Dominoes

By: Phoebe McIntosh

Narrated by: Phoebe McIntosh

Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

They already share a surname.
But will they share a future?

When Layla and Andy first meet, they can't believe they have the same surname. It feels like fate, almost too romantic to be true.

But Sera, Layla's best friend, has her doubts about Andy. As the pair fall deeper and deeper in love, Sera becomes more and more vocal about Layla settling down with a white boy. And then, only a few weeks before their wedding, Layla makes a devastating discovery about their shared name.

What seemed like a fairy-tale romance is rapidly derailed. In part propelled by Sera's rising anger, Layla begins to uncover parts of her history and identity that she had never imagined -- or, perhaps, had simply learnt to ignore. And now, she faces an impossible choice, between past and future, friendship and marriage, the personal and the political.

©2023 Phoebe McIntosh (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A timely and tender story about a young woman caught up in a sweet romance, who finds herself grappling with the idea that love, too, is political to its very core (Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, author of The Centre)

Vulnerable and vibrant, Dominoes is a radiant debut, shining with complexity and compassion for the bonds of family and friendship that give our lives purpose (Rachel Eliza Griffiths, author of Promise)

McIntosh adds depth and nuance to a concept that's fascinated humans for centuries: the eternal search for self and knowing where you come from... she raises important questions about allyship, belonging and intergenerational trauma. The writing is sharp and vulnerable, and Dominoes gripped me until the final page (Georgina Lawton, author of Raceless)