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This Love
A debut novel spanning ten years of extraordinary friendship, about soulmates, unconventional families, and the limitless, ever-changing forms love can take
When Mae and Ari meet outside a crowded gay bar during their final year of university, their connection is instant, sparking a lifetime friendship. Stubborn and no stranger to breaking hearts, Mae needs Ari's bright light to guide her out of her self-centered ways. Reeling from a scandal in New York, vibrant, charming Ari sees Mae as an anchor keeping him grounded.
Though they are young, ambitious, and queer, both Mae and Ari secretly daydream about settling down somewhere with a garden, children, and dogs, building a life that feels like home. They make a pact: Somehow, some day, they will have a child together.
In the decades that follow, Ari and Mae realize that fulfilling their promise will not be as simple as they once hoped. Navigating toxic partners and hidden secrets, combating the heavy weight of grief, and relishing the spoils of flashy media careers, the two struggle to reconcile their ever-diverging paths. Although nothing goes quite to plan, Ari and Mae—alongside their dearest friends and lovers—come to realize that the messy, devoted, tight-knit family they could build together might be better than anything they could have ever imagined.
When Mae and Ari meet outside a crowded gay bar during their final year of university, their connection is instant, sparking a lifetime friendship. Stubborn and no stranger to breaking hearts, Mae needs Ari's bright light to guide her out of her self-centered ways. Reeling from a scandal in New York, vibrant, charming Ari sees Mae as an anchor keeping him grounded.
Though they are young, ambitious, and queer, both Mae and Ari secretly daydream about settling down somewhere with a garden, children, and dogs, building a life that feels like home. They make a pact: Somehow, some day, they will have a child together.
In the decades that follow, Ari and Mae realize that fulfilling their promise will not be as simple as they once hoped. Navigating toxic partners and hidden secrets, combating the heavy weight of grief, and relishing the spoils of flashy media careers, the two struggle to reconcile their ever-diverging paths. Although nothing goes quite to plan, Ari and Mae—alongside their dearest friends and lovers—come to realize that the messy, devoted, tight-knit family they could build together might be better than anything they could have ever imagined.
434 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 8, 2024
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January 23, 2024
✰ 2.75 stars ✰
“Love, real love, can feel like it comes from the darkest cavern of us. It pulls us below the surface and it lives in that deep, secret place.”
Aristotle is quoted to have said, 'A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friend's existence...makes us more fully conscious of our own existence.' And nothing could have been truer than This Love, a story that follows the lives of two best friends, Mae and Ari as they navigate decades of heady college days, complicated relationships, messy arguments, life-altering decisions, tortured confessions and familial heartbreaks, but always with the beautiful promise that throughout the many challenges, one thing that forever keep them connected is the indomitable perseverance of their friendship. 🫂
“OK, fine, there’s this other side of me that thinks finding a woman to love, having a house with a garden, a kid or two, a whippet called Willow, that’s the real dream. Tragically hetero, I know.’
‘Oh, but she can have it all!’ Ari moved his hands like a dancer. ‘And you will. I can tell. You don’t need to be ashamed about wanting those things.
They don’t belong to straight people; we are entitled to that kind of happiness too.”
Since their first meeting during their college years in 2014, Mae and Ari felt like kindred spirits - they balanced each other's passion and drives in a most fascinating way that made life shine even brighter than when they were apart. 'Being a girl who passed as a boy, and he a boy who could pass as a girl, meant power and freedom to her.' And while that can be a beautiful thing, it can also be a crippling one, when Mae is attracted to girls and Ari does not have any specific preferences. 🥺 With that defining point in their relationship, it slowly sets the groundwork of how it's something that not only at times breaks them apart, but what also keeps them together. And as the years go by, as we learn more about either of them and share in their experiences, we get to see how it's something that plays such a pivotal part for how they treat one another.
I really enjoyed the college years - full of youthful spirit, the vibrant tenacity and the sparkle of not knowing what future awaited them. There is a certain celebration to being queer that resonates so strongly in their story - how they embrace it and allow it to guide them in the decisions they make. 'But can I just enjoy who we are together, without the shadow? Be us for a little while longer?’ 🥹 As we enter their adult years, we get to see how either of them are trying to find their place in the world - to figure out what is the right track for them and where exactly do they fit into it and how they fit into each other's lives. Life has a way of even testing the tightest and best of friendships; it's at those moments, when Mae and Ari truly see how much they mean to each other, what is the worth of their friendship. The heart-breaking and emotional revelations that kept being thrown their way were hard for me to bear and I can only imagine how much it must have hurt either of them. ❤️🩹❤️🩹
The narrative makes constant shifts in time jumps that oftentimes makes it confusing and hard to keep track of what exactly is happening. I understand that it is important to touch upon the people they were before they met, but I had a hard time discerning the importance of future moments that weren't even clearly depicted. 🙍🏻♀️ In an effort to maintain an air of mystery, I suppose, of what exact future awaited them. So, it did keep my interest, for a while. But, then at times the pacing started to drag and I would lose interest and wonder why it is necessary to show this moment or why was it such an insistent need to prolong it. 'That’s what’s so hard to accept – the if only.' But, I suppose, that is the love of life that we experience over the years.
“What we have is different and it’s special, and whoever either of us falls for in life, we won’t ever have with them what you and I have with each other.”
Ari was a difficult character for me - it's not that I didn't like him. It's that I didn't like why the author chose to give him such a tragic, if not, rather stereotypical portrayal. I respect that the author did dedicate it to people who were real-life Ari's so it would be a disservice for me to not acknowledge his struggles. I just didn't like it that he was presented with so many! 😫 So many obstacles, so many traumatic experiences, so much that made him question himself as a queer person and have to shame himself into being something different, simply to survive in a toxic and abusive relationship. It was frustrating and heart-breaking to see how much he was afflicted with and I didn't quite empathize with his growth as a character. It was bad enough that there were some lingering troubles rising up from Mae, I don't think it was so very fair that he never seemed to quite catch a break. And when he did, he would then be backed into another corner. 😥
Mae, however, truly became someone to be reckoned with. Overcoming her insecurities of her youth, she entered adulthood with ambition and a desire to make her presence felt, but never enough to commit to someone on an intimate level - till she did. Though, on a personal note, she endured a lot of heartbreak, her path to success was paved with some tough choices that forced her to examine herself not only as a woman, but as a woman in a competitive business. 🙋🏻♀️ She faced some difficult hurdles, and I appreciated how it was depicted, and how it continued to tie into Ari's life. For Ari was always there - he would always be there, and it is some of her feelings for him that made me like her slightly less sadly.
