Things We Lose in Waves by Lucy Ayrton

I’ve been meaning to read Things We Lose in Waves by Lucy Ayrton since it was released in hardback so, with the paperback now upon us, I’m delighted that it is my latest online book review for My Weekly magazine. My enormous thanks to Millie Seaward at Hachette for originally sending me a copy of Things We Lose in Waves.

Published by Dialogue imprint Renegade in paperback on 14th November 2024, Things We Lose in Waves is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

Things We Lose in Waves

Jenny’s world is falling apart.

Ravenspurn is falling into the sea. The little town is perched on a remote cliff, and every day, frequent storms are claiming more land, more homes and more livelihoods.

The news of her father’s sudden death forces Jenny’s return to her hometown from London, but the ravaged landscape now feels like a foreign place. In a small town like Ravenspurn, the rifts between her and those she once knew are so deep they threaten to swallow her whole.

Jenny is now responsible for her late father’s small pub, and its staff, Alex and Si – her former best friend and ex-boyfriend, now a couple. She’s stuck living in her childhood bedroom, orbiting awkwardly around her distant mother. Her boyfriend is still in London, separated by more than just distance. Each day that Jenny remains, the town seems to shrink around her, but she knows soon the pandemic will be over. Soon, she’ll be able to return to her real life.

But the secrets and the unspoken regrets that have come to haunt Jenny are not so easily escaped. In the claustrophobia of Ravenspurn, where can she turn?

A timely story of a home pushed to the breaking point; Things We Lose in Waves explores how you keep afloat when your world is falling away from underneath your feet.

My Review of Things We Lose in Waves

My full review of Things We Lose in Waves can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Things We Lose in Waves is an intense, claustrophobic insight into how the past shapes our present. It lays bare the innermost secrets and fears of Jenny and Alex, leaving the reader affected and emotional.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Lucy Ayrton

Lucy Ayrton has an MA in Creative Writing from Warwick University, and is a novelist and performance poet. Her debut novel, One More Chance, the story of a young mother battling imprisonment and addiction, was published in 2018 with Dialogue Books and was a finalist in the Exeter Novel Award. She wrote and performed two full-length spoken word shows at the Edinburgh Festival, which were respectively turned into a poetry pamphlet and a radio play. She also competed as a national finalist at the UK Poetry Slam. Lucy currently teaches Creative Writing at Oxford University.

For further information, visit Lucy’s website, follow her on Twitter/X @lucyayrton or find Lucy on Facebook and Instagram.