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Reading Loved One by Aisha Muharrar is like drinking a tall, ice-cold glass of lemonade on your front porch, during a sizzling hot summer day . . . cool, tangy, and utterly refreshing.

The point of view alone is uniquely refreshing. Julia is a self-described “only”. For those of you who don’t know, an “only” is someone who is the “only” Black student in a white suburban class or sports team. She spoke fondly of the special bond between other “onlies” that she met along the way. But the biggest bond she ever had wasn’t with another “only”. It was with a wonderfully talented indie musician named Gabe. Their relationship could be described as once-in-a-while lovers, but above all, friends to the end.

Unfortunately, the end of Gabe came way too soon. At the age of 29, he died unexpectedly. His death crushed every aspect of Julia’s being, and sent her spiraling off on a journey of self-discovery. She went on a quest to discover all of Gabe’s lost possessions, which he sprinkled around between Los Angeles and London due to a lack of permanent residence. This was by choice, as Gabe lived life on the fly. Julia’s journey led her to a woman named Elizabeth, who was Gabe’s latest girlfriend. She became her biggest stumbling block, withholding Gabe’s beloved guitar, which was his most prized possession.

Will Julia acquire all of Gabe’s personal treasures, and find the closure she has been searching for? Travel with Julia through her wide range of emotions from heart-breaking sadness, to deep-seated anger, to uncanny frustration, and, hopefully, to peace and acceptance.
Brilliantly crafted with ironic humor, unforgettable events, charismatic voice, and iconic characters, this is a book you won’t want to miss!

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review will be posted in Goodreads, Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, and Barnes and Noble on July 31, 2025. It will be added to Amazon on August 12, 2025. The links have been added to the NetGalley format.

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Loved Ones is an emotionally smart and heartfelt debut that dives into grief, love, and the versions of people we carry with us. After Gabe—Julia’s first love and longtime best friend—dies suddenly, she sets off on a deeply personal mission to reclaim the pieces of him scattered among those he left behind. What follows is part road trip, part emotional unraveling, as Julia confronts old memories, new truths, and an unexpected connection with Gabe’s ex.

I loved the dual timeline structure, the honest and sometimes messy portrayal of grief, and the humor that quietly balanced the heavier moments. Muharrar writes with clarity and warmth, and Julia’s voice—frustrated, funny, and deeply human—makes the story shine. This is a thoughtful, engaging read about closure, perspective, and the complicated people we love.

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When Julia’s first love and longtime best friend Gabe, a beloved musician with a devoted following, dies suddenly at twenty-nine, she throws herself into this emotional worldwide mission to collect all the bits and pieces he left with people everywhere. Along the way, she runs into Elizabeth, Gabe’s ridiculously cool and intimidating ex, and suddenly Julia can’t stop obsessing over her....she’s googling her, replaying every conversation in her head, all of it. As these two women try to untangle who Gabe really was to each of them, they’re forced to figure out if they can get past the rivalry and maybe even become friends.

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Loved One pulled me in from the very first page. I’m not surprised, since this author has been involved with some of my all-time favorite TV shows. The story follows Julia as she mourns the loss of her first love turned best friend, Gabe, a famous musician who passes away unexpectedly. Her grief sparks a journey to recover some of his missing possessions with the help of someone unexpected: his most recent ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth.

I really enjoyed the friendship that forms between Julia and Elizabeth. Watching them support each other through loss and healing in such surprising ways was a highlight. I also especially loved the flashbacks that showed how Julia and Gabe rebuilt their bond after breaking up as teens.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I'm certain that LOVED ONE will be one of my top reads of the year.

After her good friend's--best friend's?--funeral, Julia is determined to get his prized possession back for both his mother and herself. He was her first love, after all.

The story is told in dual timeline, where we learn the history behind Gabe and Julia's constant yet complex relationship and everything that happened up until his unexpected and tragic death, including the secrets they were hiding from each other and their friends and family. In the present, we follow Julia as she tracks down Gabe's ex-girlfriend in London, who has some secrets of her own.

LOVED ONES is in tune with the grief we feel at the death of someone close to us, but takes us on Julia's emotional journey with both humor and wit. I loved Julia's character and related to many of the decisions she made in her quest for closure.

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I really enjoyed Loved One. The story explores grief in a thoughtful and relatable way. I especially loved the parts involving songwriting—it added a unique, emotional layer to the characters and made Gabe’s presence feel very real throughout.

I also really liked the dynamic between Julia and Elizabeth throughout the novel. Their relationship developed slowly and naturally, with some awkwardness and a lot of unspoken emotion. The trips to London and Barcelona added a nice sense of movement and change without feeling like the story was trying too hard to be “quirky” or romantic.

While the pacing lags in places and some secondary characters feel underdeveloped, the novel’s core is moving and thoughtfully drawn. A reflective read for those drawn to stories of mourning, healing, and the echoes we carry of those we’ve loved.

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emotional and beautiful. i found this book a little slow to start but once it finds its rhythm, the characters all become so vivid and perfectly imperfect and i spent much of the end wishing that the death centering the novel could somehow be undone. there were some beautiful ways place was used- london, barcelona, and death valley all felt like they really matched the kind of love stories being told- barcelona for that wild youth, london to see what it would be like to have a grounded adult love, and death valley to get away from the world together.

