If Only : A Novel
Author(s): Kate Eberlen
Kate Eberlen, the bestselling author of Miss You, returns with a serendipitous and modern romance. For fans of David Nicholls and Jojo Moyes, If Only is the story of two people who fall in love and the secrets that tear them apart.
How can you know someone until you learn to talk about the past?
Letty and Alf are the only English speakers in an Italian class in Rome, where they discover that the language that really connects them is dance. Alf is nineteen, a former ballroom champion who seems reassuringly confident and at ease with himself. Letty, twenty-two, is unusually reserved and studious, having been forced to give up her childhood dream of becoming a ballet dancer. They come from different worlds, but when they waltz around the Piazza Navona together, a passionate relationship begins.
Can their decision to live in the moment in the Eternal City keep their histories from encroaching? Why is Alf living in a shared apartment, estranged from his family? And what has wrenched Letty away from the apparent security of her Oxford University degree? They each find themselves haunted by the fear that the secrets not yet shared will tear them apart.
If Only is a novel about identity, secrets, passion and dance—and the indefinable collision of physical, emotional and intellectual excitement that we call falling in love.
Review(s):
"I loved it! I keep thinking about the characters and their lives. It’s wonderful to feel Kate’s passion for my beloved art form ballet. I felt touched in many ways reading this novel."
“Eberlen tackles serious emotional issues with empathy and compassion, adding depth to a love story with a difference and its ballroom dancing lead characters will charm fans of Strictly Come Dancing.”
"If romantic fiction is your cup of tea, you’ll love this touching story of a pair of 20-somethings who meet at a language school in Rome [...] Kate Eberlen’s previous book, Miss You, was a bestseller and [If Only] is just as good, with wonderful descriptions of Rome’s iconic landmarks."
"Kate Eberlen’s first book, Miss You, was a huge hit and [If Only] is just as compelling. Wildly romantic, touching and wise, it will keep you reading until dawn."
"If ever there was a time we needed to be swept off our feet and transported elsewhere, this is it. Cue Kate Eberlen's wonderfully romantic second novel, set in Rome [....] Perfectly plotted."
"A beautiful love story."
"The author of the brilliant Miss You is back with a new read you’re sure to love. . . . . Exquisite."
"While we’re all stuck at home, we need to be able to live and love vicariously so [If Only], with its romantic Rome setting is just the thing for some literary escapism."
Praise for Miss You
“If ever a couple was ‘meant to be’ it’s Tess and Gus. This is such a witty, poignant and uplifting story of two lives criss-crossing over the years, with near-miss after near-miss...I couldn’t put it down”
ISBN: 9781443459273