Welcome to Litsy!

My number 2 read of 2025

Such a well written novel that took a turn I wasn't expecting. With a compelling plot and well-developed characters, I read this in one day.

Such a well written novel that took a turn I wasn't expecting. With a compelling plot and well-developed characters, I read this in one day.

What a book to end 2025 with. I am both crying and wanting to open it back up and start over from the beginning. Love and friendship and heartbreak and growing up and holding on and it was just so lovely.

I loved this book way too much considering how it devastated me…

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ok, so halfway through, I thought this was going to be a ‘meh‘ book, and that maybe Lily King‘s a little overrated (this is my first time reading her). But then, I‘m reading the ending, and I‘m blown away by it. I get all the hype now.

A book about love, friendship, and the relationships that mark us for life. King writes so evocatively about the intoxication of first love and how huge and impossible life choices loom when one is young. And then how the consequences of those choices follow you into adulthood. An exquisite novel.

I snatched this from the library after reading all of the praise from other Littens. And well, I loved it. I wished for more. Makes me regret giving my copy of W&L away (wasn‘t in the right headspace for it at the time, might have to revisit). I got Tomorrow x3 vibes a little - except swap video games for books 😂

1-5 Dec 25
I finished this late Friday night and sobbed through the last 50 pages or so. It lived up to the hype. A lovely, nostalgic story of youth, love, friendship and miscommunication. I would love for Polly to read it, as she is just on the cusp of that world.
I will seek out more books by Lily King. I remember little about Euphoria, except that I did enjoy it.

What an incredible story. Even though there were some predictable plot points, that did not detract from the charm of this novel. There is friendship, love, loss, reunion, finality. I did cry just a little in a few spots, but, overall, the story left me feeling comforted. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Like many other Littens, I loved this!

I love how the author sprung surprises throughout - certainly there was a lot I didn‘t see coming. And, yes, I cried at the end.

I can‘t understand how this didn‘t make the ToB longlist. Hopefully, it will be on *some* kind of list - maybe the Women‘s Prize next year?

Loved it! I cried; it‘s rather heart-breaking 💔 LOTS of pie mentions! Strawberry Rhubarb, Pecan, etc. #LitPie

One thing I will need to find a print copy to look up the MC‘s address while in college: was it PI Street? Pie Street?

Library can have it back now. 4.5 ✨ I immediately put Writers & Lovers on hold. #Nov2025 Book106

Bit of a colour theme going on with my library #bookhaul!

3 of them are, of course, from the #ToBlonglist. I actually reserved Seduction Theory around 6 weeks ago and it‘s taken this long to come in - perfect timing!

I fully expected Heart the Lover to be on the longlist too. 🤷‍♀️ I‘ll have to read that one first anyway as it has multiple reservations against it, so I can‘t renew it.

Another winner. I had no idea what this book would be about but it grabbed me from the first page and I couldn‘t let go until I finished it with a deep, deep sigh. Lily King is such a master in writing about love and friendship. Wow.

📸 Nagoya Castle, Japan

It‘s been sometime since a book has made me cry like this one did. Heartbreaking, beware.
Jordan meets two male best friends in college. This starts out with some nice academia vibes. Life moves forward, as it does, and both men have an impact on her life. Loss of love, of friendship, but mostly loss of those important in your life or the threat of it permeates this slim book. I loved it but found it a bit unrealistic at the end, but spoiler.

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5 ⭐️- a tumultuous journey, coming of age. All of the feels of joy and intense grief. Excellent narration. It was very palpable for me and I felt acute pain at times but the story was worth that.

Celebrating Caturday on Monday with Kevin, my knitting and a painful, lovely audiobook.

Thank the goddesses I'd not planned much today.
I picked this up from the library Monday and finished it today. She's so sublimely brilliant at writing from the soul yet no saccharin or twee paragraphs to contend with.
Her use of characters and normal life is wonderful.
Close to tears throughout much of this novel.

Loved it! Nostalgic, romantic, melancholy, heartbreaking and somehow cozy all at once. All the feels and such a vibe. Started in print (lovely) but finished on audio on a long drive and the narrator was perfect. This is such a book lovers book. The reading list I made of stories and books and authors mentioned is endless. King writes so beautifully about ‘writers and lovers‘(pun intended.) I‘ll be thinking of Jordan and Yashi for quite some time.

I‘ve had a huge #bookhaul recently! Many library holds as well as the middle ones I picked up at a deep discount.

The only one I‘ve finished is the King (tagged). I desperately wanted to LOVE it, but the last section‘s emotional manipulation felt fake to me, which was disappointing after such a strong start. I‘m still in a rough recovery so YMMV. Still worth reading though! (It was 4⭐️ instead of 5⭐️.) Personal update ⬇️

This was so so good! Sad and heart breaking at times it‘s a book about life, relationships, challenges, regrets and disappointments. It‘s short and sweet, and heavy and thought provoking all wrapped up in a one or two sitting read. Kinda perfect.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book explores how the choices we make in our youth ripple throughout our lives, steeping readers in a sea of nostalgia, contemplation, and emotion. I thought it was so thought-provoking that the narrator is unnamed; her identity is shaped by the men who assign her names (Daisy, Jordan, Pollyanna, Hink) and view her through those projections. ⬇️

Heart the Lover, by Lily King (2025)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: A college student finds herself caught in the orbit of two charismatic male friends, with lasting impacts on all of their lives.

Review: In the past, Lily King novels have fallen into the ‘liked but didn‘t love‘ category for me. But wow is this something special! This is writerly, insightful, and deeply moving, and it could easily find itself at the top of my books of the year. ⬇️

Picked up my pre-order book (tagged) for September from Riverbend Bookshop. Could not resist John Boyne‘s new book. #preorderbookclub #blameitonlitsy #porchlife

This past Saturday, I attended the Bookmarks Book Festival in Winston Salem, NC. Here is my book haul.

Very excited for a campus novel from Lily King!

Was this sponsored by Kleenex? I stayed up way too late reading this, longer than it should have taken b/c I was sobbing and struggling to see through the tears.
I adore this. Our MC meets 2 boys during college, she dates one who is a challenge, and she falls for the other. But that isn't really the story. I like that we don't know her name, but we know the boys call her Jordan b/c she reminds them of Gatsby's Jordan Baker. 👇

"I'm aware that I had ideas about the future that I hadn't discussed with myself."

^^^^^. I love this ?

May #readingbracket2025

I really loved this book about first love, friendship and loss. Beautifully written and engaging.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.
Pub date: October 7, 2025