Three Cousins

by Jessica Levine

Set during the excitement and tumult of the second wave of feminism and the sexual revolution, this coming-of-age novel about female friendship in the 1970s will appeal to fans of Kristin Hannah's Firefly Lane.

It’s 1976, the second wave of feminism is in full swing, and three cousins share an apartment at Yale. Two are seniors; the third is starting graduate school. Each is seeking her own path in both love and work—but all three women, not quite knowing how to use the new freedoms available to them, alternate between supporting and undermining each other in their efforts.

Julia, the most conventional of the three, wants the security of her monogamous relationship but is attracted to men. Anna plans on traveling the world to escape her boyfriend and alcoholic mother. Robin, who is bisexual, has various partners as she dreams of open relationships. All fall under the spell of a charismatic musician, Michael, who is too wounded to be available. By the end of a year of experiments and necessary mistakes, the cousins will make crucial decisions that will determine the course of the rest of their lives.

This prequel to Levine's first two critically acclaimed novels, The Geometry of Love  and Nothing Forgotten, dramatizes the struggles that women have faced and continue to face while entering adulthood in a world not quite ready to accept them as equals.

306 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 8, 2025

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and She Writes Press for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is the prequel to the two novels The Geometry of Love and Nothing Forgotten, two books which I haven't read, but this follows Anna, Robin, and Julia when they were at Yale and shared an apartment in 1976-77. Relationships with family and lovers, and trying to find their place in the world are all themes in the novel.


This was an okay novel. There wasn't exactly a huge conflict or anything for the plot. Then again, it is giving readers an origin story for the characters. I didn't care for the characters. None of them deal with their problems. I don't think it was the right book for me.



ThreeCousins #NetGalley.
Expected Publication Date 08/04/25
Goodreads Review 04/03/25

[Corinne Carson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about 3 cousins who become roommates at Yale. The story revolves around the year they spend together during 1976 & 1977 when women are just beginning to become more independent from their male counterparts. Each cousin has her own issues regarding independence & sexuality. They each struggle to know what happiness means to them and what they want with their lives. I found the story to be engaging. This book is a prequel to two previously written books by the author. You don’t need to read them in any particular order as they are said to be standalones.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for allowing me early access to an eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Kaitlin Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing and author has a lot of promise.
I didn’t engage or relate with the characters as much as I would have hoped…I felt a bit disconnected at times. However, it was an enjoyable read and story!
Looking forward to more from Jessica Levine who has a big future!

Thank you NetGalley and She Writes Press for this exclusive early release.

[martyn benny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica Levine’s Three Cousins is an engaging, thoughtful, and emotionally rich coming of age novel that explores friendship, identity, sexuality, and womanhood against the backdrop of the transformative cultural shifts of the 1970s. Set during the height of second wave feminism and the sexual revolution, the novel offers a nuanced portrait of three young women navigating newfound freedoms while grappling with the complexities of love, ambition, and self discovery.

In 1976, cousins Julia, Anna, and Robin share an apartment at Yale, each standing at a pivotal crossroads in her life. Though united by family ties and affection, they approach adulthood from very different perspectives. Julia seeks stability but finds herself questioning conventional expectations. Anna dreams of escape and independence, hoping to outrun both personal and family burdens. Robin embraces experimentation and imagines a future unconstrained by traditional relationship norms. Their individual journeys create a fascinating dynamic that feels authentic, layered, and deeply relatable.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its portrayal of female relationships. Levine captures the reality that friendships and family bonds can be simultaneously supportive and complicated. The cousins genuinely care for one another, yet they also compete, misunderstand, and occasionally undermine each other. This emotional complexity gives the story remarkable depth and realism.

The novel also excels in its depiction of a specific cultural moment. Levine vividly recreates the atmosphere of the 1970s, a period filled with optimism, social change, and evolving attitudes toward gender roles and sexuality. Yet she avoids romanticizing the era, showing how many women still faced limitations and contradictions despite the expanding freedoms around them.

