Gunk

**Selected as a 2025 book to look out for by the Guardian, Sunday Times, Irish Times, independent.co.uk, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Service95** An immersive story about love and the softening borders around what family can be Sheena Patel An intimate and tender exploration of love's possibilities Sophie Mackintosh A nuanced exploration of friendship, queerness and love Jessica Andrews I loved this Nicola Dinan A beautifully constructed and perfectly written novel Jessica Stanley From the award-winning author of the smash hit Send Nudes: an electrifying debut exploring love and desire, chaos and control and family in all its forms _____________________________ Jules has been divorced from her ex-husband Leon for five years, but she still works alongside him at Gunk, the grotty student nightclub he owns in central Brighton. She spends her nights serving shots and watching, from behind the bar, as Leon flirts with students on the dancefloor. In the early hours of the morning, she paces home to sleep. But then Leon hires nineteen-year-old Nim to work the bar with Jules Nim, with her shaved head and steady pour, her disarming sweetness and sudden distance and Jules finds herself jolted awake. When Nim discovers shes pregnant, Jules agrees to help. As the months pass, and the relationship between the two women grows increasingly intimate and perplexing, it emerges that Nim has her own unexpected gifts to give. Now, alone in her small flat, Jules is holding a baby, just twenty-four-hours old, who still smells of Nim. But no one knows where Nim is, or if she's coming back. What could the future for Jules, Nim, and this unnamed baby possibly look like? Raw, exhilarating, tender and wise, Gunk is an electrifying debut novel exploring love and desire, safety and destruction, chaos and control and family in all its forms. Praise for Saba Sams 'Sams is the real deal' LUCY KIRKWOOD, GUARDIAN 'A bold new talent' STYLIST 'I can't wait to see what she writes next' PANDORA SYKES