A Story of Now

Written by Emily O’Beirne

Narrated by Cat Gould

Nineteen-year-old Claire Pearson knows she needs a life. And some new friends.
But brittle, beautiful, and just a little bit too sassy for her own good sometimes, she no longer makes friends easily. And she has no clue where to start on the whole finding a life front, either. Not after a confidence-shattering year dogged by bad break-ups, friends who have become strangers, and her constant failure to meet her parents' sky-high expectations.



When Robbie and Mia walk into Claire's work they seem the least likely people to help her find a life. But despite Claire's initial attempts to alienate them, an unexpected new friendship develops.



And it's the warm, brilliant Mia who seems to get Claire like no one has before. Soon, Claire begins to question her feelings for her new friend.



Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Sep 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781666191769

Reviews for A Story of Now

[daniexj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have never read a book from Ylva Publishing, or even really heard of them, so I wondered what this novel would be like. And then when I saw in the beginning that it was in present tense I was a little worried. But I shouldn't have been because once I got into the flow of the story I liked the book.

It's mainly the story of Mia and Claire, two college students, although there are also a ton of other characters who are pretty major to the story as well. And in that way it's also a story about friendship I think. There's Nina, Claire's friend, and Cam, Claire's brother. There's Robbie and Pete who are Mia's friends. And because both the young women live with their parents we get to see those unique characters of both their families as well.

I will say that the novel wasn't a slow burn, but that's because the slow burn left this plot in the dust.

As I implied before the characters and the relationships in the book are quite unique and they are some of the things about the book I liked the most.

If there was an objective checklist for books, every box would have been checked for this one. And I never felt the need to stop reading, or read something else. The book kept my attention, but through the book it just lacked an extra oomph. And if anyone is using this review to try and figure out if they want to read it, I understand that my comment is supremely vague and not really helpful. But, if pressed I couldn't tell you anything specific that was "wrong" with the book, just that compared to a lot of the books that I've read there was just an extra oomph that was missing.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Ylva Publishing.

[bookstogetlostin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of the best books I have read. There are so many characters in it and every last one of them is well written and just really likeable. The way 'A story of Now' is written made me feel as if I was experiencing everything that happend myself instead of reading about it.

While it is a really cute story it stays realistic. Not everything in life is love, peace and harmony.


I want to add some triggers: There is slight talk about body images and a lot of alcohol; just a heads up.

I got it as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Thank you.