I do know that in MF friendships, especially one as close as there, it's always hard realizing that they may fall in love with someone else - that they can only ever be platonic. There was never not a clear indication of how strongly they felt for each other - they saw each other in a light, no one else ever would come close to. 🥺 But, the way she expressed her jealousy, how intent she was of clinging to him, and not really allowing him to spread his wings - really left a bad taste in my mouth. 'She had wanted to hold onto his heart. How wrong she’d been. There was space, so much space for this love.' As valid and natural as her honest feelings were, her blatant jealousy of his affections for anyone else wasn't something that resonated well with me. It made me dislike her for the majority of the book, and I didn't quite believe that she ever redeemed herself, in my eyes. 😒
“We’re soulmates, I suppose, that’s always felt the nearest to it.”
The story begins with an excerpt from Friedrich Nietzsche's The Gay Science - '...a kind of continuation of love in which this possessive craving of two people for each other gives way to a new desire and lust for possession – a shared higher thirst for an ideal above them. But who knows such love? Who has experienced it? Its right name is friendship.' Taking that into account, then Lotte Jeffs succeeded in depicting a deeply heartfelt exploration of it. 👍🏻 For while I was frustrated and angered at times by their choices and how their lives converged and eventually ended, it was not without their shared beauty and passion of what it means to love. To find it with someone that lets them create an unbreakable bond that binds them all together, as one. 💌
The characters felt very believable to me - their passions and emotions - expressive. The conflicts that arose were not without their grievances and faults and watching them navigate through them was at times heart-breaking, if not daunting, as well. But, Ari and Mae also experienced the joys of living, too; and even if it was not with each other - a failed chance at shot of what they hoped they could have been - it does not seem fair to dismiss and not appreciate what has been. 😔 That is the journey of life, for some, after all. Even if it's not something you set up to have, it doesn't mean that it wasn't worth the fight or the risk it took to get there. To have the chance to share in something that was entirely theirs - 'they are something new; a creature with a shared heartbeat and many limbs. A family.' 🫶🏻🫶🏻
*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“Love, real love, can feel like it comes from the darkest cavern of us. It pulls us below the surface and it lives in that deep, secret place.”
Aristotle is quoted to have said, 'A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friend's existence...makes us more fully conscious of our own existence.' And nothing could have been truer than This Love, a story that follows the lives of two best friends, Mae and Ari as they navigate decades of heady college days, complicated relationships, messy arguments, life-altering decisions, tortured confessions and familial heartbreaks, but always with the beautiful promise that throughout the many challenges, one thing that forever keep them connected is the indomitable perseverance of their friendship. 🫂
“OK, fine, there’s this other side of me that thinks finding a woman to love, having a house with a garden, a kid or two, a whippet called Willow, that’s the real dream. Tragically hetero, I know.’
‘Oh, but she can have it all!’ Ari moved his hands like a dancer. ‘And you will. I can tell. You don’t need to be ashamed about wanting those things.
They don’t belong to straight people; we are entitled to that kind of happiness too.”
Since their first meeting during their college years in 2014, Mae and Ari felt like kindred spirits - they balanced each other's passion and drives in a most fascinating way that made life shine even brighter than when they were apart. 'Being a girl who passed as a boy, and he a boy who could pass as a girl, meant power and freedom to her.' And while that can be a beautiful thing, it can also be a crippling one, when Mae is attracted to girls and Ari does not have any specific preferences. 🥺 With that defining point in their relationship, it slowly sets the groundwork of how it's something that not only at times breaks them apart, but what also keeps them together. And as the years go by, as we learn more about either of them and share in their experiences, we get to see how it's something that plays such a pivotal part for how they treat one another.
I really enjoyed the college years - full of youthful spirit, the vibrant tenacity and the sparkle of not knowing what future awaited them. There is a certain celebration to being queer that resonates so strongly in their story - how they embrace it and allow it to guide them in the decisions they make. 'But can I just enjoy who we are together, without the shadow? Be us for a little while longer?’ 🥹 As we enter their adult years, we get to see how either of them are trying to find their place in the world - to figure out what is the right track for them and where exactly do they fit into it and how they fit into each other's lives. Life has a way of even testing the tightest and best of friendships; it's at those moments, when Mae and Ari truly see how much they mean to each other, what is the worth of their friendship. The heart-breaking and emotional revelations that kept being thrown their way were hard for me to bear and I can only imagine how much it must have hurt either of them. ❤️🩹❤️🩹
The narrative makes constant shifts in time jumps that oftentimes makes it confusing and hard to keep track of what exactly is happening. I understand that it is important to touch upon the people they were before they met, but I had a hard time discerning the importance of future moments that weren't even clearly depicted. 🙍🏻♀️ In an effort to maintain an air of mystery, I suppose, of what exact future awaited them. So, it did keep my interest, for a while. But, then at times the pacing started to drag and I would lose interest and wonder why it is necessary to show this moment or why was it such an insistent need to prolong it. 'That’s what’s so hard to accept – the if only.' But, I suppose, that is the love of life that we experience over the years.
“What we have is different and it’s special, and whoever either of us falls for in life, we won’t ever have with them what you and I have with each other.”
