Why we’re excited
Jude owns a bookshop and starts pairing up customers who love the same novel, a sort of matchmaking by reading list. The scheme spreads through her regulars, young and old, and may yet change her own life too.
Pooley wrote The Authenticity Project and Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting, both warm novels about strangers drawn into each other's lives. This standalone looks like more of the same, and it should please book-club readers and anyone who likes stories set among shelves.
On our most-anticipated list since 22 October 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about Friends You Haven’t Met Yet
How to Age Disgracefully is the one Clare Pooley book we have reviewed, at 4 out of 5.
From the publisher
When you're lonely, a good book can feel like a friend. But what if it could connect you with someone in real life?
When bookshop owner Jude sees how a love of the same book can bring people together, she starts using her shop to help people connect. Soon, her book-matchmaking is changing the lives of everyone around her, from young Harper trying to find love, to the elderly ladies who frequent the café.
Before long, perhaps Jude’s own life will be changed in unexpected ways too.
Because the right story might lead you to the right person...
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read Friends You Haven’t Met Yet yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
