Out of Love – Hazel Hayes

As a young woman boxes up her ex-boyfriend’s belongings and prepares to see him one last time, she wonders where it all went wrong, and whether it was ever right to begin with. Burdened with a broken heart, she asks herself the age-old questions, is love really worth it?

I saw this book floating around on my Instagram and recognised the authors name. It wasn’t until looking at it a couple of times that I realised it was written by YouTuber Hazel Hayes who actually inspired one of my university media projects. So, I looked into the synopsis and bought it instantly! I’m so glad that I did because I loved it a lot.

This book made me laugh, it brought tears to my eyes and it broke my heart. This book starts with us meeting the female protagonist as she is parting from her long-term boyfriend. Then, the book proceeds to go in reverse which I think is incredibly unique. It recounts the events of her and her boyfriends relationship up until the day that they meet.

This book is incredibly unique in my opinion in the fact that the love story starts at the end, as the relationship breaks down. The pacing of this book because of the reverse order is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It mean I couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to find out what caused the inevitable break up and where it was that their relationship issues originated from. It is safe to say this book is very emotional, you are watching the deterioration of a relationship, seeing two people lose one another and falling out of love but in reverse.

One this I love is that is book is completely driven by the protagonist and no one else. We get to understand why her relationship ended and what her priorities and wishes are. I adored her love for her home country and Irish culture. It enables you to feel the pain she felt when moving out of Ireland.

This book discussions important topics such as mental health and therapy as the protagonist has anxiety and depression. Due to this and other this this book is more than a love story told in reverse, it is also a story of loss, self-discovery, family and friendship. Everyone needs and deserves a Maya in their lives let me tell you that!

If you loved books like The Flatshare and Normal People then I highly recommend this one to you. Although they aren’t the same or directly comparable, the vibes that Out of Love gives off are all of them mixed together.

Overall, I highly recommend this book, its writing is absolutely stunning and the story is beautiful. It is unique and heart-breaking! Give this one a read!

Trigger Warnings: emotional and sexual abuse, drug abuse / alcoholism, grief and mentions of suicide.