A young woman's intellectual blossoming sets the tone for Lily King's Heart the Lover, an enchanting story about the pursuit of love and the exquisite, bittersweet regret of paths not taken. Taking stock of the relationships that shaped her life, a famous writer returns to her senior year of college and to the one great love that got away.
The first part of Heart the Lover is an entertaining romp of a college drama. Uninspired by her classes, the narrator is practically sleep-walking toward graduation, until she meets two exceptional scholars, Sam and Yash, who ignite her creative ambitions and sharpen her understanding of her potential. What was only "paltry dabbling" before she met them transforms into a mission to complete an honors thesis in creative writing. They take to calling her "Jordan," and it isn't until the end of the novel we learn the narrator's true name, one fans of King's Writers & Lovers will happily recognize.
Jordan's awareness that she is "unbearably naïve" is offset by her nonchalant sense of humor and sharp eye for irony. Although Jordan starts dating Sam, it's charismatic Yash with whom she develops an undeniable connection and whose magnetic pull she can't resist. It makes for a crowded threesome, with one person at the loneliest corner of their triangle at any given time.
King (Euphoria) is not one for dramatic plot flourishes; instead she calibrates Jordan's story with superbly timed, understated revelations and dazzling dialogue that will keep readers riveted. There may not be second chances exactly, but King allows for Sam, Yash, and Jordan's destinies to collide spectacularly far into the future. --Shahina Piyarali