The Short Version
Things We Never Got Over, Lucy Score’s 2022 small-town romance and the first book in the Knockemout series, makes a lively book club pick because it mixes a grumpy-sunshine love story with a found-family plot and a lot of arguable choices. Naomi Witt, a planner who has just walked out of her own wedding, ends up in Knockemout, Virginia, caring for an eleven-year-old niece she never knew about, with the town’s grumpiest man, Knox Morgan, next door.
Below are twenty questions: ten you can use before everyone has finished, and ten that spoil the ending. A short section gives the series and TV adaptation facts. Our review scores the book four out of five, with chemistry and characters at four and a half and pacing at three.
Before You Start: Content Notes For Your Group
This is an open door romance with very explicit sex scenes and constant swearing, including from the eleven-year-old. The book also includes an abusive ex-fiance, child neglect, a parent’s past addiction, a police shooting and, late in the book, a kidnapping at gunpoint with a choking scene. Check that your club is comfortable before you choose it.
Spoiler-Free Questions
- Naomi flees her wedding with daisies still in her hair and drives overnight to help a twin sister who immediately robs her. Why do you think she answered Tina’s call at all?
- Knox first mistakes Naomi for Tina and tries to throw her out of a cafe. How did that opening scene set up the two of them?
- Knox says he does not do strings, then quietly buys Naomi a phone, helps her find a car and shows up at a soccer game. Is showing love by doing enough, or does he owe her words?
- Naomi has spent her life cleaning up after her sister and pleasing everyone. When did you first see her start asking for what she needs?
- Waylay fixes old people’s tablets at the library for ten dollars a job and collects yellow cards for her mouth. What does her tough shell protect?
- Knockemout is full of gossips, bikers, a pink-haired librarian and a grandmother who keeps her curtains shut. Would you move there, and who would you be in that town?
- The book alternates between Naomi’s wordy, anxious voice and Knox’s blunt one. Which narrator did you trust and which did you enjoy more?
- The first real love scene does not arrive until chapter twenty-three. Did the slow burn make the heat feel earned?
- Our review says Knox’s early behavior can read as bullying even though the book calls him out. Where did you land?
- The middle is full of dinners, parties and shopping trips before the suspense plot wakes up. Did the town life charm you or slow you down?
Spoiler Questions (Finish The Book First)
- Naomi tells Knox that Warner hit her the night before the wedding, and that was the real reason she left. How does the book handle that reveal, and why did she hide it?
- Knox’s father, Duke, is at a homeless shelter outside D.C. after spiraling into alcohol, pills and harder drugs. How does Duke explain Knox’s fear of strings?
- Knox breaks up with Naomi at the pizza place and tries to hand her cash. Was that forgivable?
- Tina lured Naomi into a kidnapping by lying that Duncan had taken Waylay, to win a hundred dollar bet. Is Tina a monster, a mess, or both? Does her brave act in the finale redeem her?
- In the bathroom, Tina and Naomi swap clothes, and Naomi uses Knox’s advice, knee, balls, nose. Why does it matter that she saves herself before Knox arrives?
- The flash drive was hidden in the pink heart charm on Waylay’s sneaker, planted since chapter five. Did you guess it?
- The drive held a list of police officers and informants, and Nash was shot only because his name was on it. Does the thriller plot work, or is Duncan more cartoon than villain, as our review suggests?
- Knox proposes in front of the whole town and asks only for daisies in her hair. Did the ending feel earned?
- Tina signs away her parental rights so Naomi becomes Waylay’s guardian for good. What does the book say about who counts as family?
- The title says both leads carry things they never got over. What does each one carry, and who has moved further past it?
The Series And The TV Show
Things We Never Got Over is book one of the Knockemout series, and the next book follows a different couple. The book reportedly spent thirty-two weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. As of October 2026, Prime Video has reportedly ordered a TV series based on it. Several threads are left open on purpose: Duncan Hugo is still on the run, and Lucian Rollins and Sloane, the town librarian, have a history the book only hints at.
What To Read Next
If your group wants more, our series page lists the Knockemout books in order and covers the adaptation news, and our characters guide helps keep the town straight. Start with the spoiler-free review for the honest spice level, and use the ending explained page after your discussion.