Ari was a difficult character for me - it's not that I didn't like him. It's that I didn't like why the author chose to give him such a tragic, if not, rather stereotypical portrayal. I respect that the author did dedicate it to people who were real-life Ari's so it would be a disservice for me to not acknowledge his struggles. I just didn't like it that he was presented with so many! 😫 So many obstacles, so many traumatic experiences, so much that made him question himself as a queer person and have to shame himself into being something different, simply to survive in a toxic and abusive relationship. It was frustrating and heart-breaking to see how much he was afflicted with and I didn't quite empathize with his growth as a character. It was bad enough that there were some lingering troubles rising up from Mae, I don't think it was so very fair that he never seemed to quite catch a break. And when he did, he would then be backed into another corner. 😥
Mae, however, truly became someone to be reckoned with. Overcoming her insecurities of her youth, she entered adulthood with ambition and a desire to make her presence felt, but never enough to commit to someone on an intimate level - till she did. Though, on a personal note, she endured a lot of heartbreak, her path to success was paved with some tough choices that forced her to examine herself not only as a woman, but as a woman in a competitive business. 🙋🏻♀️ She faced some difficult hurdles, and I appreciated how it was depicted, and how it continued to tie into Ari's life. For Ari was always there - he would always be there, and it is some of her feelings for him that made me like her slightly less sadly.
I do know that in MF friendships, especially one as close as there, it's always hard realizing that they may fall in love with someone else - that they can only ever be platonic. There was never not a clear indication of how strongly they felt for each other - they saw each other in a light, no one else ever would come close to. 🥺 But, the way she expressed her jealousy, how intent she was of clinging to him, and not really allowing him to spread his wings - really left a bad taste in my mouth. 'She had wanted to hold onto his heart. How wrong she’d been. There was space, so much space for this love.' As valid and natural as her honest feelings were, her blatant jealousy of his affections for anyone else wasn't something that resonated well with me. It made me dislike her for the majority of the book, and I didn't quite believe that she ever redeemed herself, in my eyes. 😒
“We’re soulmates, I suppose, that’s always felt the nearest to it.”
The story begins with an excerpt from Friedrich Nietzsche's The Gay Science - '...a kind of continuation of love in which this possessive craving of two people for each other gives way to a new desire and lust for possession – a shared higher thirst for an ideal above them. But who knows such love? Who has experienced it? Its right name is friendship.' Taking that into account, then Lotte Jeffs succeeded in depicting a deeply heartfelt exploration of it. 👍🏻 For while I was frustrated and angered at times by their choices and how their lives converged and eventually ended, it was not without their shared beauty and passion of what it means to love. To find it with someone that lets them create an unbreakable bond that binds them all together, as one. 💌
The characters felt very believable to me - their passions and emotions - expressive. The conflicts that arose were not without their grievances and faults and watching them navigate through them was at times heart-breaking, if not daunting, as well. But, Ari and Mae also experienced the joys of living, too; and even if it was not with each other - a failed chance at shot of what they hoped they could have been - it does not seem fair to dismiss and not appreciate what has been. 😔 That is the journey of life, for some, after all. Even if it's not something you set up to have, it doesn't mean that it wasn't worth the fight or the risk it took to get there. To have the chance to share in something that was entirely theirs - 'they are something new; a creature with a shared heartbeat and many limbs. A family.' 🫶🏻🫶🏻
*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 24, 2025
I received this book as a part of a Goodreads giveaway.
This Love is a story of family told over the span of a decade. It follows Ari, a pansexual man, and Mae, a lesbian, as they form a type of family between themselves, then decide to start their own. At first, I was confused what the point was - where we were going. And then I came to understand: this is about every aspect of family. The people we choose, the people we don’t, the families we make, the families we combine.
It was a lovely story. I am, unfortunately, still slumped out of my mind and could only give this a 3.
This Love is a story of family told over the span of a decade. It follows Ari, a pansexual man, and Mae, a lesbian, as they form a type of family between themselves, then decide to start their own. At first, I was confused what the point was - where we were going. And then I came to understand: this is about every aspect of family. The people we choose, the people we don’t, the families we make, the families we combine.
It was a lovely story. I am, unfortunately, still slumped out of my mind and could only give this a 3.
February 12, 2024
This Love follows lifelong queer platonic friends, Ari and Mae, from their University days to 10 years later. Although remaining friends throughout this time, they have their disagreements but if you've ever had a soulmate, you'll know they'll always be there for you in a crisis, no matter what.
Ari and Mae make a pact about their future, but as life moves forward, and they meet other partners, can the life they dreamed of together actually ever work in reality?
This is such a beautiful book about relationships in all its many forms - friendships, soulmates, partners, parents, children. A book with a big lesson at its heart - that family does not have to be heteronormative with 2.4 children, but that family, most importantly, is those who surround you with love.
Superbly written, emotional and powerful. Highly recommended!
Ari and Mae make a pact about their future, but as life moves forward, and they meet other partners, can the life they dreamed of together actually ever work in reality?
This is such a beautiful book about relationships in all its many forms - friendships, soulmates, partners, parents, children. A book with a big lesson at its heart - that family does not have to be heteronormative with 2.4 children, but that family, most importantly, is those who surround you with love.
Superbly written, emotional and powerful. Highly recommended!
December 7, 2025
i adore when friends are each other's soulmates. i loved this.
June 6, 2025
The perfect Pride month read — I loved seeing the soulmate level friendship between Ari and Mae as they grew up together. It was also so cool seeing them navigate queer relationships and create family set ups that worked for them. All of the characters in the book felt well developed and I was rooting for them. Lots of emotions and so much that happens over the 10 years of the book — what a ride.
February 12, 2025
This book was an emotional ride. It was deep and complex, but also funny at times. Mae and Ari are unique kids that have a unique relationship that grows, stretches, reforms over their life and I loved so much reading about it. All of the characters are fabulous. There is trauma and pain, but also joy and hope. There are second, third, fourth chances. They break so many norms and conventions and the more they live their truths the happier they are. They are not immune to jealousy or selfishness, but as they grow, the mature and adapt. I don't want to spoil anything, but at first the characters drove me a bit nuts (teenagers you know) and by the end I am so connected with them that I was sharing all their emotions!
