'An assured and clever debut' Kate Kemp, author of The Grapevine
'Warm, witty and deeply romantic' Lauren Bravo, author of Probably Nothing
âHeart-warming, funny and so relatableâ Laura Dockrill, author of I Love You, I Love You, I Love You
***
Sam and Daisy have been best friends since university. Back then Daisy was a wild, Fleetwood Mac-obsessed girl descended from the Yorkshire Moors, while Samâs youth was misspent traipsing around Liverpool on shopping trips and nights out.
But as they lean against each other on a wooden bench in the tired garden of their beloved local pub, gazing out at Samâs wedding, they have no idea that their paths are about to truly diverge for the first time.
As Samâs desire to become a mother consumes her, and Daisyâs inability to resist temptation haunts her, these best of friends will lose sight of themselves â and each other. With each misstep and unintentional betrayal the gulf widens. But can they build a bridge, or will they let it burn?
***
âSpending time with the characters â in their hope, uncertainty and banter â was like being amongst friendsâ Gabrielle Griffiths, author of Greater Sins
âA heartfelt kaleidoscope of female friendshipâ Roxy Dunn, author of As Young as This
âA must-read full of heartâ Stephanie Steel, author of The Train from Platform 2
âA touching, true-to-life story of friendship, the tensions and pressures of your thirties, and proper Northern representationâ Sarah Handyside, author of Instructions for Heartbreak
âSharp and observant, warm and touchingâ Bonnie Burke-Patel, author of Dead as Gold
âWarm, witty and charming, reading That Time Everything Was on Fire feels like gossiping with your best mates in a pub garden and finally feeling the sun on your skin after a long winterâ Marni Appleton, author of I Hope Youâre Happy
âA beautiful ode to the female friendships that carry us through our lives, with all their many complicationsâ Silvia Saunders, author of Homesick
âA heartfelt and timely debutâ Elspeth Wilson, author of These Mortal Bodies
Kerry Downes grew up in East Yorkshire and has spent the last decade in south London, working as an NHS specialist audiologist. Her journey through fertility treatment over the last few years inspired parts of this novel. She lives in Brighton with her husband and two children.