My grateful thanks to Laura Sherlock for sending me a surprise copy of Ask Me What I’m Reading by Eleanor Goymer. I’m delighted to share my review of Ask Me What I’m Reading today.
Published by Harper Collins imprint One More Chapter on 2nd July 2026, Ask Me What I’m Reading is available for purchase through the links here.
Ask Me What I’m Reading
Perfect for fans of One Day and Talking at Night.
Every morning, Sophie boards the same train.
Every morning, she spots him – tall, unreadable, always with a novel in hand…often the same one she is reading.
Soon, their commute becomes a silent exchange of titles, a game only they seem to be playing. But how long can a love story stay between the lines before someone dares to take it off the page…
Ask Me What I’m Reading is a slow-burn romance about chance encounters, the love of books and the quiet thrill of meeting someone who just gets it.
My Review of Ask Me What I’m Reading
Sophie Hart reads on her morning commute.
What a lovely, lovely book. I thoroughly enjoyed Ask Me What I’m Reading.
Ostensibly this is a conventional love story that proves ‘the course of true love never did run smooth’ and which is filled with the aspects of romantic fiction readers like me love. There’s a slow burn of attraction as Sophie and Max gradually pluck up courage to do more than simply glance at one another across a train carriage. There are ups and downs in their emergent relationship that becomes thwarted by half truths, omissions and assumptions. There is a wonderfully depicted developing romantic attraction. All these features would make Ask Me What I’m Reading a perfectly wonderful story.
But Eleanor Goymer has this as her foundation for so much more too. The layers in the narrative add depth to plot, character and theme.
I loved meeting Max and Sophie. Both have flaws and insecurities that make them appear all the more human. Their relationships with their parents and the effect of events from their pasts help create rounded, complex characters that are so much more than potential partners for one another. I also adored their friends. Sophie’s friend Anna is feisty, somewhat devious and fiercely loyal and Max’s friend Josh is the perfect antidote to the toxic manosphere of today’s world in his support of Max. I wanted to step into the pages and embrace him. Through Anna and Josh the reader is given even greater insight into Sophie and Max.
The themes of the plot are just wonderful. Obviously romance features, and it is presented with humour, thought and sensitivity as Sophie and Max stumble their way into getting to know one another – mostly through books. However, I found the themes of family, friendship, grief, guilt, corporate business and the impact of inertia absolutely fascinating. Ask Me What I’m Reading delivers brilliantly in so many ways. I can’t spoil the read by adding more, but trust me, there’s so much to discover in Ask Me What I’m Reading.
And of course, running through the narrative, as suggested by the title, are books. I found childhood favourites, classic and modern authors and new to me titles. This might be a love story, but it is also a love letter to the power of fiction that resonates deeply with any reader. What better name for an overindulged bookshop sausage dog than Vonnegut?
Any reader looking for the perfect romantic story with books at its heart need look no further. Eleanor Gaynor has captured the concept brilliantly. I loved this one and recommend Ask Me What I’m Reading most highly!
About Eleanor Goymer
Eleanor Goymer is the author of The Plot Twist and The Fallback. Her upcoming novel Ask Me What I’m Reading is being published in July 2026. Born and raised in the UK, Eleanor now lives in the USA. For further information, find Eleanor on Instagram @eleanorgoymerwrites.
English (US) · 