It Might Never Happen

'Thought-provoking and beautifully written' Daily Mail 'Strangely compelling' The Times 'Astonishing. If you like Sally Rooney, read this book' Hattie Williams (Look at these two. They have been sure that their fate is in their own hands – they have been desperate to believe this – and now they are learning it is not. The ending is a pivotal moment in their story.) Noa is desperate to be loved. More than anything else – more than her studies, more than her job, her friends, her family – she wants to belong to someone. And she knows if this can happen, if someone will just choose her, she’ll finally be happy. Elliot is terrified. Terrified about what will happen to his brother, Willy, if he isn’t there to keep him safe. Terrified that his friends will find out that he doesn’t have any of his own opinions. Terrified that the girl he loves will realise he isn’t a real person. When they meet, Noa and Elliot have an immediate connection. And each of them hopes their great love might be enough to quiet the voices that tell them they’re not enough. But is it possible to love another person when you have no idea how to love yourself? It Might Never Happen is a beautiful, painful, brutally relatable novel about the ways that love tears us apart, again and again. About fearing for the worst – and how we pick ourselves up when it happens. Perfect for fans of Talking at Night, Ordinary Love or Milk Teeth. *** 'Intimate and incisive' Woman 'Important and affecting' Charlotte Paradise 'Tender, raw, and painfully relatable' Woman's Own *** Readers love IT MIGHT NEVER HAPPEN 'A moving and beautifully written book' ***** 'This book cracked me open … I'll be thinking about this one for a long time' ***** 'Totally absorbing … One of the best books I've read this year' ***** A book that demands to be read’ Joe Gibson on Everyone I Know is Dying ‘Sharp and witty and so delicately crafted’ Elvin Mensah on Everyone I Know is Dying 'Tender, raw, and painfully relatable' Woman's Own *** Readers love IT MIGHT NEVER HAPPEN 'A moving and beautifully written book' ***** 'This book cracked me open … I'll be thinking about this one for a long time' ***** 'Totally absorbing … One of the best books I've read this year' ***** Emily Slapper's latest work, It Might Never Happen, is a compelling exploration of life's multiple timelines. This top fiction piece, centred around the coming of age and friendship of Noa and Elliot, is a narrative that will captivate readers. For fans of Dolly Alderton (Good Material), Ann Napolitano (Hello Beautiful), Liz Nugent (Unravelling Oliver), Rufi Thorpe (Margo's Got Money Troubles), and Sally Rooney (Beautiful World, Where Are You). HarperCollins 2025