I was excited to read Heart the Lover but unfortunately this one didn’t work for me, and I ended up setting it aside at 53%. The characters felt flat and one-dimensional, and I struggled with the writing style, which leaned more toward telling rather than showing. Interactions between characters often came across as cheesy, and at times the tone felt more childish than I expected.

While the premise had potential, the execution fell short for me. I’m sure some readers will connect with the story’s style, but it ultimately wasn’t a good fit for me.

The writing in this book is beautiful. King is magical with words, they flow smoothly and clearly. I was hooked on her words, but unfortunately the story itself fell short for me. I found the characters to be blah. The just seemed whiny and one dimensional at times, which at times made it difficult to read the book. The male characters were not always kind and the story often felt very pretentious. I found that at times the book was incredibly realistic, but other times it felt very forced and flat. I think the inconsistency in the storyline made it a bit of a challenge for me to become fully invested, making it hard to truly love this book. The descriptive and emotional writing kept me engaged in the story. Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

My favorite book of the year so far. I can’t wait to sing its praises to readers when it’s published!

guys, are we even reading the same book??? this is my first time reading lily king's book and—ugh. if you’re looking for a book with beautiful prose and words that touch, then don't. DO NOT. this book IS NOT for you.

the narration in this book is so simple that it actually feels kinda annoying to me. jordan, for some reason, is also annoying and not likeable (eye rolls). this book reminds me of normal people by sally rooney, and yeah, both of them get 2 stars from me. too bad, i didn't enjoy this book like i hoped to. nice cover tho.

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 (PUB 09.30) will absolutely have a spot in my 2025 Standouts & Shoutouts list at the end of the year. I adored it from the very first line -𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘐’𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺.

This companion novel to King's 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 is stunning. You can absolutely read this as a stand alone. However,if you read and loved W&L like I did, this will provide an extra layer.

This book is beautifully written and emotional. The character development was stunning. I was so invested. ⁣This story left me with tears streaming down my face and a hole in my heart. Breathtaking.

loved everything about this except the last sentence. (you'll see). heartwarming and heartbreaking story that was unpredictable and sweet. wished there were a bit more character development in the later sections of her adult life but overall it was excellent.

I don’t know if I’ll remember much about this book in a few days, but I enjoyed reading it, lol. Not the most memorable story or characters but it did feel realistic.

I enjoyed this book, and it made me want to read more by Lily King. The reading experience was fast-paced and absorbing even though the book was more character than plot driven, I would say. Aside from being a story about coming of age, love and family, it felt like a love letter to literature and a meditation on the canon, literary structure and feminism in academia. Overall it gave me nostalgic feelings for my college years and afterwards I felt like I wanted to reread it through a postcolonial & feminist lens given the very patriarchal 1980s college setting and her relationships with Yash and Sam.

A super beautiful and emotional story about love and emotional survival. Relationships are made and how to continue these connections as life changes. I was completely immersed in the story. Amazing character development, I enjoyed getting to know everyone here. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This was the second book I read from this author and one thing I really like about Lily King's writing is that her characters feel/read so realistic that is virtually impossible not to empathise with them or feel relatable. They are so raw and flawed, the characters and the plots.
This book was no exception. King can do a lot with not-so-many pages.
And I gotta say, I got a little surprised with this one. By the synopsis I was expecting more romance than drama, and boy...there's a LOT of drama here.
Not silly or petty teenage drama. Real drama, in real situations that any of us could have gone through during our university days.
If you've read a book by this author before and enjoyed it, consider picking thins one up.
Thanks for NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with an eARC.

Thank you to Grove Press and NetGalley for an advance readers copy of this book.

Lily King is an excellent writer, and this is a compelling book. It has a somewhat obscure start, in its title and prologue. Both become more clear as the story unfolds, told from the female narrator’s mature point of view, about her college years and early adulthood.

The story revolves around our narrator’s emotional and sexual relationships with two college male friends, Sam and Yash. All three are in the honors English program, but the men don’t meet her until their senior year. Then they enter and transform “Jordan’s” life The Great Gatsby character who symbolizes the “new woman:” independence, modernity, and moral ambiguity. (They also call their dates “Daisies,” again from Great Gatsby.)

The time when the action occurs is unclear, though a mid-book reference to the Polish elections involving the Solidarity Movement places them in the late 80s.

The first part covers their immediate post-college years, the second part occurs 21 years later and introduces Jordan’s husband and sons, and the third, seven years after that. There is success, serious illness, renewed connections and understanding. Questions are raised about the way men use women, layered in with brief descriptions of the characters’ own fathers as well as their contemporary romantic relationships.

This is truly “literary” fiction: there are many references to several syllabi’s-worth of writers, thinkers, and plots, as Jordan, Sam and Yash talk. These are integrated into the story in a natural way, and help frame its messages about time, love, and relationships.

However, perhaps for its very effort at being profound, I found myself feeling distanced from the characters and their plights. The story ultimately felt too studied and self-conscious. – an instructive read rather than an emotionally gripping one.

**Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!!**
This is my second Lily King book. I loved Writers & Lovers and knew that I had to read this one as well. I was immediately captured by the storyline and the characters, I couldn't put this book down. I got so attached to the characters and needed to see where they ended up.
I love Lily King's writing style. This book was able to capture the true components of love, forgiveness, grief, friendship, and betrayal. It shows that life isn't so black and white - multiple feelings can exist at the same time and they do not negate other ones. Yash was such a complex character and I found myself curious about the way he sees situations.
Some things I wish were explored more:
-Jordan's pregnancy with Daisy and how she eventually meets
Silas
-the process of Jordan "getting over" or letting go of Yash and moving forward in her life
-Yash's thought process as he decides to not meet Jordan in New York
-Sam and his family's backstory
-Ivan's sickness
That's just me being curious and attached to the characters though!

Probably 4 1/2 stars. When "Jordan" was a senior in college, she met two best friends, Sam and Yash, and was pulled into their lives. The story follows their lives together, including the way they finish their colleges careers, their early adulthood, and a love triangle, along with some tragedies along the way. Something about the author's writing caught my attention; it's not that I had the same college experience as the characters, but there was something about their lives that felt familiar and nostalgic. What could have been strictly a romance story was more than that - a story about the deep relationships we often find as young adults and the way those relationships change and mature over time. Many thanks to NetGalley, Grove Press, and Ms. King for the ARC of this title

Lily King's Heart the Lover is a poignant and introspective exploration of love, friendship, and the complexities of human connection. Set against the backdrop of a college love triangle, the novel delves into the lives of Jordan, Sam, and Yash, capturing the intensity and turbulence of their relationships. The narrative weaves between their youthful experiences and the repercussions that echo into their adult lives, highlighting the lasting impact of first love and the choices that define us.

I've read everything Lily King has written, and am always impressed with the range of her work and the emotion she evokes in her storytelling. Heart the Lover is no exception. I was really moved by this book. It captured the uneasy feeling of being young and figuring out friendship, and love, and what you want to do with your life. The relationships depicted were both captivating and heartbreaking, and though I found myself mentally screaming at characters for some of the decisions they make, I could see why it seemed like the only thing they could do at the time. The book was beautifully constructed in terms of time frames, and the disjunctures and through lines all made sense. To put it simply I heart Heart the Lover.

I loved this. TL;DR: my heart broke and healed at the same time.

This was my first Lily King novel, and it certainly won’t be my last. Her writing is so “accessible”. And by that, I mean that it feels familiar and relatable and personal.

I was so drawn into the story and all the characters’ lives. I thought about these characters in the moments between reading about them. I felt hooked on what was going to happen the entire time. This book was more focused on character study, and I think that’s exactly what I loved about it.

My heart ached. It still does. The relationship between the characters felt achingly fragile and so vulnerable the entire book. My tears were streaming, that’s for sure, but it was a book I’m so glad to have read.

Thank you to Lily, NetGalley, and Grove Atlantic for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

If you loved Good Material (or any Dolly Alderton novel), Normal People, or Deep Cuts, you’re going to love this one! Get the tissues ready.

Lily King can have my body and my soul because I think she already owns me. I had read Writers and Lovers a month before I read this one and I was so glad when I received this because I just knew I would love it. It is so sad and so freaking beautiful, it felt divine. The name Jordan threw me off a bit at the start but I soon realised it is the same girl I felt so deeply with. We get Casey's past and her future, and both of it is filled with love, heartbreak, relationships, regret, loss and all the feelings in the world. The way King writes is gorgeous, I felt like a shadow following our lead around. I love love love this book.

I have the most difficult time reviewing the books I love, and I am not sure I can do Heart the Lover justice. It centers on college students Sam, Yash and our narrator who is nicknamed Jordan. I really do not want to say much more-- just read this book. I loved it so much! King's writing style is perfection and I really appreciate the emotion and wit conveyed. I could not put this down, and even though my eyes were swollen from sobbing, I wanted to start at the beginning and read it all over again. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars.

I flew through Heart the Lover by Lily King in the most unexpected way. I’m a rather slow reader and easily covered this read in two evenings. That’s a testament to King’s writing. It’s so smooth and even without chapters (it’s broken down into three parts and few sections broken up by days) one thing blended into the next and I was entranced. The protagonist was likable and unique, and King’s attention to detail painted a vivid picture of how she interacted with the world and other characters. I cried, I smiled, I hugged my kobo to my chest.

During the first part, I had the greatest feeling of déjà vu specifically regarding students living in the home of professor while they are away, as was the case here for Yash and Sam residing in Dr. Gastrell’s house. I have no idea why. I can’t pinpoint but I’m curious to see what others may have to say.

A big thank you to Netgalley and Grove Press for the ARC. It was a pure joy.

Heart the Lover is the saddest "coming of age" story that I have read in a long time. The narrator meets a couple of guys in college and develops a different kind of relationship with both of them. In this story, we learn about love, and loss. A lot of loss. The story is well written, and quite compelling, but I didn't find it uplifting at all - even the ending. I don't think I can recommend this one to my peers.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Heart the Lover.