Thanks to the publisher for a free copy; my thoughts and review are my own.
Thanks to the publisher for a free copy; my thoughts and review are my own.
March 4, 2025
my unwavering and almost decade long love for one day means that i am incapable of not picking up any book that may even slightly resemble it
December 2, 2023
This Love is a novel about queer families and friendship, following two friends across ten years. Mae and Ari meet at university in Leeds, with Ari having run from New York and being shrouded in mystery, and Mae breaking the hearts of all the girls she meets, but not able to deal with her parents' attempts to understand her. They become inseparable, and as their lives and change and diverge, they dream of bringing them back together, building further bonds between them, but life doesn't always go as expected.
The distinctive selling point of this book is it being about queer friendship and building unconventional families, playing on what different kinds of love mean to different people, and it does offer a good story of friendship, and a friendship that is built on being queer and feeling like soul mates. Mae and Ari are gripping protagonists, both vividly drawn especially near the start of the book, and the early part when they're at university was probably my favourite, depicting the way in which you can become very close with someone you've recently met just because you fit together. Mae's narrative felt subtle and carefully built, as she navigates changing priorities and finding a woman she doesn't want to disappear on, and in particular the complex feelings she has about her parents and the fact they don't reject her, but still don't always know how to navigate having a lesbian daughter.
However, I felt like Ari was done a bit of a disservice, with a lot of the interesting bits of Ari's character like gender, being pansexual but facing Mae's judgement about this, and dealing with events in the past, being either swept away or magically fixed (Ari also magically becomes a celebrity poet, which as a poet I found hilarious). For a book so interested in fluidity, it didn't really want to address the realities of Ari's experiences, except when in a coercive relationship (there's one point early on in the book when someone yells the T slur at Ari, and that is all you really see in terms of Ari's experiences of dressing more traditionally feminine, but throughout the book always being referred to as a man/'he', other than when in this relationship). It felt like the book was trying to say something about Mae and Ari both being gender nonconforming in their appearance, but never quite got there, in the same way that Ari's past in New York and the trauma from that is never quite explored in any meaningful way and the only part that seems to have an impact, with Ari having a lot of guilt around it, gets suddenly resolved near the end.
For me, the writing was what let the book down a bit, with the close third-person narration sometimes swapping mid-section or mid-paragraph who it was sharing the inner thoughts of, which I found disorienting, and the pace of the book generally being quite slow. There are a few cuts forward in time between each part of the book, which I thought didn't really add enough tension to need to be there, and I preferred the actual ending of the book rather than having these cuts ahead. The book also feels very separate to pop culture, probably an intentional choice due to the fact that the narrative end up some years in the future by the end, but I'm used to a lot of queer novels engaging with queer culture so this one felt a bit lacking in those references (but I imagine some people will like this element that makes it more timeless).
Overall, I liked what this book was trying to do and I like how throughout the book it brings together the characters to work on forming a queer family as they can, whilst their lives change. However, I found the pace slow and I kept expecting it to delve a bit more deeply into things rather than magically fix everything. This Love feels like it is trying to fit into a space between Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Detransition, Baby, and it is good that spaces like that are there, but this one frustrated me that it wasn't quite as fun to read, though it had a decent start and end.
The distinctive selling point of this book is it being about queer friendship and building unconventional families, playing on what different kinds of love mean to different people, and it does offer a good story of friendship, and a friendship that is built on being queer and feeling like soul mates. Mae and Ari are gripping protagonists, both vividly drawn especially near the start of the book, and the early part when they're at university was probably my favourite, depicting the way in which you can become very close with someone you've recently met just because you fit together. Mae's narrative felt subtle and carefully built, as she navigates changing priorities and finding a woman she doesn't want to disappear on, and in particular the complex feelings she has about her parents and the fact they don't reject her, but still don't always know how to navigate having a lesbian daughter.
However, I felt like Ari was done a bit of a disservice, with a lot of the interesting bits of Ari's character like gender, being pansexual but facing Mae's judgement about this, and dealing with events in the past, being either swept away or magically fixed (Ari also magically becomes a celebrity poet, which as a poet I found hilarious). For a book so interested in fluidity, it didn't really want to address the realities of Ari's experiences, except when in a coercive relationship (there's one point early on in the book when someone yells the T slur at Ari, and that is all you really see in terms of Ari's experiences of dressing more traditionally feminine, but throughout the book always being referred to as a man/'he', other than when in this relationship). It felt like the book was trying to say something about Mae and Ari both being gender nonconforming in their appearance, but never quite got there, in the same way that Ari's past in New York and the trauma from that is never quite explored in any meaningful way and the only part that seems to have an impact, with Ari having a lot of guilt around it, gets suddenly resolved near the end.
For me, the writing was what let the book down a bit, with the close third-person narration sometimes swapping mid-section or mid-paragraph who it was sharing the inner thoughts of, which I found disorienting, and the pace of the book generally being quite slow. There are a few cuts forward in time between each part of the book, which I thought didn't really add enough tension to need to be there, and I preferred the actual ending of the book rather than having these cuts ahead. The book also feels very separate to pop culture, probably an intentional choice due to the fact that the narrative end up some years in the future by the end, but I'm used to a lot of queer novels engaging with queer culture so this one felt a bit lacking in those references (but I imagine some people will like this element that makes it more timeless).
Overall, I liked what this book was trying to do and I like how throughout the book it brings together the characters to work on forming a queer family as they can, whilst their lives change. However, I found the pace slow and I kept expecting it to delve a bit more deeply into things rather than magically fix everything. This Love feels like it is trying to fit into a space between Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Detransition, Baby, and it is good that spaces like that are there, but this one frustrated me that it wasn't quite as fun to read, though it had a decent start and end.
March 15, 2025
WOWIE a lot to unpack here.
I loved the focus on platonic love and the ups, downs, and how often such a close friendship can face the same struggles as a romantic relationship.
