Heart the Lover
Heart the Lover is a 2025 novel by Lily King. The novel, King's seventh, follows a campus love triangle that reignites years after the participant's graduation.
Synopsis
Jordan, a professional novelist, reminiscences on a college-era romantic entanglement with Sam and Yash. After being out of contact for years, the three are reunited as a result of a crisis.Development
Publication history
The novel was published in the United States by Grove Press on October 7, 2025. It was published in the United Kingdom by Canongate Books.Reception
The Times published a positive review, noting several references in the book to other love triangles and describing the prose as being "steeped in yearning." John Warner, writing in the Chicago Tribune, praised the pose for being "sincere." Priscilla Gilman expressed a similar sentiment in The Boston Globe, while Ron Charles praised the novel's dialogue and plot.Kirkus Reviews gave the novel a positive review, praising King's characterization and drawing a contrast between the book's campus setting and dark academia novels. Publishers Weekly was more mixed, describing the plot as "clunky melodrama" and arguing that it lacked "the staying power" of King's earlier work. Shelf Awareness and Booklist were both positive, with the former positively comparing the book to King's previous novel Writers & Lovers and the latter praising the plot.