Heart the Lover

From the New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers comes an achingly beautiful and intimate new novel of desire, friendship, loss, and the lasting impact of first love

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2026AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Touching, thoughtful, a deeply affecting love story about time and regret' DAVID NICHOLLS'Steeped in yearning, melancholy and the reckoning with mortality that must come to us all . . . King's writing still pierces you' The Times'Exploring how first love shapes a lifetime, here is a novel of piercing clarity' Independent'Beautifully written . . . I was hooked from the first page' Daily MailOur narrator understands good love stories - their secrets, their highs and free falls. But her greatest love story, the one she lived, never followed the rules. She was in her senior year of college when star students Sam and Yash swept her into an intoxicating world of academic fervour, rapid-fire banter and raucous card games. Their lives became quickly intertwined - with friendship but also with unpredictable passions and the intimations of first love. Decades later, she is a successful writer, living a comfortable life with her husband and children, when a surprise visit brings the past crashing into the present, forcing her to confront the decisions and deceptions of her youth.