Brought to you by Penguin.

The big-hearted, grown-up new novel about love and second chances from million-copy international bestselling author Rainbow Rowell

Everybody knows that Cherry's husband is in Hollywood making a movie ... Almost nobody knows that he isn't coming home.

Tom's the creator of Thursday, a comic strip that's become an international phenomenon. It's semi-autobiographical, which unfortunately means there's a character based on Cherry ... "Baby."

Wide-hipped, double-chinned Baby.

Cherry never wanted this. No fat girl wants to see herself caricatured on the page -- let alone the big screen. But there's no getting away from it. Baby looks so much like Cherry, strangers recognize her at the store.

While Tom's in L.A., getting rich and famous and being the Internet's latest boyfriend, Cherry's stuck taking care of the dog he always wanted and the house they were going to raise a family in -- and wondering who she's supposed to be without him.

Until the night Cherry ventures out to see her favourite band play, and someone recognizes her from across the room.

Russ Sutton knew Cherry when she was a young art student with a fondness for pin-up dresses and patent leather heels.

Russ knows Cherry. He likes Cherry.

And best of all ... he's never heard of Thursday.

Told with deep tenderness and shot through with Rowell's signature wit, Cherry Baby is a second-chance romance for grown-ups. For people who understand how rare it is to get even one chance at love, and how impossible -- and impossibly wonderful -- it can feel to make it work.

© Rainbow Rowell 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026