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American Ella Durran has had the same plan for her life since she was thirteen: Study at Oxford. At 24, she’s finally made it to England on a Rhodes Scholarship when she’s offered an unbelievable position in a rising political star’s presidential campaign. With the promise that she’ll work remotely and return to DC at the end of her Oxford year, she’s free to enjoy her Once in a Lifetime Experience. That is, until a smart-mouthed local who is too quick with his tongue and his car ruins her shirt and her first day.
When Ella discovers that her English literature course will be taught by none other than that same local, Jamie Davenport, she thinks for the first time that Oxford might not be all she’s envisioned. But a late-night drink reveals a connection she wasn’t anticipating finding and what begins as a casual fling soon develops into a poignant love story when Ella learns Jamie has a life-changing secret.
Immediately, Ella is faced with a seemingly impossible decision: turn her back on the man she’s falling in love with to follow her political dreams or be there for him during a trial neither are truly prepared for. As the end of her year in Oxford rapidly approaches, Ella must decide if the dreams she’s always wanted are the same ones she’s now yearning for.
Genre: contemporary romance
Publication date: February 2025
Mature content: yes
Review: I absolutely loved this book! Julia Whelan's debut novel is really a delightful and deeply moving story that perfectly captures the magic of a classic romantic comedy while tackling more profound issues - individual growth, personal choices, and what truly matters in life.
I loved Ella and Jamie together - they begin as a casual, finite fling, based on the assumption that their relationship has an expiration date when Ella's year is up, but it's obvious quite soon that their feelings run much deeper. Once you get to that part, My Oxford Year is a page turner, but the true emotional depth of the novel arrives when Ella discovers Jamie is hiding a life-changing secret—he has cancer, which forces Ella to confront the choices she's made, deciding if she will chase the career she's worked for her whole life or stay and support the man who has stolen her heart when he needs her most.
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Once or twice, Ella's choice of words and attitude irked me a bit, especially since I was really rooting for Jamie, but I kind of respect where she was coming from.
Overall, My Oxford Year is a bittersweet and beautifully romantic tale about growth and the importance of loving yourself enough to know that you have the ability to change not only yourself but also those that surround you. The ending is not the end - instead of an happily ever after, we are gifted with a reminder that life is about learning to "live with the questions" once you realize "there are no answers". This is a book that will make you cry, root hard for the characters, and one that will stay with you long after the final pages.
My Oxford Year is actually adapted from a screenplay and, in turn, gave way to a movie with the same name. While the movie follows the same general plot, there are lots of differences between the book and movie characters (Ella in the book is Anna in the movie, for example), and even the end is also different.
You can watch the movie trailer below:
Honestly (and unsurprisingly, in my case), I prefer the book to the movie. There's more depth to the characters, not only the main ones but also the secondary, and the plot and the ending of the book make a lot of more sense to me.
Happy readings!
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