The charismatic musician Michael serves as an intriguing catalyst within the story. His presence exposes vulnerabilities, desires, and uncertainties in each cousin, helping propel their personal growth. However, the true focus remains on the women themselves and the choices they must ultimately make about their futures.

Levine writes with sensitivity and insight, exploring themes that remain highly relevant today. Questions about identity, autonomy, relationships, and the balance between personal freedom and emotional responsibility resonate just as strongly now as they did in 1976. The novel’s emotional honesty makes it easy to connect with the characters and invest in their journeys.

Fans of character driven literary fiction and novels such as Firefly Lane will appreciate the book’s exploration of friendship, family, and personal transformation. Readers who enjoy stories about women navigating pivotal moments of change will find much to admire in this thoughtful and engaging novel.

Ultimately, Three Cousins is a compelling exploration of youth, possibility, and the difficult process of becoming oneself. Jessica Levine has crafted a poignant and memorable story that honors both the excitement and uncertainty of coming of age during a time of profound social transformation.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 rating, rounded down to 3 Stars)

“Three Cousins,” by Jessica Levine is a novel about three cousins, Robin, Anna and Julia who share an apartment together in New Haven, Connecticut during their last year at Yale in 1976. Robin, the oldest, from San Francisco, is attending graduate school in Psychology, while Anna and Julia, from Long Island and Manhattan, respectively, are in their senior year. Anna and Julia are “artistic,” Anna a painter while Julia is a poet. The book focuses on their emotional struggles as they attempt to maintain their freedom while pursuing sexual and personal relationships. The novel does depict graphic sex, however the sex is not gratuitous, since their sexuality was an integral part of the cousins’ identities.

In preparation for reading the ARC of this novel, I read the author’s first two books, which focus on the same three characters in reverse chronological order. The first book, “The Geometry of Love,” was set in 1986-2005, while the second, “Nothing Forgiven,” primarily dealt with Anna in Italy in 1977, shortly after she graduated from Yale, interspersed with events from 2004.

While I enjoyed the first two books, “Three Cousins” felt repetitive as most of the material had already been covered in retrospectives in the two previous books. That being said, this book, like the previous two had well-drawn, nuanced characters, dynamic dialog and realistic descriptions of time and place which allowed the reader to become fully immersed in the characters’ lives and emotional dramas, the latter of which were often related to their complicated non-monogamous sexual relationships.

Perhaps I would have enjoyed this book more if I hadn’t read it so soon after reading the first two. However, as mentioned previously, it should appeal to those who enjoy character driven novels with well written depictions of time and place.

Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for providing me an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review.

[KATIE MEYERS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three Cousins by Jessica Levine is an insightful and emotionally layered coming-of-age novel that explores female friendship, identity, and the complexities of adulthood during the transformative cultural climate of the 1970s.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its nuanced portrayal of the three cousins. Each woman approaches love, independence, and personal freedom differently, creating dynamic relationships that feel authentic, complicated, and deeply human. Their ability to both support and undermine one another adds realism and emotional depth to the story.

Another compelling aspect is the historical setting. The backdrop of second wave feminism and the sexual revolution is woven naturally into the narrative, highlighting the tension between newly available freedoms and the uncertainty surrounding how women were expected to navigate them.

The book also excels in its exploration of emotional vulnerability and self-discovery. Through relationships, ambition, experimentation, and personal conflict, the characters struggle to define themselves in a world that offers opportunity while still carrying deeply rooted inequalities.

What makes the novel especially engaging is its introspective and character-driven storytelling. The emotional decisions the cousins face feel meaningful and lasting, giving the narrative a reflective quality that stays with the reader beyond the final pages.

Overall, Three Cousins is a thoughtful and compelling literary novel that captures the emotional complexity of friendship, womanhood, and personal growth during a pivotal cultural era.

[Robert Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three Cousins is a novel that understands something many works set in periods of social change fail to grasp: history is not experienced as a set of events, but as pressure on the individual psyche.