I loved watching the characters face difficulties within themselves and in others, and navigating their lives in each of their unique ways.
and to top it all off, the fact that this is set (mostly) in my University city, Leeds, felt super close to home and often was very nostalgic, watching the characters go to specific locations and live out their lives there too - it felt even more real. LOVED.
I loved the focus on platonic love and the ups, downs, and how often such a close friendship can face the same struggles as a romantic relationship.
I loved watching the characters face difficulties within themselves and in others, and navigating their lives in each of their unique ways.
and to top it all off, the fact that this is set (mostly) in my University city, Leeds, felt super close to home and often was very nostalgic, watching the characters go to specific locations and live out their lives there too - it felt even more real. LOVED.
February 12, 2024
AD/PR - This book is like a queer and more ‘current’ One Day! It’s one of the purest and most genuine depictions of soulmates and true love I’ve ever read. What makes it more special is that it’s not a romantic love story but a platonic one between two queer best friends, Mae and Ari. When I finished I honestly felt a physical ache because I wasn’t ready to let them go. I’d happily follow them for the rest of their lives. It is utterly gorgeous and all the stars!
This Love beautifully captures LIFE in all its chaotic, messy, happy, heartbreaking, unexpected and unpredictable ways. It’s about the joyful reality of being queer and what happens when a lesbian woman and a bisexual man find their soulmate in each other. You really LIVE the full decade with Ari and Mae (wow they go through a lot, both separately and together!). They both truly come alive through Lotte’s writing and characterisation. I would protect those two with my life at this point! I loved reading the acknowledgements and understanding how much of Lotte’s own love stories inspired the book - this shines through in how authentic the story feels!
I also LOVED how This Love tears up the heteronormative rule book and burns societal expectations of parenthood, marriage and the nuclear family to the ground. It shows that family doesn’t conform to a single definition or fit in a neat little box, but rather that it’s fluid and looks however you want it to. It’s not just the family you have but also the ones you choose. Ari and Mae form their own family and let me tell you, those bonds are unbreakable.
This Love beautifully captures LIFE in all its chaotic, messy, happy, heartbreaking, unexpected and unpredictable ways. It’s about the joyful reality of being queer and what happens when a lesbian woman and a bisexual man find their soulmate in each other. You really LIVE the full decade with Ari and Mae (wow they go through a lot, both separately and together!). They both truly come alive through Lotte’s writing and characterisation. I would protect those two with my life at this point! I loved reading the acknowledgements and understanding how much of Lotte’s own love stories inspired the book - this shines through in how authentic the story feels!
I also LOVED how This Love tears up the heteronormative rule book and burns societal expectations of parenthood, marriage and the nuclear family to the ground. It shows that family doesn’t conform to a single definition or fit in a neat little box, but rather that it’s fluid and looks however you want it to. It’s not just the family you have but also the ones you choose. Ari and Mae form their own family and let me tell you, those bonds are unbreakable.
December 17, 2023
This is a story about best friends Ari & Mae spanning ten years from meeting at university taking them through their lives and how time influences the strength of their relationship. We meet several characters along the way; some who have a positive impact (V) and some who don’t (Oliver).
I really enjoyed the journey of platonic love between Ari & Mae, which was refreshingly told from a queer perspective. I liked that we weren’t taken through dramas which lead to predictable outcomes and the ups and downs of fertility & parenting were reflected honestly.
I was confused by the chapters set so far into the future and on reflection am not sure they added to the story all that much. The eventual ending could have just been delivered as a one timeline story. love stories where we follow alternative timelines but at times this felt a little clunky.
Overall this is a really well written book and I look forward to reading more from this author in future.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance of publication
I really enjoyed the journey of platonic love between Ari & Mae, which was refreshingly told from a queer perspective. I liked that we weren’t taken through dramas which lead to predictable outcomes and the ups and downs of fertility & parenting were reflected honestly.
I was confused by the chapters set so far into the future and on reflection am not sure they added to the story all that much. The eventual ending could have just been delivered as a one timeline story. love stories where we follow alternative timelines but at times this felt a little clunky.
Overall this is a really well written book and I look forward to reading more from this author in future.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance of publication
April 2, 2025
the concept of this book is really interesting and it’s a conversation that more people should be having bc queer families are just as important!
the pacing could have been much better, there were times where it felt rushed and others where it felt like it dragged. the main characters weren’t likable and their problems felt very surface.
the privilege in this book is wild as well. it’s great to see what could happen in a world with no restrictions but i think this book could have been beneficial if it discussed the financial and access troubles that many people face.
i love queer people and i love queer stories and to someone this could be an incredibly powerful book so I’m grateful for its presence in these times even if i wouldn’t recommend to a friend.
the pacing could have been much better, there were times where it felt rushed and others where it felt like it dragged. the main characters weren’t likable and their problems felt very surface.
the privilege in this book is wild as well. it’s great to see what could happen in a world with no restrictions but i think this book could have been beneficial if it discussed the financial and access troubles that many people face.
i love queer people and i love queer stories and to someone this could be an incredibly powerful book so I’m grateful for its presence in these times even if i wouldn’t recommend to a friend.
January 31, 2024
I was super excited for this book! There is just so much hype around it!
But I was just left a bit flat. This book was just so 'meh'
I found Lotte Jeffs writing style to be a bit too whimsical for me. It was too descriptive, which meant that it slowed down the plot and the overall pace of the book. But on the other hand, Jeffs characters felt very real and well rounded.
I wasn't overly keen on this book, and think it has definitely been overhyped! The characters were pretty fascinating, but I just found the plot to be too slow in pace to keep me interested.
But I was just left a bit flat. This book was just so 'meh'
I found Lotte Jeffs writing style to be a bit too whimsical for me. It was too descriptive, which meant that it slowed down the plot and the overall pace of the book. But on the other hand, Jeffs characters felt very real and well rounded.
I wasn't overly keen on this book, and think it has definitely been overhyped! The characters were pretty fascinating, but I just found the plot to be too slow in pace to keep me interested.
