Heart the Lover Audiobook By Lily King cover art

Heart the Lover

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Heart the Lover

By: Lily King
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
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From the New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers comes a magnificent and intimate new novel of desire, friendship, and the lasting impact of first love.

You knew I’d write a book about you someday.

Our narrator understands good love stories—their secrets and subtext, their highs and free falls. But her greatest love story, the one she lived, never followed the simple rules.

In the fall of her senior year of college, she meets two star students from her 17th-century lit class: Sam and Yash. Best friends living in the elegant house of a professor on sabbatical, the boys invite her into their intoxicating world of academic fervor, rapid-fire banter, and raucous card games. They nickname her Jordan, and she quickly discovers the pleasures of friendship and her own intellectual ambition. But youthful passion is unpredictable, and soon she finds herself at the center of a charged and intricate triangle. As graduation comes and goes, choices made will alter these three lives forever.

Decades later, the vulnerable days of Jordan’s youth seem comfortably behind her. But when a surprise visit and unexpected news brings the past crashing into the present, she returns to a world she left behind and must confront the decisions and deceptions of her younger self.

Written with superb wit and emotional sensitivity fans and critics of Lily King have come to adore, Heart the Lover is a deeply moving love story that celebrates literature, forgiveness, and the transformative bonds that shape our lives. Wise, unforgettable, and with a delightful connective thread to Writers & Lovers, this is King at her very best, affirming her as a masterful chronicler of the human experience and one of the finest novelists at work today.

Accolades & Awards

Most Popular
Coming of Age Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Heartfelt Tearjerking Middle East Game

Critic reviews

"This bittersweet, immersive audiobook unites King with Rebecca Lowman, one of our finest narrative voices. Lowman is at her shape-shifting best as she matches her tone, pace, and timing to each character. The protagonist, who begins the novel in her final days at college, becomes an author. Called “Jordan” by her two brilliant friends, Sam and Yash, she reveals the story of a unique love triangle and then flashes forward to her life decades later as a teacher’s wife, mother of two boys, and successful novelist. The plot takes a doubly dark turn when one of her sons is stricken with a brain tumor and Yash, the bygone love of her life, is diagnosed with cancer. The story’s message, young love persists, keeps the listener engrossed."
Beautiful Storytelling • Emotional Depth • Excellent Narration • Captivating Plot • Authentic Relationships

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This one will keep you hooked til the end. Breaks your heart but gives you hope many times throughout. Don't miss this one.

Story telling at it's best

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This book immediately grabs you with a story that is so relevant and relatable. It is such a powerful story.

The poignant message of life

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This book reminded me of my college years, although I was certainly not as scholarly (and neither were my friends) as this character.

Unexpectedly moving

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The Review: 4.5
Lily King is an exceptional writer – full stop. She pays homage to the human experience with precise yet poetic language and breathes life into her characters with raw emotion and honesty. This could have been the story of a typical love triangle, but instead it deep-dives into the hearts and minds of the characters. Love, loss, friendship, and time – all assessed and reassessed in this intimate novel that will pull at your heartstrings. It would have been a five star for me, but I had a few unanswered questions at the end of the novel that hindered a full sense of closure. That being said, this was my first Lily King novel, and it will most certainly not be my last. Heart the Lover will stay with me for some time.

Outstanding writing. Poetic yet precise.

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The most beautiful book of 2025. Listen, read right away. I don’t need to add these last required words.

Pround Love

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