What makes this book compelling is not simply its setting in the 1970s, but the way that setting operates as a force acting upon Julia, Anna, and Robin. Their choices, contradictions, and missteps feel less like plot devices and more like inevitable consequences of a world expanding faster than they can fully comprehend. The push and pull between freedom and uncertainty is handled with restraint, allowing the emotional truth of each character to emerge without being overdetermined.

The dynamic between the three cousins is particularly well constructed. They are not symbolic placeholders for different paths, but fully realized individuals whose relationships evolve through subtle shifts—support giving way to rivalry, intimacy to distance, and back again. That fluidity is where the novel finds much of its strength.

There is also a quiet confidence in the prose. The narrative does not strain for effect or dramatize beyond what is necessary. Instead, it allows the weight of decisions, of time, and of consequence to accumulate naturally. That restraint gives the story its credibility.

Three Cousins ultimately succeeds because it treats coming of age not as a moment, but as a process—one shaped as much by external change as by internal reckoning. It is a measured, thoughtful work that rewards attention and lingers beyond its final pages.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this fascinating historical fiction novel about second wave feminism, the sexual revolution, and female friendship in the 1970s, readers follow cousins Julia, Anna, and Robin as they share an apartment as seniors and a graduate student at Yale. All wanting different things in life, the three young women face the complications of love, sex, and romance in all sorts of relationships and find themselves all drawn toward musician Michael. As they experiment, make mistakes, and figure things (and themselves) out, Julia, Anna, and Robin find themselves on the path that will take them to the rest of their lives. Unique, fascinating, and complicated, this book is a really exciting exploration of three different lives under the same dramatic changes that women could undergo in the 1970s. The three characters are so different yet have overlapping experiences which makes them distinct yet similar in some narratively unique ways which add to the complexity and untidiness of their three stories. A fun and fascinating novel about the 1970s and the many changes that women fought for, this book is an incredible insight into the period, and historical fiction readers will love the drama, emotions, and complexity of these three cousins’ stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and She Writes Press for the advance copy.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three Cousins has deep character development and you'll love Robin, Julia and Anna as well as their supporting cast. However, the book could have been four or five stars and a bestseller, if there was a strong plot. The writing describing the feelings and fun times of the three cousins is at times truly beautiful and moving, but the story needed to be developed. At the end of the book, I learned from a promotional blurb that this was part of a series of books. This should have been disclosed at the front of the book. The trilogy's organization is confusing since this appears to be the beginning of the story.

There is a lot of sex in this book as the three cousins are coming of age and discovering themselves amid going to school at Yale. The romantic scenes are beautifully written and both male and female characters are authentic throughout. I appreciate that there is no cheesy spice sex, but real feelings. However, some of the sex scenes at the end could have been cut to extend the plot. It's almost like the author ran out of space and just ended the book.

Since I enjoyed the characters and want to see what happens, I may explore the other books in the series. I am grateful to have received a free ARC of the book from the publisher.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to LibraryThing, the author and the publisher.

This is my first foray into this author's works and the plot appealed to me when I first saw it. This is a prequel to her other books. I hope this will suffice as a stand alone.

Three cousins are rooming together at Yale 1976-1977. Anna is a budding artist and starting her senior year After graduation, she wants to travel the world without her boyfriend she's had since high school. Robin, is bi-sexual, a psychologist, and is a grad student at Yale, and her relationship with her professor, who she met at Wellesley. Once she went back to Yale, the relationship was over. As for Julia, I can't figure her out. It's like she's an enigma to me. All I know is that she wants a monogamous relationship and writes poetry and is a good singer. She falls in love with her poetry teacher Ben and they all go to his house for dinner and meet Michael, his roomie. I think I know what will happen here w/the three cousins.

Sorry to say, but I couldn't get past page 60. I was bored!

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book read like a self-indulgent and thinly veiled iautobiography. I have no idea if that's true - that is just the feeling I got. There were holes that I couldn't fill with the information given. I was interested in the characters, but my interest waned as I learned virtually nothing about them. Time and POV were too fluid - it was difficult to know how much time had passed and who whose internal monologue we were experiencing unless it was stated. The cousins I kind of liked but their mothers were all horrible and unbalanced. The men were two-dimensional, uninteresting, and I didn't like them at all. Hmmm...maybe I didn't like the characters as much as I thought.

