Expectation: The most razor-sharp and heartbreaking novel of the year - Hardcover

"BEST BOOKS FOR JULY: Expectation has defied all my expectations and completely redefined the friendship novel. Each of the characters resonated with me and I’m in awe of the way Anna Hope captures what it means to be a woman, right here, right now, with all the precision of a surgeon’s knife." (Red Magazine)

"Brilliant portrayal of long-term female friendships . . . I was gripped." (Prima)

"The real joy of this novel – while exploring just what second wave feminism has done for this generation of women (“you’ve had everything... we changed the world for you. For our daughters. And what have you done with it?”) – is in it’s writing; the dialogue and the honesty behind these characters who are doing their best, who are trying to live up to the fictional counterparts that they themselves have created... It’s the perfect summer reading" (STYLIST MAGAZINE)

"Hope’s writing is sublime and her characters so well fleshed out they will feel like friends at the end" (Good Housekeeping)

"Absolutely encapsulates what it means to be a young woman today, and beyond" (Grazia Magazine)

"A Sally Rooney-esque evocative examination of female friendship" (BEST SUMMER READS, i-newspaper)

"EDITOR'S CHOICE: I enjoyed this contemporary novel about the gulf between the expectation of how life will turn out and the reality... [it] taps into the current conversation about finding fulfilment and living a meaningful life." (Alice O'Keeffe The Bookseller)

"Jaw-droppingly good" (SARRA MANNING)

"Anna Hope has a way of getting inside difficult and painful moments, turning them inside out. I felt I knew these women as my own friends. Taut, electric, complex, funny." (RACHEL JOYCE bestselling author of THE UNEXPECTED PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY)

"Few novels leave me genuinely breathless with their brilliance. EXPECTATION is one of them. This book is beautiful. I am in AWE" (HANNAH BECKERMAN)

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'Profoundly intelligent and humane. Deserves to feature on many a prize shortlist' GUARDIAN
'A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition' PANDORA SYKES
'If you wished Normal People had tackled female friendship, try Expectation' GRAZIA

Hannah, Cate and Lissa are young, vibrant and inseparable. Living on the edge of a common in East London, their shared world is ablaze with art and activism, romance and revelry – and the promise of everything to come. They are electric. They are the best of friends.

Ten years on, they are not where they hoped to be. Amidst flailing careers and faltering marriages, each hungers for what the others have. And each wrestles with the same question: what does it take to lead a meaningful life?

The most razor-sharp and heartbreaking novel of the year, EXPECTATION is a novel about finding your way: as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a rebel.

FOR FANS OF SALLY ROONEY, DIANA EVANS, DOLLY ALDERTON, ELIZABETH DAY AND FLEABAG

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'Thoughtful, beautifully written, honest. A sensual book. I URGE YOU TO READ IT' MARIAN KEYES

'Will resonate with approximately 99% of women' RED MAGAZINE summer pick

'One of the most intensely readable novels this year' METRO

'One of our most gifted contemporary writers' WATERSTONES

'The story of 3 college friends, if you're a fan of Sally Rooney, you'll love EXPECTATION' IRISH EXAMINER

'A must-read' FABULOUS MAGAZINE

'Exceptional.. I highly recommend it' STACEY HALLS

'A generation-defining book on motherhood, ambition and sex. Like Normal People with female friendship under the microscope.’ ERIN KELLY

'Jaw-droppingly good' SARRA MANNING

'SO GOOD. A 'What they did next' story of characters from a Sally Rooney novel' SARAH FRANKLIN

'Few novels leave me so genuinely breathless with their brilliance' HANNAH BECKERMAN

'The perfect summer reading' STYLIST

'Sublime' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'Dark, relatable, elegant' LIZA KLAUSSMANN

'Intimate and touching' NINA POTTELL

'A marvellously tangy London novel' DAILY MAIL

'A grown-up, honest take on female camaraderie. Packed with talking points' MAIL ON SUNDAY

'Hugely absorbing, massively enjoyable' LISSA EVANS

'An observant look at the complexities of modern female friendships' I-NEWSPAPER

'Perceptive, intelligent, bittersweet, and beautifully written' BOOKBRUNCH