‘I’m on a boat, sailing towards a secluded
island to start a
picture-perfect new life.’
CHARLIE Jones is leaving behind her sad memories to
take up a post as manager of a farm shop on Ormer, a traffic-free island in the
glittering waters of the English Channel.
It might be just a wild adventure on what is basically a
small rock in the ocean, or even the emanation of a mad pre-midlife crisis, but
Charlie is desperately hoping that it could be the beginnings of her voyage to
a longed-for and glorious ‘happily-ever-after.’ What she doesn’t expect is to
be caught up in a mind-boggling name game!
If you’ve enjoyed million-copy bestselling author Beth O’Leary’s escapist rom-coms – including her stunning debut novel The Flatshare (now a major TV Series), The Wake-Up Call and Swept Away – then climb aboard and buckle up for The Name Game, a teasing, tantalising and mysterious tale of second chances, fresh starts, and finding lasting love in the most unexpected places.
Starring roles are a young man and woman, both escaping heartbreak and both seeking solace in scenic seclusion, but don’t expect a routine ‘boy meets girl’ romance because O’Leary (pictured below) has more than one surprise twist up her sleeve… including a final, flabbergasting flourish which will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew.
Except, there’s one small issue… Charlie Jones has also just
arrived on Ormer on the same boat to embark on HIS brand new life. This Charlie
is escaping old friends, bad habits and a difficult break-up, and is looking
forward to some peace away from the noise of his city life. And his job at Bramblebay
farm shop feels like fate, coming just at the right moment.
The new job and a second chance is the best thing that could
have happened to both Charlies… until they turn up at Ormer’s one and only farm
shop, claiming to have been offered the role of manager. Embarrassed and
baffled as to how this could have happened, farm shop owner Rosie – who
recognises that they are both ‘bruised souls’ – comes up with a compromise. The
two Charlies can share the role for two months and if they can prove they have
earned their keep, the job is theirs permanently.
It’s not an ideal situation for the Charlies as they must
also share the one-bedroomed converted stable block which is an idyllic place
for one person, but decidedly cramped for two. With Mr Charlie Jones now
relegated to sleeping in the walk-in wardrobe, and Miss Charlie Jones with a
‘new life agenda’ in which ‘hot’ men are strictly off limits, the path ahead is
looking very different to the one they both imagined.
Using the real Channel Island of Sark as her inspiration, O’Leary plays a blinder with this gorgeously romantic and intensely emotional journey into the lives of the two Charlies whose simmering, slow-burn chemistry cannot help but sweep and swoop its way into our hearts. But beneath the playful banter, the secrets and the silences, the ensuing confusion and the island’s entertaining cast of charismatic characters, some of life’s more thought-provoking topics – grief, loss, trauma, addiction, adoption, and the search for happiness – are explored with the author’s trademark humour, insight and empathy.
Much of the book is written through the more intimate medium
of the two Charlie Jones’ diary entries and emails, with their turbulent backstories
slowly and enticingly unravelling, and providing the perfect stage set for the
many powerful emotions and startling revelations that gather pace as they settle
into life on Ormer.
With a seductive backdrop of dreamy blue seas and
flower-bedecked cliff slopes, the cosy charms of a small island community, and
a finale that will leave you gasping, The Name Game is a whole new take on
keeping up with the Joneses, and O’Leary’s most audacious – and most
captivating – novel yet!
(Quercus, hardback, £18.99)
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