THE NIGHT BUS

Two early-morning London commuters befriend each other over a Virginia Woolf novel.

Daisy Douglas enjoys her commute in the wee hours of the morning, especially when she’s the only one awake to catch breaking news. Daisy works the early shift as a journalist in London, reporting the latest celebrity gossip for Entertainment Now! readers to discover as soon as they wake. The thrill and constancy of her research help distract Daisy from her own personal scandal—the fact that she’s avoiding planning a wedding to a man she’s not sure she wants to marry. But Daisy isn’t the only passenger on the 4 a.m. N73 bus in need of a distraction. For the last three months, she hasn’t been able to help but notice the man two rows in front of her reading the same book over and over again: Orlando by Virginia Woolf. Every few days, Daisy watches him read the final page of Woolf’s novel only to flip right back to the beginning. When their bus breaks down one morning, Daisy gets to know her fellow commuter, Tom. He’s a photographer suffering from a devastating breakup, and he joined the early bus crowd in hopes of feeling less sad and lonely. When Daisy learns the significance of Tom’s weathered book, she offers to use her investigative skills to help Tom win his ex-girlfriend back; in turn, he’ll be her wedding photographer. But the more time Daisy and Tom spend together trying to save their relationships, the more they realize they’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places. Bickers’ second novel is a warm, thoughtful romance between two people on a (literal) journey of self-discovery. Daisy and Tom’s romance feels like their early-morning bus rides, slow and comforting and familiar, as they go from being just friends to something more. Readers seeking a cozy read should look no further.

A tender, gentle romance with a satisfying slow burn.