEY

‘A Sex and The City for social media-obsessed millennials … Irresistible’
METRO

‘Wry, modern, self-deprecating’
INDEPENDENT

‘Already one of the most talked-about releases for 2023’
EVENING STANDARD

Publisher Review

‘Painfully funny, beautifully written, heartbreakingly real. You will fall in love with this protagonist and you will fall in love with Monica Heisey’s writing. I couldn’t put it down’ Dolly Alderton, All I Know About Love

‘An absolute effing delight … wildly funny and almost alarmingly relatable’ Marian Keyes, author of Again, Rachel

‘I absolutely loved it, it’s so funny and so astute … Hilarious, heartwarming, wise’ Paula Hawkins, author of Slow Fire Burning

‘Sharp, funny and true, Really Good, Actually is a rare and delicious treat. Monica Heisey is a genius’ Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to be Cheerful

‘Hilarious, relatable and incisive … Monica Heisey is one of the most exciting new voices in fiction’ Kirsty Capes, author of Careless

‘Heisey makes me laugh hard and often’ Rob Delaney

‘I ate up this funny novel in two days. A brilliant read, I wanted to stay with the characters forever’ Aisling Bea, comedian and creator of This Way Up

‘Heisey has such a knack for showing us life’s complex emotions while wrapping them up in humour … I could have ended up highlighting the whole book’ Emma Gannon, author of Olive

‘I can’t express how much I loved it … A smart, funny and warm debut with such a strong voice’ Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Everyone Is Still Alive

‘One of the most hilarious and barbed accounts of unexpectedly starting over I’ve ever read. If you’ve ever felt lost and hoped that it was leading towards wisdom, Really Good, Actually is your novel’ Stephanie Danler, author of Sweetbitter

‘Made me both laugh and feel sick in recognition. Painfully real and so, so funny – it will console any reader, divorced or otherwise’ Laura Kay, author of Tell Me Everything

‘Brilliant and honest and so funny’ Jenny Colgan, author of An Island Wedding