A SHEERLUXE READING LIST PICK FOR 2025

'Fans of Bridget Jones will love Lizzie Frainier's tales from the dating front line' Sunday Times Style

'Lizzie Frainier is admirably frank and deeply likeable. She takes you along for the ride of her love life like a British Carrie Bradshaw' Catherine Gray, Sunday Times bestselling author

From Bridget Jones to Notting Hill ― do romcoms prepare us for the good, the bad and the disconcerting of dating?

Many of us who grew up on a strict diet of romcoms know all about the perfect meet cute that turns into a head-over-heels relationship. So when Lizzie was offered the chance to take part in a The Holiday-style festive house swap for an article, she knew she had to say yes and just do it for the plot - oh, and the trip to New York. In romcoms you always meet your match, your one true love, your soulmate, but in reality things don't always end with a happily ever after. Or at least the one we expected.

From falling for the emotionally unavailable 'cool boy' at school to receiving hideous dating app messages, and succumbing to the magnetic pull of a situationship to riding the incomparable high of an instant connection, Lizzie shares her experiences of the intensity of falling in love, the heartbreak of falling out of it and the friendships that have seen her through it all.

Charting a decade of electric first dates, meaningful encounters and lessons learned along the way, Main Character is an open-hearted celebration of romcoms and to the many ways in which love can show up in our lives.

"This is like the book version of a cake. I ate it fast and it gave me a sugar rush. Each relationship (outlined with forensic, fearless detail) pulled hard on my heartstrings, given I could remember the time I too had been breadcrumbed by a Dylan. Lizzie Frainier is admirably frank and deeply likeable. She takes you along for the ride of her love life like a British Carrie Bradshaw." - Catherine Gray, Sunday Times bestselling author

"A riveting and moving guide to finding love today that will resonate with single women everywhere" - Olivia Petter, author of Millennial Love and Gold Rush

"Lizzie Frainier's Main Character is absolutely overflowing with humour and heart - the type of memoir you'll be pressing into the hands of all your girlfriends, regardless of their relationship status. Balancing intense relatability with stranger-than-fiction anecdotes, it's a brilliant ode to the highs and lows of modern dating, as well as a reminder that we all have the potential to turn our lives into rom-coms (if we're only willing to take a leap and say 'yes!'). Perfect for fans of Everything I Know About Love, Richard Curtis aficionados, and just about anyone who's ever swiped right on a dating app - I adored it" - Genevieve Wheeler, author of Adelaide

"A witty, warm, no-holds-barred memoir with timeless lessons on love and life gleaned from the romcom canon. It was love at first read for Lizzie Frainier's Main Character and I" - Francesca Specter, author of Alonement and host of the Alonement podcast

"Lizzie writes with clarity, vibrance and precision. Main Character has taught me things I didn't know I needed to know" - Ben Aitken, author of Here Comes the Fun

"Fans of Bridget Jones will love Lizzie Frainier's tales from the dating front line" - Sunday Times Style