Front cover of No Hard Feelings: TikTok's new favourite book - the witty and vulnerable debut novel from the author of CRUSHI by Genevieve Novak, paperback

No Hard Feelings: TikTok's new favourite book - the witty and vulnerable debut novel from the author of CRUSHING, for readers of Dolly Alderton, Coco Mellors and Curtis Sittenfeld - Genevieve Novak

Genevieve Novak

£9.99
  • Pages · 336 pages
  • Publication Date · 08/03/2023
  • Genre · Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
Collect in store Pick it up free from the shop in Oxford's Covered Market, usually quicker than the post.
Delivery Standard tracked £1.99, free on orders over £20. Express tracked £2.99.
Book Lovers' Happy Hour Three cocktails matched to your taste, three books chosen for you, an hour and a half at the bar. £60 per person. Book a place →

Hungover, underpaid and overwhelmed, this isn't where Penny expected to be as she reached her late twenties. A sharp, smart and witty look at adulting - Fleabag meets Sorrow and Bliss with a splash of Dolly Alderton. 'No Hard Feelings is clever, funny and surprisingly sweet, and Penny captured my heart' Toni Jordan I exist on validation from emotionally unavailable men, biscuits, and cheap wine, and it's easier to get off with Max than a Tiny Teddy. Penny can't help but compare herself to her friends. Annie is about to become a senior associate at her law firm, Bec has just got engaged, Leo is dating everyone this side of the Yarra, and Penny is just ... waiting. Waiting for Max, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, to allow her to spend the night, waiting for the promotion she was promised, waiting for her Valium to kick in. Waiting for her real life to start. Out of excuses and sick of falling behind, Penny is determined to turn things around. She's going to make it work with Max, impress her tyrannical boss, quit seeing her useless therapist, remember to water her plants, and stop having panic attacks in the work toilets. But soon she's back to doomscrolling on Instagram, necking bottles of Aldi's finest sauvignon blanc, and criticising herself with renewed vigour and loathing. As her goals seem further away than ever, she has to wonder: when bad habits feel so good, how do you trust what's right for you? Praise for No Hard Feelings:'Genevieve Novak will inevitably be compared to other authors, but the truth is, she is herself and herself alone - and that's a good thing. Funny, biting, vulnerable and unflinching, Novak's novel is like an ocean dip: a bit salty, very refreshing.' Lauren Sams
'Scaldingly funny and bitingly real, No Hard Feelings deserves a warning label: danger, may induce binge reading. With her sly wit, Genevieve Novak's debut demonstrates a brilliant eye for observing the little things in life, which together can be the biggest things of all.' Tori Haschka, author of Grace Under Pressure
'No Hard Feelings is a gratifying, warm and funny debut' Books+Publishing
'Novak has perfectly captured the self-doubt and total horror of having to be happy and functional in your twenties. It would have you crying into your chipped manicure if it wasn't so darn funny.' Kimberley Allsopp, author of Love and Other Puzzles

Only at Gulp Fiction

Book Lovers' Happy Hour

An hour and a half at the bar, with three cocktails matched to your taste and three books chosen for you. Tell us what you like when you book, and we'll have them waiting when you arrive.

  • 1½ hours
  • £60 per person
  • 3 cocktails, 3 books
Book Happy Hour

Up to four of you can come — book a place each and choose the same time slot, then tell us who you're with. For larger groups, email gulpfictionbooks@gmail.com and we'll arrange it.

Three customers at the window table in Gulp Fiction, cocktails in hand beside a stack of books, with Oxford's Covered Market visible through the glass

Collect in store

Order online and pick it up from the shop. It's free, and usually quicker than the post.

Find us

Units 28–29, Covered Market, Oxford OX1 3DU. Mon–Wed 10–5, Thu–Sat 10–10, Sun 11–4.

Book a table

The bar is open late Thursday to Saturday. Reserve a table for a drink among the books.