Not Quite a Fairytale — Penguin Books (UK)

For years, Evelyn, the hopeful realist, and John, the hopeless romantic, entertained each other with tales of one disastrous love affair after another. Then they fell out.

From her first boyfriend in college (who allowed her to do his assignments) to her most recent (who allowed her to pay his bills), Evelyn has so many disappointing suitors that she starts to wonder if the heartbreak is worth it.

In college John was the dreamer in their gang, always pursuing a vision of perfect love that no woman could live up to. But experience has quashed his dreams and he has settled for no strings sex and an uncomplicated life.

After years of bitter estrangement, Evelyn and John are thrown together again. So much to catch up on - careers, houses, ageing parents, and of course, affairs of the heart. When it comes to love they feel weary and battle-scarred and they agree that it's time to give up on fairytales. But should they give up on love too?

'A wonderfully creative storyteller' Evening Herald

'Liddy's imagination thrives in the shady regions of small hopes and misunderstandings' Irish Times