Rosewater

Elsie is 28, living in south London, and by all accounts funny, sexy and fiercely independent. She is also worn out. By day she writes tender poetry in her journal, and by night she works long shifts for minimum wage at a local dive bar. Even sleeping with her magnetic coworker Bea cannot ease her existential dread. She is estranged from her family, keeps being turned down for jobs, and fears she will never earn a living doing what she loves. Still, she is determined to keep the faith a little longer, convinced that things have to turn around.

Then Elsie is suddenly evicted from her social housing, and her shaky footing gives way. With nowhere else to go, she turns to her childhood friend Juliet. Surrounded by Juliet's mismatched cushions and shelves of trinkets, Elsie can breathe for the first time in years. Over reruns of Drag Race and nights smoking on the balcony, something new begins to stir in her heart.

Rosewater is a gritty, bold debut novel about intergenerational love, healing and one woman's journey home, and about finding what you were looking for in the place you already were. It includes poetry by Kai-Isaiah Jamal and is the first novel by Liv Little. It is pitched to readers of Queenie and Such a Fun Age.