Published By: Gallery
Pages: 368
Released On: 04/06/2026
Nel, Flo, Maggie and Nicole haven’t been friends for years. Caught in the limbo summer between college and uni, each of the girls are at a precipice, deciding the direction of the rest of their lives. That’s when the notifications come through. They’d forgotten all about the time-capsule text messages they sent each other two years ago. Messages full of confessions, feelings and secrets that force them back together again . . . before they break apart.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I had this on pre-order but had to cancel it due to money problems so was thrilled to get sent an early copy.
I believe this is Forsyth-Read’s debut novel, and it is a very promising one indeed. It bodes well for a fabulous career and I hope she brings out many more books in the years to come.
I loved this from the very start. It’s got so much going for it. A fun plot, great storytelling, relatable characters. It’s advertised as a YA book, but at 32, I really loved it.
It is so relatable and familiar. Our four main characters are so different and that way readers can hopefully see part of themselves in at least one of them. To have four teenage girls as main characters, they could have all merged into one and become stereotypes of teenage girls but they’re so distinct. I feel we had more focus on some of them than others, but that’s not a huge issue. They all have interesting stories individually, and they all work well together.
It’s not shy at tackling tough topics – I won’t go into too much detail for fear of spoilers, but you’ve got themes such as body image, young romance, sexuality, unhealthy relationships, and illness. Everything is handled so sensitively and it never gets overwhelming. A lot of children/YA books talk down to their readers, like they won’t understand the tough topics. But Forsyth-Read believes her audience will understand and that it’s important they learn about these tough things and learn that life isn’t always easy, no matter your age.
It’s billed as a YA book, and I think they will definitely like it, but don’t let it put you off if you’re an older adult, because it’s still very enjoyable. Having said that, there were a lot of pop culture references and young chat where being dumped by a boy is the worst thing that could ever happen, so it may not always be relatable, but as someone in their 30s, I loved it.
It’s really quick and easy to read. At over 350 pages it’s not a short book, but it reads so well that I finished it in a matter of hours. It’s so effortlessly written which makes it effortless to read.
It’s definitely character heavy rather than plot. The plot itself is quite thin, so if you want a meaty plot, you need to look elsewhere. But for someone who prefers characters to plot, I thought it worked.
My one criticism is that this text capsule the girls make…I wish it was longer. They have this idea and then it’s opened just 2 years later. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed it, I think it would have been stronger if there was a longer gap because two years doesn’t feel long enough to really change that much.
Books By Your Bedside 