Reviews

Kind words from readers

What readers, booksellers and reviewers have said about the books.

4.9average from 10 reader ratings

From the press

What reviewers say

A writer of rare patience. Writerly’s essays move like weather: slowly, then all at once.
The Lantern ReviewSoft Things That HurtSample
What Still Lingers is the kind of novel you press into a friend’s hands without explaining why.
Northlight Books QuarterlyWhat Still LingersSample
Twelve stories, each one a held breath. Exact, unshowy, and quietly unforgettable.
Harbor & PineThe Quiet Between LightningSample

From readers

Kind words, in their own words

Show reviews of

10 reviews

5 out of 5 stars
This book didn’t just speak to me—it sat beside me in silence until I was ready to hear it.
Elena PricePoet & archivist of unsent letters
On Soft Things That HurtSample
5 out of 5 stars
Ivy’s writing feels like standing outside just before a storm—tense, beautiful, and full of truth you didn’t ask for but needed.
Jules AinsworthFiction editor and reluctant optimist
On The Quiet Between LightningSample
5 out of 5 stars
I’ve never underlined so much in a book. Every page felt like something I was trying to say but couldn’t quite name.
Maribel QuinnPhotographer and chronic packer of emotional suitcases
On Soft Things That HurtSample
5 out of 5 stars
This is not a self-help book. It’s a mirror. A quiet one, but it doesn’t flinch.
Cass IrvingTherapist, recovering perfectionist
On Soft Things That HurtSample
5 out of 5 stars
Ivy understands what it means to live in the space between choices. This book made me feel less alone in the almosts.
Leigh MercerBookseller and midnight thinker
On What Still LingersSample
5 out of 5 stars
Somehow gentle and devastating at the same time. Like being comforted and called out in the same sentence.
Rowan ElleryEssayist and emotional hoarder
On What Still LingersSample
5 out of 5 stars
I read an early copy in one sitting and then started again from the first page. Her best yet.
Noor HadleyBeta reader
On The Art of Being AlmostSample
5 out of 5 stars
Every ‘almost’ in my own life was in here somewhere. I cried at the chapter about the unsent application.
Theo MarshAdvance reader
On The Art of Being AlmostSample
5 out of 5 stars
Like finding a letter from someone who knew exactly what you needed to hear.
Priya SandReader in Leeds
On Halfway to Whole via GoodreadsSample
4 out of 5 stars
The essay about packing up her grandmother’s kitchen undid me completely.
Marcus BellReader in Toronto
On A Home for All My Leaving via StoryGraphSample

Every review here is shared with the reader’s permission. Read one of the books? I’d love to hear what you thought.