August 27, 2024
Loved this book!!!
January 7, 2025
I struggled with whether I should rate this one a 3.5 or 4 star, but I think this is the kind of book I'll think back on often as time goes on, so for that, I rounded up.
Mae and Ari meet outside a gay bar one night during pivotal times in their young adult lives. Quickly, the two become inseparable and their deep bond lays the foundation for the novel. The pivotal plot point comes when the pair decide that somehow, someday, the two will platonically have a child together (this isn't a spoiler people, it's in the book's summary!)
From here, we get a look into how their lives grow and change, and with that, their friendship and the once unbreakable promise they made for their future. This book dives into themes of queerness, trauma, and family structures. There was so much to unpack here and in some ways, it was beautiful and I felt myself hurting for, angry for, and enthralled for the characters. In other ways, there was SO much, that certain topics felt like they didn't get enough depth or limelight (i.e. Ari's pansexuality and how Mae, a very self assured lesbian, reacts to that).
I think what this book did best (and arguably set out to do most) was make readers think about and acknowledge the different meanings of the word "family." The characters and their pasts, presents, and futures show readers many different family dynamics, ranging from what society so often deems the "classic," heteronormative family, to single mothers, to the foster care system, to adoption, and to same-sex parenting. It makes you stop and think about what is a soulmate? What defines family?
It's a book that I have a hard time fully wrapping my head around as I write these thoughts. One that, admittedly, would probably have a more well-written review if I didn't write this immediately after finishing the last page, but alas, that's not my style; I'm a big advocate for getting my immediate thoughts down on "paper."
So why didn't this receive 5 stars? Along with the previously mentioned lack of depth on some topics I would have loved to have heard more on, I didn't get into this book until a little past the 1/3 mark. I know other reviewers have stated the beginning part was their favorite, and while it was important in establishing and solidifying Ari and Mae's bond, I just found myself having a hard time getting into the novel at first, for whatever reason. Additionally, I don't know how I felt about the ending (classic me, I know). In some ways, it felt abrupt. In others, I was waiting for the author to speed things up a but because we had a couple chapters that jumped to the future giving us little teasers as to the fate of these characters. I thought I'd feel more moved at the end I guess? I can't put my finger on it, but something just didn't feel quite satisfying to me about the very last chapter. It had such a solid build up and then that very final few pages just fell a little flat for me.
Like I began with, I know that this story and these characters will stick with me for a while. It's a book I think my brain will revisit, and I love that in a novel.
Mae and Ari meet outside a gay bar one night during pivotal times in their young adult lives. Quickly, the two become inseparable and their deep bond lays the foundation for the novel. The pivotal plot point comes when the pair decide that somehow, someday, the two will platonically have a child together (this isn't a spoiler people, it's in the book's summary!)
From here, we get a look into how their lives grow and change, and with that, their friendship and the once unbreakable promise they made for their future. This book dives into themes of queerness, trauma, and family structures. There was so much to unpack here and in some ways, it was beautiful and I felt myself hurting for, angry for, and enthralled for the characters. In other ways, there was SO much, that certain topics felt like they didn't get enough depth or limelight (i.e. Ari's pansexuality and how Mae, a very self assured lesbian, reacts to that).
I think what this book did best (and arguably set out to do most) was make readers think about and acknowledge the different meanings of the word "family." The characters and their pasts, presents, and futures show readers many different family dynamics, ranging from what society so often deems the "classic," heteronormative family, to single mothers, to the foster care system, to adoption, and to same-sex parenting. It makes you stop and think about what is a soulmate? What defines family?
It's a book that I have a hard time fully wrapping my head around as I write these thoughts. One that, admittedly, would probably have a more well-written review if I didn't write this immediately after finishing the last page, but alas, that's not my style; I'm a big advocate for getting my immediate thoughts down on "paper."
So why didn't this receive 5 stars? Along with the previously mentioned lack of depth on some topics I would have loved to have heard more on, I didn't get into this book until a little past the 1/3 mark. I know other reviewers have stated the beginning part was their favorite, and while it was important in establishing and solidifying Ari and Mae's bond, I just found myself having a hard time getting into the novel at first, for whatever reason. Additionally, I don't know how I felt about the ending (classic me, I know). In some ways, it felt abrupt. In others, I was waiting for the author to speed things up a but because we had a couple chapters that jumped to the future giving us little teasers as to the fate of these characters. I thought I'd feel more moved at the end I guess? I can't put my finger on it, but something just didn't feel quite satisfying to me about the very last chapter. It had such a solid build up and then that very final few pages just fell a little flat for me.
Like I began with, I know that this story and these characters will stick with me for a while. It's a book I think my brain will revisit, and I love that in a novel.
March 7, 2025
‘Hello, Handsome.’
This book deals with lots of heavy subjects..
I really loved how imperfect everyone was. It made all the characters feel more real.
Ari’s story was tragic. He had a lot of bad things happen to him and around him. I was rooting for his happiness the whole time.
I loved Mae from the beginning. She wasn’t perfect but her steady growth as a character was so good.
The partners that these two find along the way were so great. I especially loved Ari’s in the end.
I loved the different timelines. Ari and Mae go through so so much. I love their love.
There are so many examples of family in this book. Family and friendship. It’s beautiful 💕 I love that this book shows that there isn’t just one way to have a family and that all you really need is love. Love and acceptance. This book was emotional at times. It really felt like we were a part of their lives and watched them overcome so much.
‘And we'll muddle through together, in a family-shaped way that works for us.'
I would recommend this one if you want to see a beautiful portrayal of a platonic friendship and how they create the family they always wanted.
This book deals with lots of heavy subjects..
I really loved how imperfect everyone was. It made all the characters feel more real.
Ari’s story was tragic. He had a lot of bad things happen to him and around him. I was rooting for his happiness the whole time.
I loved Mae from the beginning. She wasn’t perfect but her steady growth as a character was so good.
The partners that these two find along the way were so great. I especially loved Ari’s in the end.