The writing itself was wonderful. I would perhaps.read something else from this author with different characters.

[Rose Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter 7 is wild. White grad students in a Harlem psychic's parlor in 1976 Levine doesn't flinch from the racial dynamics, the "southwest hippie garb" vs. African robes, the twenty dollar transaction. But Gladys? She transcends the setup. "Another woman is nothing compared to a pile of books." I gasped. That line about Julia's future husband being "a less exciting man, too involved in his work"prophetic? Punitive? Both? Michael's reading is equally devastating: "Wild isn't what you need. What you want is love." The whole chapter vibrates with something almost supernatural. Best writing in the book so far.

[Jessica Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter 11, that pizza scene. Julia and Michael's hands. "For a split second she wondered what such large hands would feel like against her naked skin." Nothing happens. They let go. It's devastating. Levine understands that the almost affair can wound worse than the actual affair. Ben's cruelty "like most women, you're charmed by his self-destructive side" is so precisely observed I wanted to throw my Kindle. These are people who read too much, feel too much, and communicate too little. The '70s setting isn't nostalgia; it's a pressure cooker. Also: the math department secretary job? Depressingly realistic.

[David Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, the Skye threesome. Levine writes sex well pot slowed time, the "juggling" Gloria describes, the waterbed waves. But the emotional geometry? Robin wants this to mean Gloria's open to non monogamy; Gloria experiences it as "too much going on." Classic communication failure. Skye's backstory about Naomi staying up until 2 AM pretending not to care is heartbreaking, and it should warn Robin. Instead she hears permission. The drive conversation where Gloria says "It'll be a miracle if we last a year"? Oof. Also: "The Frisky Rabbit" sex shop in Albuquerque? I Googled it. Doesn't exist. Minor detail, but broke immersion.

[William Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julia finding Dominique's letters in Ben's dresser while moving his clothes into Michael's old dresser is Shakespearean level irony. The symbolism! She's literally replacing Michael with Ben while discovering Ben's hidden past. Levine structures this novel like a composition: themes recur, variations build. Ben's hypocrisy judging Julia for kissing Michael while hoarding love letters is delicious. But I also felt for him: the letters are his L'Heure Bleue, his empty perfume bottle. We all keep souvenirs of who we were. Julia's "Nice work" chapter title is bitterly perfect. She's becoming someone who notices cruelty and archives it. Three stars because I need the next book NOW.

[Cynthia Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica Levine’s THREE COUSINS invites us into a family of mothers and daughters and shows us the inner workings. It is a beautifully rendered story, the language is precise and true, and the dialogue is so organic that we feel we are sitting around the kitchen table with these women. The characters jump off the page with their particular forms of humanity, and the family relationships are priceless. This is a book that immerses you in a certain time and place and family dynamic so compelling, it’s hard to put down. I highly recommend it.

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise of this book is that three cousins, with much drama and trauma in their growing up years, move in together for a year of college in the 1970's. I was so excited to read this book! Imagine my dismay to discover that I didn't really like it. There seemed to be no point to it, and it just sort of ... ended. The plot line rambled through a rather lengthy portrayal of 1970's college promiscuity, and there was definitely no dramatic, climactic ending. It just stopped. I'm sorry to say this book disappointed me.

[Kathy Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three Cousins is a thoughtful and emotionally engaging coming of age novel that beautifully captures the complexities of friendship, family, and self discovery during the social changes of the 1970s.

