Heart the Lover

Heart the Lover received a lot of praise since it was published and as a person who occasionally has bookish FOMO, I bought a digital copy to see what the fuss was about.

What was the fuss about? I honestly want to know. 

For me, this was a very drawn out story about selfish characters, bad decisions and toxic relationships. Sure, there's some poignant moments thrown in, but that didn't make up for the romanticization of unhealthy relationships superceding healthy ones and the selfishness and immaturity of a trio of adults. 

This was a long, hard slog for me. I didn't like the characters, the chapters were eleventy-hundred pages long and it felt like the story was desperate to be poignant, like the emotional moments were added as plot devices just so they could be ticked off a list. The two guys were toxic, selfish arses and the FMC made ridiculous decisions, putting her home life on hold for a guy who treated her like crap and ghosted her years. C'est l'amour? Nope.

I appreciated the complicated relationships that were addressed, but this book had a pretentious vibe and it dragged for me. I probably should have DNF'd it but after its rave reviews, I thought I was just on the cusp of this book pulling me in. Sadly, that never happened and I'll admit I'm salty that I bought this book that I'll never read again, and its sad fate will be to languish on my Kindle for all time. 

My Rating: 2 stars

Author: Lily King

Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

Type and Source: ebook, personal copy

Publisher: Canongate Books

First Published: Oct 16, 2025

Read: Oct 7-10, 2026

Book Description from GoodReads: Our 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.