Millie Bobby Brown opened up about her fiancé and her draw to romance novels while on a book tour for her debut novel Nineteen Steps, a historical fiction about longing and loss in Britain during World War II.
During a talk at Symphony Space in New York City attended by Decider, the Stranger Things actress denied rumors that her partner Jake Bongiovi – Jon Bon Jovi’s son – inspired the romantic interest in her novel.
“Everybody thinks that the American love story, or the soldier, was based on my fiancé. And as much as when I read it now, I can’t imagine anyone else, it is not based on him,” Brown told moderator Samantha Barry from Glamour Magazine when asked if the novel’s love story parallels her own life.
The actor continued, “I was developing and conceptualizing this far beyond meeting Jake.”
Brown announced her engagement to Bongiovi on April 11, 2023, with a sweet Instagram post showcasing her ring. “I’ve loved you three summers now, honey, I want ’em all,” she wrote in the caption.
The Enola Holmes star went on to say that the romance in her novel is “an important thing” and adds an enticing love triangle to the gritty tale. “You have this handsome dashing American that comes in, and then you just have this East End best friend. And you’re like, ‘Which one do we choose?’ Throughout the book, you go on that journey of not knowing which one you want to choose.”
The actor also shared that she felt it was important for the book to balance themes of tragedy and romance, saying the latter is her favorite genre. “I love love stories. I love romance, I love romance books. It’s probably the book genre that I gravitate toward the most.”
Brown said, “Love is universal. It’s a universal feeling that everyone feels. When you read this book, you see it and you feel it – you feel what they’re feeling.”
Nineteen Steps was released on September 12, 2023 by William Morrow and Company, an imprint of HarperCollins. The synopsis reads, “It’s 1942, and London remains under constant threat of enemy attack as the Second World War rages on. In the Bethnal Green neighborhood, Nellie Morris counts every day lucky that she emerges from the underground shelters unharmed, her loving family still surrounding her.”
The novel was inspired by Brown’s late grandmother, Nanny Ruth.