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Oooh the gen z girlies are going to eat this one up. Messy grief, first loves, unexpected healing, self discovery some mystery, so much to love here.

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I was so taken and delightfully surprised by this beautiful novel; a hard look at grief, what-ifs, and undefined relationships. Aisha Muharrar has written on some of my favorite TV shows and this book really shows why she's so good at dialogue, character relationships, and humorous musings.

Julia has recently lost her best friend Gabe, a famous musician who dies suddenly at 29, shortly after their relationship has morphed into something more and she is left with more questions than answers as she begins to piece together his final month, and track down personal belongings of his that are important to his mother. It's a bit of a wild goose chase, from LA to London, but that's what made the book so fun even with the backdrop of intense mourning. As we learn more about Julia and Gabe's history, and as Julia reckons with his most recent ex-girlfriend Elizabeth (one of the best fictional characters I've come across recently, and not always in good ways), the story unfolds in beautiful and surprising ways which left me very moved.

This book is so fresh and contemporary. I wish I could have listened to Gabe's music as I was reading, and it was fun to try to picture who he was (and who he might be in our world). Muharrar deftly weaves in the challenge of the Internet into Julia's relationship with a famous person, and her own sleuthing, which was unique and fun as well. I just really enjoyed this book and I think it's gonna be a huge debut in August.

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i so desperately wanted to love this book, but i just couldn’t. it’s simply not my cup of tea. this is definitely someone else’s 5 stars, but not mine.

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I enjoyed every moment of this novel. Although it deals with sad subject matter, the death of a friend, the story of the narrator and friend's relationship is lovely and the characters are full of depth. The way the author weaved the "before" and "after" timelines together worked perfectly.

I thought the way grief was handled was very good - the ending made me cry! - and I think the differences in the way the characters handled it was realistic.

All together, this is a well-written, lovely book and I hope a lot of people read it. I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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This is a well executed portrait of love and loss. The description of young love is particularly poignant, as is the protagonist's grief. This novel also has an authentic millennial vibe that will appeal to many readers.

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Julia met Gabe while studying in Barcelona the summer before college and fell in love, but she never knew how he felt before he broke up with her. When they meet again years later, they become good friends who may have become more when Gabe dies suddenly. Loved One by Aisha Muharrar is a deep dive into grief, love, and friendship as Julia embarks on a journey to hunt down some of Gabe’s possessions and uncover the truth about their relationship. Muharrar manages the sadness with a lot of humor, and Julia is a character you’ll want to hang out with. Loved Ones is a good choice for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction by authors like Lily King and Alison Espach.

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Gabe is a young, indie music darling who dies unexpectedly right before turning 30. This story follows Julia, his close friend/first real love, as she travels to London to retrieve sentimental belongings from his ex-girlfriend, and the unlikely friendship these women form over their shared loss. A slow moving character study about navigating grief and nostalgia, the ultimate “right person, wrong time” novel.

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I wanted to read Loved One, because Aisha Muharrar was a writer on Parks and Rec and The Good Place - two of my favorite shows.

Julia’s first love and good friend Gabe, a musician with a small following, dies suddenly at age 29.

The book jumps back and forth between present day and the past. In the present, Julia is looking for some of Gabe’s possessions for his mom Leora, as well as processing her grief. She travels to London and spends time with Elizabeth, Gabe’s most recent ex. In the past, Julia shares stories of her friendship with Gabe.

I found myself growing increasingly bored as the story went on. Not much happens, as it’s mostly a tale of friendship and grief. There are some overly dramatic moments as well as some whining. Others may enjoy this book, but it wasn’t my cup of tea, as I need more plot to stay interested. It might be an age difference thing too, as this seemed much more of a millennial or Gen Z book. I’m giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️ because it was well written.

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“Loved One” is the story of two women who both loved cult favorite musician Gabe and their attempts to reconcile their feelings for him after his abrupt death.

Julia, a LA jewelry designer, was his first love and his best friend. Elizabeth, a chic Brit, was his last long term girlfriend. After his death they have to come together to find some of his missing belongings and return them to his mother, helping her to gain closure in Gabe’s death.

Yes, there are plot threads that run throughout, but it’s mostly a character study, a nice little portrait of parts of London, and an exploration of art and artists. This is a great read for fans of lighter literary fiction. Or fiction that lies somewhere between literary and contemporary.

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A beautiful story of love and loss and what comes after. Well-written and heartfelt, very moving. It was hard to read at times because of the pain but a good book.

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I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I thought this was a beautiful and heartfelt story that shows what happens after someone’s gone. It showed the strain on relationships of those left behind and how they can connect with each other. I loved the relationship between Elizabeth and Julia and how it evolved. I was so eager to find out the answers to the questions they had in Gabe’s absence. So well written and beautiful.

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A novel about love and friendship and the sometimes-tricky boundaries that surround (or seep into) relationships. It's also a novel about grief and coming to terms with what was, what could have been, and what will never be. The prose is equal parts witty, smart, and deeply moving. Thanks for the opportunity to read this one.

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I was drawn in to this story by the premise- two women whose only connection is their (separate) relationships with a deceased man. I don't know if it was the constant change in time/ all of the flashbacks or the writing but I just didn't connect with these characters like I thought I would. It all felt much more fleeting than meaningful.

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