Wants and Needs
Published on 29. January 2026
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-0-241-63275-8 (ISBN)
Description
FROM THE AUTHOR OF AS YOUNG AS THIS
'So wryly funny ... Roxy Dunn writes so smoothly about the limitations - and liberations - of adult love with such delicacy and honesty' CLAIRE DAVERLEY, author of Talking at Night
'A thoroughly amusing coming of age (in your thirties) novel written with wit, honesty and tenderness' CLAIRE POWELL, author of At the Table
Independence seems to be drifting away from Misty. Just months ago, she was living with her fiance and planning their life together. Now she's single, back in her childhood bedroom, on crutches from knee surgery, and relying on her mother to help her with the smallest of tasks. This isn't how thirty-two was meant to look.
When Misty turns to dating apps, she's she's immediately intrigued by charismatic, handsome Christopher - so intrigued that she doesn't doesn't even notice the acronym 'ENM' on his profile. By the time she discovers that it stands for 'ethical non-monogamy' - and that he's in a long-term open relationship - she already feels such undeniable, dizzying chemistry that she decides to give things a go.
And so Misty makes a pact with herself to date Christopher for the next six weeks while his partner is away. It's all part of her plan: she wants to learn to become less attached, and to prepare herself for her next 'real' relationship. But is what she wants really what she needs?
'So enjoyable ... The writing is just so good and moreish. I loved it' Catherine Airey, author of Confessions
'Roxy Dunn is oh so good on love ... Wants and Needs is witty, warm and seriously sexy' Chloe Ashby, author of Wet Paint
'So wryly funny ... Roxy Dunn writes so smoothly about the limitations - and liberations - of adult love with such delicacy and honesty' CLAIRE DAVERLEY, author of Talking at Night
'A thoroughly amusing coming of age (in your thirties) novel written with wit, honesty and tenderness' CLAIRE POWELL, author of At the Table
Independence seems to be drifting away from Misty. Just months ago, she was living with her fiance and planning their life together. Now she's single, back in her childhood bedroom, on crutches from knee surgery, and relying on her mother to help her with the smallest of tasks. This isn't how thirty-two was meant to look.
When Misty turns to dating apps, she's she's immediately intrigued by charismatic, handsome Christopher - so intrigued that she doesn't doesn't even notice the acronym 'ENM' on his profile. By the time she discovers that it stands for 'ethical non-monogamy' - and that he's in a long-term open relationship - she already feels such undeniable, dizzying chemistry that she decides to give things a go.
And so Misty makes a pact with herself to date Christopher for the next six weeks while his partner is away. It's all part of her plan: she wants to learn to become less attached, and to prepare herself for her next 'real' relationship. But is what she wants really what she needs?
'So enjoyable ... The writing is just so good and moreish. I loved it' Catherine Airey, author of Confessions
'Roxy Dunn is oh so good on love ... Wants and Needs is witty, warm and seriously sexy' Chloe Ashby, author of Wet Paint
Reviews / Votes
Thoughtful, fresh and intelligent (and so wryly funny), Roxy Dunn writes so smoothly about the limitations - and liberations - of adult love with such delicacy and honesty. This is a timely novel about things that are, conversely, timeless - self-worth, desire and the deep questions of the heart * Claire Daverley, author of Talking at Night * Narrated by a refreshingly offbeat heroine, Wants and Needs is a thoroughly amusing coming-of-age (in your thirties) novel written with wit, honesty and tenderness * Claire Powell, author of At The Table * Desperately sad and desperately entertaining ... I just knew I was going to inhale it when I read that first page. So enjoyable and well observed and the writing is just so good and moreish. I loved it * Catherine Airey, author of Confessions * Roxy Dunn is oh so good on love. The big feelings. The thinking (and overthinking). The thrills and the spills. Wants and Needs is witty, warm and seriously sexy. A story about what we desire and deserve * Chloe Ashby, author of Wet Paint * A funny, deeply perceptive novel about desire, commitment, and the drastic (sometimes questionable) measures we'll take to avoid ourselves. Dunn writes with an honesty and intimacy that would be scary if the book wasn't also so much fun * Morgan Dick, author of Favourite Daughter * A tender novel about the pursuit of love ... Dunn writes with a perceptive frankness * Amy Twigg, author of Spoilt Creatures * Addictive, hilarious and moving. I was totally charmed by this sensitively-rendered and emotionally astute portrait of modern love. Roxy Dunn's voice is so fresh, funny and human. I missed Misty the moment I closed the book * Francesca Reece, author of Voyeur *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
418 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-63275-8 (9780241632758)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Roxy Dunn
Wants and Needs
A novel about coming of age in your thirties from the author of As Young As This
E-Book
01/2026
Fig Tree
€12.99
Available for download
Person
Roxy's debut novel, As Young as This (published by Fig Tree, Penguin) was sold at auction and was a Best Book of 2024 in The Independent, Harper's Bazaar, Stylist, Cosmopolitan, and Sunday Times Style. She is also a screenwriter and alumna of the BBC Comedy Room. Her scripts have been optioned by several production companies and her pilot Useless Millennials was commissioned and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Wants and Needs is her second novel.