Jessica Levine creates three distinct, believable women whose hopes, flaws, and evolving relationships feel authentic and relatable. The historical backdrop adds depth without overshadowing the characters' personal journeys. Insightful, reflective, and rich with emotional nuance, this is a compelling novel that explores identity, love, and the difficult choices that shape a lifetime.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Robin-Stephanie dynamic is exhausting in the best way. Steph preaches non-monogamy like gospel, then crumbles when Robin actually lives it. That scene where Robin finds Steph reading her diary? Chilling. And that note on the car "Please don't go. I love you." destroyed me. My only gripe: the 1970s lesbian bar details feel slightly Wikipedia'd. But Robin's voice? Sharp, restless, hungry. I kept thinking about my own early twenties, how we hurt people while trying to be "free." This book doesn't let anyone off the hook. Needed a glass of wine after Chapter 2.

[Victoria Gilder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Chambers is a type the tortured musician who sleeps with your cousin then critiques your painting. That orange argument with Anna? Dude, read the room. But here's the thing: Levine knows he's insufferable. The water-glasses-as-piano moment, the way he needs pot before sex, the failed marriage backstory it's all building toward something. I'm just not sure I care enough to wait. Robin deserves better, but she also keeps choosing chaos. The '70s grad school angst (Yale composition program = hell) is vividly rendered. Three stars because I'm intrigued but also want to shake everyone.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "Dog on a Beach" chapter is sexy but also sad. Theo with his rescued husky, his "crazy free" song, his casual cruelty "I think I'm going to marry her" after sleeping with Robin? The '70s San Francisco fog, the Sunset District details, the Russian grocery with piroshki: atmospheric as hell. But Robin's grandmother Iris losing her life savings to a boyfriend? That subplot hits harder than the romance. Robin's pattern seeking freedom, finding abandonment is becoming clear. I wanted more Gloria, less Theo. Still, that line about "soul gazing" made me text my ex. Damn this book.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows three cousins who move in together while they are all attending Yale. Each one of them is on their own journey of independence from their significant others and from their parents. This book is the prequel to other books in the series by this author, which I haven’t read. I think this can be a good entry point into the series. This is a character driven novel, and I did find it to be, for the most part, engaging. Thank you to BFF and the author for my advanced copy!

[Renee Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books of the year. The characters are so well written, I feel like I know them. Three women, so incredibly different, going through similar things, supporting one another. I love that they are cousins, because you have the family relationship, so you love them, but you can choose to like them. The changes and choices in their lives are mirrored by the time setting of 1976. It all just works brilliantly. I am looking forward to reading about their continuing journeys.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued about the setting and time for Three Cousins. I too came of age in the mid-1970's but unfortunately the characters just didn't engage me like I'd hoped. Other reviewers have noted that this is part of a trilogy and maybe it would all come together better with all 3 books.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of Three Cousins in exchange for an honest review.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her delightful story, Three Cousins, Jessica shows us how messy family life can be. Unpredictable and sometimes erratic, the characters come to life on the page. The story weaves through their lives, showing the complexity of mother and daughter relationships, while the cousins try to find their way in life. A wonderful coming of age story set in the 1970s.

[Annie G.Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

That dinner party! Records flying out windows, Asti Spumante, Michael's unshaven chaos. Julia's internal monologue wanting "a suit of armor" against love while falling headfirst felt so twenty one. Ben quoting Auden then singing Joni Mitchell? I'd have fallen too. Levine writes crushes with forensic precision.

[Graeme Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna slashing her canvas is the most visceral thing I've read this year. "Her first act of violence against another being" but the painting is her, her failed equilibrium, her unrequited Michael-obsession. Levine makes destruction feel like creation's twisted twin. I had to put the book down and breathe.

[Lisa Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally do enjoy these kind of chicklit books, 3 cousins living together while they go to Yale in the 70’s. But this one was just flat. Characters weren’t interesting, nothing happened, etc. just kinda meh.

[K Holl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could relate to the time period as I am the same age as the 3 main characters. However I did not go to Yale, but I am assuming from the author's bio that she knows her settings from personal experience.

[Matthew Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben poking Michael's chest: "You're wasting your genius." The Village Voice review as grenade. These men destroy each other with love Ben's architectonic vision of Michael's life, Michael's refusal to be designed. The jazz vs. academia war is eternal. I've lived this. Too real.