Heart the Lover by Lily King

Heart the Lover is a new novel from Lily King, the American writer behind Writers & Lovers and Euphoria. It is a love story told looking back, precise and quietly devastating.

In her final year of college, the narrator falls in with two brilliant friends, Sam and Yash: late nights, card games, fast talk, and a first love that does not follow any of the usual rules. Decades later she is a settled writer with a husband and children when a surprise visit brings all of it back, and makes her look again at the choices, and the lies, of that time.

Literary fiction about first love and what it leaves behind, for readers of Writers & Lovers. Shortlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction.

'Lily King writes with a great generosity of spirit.' Ann Patchett

'Touching, thoughtful, a deeply affecting love story about time and regret.' David Nicholls