Shared reading: NoMo romance

Wild About You by Sophie Loxton

Wild About You is a new romance novel from Sophie Loxton - one that embraces both the joy of rewilding nature and also rewilding your heart.

London-based Anna has always been a 'yes' person - saying yes to all the normal life and career opportunities that women are meant to take. But when it becomes apparent that Anna is unable to have children, her uncaring fiance, Sean, decides that she’s a definite no for his future - and, in turn, Anna learns the power of walking away from a past that no longer serves her. She says no to London life and her corporate career - and takes a gamble on accepting a new role as a rewilding manager at the Stonemore Estate in Northumberland.

I remembered a conference paper I'd given two years before, with 500 delegates watching. Me: shiny, smiley, new engagement ring sparkling on my finger ... The Anna that said yes to things. An entirely different person. So cheerful, so sure of what the future held: a houseful of children, a happy marriage, a successful career. Not baking scones for an empty house dressed in old jeans, a fleece, and with a dozen mice.

Fortunately, her best friend, Fi, already works at the estate and she helps to settle Anna in. (Please tread carefully here, as the sub-plot with Fi may be challenging - Fi and her husband are undergoing IVF treatment which is ultimately successful.) But Fi isn't the only person keeping an eye on Anna - two suitable suitors appear on the horizon: the handsome and carefree estate manager, Callum, and the engimatic and alluring Earl of Stonemore, Jamie. Anna may suddenly find it a lot harder to say no – but she’s also frightened that her childlessness will prevent her from having any fulfilling future relationships.

Now it was my turn to stare into the depths of my coffee. The question hollowed me out. How to explain to him that I knew what would happen? How the children issue would corrode us, as time passed? That it was better to have one perfect night and remember us as that, rather than losing all hope and joy as the bitterness slowly crept in, like ivy growing over an unkempt garden, choking all life out of it?

But love does win out and one of the most joyful twists is the fact that the partner Anna finally ends up with is so accepting of her childlessness - in contrast to her horrible ex-fiance. The book portrays two such different reactions towards a partner who is unable to have a child - and ultimately it is the accepting and loving reaction that wins Anna’s heart (as it should). But how often do we ever get to see this ending in fiction?

I nodded, tears streaming down my face. I wanted to tell him everything. How I'd shied away from being near babies. The baby showers I couldn't attend, or the ones I did, only to end up sitting numb on the tube home afterwards, winded by the pain. I wanted to tell him Stonemore had started to heal me. That I'd found new things to love. That a meadow full of wildflowers told me that my life wasn't worthless, and I wouldn't be traceless.

From a NoMo perspective, this is a story to fall in love with. Not only are we presented with a well-balanced, lovable character who we see working through her childlessness and coming to terms with not being a mother, we see her setting out on a new life with a new sense of self. Whilst romance novels by their nature focus on the warm and glowing aspects of life, it is a welcome change to find such a realistic yet positive portrayal of a childless woman in this genre. Sophie Loxton creates a beautiful portrait and the authenticity of her writing really shines through – this is a story that reinforces how important it is for NoMo writers to reclaim our literary representation and reveal our true selves.

And, as the novel sits within the romance genre, it most likely will also be read by women who aren’t connected to childlessness - many of its readers may well be mothers. This is a reader audience that may not usually engage with the reality of infertility or childlessness, and might never stop to think about what it feels like or how it changes the course of your life. Sophie presents these topics in a gentle and non-confrontational manner that allows for empathy from any reader - she gives space for Anna's character to breathe, for her feelings to be heard and understood, and then for her to flourish. There is no feeling that Anna's story should end with her childlessness - it's what come afterwards that matters.

Does Wild About You sound like the sort of novel you’d like to read? Or, if you’ve already read it, what was your impression? I’d love to hear your takeaways from the book!

Some points to consider:

• If you are a non-mother, did this empathetic and positive portrayal of a childless woman make you feel more positive in and about yourself?

• Did this romance-novel world feel a bit too good to be true at any point? Were the reactions from the people around Anna to her childlessness still believable or relatable for you, or was it just a refreshing fantasy to view the world in this way?

• Would you like to see more novels where the central plot isn't explicitly about someone's childless journey, and they get to have other interests and adventures - but it’s still an openly acknowledged part of the storyline?