Book Club Night Kit

The Exes

Leodora Darlington

Cozy night

A warm, wry story about tangled romantic histories and the people we never quite finish knowing, told with enough heart to make a roomful of readers compare notes on their own pasts. It is the rare book that invites confession as much as conversation.

Soup, Shortbread, and Everyone We Used to Date

Come over for tomato soup, a tin of cookies, and a long warm talk about Leodora Darlington's The Exes. Finish the book or don't, wear something with an elastic waist, and bring your own history if you feel like sharing it.

Reading level: Easy

Best for: A club that likes a book with a pulse and a sense of humor, and that does not mind the conversation wandering into their own romantic histories.

Discussion

Warm-up

1.Where did you read most of this one, and did the setting you were in (couch, commute, bath) end up matching the book's mood?
2.Was there a moment early on where you thought, oh good, I am going to enjoy being in this book's company? What was happening on the page?

Digging in

1.This book sits with the idea that an ex never fully leaves your life, they just change shape. Did that land as comforting or uncomfortable for you?
2.Which relationship in the book did you find yourself quietly rooting for, not because it was healthy, but because you understood it?
3.Darlington writes people being petty and people being kind, often within a page of each other. Which of those moments made you feel most forgiving toward the characters?
4.Was there a line or small gesture in here that you wanted to copy out and keep? What about it stuck to you?

Going deep

1.Without giving anything away, did the book leave you feeling softer about your own old relationships, or more certain some doors should stay shut? Share only as much as you want to.
2.By the time you closed the book, who did you feel the most tenderness toward, and had that shifted from where you started? No specifics needed, just the shape of the change.

On the table & to sip

To eat

Build-your-own baked potato bar with sharp cheddar, chives, and sour cream

The exact thing you eat alone after a breakup, upgraded into something you share. Almost no active work and it keeps the room grazing all night.

A tray of buttery shortbread and jam thumbprints

Old-fashioned, slightly sentimental cookies, the kind someone's ex's mother used to make. Easy to prep ahead and set out in a tin.

A pot of tomato soup with grilled cheese cut into triangles

Pure consolation food for a book about people consoling themselves. Simmer the soup earlier in the day and grill the sandwiches as guests arrive.

To sip

Mulled apple cider with cinnamon and orange peel (non-alcoholic) (no alcohol)

Keep it warm on the stove so the whole house smells welcoming before anyone knocks.

Hot toddy bar (whiskey, honey, lemon, hot water)

A drink with a little melancholy built into it, and guests can pour their own strength depending on how the week went.

Red wine, poured generously into mismatched glasses

The unfussy house-pour of every long kitchen-table conversation about someone's past. No tasting notes required.