Almost Love is a compelling novel by the fast-rising Irish author, Louise O’Neill. After reading her other books, Only Ever Yours and Asking For It, I was intrigued once again, to find another novel surrounding another topic important to women. After reading her previous novels dealing with similarly strong and important topics, I wanted to see what her thoughts were on a different kind of love(or lack thereof). I must admit, if it weren’t for Louise O’Neill’s good reputation in my bookshelf, I may not have have picked this novel up at first glance. From reading the back cover, someone unaware of Louise’s writing topics or style may have been skeptical, as it can easily be misjudged as the blurb for a cheesy airport romance. Despite this, I read the book over a weekend, and have a lot of positive things to say about it.

Almost Love set off quickly, and got straight to the point. We met Sarah, an artist struggling to regain her old creativity, and were soon introduced to Matthew Brennan, a rich and successful businessman and womanizer, suddenly part of Sarah’s life. As the story is told between then and now, we are first taken to Sarah’s life after Matthew, until slowly we are brought through Sarah’s life before and with Matthew. Sarah’s life quickly spins out of control, as her obsession with Matthew separates herself from her friends and herself.

I found this book very overwhelming, as Sarah’s story quickly deteriorated a she slowly gave all of herself up to an older man that she meant nothing to. This dangerous obsession was the result of a troubled past and a lack of self-love, a story that maybe a few women can sadly relate to. I did find it confusing at times to constantly be flicking between before and after Matthew, but this was probably just because I read it so fast. This novel was very powerful, and often upsetting, but in a way a strong novel should be. I enjoyed the story, and it was well written to capture the emotions of a struggling young woman. I recommend women read this, as it really shows the importance of keeping your friends and family nearby when something troubles you, and more importantly, always loving yourself before others.