My huge thanks to Harriett Collins at Simon and Schuster for sending me a surprise copy of The Next Chapter by Rebecca Ryan. I was delighted to receive it as I loved Rebecca’s previous two books, My (extra)Ordinary Life and The Philosophy of Love which you’ll find reviewed here.
The Next Chapter was published by Simon and Schuster on 17th July 2025 and is available for purchase here.
The Next Chapter
Lily Brown is ready to turn the page and see what adventure awaits . . .
Lily Brown prides herself on her organised, surprise-free life. Whether it’s charity yoga for polar bears or crafting a ninety-six-piece balloon arch, Lily always goes the extra mile. But when her adoptive father asks her to reconnect with her birth mother, Lola Starr – a legendary pop punk singer who vanished from fame – Lily decides to venture off the well-trodden path.
With her best friend Seb, Lily tracks Lola to her humble hotel on the beautiful Isle of Skye in Scotland, far from the glamorous life she imagined. Hiding the truth, Lily gets to know Lola and finds a kind, free-spirited woman. If life wasn’t complicated enough – she meets Noah, a charming travel writer on a quest to discover hidden gems.
As Lily takes a chance and embraces new possibilities, she begins to question whether the safe rules she’s built her life around are what she really needs.
My Review of The Next Chapter
Ghost writer Lily Brown has a new assignment.
I feel I ought to write a thank you letter to Rebecca Ryan rather than a review of The Next Chapter. Occasionally, a reader needs a particular type of book at a particular moment and so it was with The Next Chapter. I loved it. I had not been able to settle to reading, but Rebecca Ryan’s perfect blend of wit, warmth and wonderful storytelling had me entranced and reignited my love of books and my ability to focus. It also provided me with the most uplifting sense of the possibilities of life in the future. That’s a sensational effect from a book.
The story is smashing, especially being set predominantly on the Isle of Skye where the environment, the hotel and the activities play a vital and engaging part of the story (though I won’t be skydiving any time soon!). There’s a real sense of quest and identity underpinning The Next Chapter with a finely balanced exploration of the search for truth and the deceptions we tell – particularly to ourselves. It is Lily’s development through these themes that makes The Next Chapter incredibly entertaining.
Lily Brown is a triumph of a character. She’s so realistic that her personality thrums with vibrancy. Filled with self-doubt, addicted to lists and the ultimate people pleaser, Lily is highly relatable. I adored how her relationships are displayed across the narrative. Her friendship with Seb provides much of the humour in the novel and he helps the reader discover Lily’s true personality. Her attraction to Noah adds a warmly romantic aspect that is delightful and I was quite in love with Noah myself. But it is when Lily discovers more about Lola that we get a true understanding of the complexities of Lily’s character because Lily’s perceptions about herself and her previous life shift and realign in a kind of literary kaleidoscope. Rebecca Ryan has a highly perceptive insight into humanity that is spot on, so that it’s impossible not to feel you’re on the same journey as her characters. I absolutely adored this aspect of the story.
Even those with more minor roles are realistic and appealing, from the truculent Harper to the indolent Clementine. Every person here adds colour, development and contrast to Lily’s personality. The relatively small cast split between Manchester and Skye makes the writing feel intimate and all the more convincing. Indeed, the whole story has quite a traditional dramatic unity of time (six weeks) and place (Skye) that adds depth and engagement.
It’s quite challenging to convey how much I enjoyed The Next Chapter. It’s definitely fun, emotional, escapist and romantic, and is just perfect for a holiday read, but somehow it manages to be greater than the sum of its parts so that it leaves a surprising mark on the reader. Rebecca Ryan is fast becoming my ‘go to’ author of uplifting, engaging and thoroughly entertaining stories. don’t miss The Next Chapter. It’s an absolute cracker!
About Rebecca Ryan
Rebecca Ryan is the author of My (extra)Ordinary Life, The Philosophy of Love and The Next Chapter, although she can’t quite believe that she’s written three whole books. She left a career in teaching to pursue writing full time, and now mostly spends her days making up stories, replying to emails from her children’s school, or killing off brain cells watching reels on Instagram. Rebecca lives in Bradford with her three children, no small number of notebooks and an expansive collection of scatter cushions. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
For further information, follow Rebecca on Twitter @WriteBecsWrite, find her on Instagram or visit her website.
English (US) · 