Bonding  reads like a 19-century novel of manners for the modern dating etiquette, consent and abuse. Mary sets out to change her life, one ill-advised decision at a time.First, she books a spontaneous flight to Ibiza where she meets Tom and eventually she might finally be fallen gin love. 

 Adrift in her early thirties, bisexual Mary embarks on a relationship with Tom, an enigmatic chemist working on a drug to treat depression, the modern epidemic.

But Eurasia also dramatically diminishes sexual restraint. Mary has just accepted a job at Openr, an ethical, innovative dating app with no limits, which aims to promote healthy sexual experimentation alongside empathy and respect, from her dazzling old flame, Lara at a start- But just Mary beings to find release with Tom, she wonders if in future love will simply become a combination of algorithms and chemicals.

Mary introduces Lara and Tom, love and Pharma collide with devastating consequences. As whispers about Eudaxa’s begins to grow, Mary is force to ask whether love is even possible in a society that is falling apart.

Bonding is a modern story of sex and freedom in the messy triangle of our digital age, where social media plays a big part.

Bonding by Mariel Franklin, Picador £16.99