Something About Her by Clementine Taylor

A heartfelt and delicately crafted debut novel about two young women who become entangled in one another and embark on a surprising journey of self-discovery and modern love.

Aisling and Maya’s connection is unexpected. Maya has recently returned to the University of Edinburgh for her second year, confident in her place there and in her first proper relationship with her childhood best friend, Ethan. Finally, she is one of them, those happy couples, self-satisfied in the knowledge that they are one half of something solid.

Aisling is a first-year student from Ireland, ready to leave her controlling family behind. But despite the distance, she still feels claustrophobic, still feels watched. Reeling from her break-up with her ex-girlfriend, she struggles to make friends and finds herself isolated. That is, until Aisling joins the Poetry Society. That’s where she meets Maya, and everything changes.

Moving between Ireland, Scotland, and London, Something About Her is a story about the fragility and transformative power of first love. With vivid insight and tenderness, it exposes the fear, hope, and longing that can consume us, particularly when there’s so much you still don’t know about love, about life, and about yourself.

Story Locale: Edinburgh, Scotland; Ireland; London

Clementine Taylor grew up in Oxford, England. After completing an undergraduate degree in theology & religious studies and a master’s degree in gender studies, she spent a few years working as a researcher in Cambridge and London. Currently, she lives (back) in Oxford, where she is studying for a doctorate. Something About Her is her debut novel.

Author Residence: Oxford, UK