Bitter Melon (pre-order)

Liv Little

Release date: October 22nd 2026

The much-anticipated second novel from Liv Little, founder of gal-dem and a solid Storysmith fave. We loved her first novel, and this one looks set to be a scorcher. Get your pre-orders in!

To collect your copy from the shop on release day, select ‘click and collect’ at the checkout. Otherwise we post anywhere in the UK, or you can contact us for an international shipping quote.

£20.00

Description

The hotly anticipated second novel from Liv Little, founder of gal-dem and author of Rosewater

Jalissa and her dad aren’t close, but when he invites her to Jamaica, his homeland, for the first time, she says yes.

She’s running from heartbreak and a loss of her own; he’s running out of time.

As they travel through sun-drenched towns and navigate tangled family roots, old wounds open and long-held silences begin to break. They’re both trying to outrun something-but along the way, they cross paths with people whose stories shift their own, helping them face the past, reckon with the present and reimagine what comes next.

Bitter Melon is a tender, funny, heart-bruised road trip into memory, mortality and the fierce, fragile love between a daughter and the father she’s still learning to understand.

‘Liv Little pulls you into a world where the characters feel like everyone you’ve ever known, loved and learned. Bitter Melon is deftly written, full of heart and human nature’s complexities.’ Candice Carty-Williams

‘A beautiful, tender story about the relationship between a father and daughter, the meaning of home, and finding your way back to yourself. Little captures Jamaica, forever home to me, so beautifully. Thank you for taking me there.’ Shani Akilah

‘So moving and unguarded and beautiful. I didn’t want to miss a word.’ Lucy Boynton

Additional information

Dimensions 24 × 15.6 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

320

Language

English

Edition

Hardback original

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K