I loved the different timelines. Ari and Mae go through so so much. I love their love.
There are so many examples of family in this book. Family and friendship. It’s beautiful 💕 I love that this book shows that there isn’t just one way to have a family and that all you really need is love. Love and acceptance. This book was emotional at times. It really felt like we were a part of their lives and watched them overcome so much.
‘And we'll muddle through together, in a family-shaped way that works for us.'
I would recommend this one if you want to see a beautiful portrayal of a platonic friendship and how they create the family they always wanted.
January 1, 2025
3.5 stars
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. "This Love" is one of the most unique pieces of queer fiction I've ever read, as it tells a story centered on platonic love, found family, and all of the other relationships that are woven in between. I enjoy how Jeffs structured the story to evolve over a decade, and I feel that every type of relationship was explored, from platonic love to familial love to romantic love. This is a story that feels uniquely queer and very grounded in current queer culture.
That being said, it wasn't my personal cup of tea. This is a harder read, as many of the relationships that Mae and Ari endure are toxic, including their own at times. This novel was a very real look at relationships that succeed, but more so those that fail. As someone who mainly consumes books to escape from reality, this novel forced me to think about my current and former relationships, which was a heavy feat. The novel is also marked by tragedy at every turn, to the point that I never trusted when any of the characters felt they were thriving. Perhaps that's just the way life is, in which case, I think this is a novel that accurately portrays what it means to be human, but it was depressing to get through, to the point I could only handle reading it for a bit each day.
I think "This Love" is a unique queer novel that realistically portrays queer love and families in this day and age, but because of that, be forewarned that this is a heavier novel to get through.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. "This Love" is one of the most unique pieces of queer fiction I've ever read, as it tells a story centered on platonic love, found family, and all of the other relationships that are woven in between. I enjoy how Jeffs structured the story to evolve over a decade, and I feel that every type of relationship was explored, from platonic love to familial love to romantic love. This is a story that feels uniquely queer and very grounded in current queer culture.
That being said, it wasn't my personal cup of tea. This is a harder read, as many of the relationships that Mae and Ari endure are toxic, including their own at times. This novel was a very real look at relationships that succeed, but more so those that fail. As someone who mainly consumes books to escape from reality, this novel forced me to think about my current and former relationships, which was a heavy feat. The novel is also marked by tragedy at every turn, to the point that I never trusted when any of the characters felt they were thriving. Perhaps that's just the way life is, in which case, I think this is a novel that accurately portrays what it means to be human, but it was depressing to get through, to the point I could only handle reading it for a bit each day.
I think "This Love" is a unique queer novel that realistically portrays queer love and families in this day and age, but because of that, be forewarned that this is a heavier novel to get through.
January 2, 2025
I was not expecting to love this as much as I did, but I really really loved it and it comforted and challenged me in all the ways I needed to be comforted and challenged right now! Queer families and what is love and learning ourselves and and and
October 22, 2025
Most delicious meal with all my favourite ingredients - queer relationships, found family, living beyond societal expectations, all unfolding over a decades-long saga 😍
January 16, 2024
Following the lives of Ari and Mae over 10+ years and the found family, love and connections they form along the way.
Really embodied the intense love that comes from friendship and finding your platonic soulmate.
It didn’t skim over that people can be awful and horrible even to people they care for but also have room to grow and change.
I finished it feeling like all the characters were solid people.
It’s a slow moving story that flips back and forth between different years, but it’s nice to move with Ari and Mae and see where they were to where they go.
Beautifully queer.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher
4/5 ⭐️
Really embodied the intense love that comes from friendship and finding your platonic soulmate.
It didn’t skim over that people can be awful and horrible even to people they care for but also have room to grow and change.
I finished it feeling like all the characters were solid people.
It’s a slow moving story that flips back and forth between different years, but it’s nice to move with Ari and Mae and see where they were to where they go.
Beautifully queer.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher
4/5 ⭐️
March 14, 2025
this story and characters crawled into my heart and my soul.
January 15, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the ARC!
I loved the idea of this book, but it fell flat for me. The writing didn’t impress me, and I felt like the emotional depth missed the mark. I enjoyed the queer representation, but it felt forced and over the top at times. It was also incredibly long. Very millennial coded—not a bad thing but it was too much.
The future vignettes didn’t add to the story—they were confusing and didn’t hit like they could have?
I think there was so much potential for this story but I struggled to like this because it felt so unrealistic and not in a fiction way.
The reason I give this 2 stars is I like how this book challenges the heteronormative family and does a good job of speaking to sexuality fluidity. I also liked Ari’s backstory and felt most connected to him.
I loved the idea of this book, but it fell flat for me. The writing didn’t impress me, and I felt like the emotional depth missed the mark. I enjoyed the queer representation, but it felt forced and over the top at times. It was also incredibly long. Very millennial coded—not a bad thing but it was too much.
The future vignettes didn’t add to the story—they were confusing and didn’t hit like they could have?
I think there was so much potential for this story but I struggled to like this because it felt so unrealistic and not in a fiction way.
The reason I give this 2 stars is I like how this book challenges the heteronormative family and does a good job of speaking to sexuality fluidity. I also liked Ari’s backstory and felt most connected to him.
June 20, 2024
Finishing this book was such a pain.
Why is one character called V- like why can’t she be referred to with her whole name?
Really nice start of the book, but they completely lost me at some point. Also everything was working out perfectly for them and they still were whiny about it?
Unfortunately very much not my vibe.
Also the end was so weirdly written and the pages already hinting on it were so hard to read, that not wrapping it up in a nice way made me super annoyed.
Why is one character called V- like why can’t she be referred to with her whole name?
Really nice start of the book, but they completely lost me at some point. Also everything was working out perfectly for them and they still were whiny about it?
Unfortunately very much not my vibe.
Also the end was so weirdly written and the pages already hinting on it were so hard to read, that not wrapping it up in a nice way made me super annoyed.
