Disappoint Me

A funny, moving and poignant exploration of modern romance and the allure of domesticity from the Polari-prize-winning author of BelliesMax didn’t mean to fall for Vincent – a corporate lawyer and hobby baker whose trad friendship group are a world away from her life as a trans woman. But after years of bad dates and dysphoria he’s a breath of fresh air. Their connection seems genuine, his care feels real.But Vincent is carrying his own baggage. On his gap year in Thailand a decade prior, he vies for the attention of a gorgeous traveller, Alex, with secrets of her own. Is Vincent really the new face of the Enlightened Man, or will the ghosts of his past sabotage his and Max’s happiness?Disappoint Me is an incisive reckoning with forgiveness and the complexity of modern relationships, told with Nicola Dinan’s trademark wit and heart. Review A riveting tale of finding lasting companionship. Despite the title, it’s unlikely to disappoint. ― ObserverDisappoint Me is a refreshingly unsentimental and moving exploration of millennial ennui, prickly friendships and toxic masculinity. It eschews essentialism by depicting modern relationships and the flow of power and secrecy with astuteness and compassion, cementing Dinan as one of the UK’s most perceptive young novelists with her finger firmly on the pulse of contemporary behaviour. ― GuardianNicola Dinan’s observations are so razor-sharp that you’re sure you’ve met her characters: the self-important East London poet, the over-friendly girl in the bathroom queue, the gap-year student convinced he’s worldly after two weeks on a silent retreat in India. For this reason, every description and bit of dialogue is delicious to read, and if she nailed it in her debut novel Bellies, she’s mastered it in Disappoint Me. Thebook follows a blossoming relationship between twentysomethings Max and Vincent in present-day London, peppered with flashbacks to Vincent’s first relationship with a trans woman in his teenage years. It is pacy, perfectly pitched and emotionally honest: I loved every page. ― Stylist, ‘Best Books of 2025’A story of millennial fears and forgiveness, reckoning with past mistakes, stylishly interweaving two compelling voices as they unravel their own love story. Disappoint Me follows Dinan’s debut novel, Bellies, which is another example of deeply empathetic writing and elastic endings that stay with you long after. ― Vogue, ‘Best Books of 2025’As the title indicates, it explores the fundamental point that building a sustainable love for someone involves them disappointing you: eventually, the dreams and expectations that we attach to a person will be somewhat compromised. I think the novel explores that so amazingly. ― Shon Faye, GuardianDisappoint Me is anything but a disappointing follow-up in its smart exploration of heteronormativity and the weight of expectation. ― Dazed, ‘The 12 Most Anticipated Novels of 2025’Sharply insightful, warm and heartbreaking. ― Cosmopolitan, ‘Best Books of 2025’The author of the award-winning Bellies returns with another insightful dissection of millennial life ... tackling tricky friendships and toxic masculinity. ― Harper's BazaarA riveting, hilarious and totally devastating love story… This exploration of millennial angst, race, and trans panic will have you gripped and sets Dinan as a literary voice to watch. ― Elle, ‘Best Books of 2025’A very modern love story and Dinan is very much the woman to write it. ― GQ, ‘Best Books of 2025’ About the Author NICOLA DINAN grew up in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur and now lives in London. Bellies, her debut, won the Polari First Book Prize, was shortlisted for the Diverse Book Awards and Mo Siewcharran Prize, was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, and was longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize.

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