A man and a woman with the same name are looking for a fresh start only to discover they have landed the same job in this charming new romance by bestselling author Beth O’Leary.
Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from The Name Game by Beth O’Leary, which releases on April 7th 2026.
Charlie couldn’t be happier to take the job of farm-shop manager on the remote, wild Isle of Ormer. She’s grieving, a little lost, and in desperate need of a fresh start.
Jones has come out of a difficult breakup and is looking forward to some peace away from the noise of his city life. Moving to Ormer couldn’t have come at a better time.
But when Charlie Jones and, ahem, Charlie Jones both turn up at Ormer’s one and only farm shop, claiming to have been offered the role of manager, everyone is baffled. How could this have happened? And just who is the real Charlie Jones?
Life’s simpler here, and it’s beautiful—so much better than it looks online. The towering cliffs, the little moon-shaped sandy bays, the island tracks dappled with tortoiseshell light under the trees . . . It feels as though there’s more light and shade here—more color. It would be the most magical place to raise a child.
However. Raising a child on my own will mean I really need a steady income and somewhere to live, ideally minus large grumpy coworker in walk-in wardrobe. Which means working with Jones to a) turn Bramblebay Farm Shop into sufficiently profitable business to sustain two managers and b) figure out how to get the stables to myself ASAP. Having accommodation as part of the job—with space for a nursery—was a huge part of the appeal, and cannot raise baby with alternative, burlier Charlie Jones occupying (considerably more than) half the space. (He’s a natural manspreader. Even his towels manspread across the bathroom floor.)
Back soon—off to meet our staff! The permanent* staff.
*Apparently “loads of other people help out now and then.” Presumably we pay these people, but nobody has mentioned how this works, or if any records are kept. Note: legalities of this??
Rog: Yes, Rog the tractor driver, postal worker, island gardener. Seems that on the Isle of Ormer, one does not simply do one job. One either does half a job (see: Charlie Joneses) or all the jobs (see: Rog, and everyone else). Apparently he helps out with cleaning and DIY at the shop.
Galoshes: Think her name is actually Sally, but nobody would confirm this. Pink hair, pink glasses, lots of pink. Aged about sixty-five. Works as full-time shop assistant, very morose, said “But that’s not how we do things” three times in initial meeting. Am flagging as potential pain in the arse.
Red: Friendly tour guide from the harbor. Early twenties, at a guess? Part-time shop assistant—helps out at “busy times,” which nobody could define and apparently cannot be planned for. Strikes me as someone who has been through tough times but nonetheless remains resolute in her opinion that humans are great. Current fave.
Toby: Nineteen years old. Full-time shop assistant, sweet, mumbly, with prawn-like posture. Almost invisible behind hair carefully gelled to cover most of his face. It’s a lovely face and I felt an immediate maternal desire to tell him so, but repressed it—inappropriate. Need to have a baby soon or am at risk of aggressively mothering anyone under the age of twenty.
Not a bad bunch. But vibes were weird. Toby not looking at anybody, Galoshes glaring at me a lot, Rog spending half the meeting taking calls about gardening jobs, Jones and I tussling to take charge of the conversation . . . It did not scream “well-honed team.” Am put- ting staff issues top of the farm shop to-do list. Well, maybe not top. Top is probably “Create sign for farm shop so people actually know it’s there.” But then it’s figuring out the issues between all the team members.
Now that I’m thinking about it, there is a lot to put on the farm shop to-do list. Had hoped this job would be idyllic escape, but am starting to feel a bit stressed. What if I can’t do it? What if I get it all wrong, and make the place even worse, and then I lose my job and, worse, everyone here thinks I’m the dickhead who turned up and ruined everything?
I won’t get a second fresh start. Really can’t screw this up.
Excerpted from THE NAME GAME by Beth O’Leary, published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2026