February 28, 2025
The writing was terrible. The story was okay... eye opening for different family styles, and I really liked the dynamic between Ari and Mae, but j couldn't get passed how slow paced, and terribly written this was. I honestly wanted to scream at the book to just get on with it and explain what the hell is going on at times. And the end.. Holly anticlimactic. So disappointed. Sorry this was not the book for me!
January 27, 2025
i liked the premise of the book based on it’s synopsis but i couldn’t really get invested in any of the characters or conflicts in the story. some plot points could’ve been fleshed out more, & the book’s “big reveal” that’s alluded to at the end of each section is named in one sentence at the end & was super anticlimactic :/
November 15, 2024
a didn’t really like this! had a lot of potential but think it fell flat
May 31, 2024
This is love definitely.
Love and acceptance in many forms, from intimate love, friendship love, brief love, enduring love, the love of parents and family towards their children, the dynamics between childen and parents and the love that holds us in the sunlight and the dark. It is a book full of possibilities.
I don't read a lot of queer books but This Love goes beyond the genre as an epic tale across the decades of a friendship that blooms and changes direction and envelops more people along the way.
I can see why it is likened to One Day.
I fell in love with all the characters and wanted only the very best for each one.
The story is full of ups and downs, making it realistic and therefore more powerful in its beauty.
It is full of hope that we can be who we are, not who others want us to be, even if it takes a long while to realise this. It is joyous, heart breaking, and liberating.
How freeing to live life in a shape that is both unique and elastic enough to adapt and accommodate the changes life invariably forces upon us.
Different. Beautiful.
With huge thanks to the author, the publisher and Pigeonhole for granting me access to read.
Don't know what Pigeonhole is? Look online and sign up! A great way to read books along with fellow book lovers!
Love and acceptance in many forms, from intimate love, friendship love, brief love, enduring love, the love of parents and family towards their children, the dynamics between childen and parents and the love that holds us in the sunlight and the dark. It is a book full of possibilities.
I don't read a lot of queer books but This Love goes beyond the genre as an epic tale across the decades of a friendship that blooms and changes direction and envelops more people along the way.
I can see why it is likened to One Day.
I fell in love with all the characters and wanted only the very best for each one.
The story is full of ups and downs, making it realistic and therefore more powerful in its beauty.
It is full of hope that we can be who we are, not who others want us to be, even if it takes a long while to realise this. It is joyous, heart breaking, and liberating.
How freeing to live life in a shape that is both unique and elastic enough to adapt and accommodate the changes life invariably forces upon us.
Different. Beautiful.
With huge thanks to the author, the publisher and Pigeonhole for granting me access to read.
Don't know what Pigeonhole is? Look online and sign up! A great way to read books along with fellow book lovers!
March 15, 2025
I really enjoyed this book! The university scenes in Leeds were so vivid and nostalgic, I felt like I was in the smoking area at Kween (picturing Viaduct in my head ofc). I kind of felt like the book was holding my hand, or hugging me? There was something about this story that I found really comforting, even during the darker moments where Mae and Ari were really going through it. It's focus on platonic love & platonic soulmates was so heartwarming and something I can really relate to.
My only minor gripes were the length of the book or, more accurately, how it was used - I think some of the content could have been replaced with more exploration into some of Ari's demons, Mae's grief, and Kate's position in the family (which felt entirely skipped over, which then in turn reduced the emotional payoff impact of the 2030 section's reveal for me).
That being said, the book is just filled with emotion. Hope, confidence, anxiety, fear, love, and happiness. Mae and Ari's self destructiveness in their decisions felt so believable to me. Their jealousy & protectiveness over each other too! It was so raw and a bit messy and imperfect. But they loved each other and so did I!!
My only minor gripes were the length of the book or, more accurately, how it was used - I think some of the content could have been replaced with more exploration into some of Ari's demons, Mae's grief, and Kate's position in the family (which felt entirely skipped over, which then in turn reduced the emotional payoff impact of the 2030 section's reveal for me).
That being said, the book is just filled with emotion. Hope, confidence, anxiety, fear, love, and happiness. Mae and Ari's self destructiveness in their decisions felt so believable to me. Their jealousy & protectiveness over each other too! It was so raw and a bit messy and imperfect. But they loved each other and so did I!!
August 27, 2025
I love how this book explores queerplatonic love and soulmatism, and unconventional family building. I think the story and the characters are definitely worth 5 stars.
Where this book lacks, is 1) the pacing being sometimes too slow and dragging on, and sometimes too fast and skipping interesting developments by just saying "and then this happened and now we're here" and 2) both characters are in incredibly financially privileged and financially easy situations (Ari because of family and Mae because of her relationship). This reads very unrealistic for, I wanna say, *most* queer people.
I loved reading this though, and I would definitely recommend it to people who love the One Day type of romance drama stories but wished there were more queer ones!
Where this book lacks, is 1) the pacing being sometimes too slow and dragging on, and sometimes too fast and skipping interesting developments by just saying "and then this happened and now we're here" and 2) both characters are in incredibly financially privileged and financially easy situations (Ari because of family and Mae because of her relationship). This reads very unrealistic for, I wanna say, *most* queer people.
I loved reading this though, and I would definitely recommend it to people who love the One Day type of romance drama stories but wished there were more queer ones!
May 2, 2025
This Love is a tender, beautifully observed story about the evolving nature of friendship and the different ways we create—and redefine—family. Jeffs captures the emotional nuance of lifelong connection with sincerity and warmth, showing how love isn’t always romantic and how the people who shape us most might not be the ones we expect. It’s a heartfelt read that lingers in the quieter moments and will speak deeply to anyone who’s navigated the complexities of growing alongside someone you love.
That said, the structure occasionally gets in its own way—flash forwards used to manufacture suspense feel unnecessary, and the late-stage twist was as rage inducing as One Day, which this is comped to, so I suppose I was warned...
That said, the structure occasionally gets in its own way—flash forwards used to manufacture suspense feel unnecessary, and the late-stage twist was as rage inducing as One Day, which this is comped to, so I suppose I was warned...
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