Loved One

by Aisha Muharrar

When Julia’s first-love-turned-best-friend Gabe, a musician with a cultish following, dies unexpectedly at age twenty-nine, Julia launches herself into an intercontinental quest to recover the possessions he left with friends and acquaintances across the world. Along the way she encounters Elizabeth, Gabe’s effortlessly perfect and endlessly cool ex-girlfriend. Now Julia can’t stop talking to, thinking about, and googling Elizabeth. As the two women struggle to reconcile their respective claims on Gabe’s memory, can they find their way from rivalry to friendship?

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Romance, Audiobook, Grief, Book Club

331 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 12, 2025

Reviews

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

something about this cover is just telling me i'll like this book.

and i did!

https://emmareadstoomuch.substack.com...

i just had a gut feeling i'd have a good time with it — maybe that cheerful yellow cover? it doesn't matter what gave me that instinct, because it was true. i'm never questioning myself again. this is your warning.

in spite of the heavy subject matter, so much of this felt light and refreshing to me. it could've been the unique voice, or the actually funny jokes (i've encountered many duds lately, although that could be my haunting high standards), or the fun characters, or the plot i found myself invested in and delighted by. i don't know!

i thought the ending was abrupt, but that could've just been that i didn't want it to.

look at me, being all vulnerable.

bottom line: i categorize this as a happy book for sad girls. a coveted status.

(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)

[Shawnaci Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
- This would be SUCH a great book for a book club because it walks the reader through so many human life experiences like grief and how messy love can be.
- Can’t believe this was the first book written by this author because I really loved it so much because of how much depth you get while reading!
- If you’ve ever navigated grief, this one will leave you feeling a little less alone in how you feel and you’ll find yourself relating so much.

[Maddie Marriott · Rating 4 out of 5]

yes ugly nasty grief… yes complicated friendship dynamics… yes…

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

the kind of book that feels like a friend pulling you into the kitchen at a party to tell you the wildest story.

[Celine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved One returned to me the feeling of sick days and comfort movies in bed. It’s funny, heart-wrenching, and a total breath of fresh air.

It begins with a funeral—Julia has just lost her best friend Gabe, who unexpectedly passes away, while on tour with his band.

This devastates Julia, especially because her and Gabe hadn’t been speaking before he died.

When she’s given the opportunity to track down some of his lost belongings for his mother, she takes it. Which is how she ends up at a restaurant in London, owned by the last woman Gabe was ever in love with.

I couldn’t put this one down. I laughed, teared up, and immediately wanted more from the author, as soon as I finished. A delight!

[Mel]

DNF @ 27%

[mary steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

i knew a writer for Hacks was never going to write a bad book but oh, baby… let’s put sharpest tool by sabrina carpenter on full fucking blast for my girl julia right here

[Jace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ // Such a beautiful and layered story of love and grief— you follow two women Julia and Elizabeth as they share their complicated history with Gabe, a musician who passed away suddenly at 29. LOVED the growth we saw from each woman as they grieved a life of “what could have beens.” The writing was captivating and honest— I highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC :)

[ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 - this didn’t do anything for me & I found it kind of boring. The author’s frequent use of “bwahayhay” was distracting & I didn’t know what it was supposed to reference (laughing?). The characters were all just okay. Love the cover though.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really surprised by the hype around this book. The writing is fine but if you’ve read much New Adult, you’ve read many versions of this already.

There’s some discussion to be had about how shopworn the claim of “realistic explorations of grief” has become, but I’m not sure it’s even apt here. I suppose in the vague sense that grief makes people do some odd things, sure, but no, I did not find the continent-spanning travels to recover the deceased’s lost possessions to be an especially realistic depiction of grief.

And the thing is, I didn’t especially need or even want said depiction of grief to enjoy this book, I just needed it to be more engaging, more observant, and probably buoyed by a lot more humor.

I suppose it’s a perfectly fine and nicely written trip to places we’ve been many times in fiction, but it’s hard to get excited about a book that doesn’t take us anywhere new.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[nestle • whatnestleread · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia is carrying a kind of loss that doesn’t fit neatly into any category—Gabe wasn’t her boyfriend, not really, but he wasn’t just a friend either. Their bond existed in this in between space, which makes his sudden absence even harder to define.

When she travels to London to pack up what’s left of his life, the task seems straightforward, but of course it isn’t. She keeps discovering versions of Gabe that belonged to other people, and the process forces her to not only deal with her own feelings for him, but also with the way love and memory rarely align as cleanly as we want them to.

What I loved most is how the book refuses to flatten grief into a emotion. It’s sad, yes, but also funny, tender, frustrating, and sometimes even absurd. Julia’s interactions with Elizabeth, Gabe’s ex, capture all of that perfectly. They circle the same loss from very different angles, and watching them clash and connect gives the novel its sharpest, most moving moments. There’s tension, awkwardness, and also these fleeting sparks of understanding.

The flashbacks to Gabe and Julia's past build this layered portrait of who Gabe was and why he mattered, while also highlighting how elusive the “truth” about a person can be. No one has the full picture, and that feels incredibly honest. The story doesn't doesn’t let Julia romanticize him or reduce him to a single role; instead, it acknowledges that love is complicated, even when it’s real.

Loved One is about how messy love and memory really are. It makes you wonder if we ever actually know the people we’re closest to, or if what we feel for them is mostly colored by our own needs. Muharrar’s writing is beautiful, and she nails both the thrill of young love and the complicated weight of adult relationships.

[Susie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

{thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book!}

I liked Loved One, but didn't love it. It sounded like a book straight up my alley, but I think I ultimately found the whole premise the book was built on to be a little empty.

Julia's first love and now best friend Gabe passes away very suddenly. He's a very successful musician and relatively famous amongst his cult-like following. When Julia and Gabe's mother realize some of his possessions are missing, Julia makes it her mission to find them and she thinks there's a good chance they're with his most recent ex-girlfriend.

I totally understand why a bereaved mother and best friend would want all of their loved ones possessions back, but there was something odd (to me) about the desperation they had to get back a guitar, hat, some sheet music, and a bracelet. To the point Julia literally gets on a plane to another country to basically stalk the ex-girlfriend. Grief makes people do some wild things I guess. Gabe's mother also drove me a bit crazy in how she communicated with Julia. But again, I suppose that can be chalked up to grief.

I did enjoy the progression of the plot and the growth and revelations the characters experience as the novel goes on. A story that starts with a lot of questions ends with lots of answers and I really appreciate that.

I also enjoyed Aisha Muharrar's writing style and would certainly read more from her!

[Aimee LaGrandeur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me 🤝 a grief book

[lami ♡ [eyes on sudan] · Rating 5 out of 5]

☆ ── four point five stars 💌
What a way to make your novel debut!! And to do so in your 40s is no easy feat. As someone who has never been normal about anything, literally ever, I relate to this on an astronomical level. It felt like a friend recapping their terrible month and all the weird encounters they had while you were away. I'd read the first half passively over a series of days, and the second in what was more or less one sitting. There was so much of it to adore, and I did. Unfortunately, I was missing the connection that would have turned this into a life-altering read for me.

Loved One doesn't shy away from messy characters and awkward situations. It embraces it wholeheartedly and displays it as its best characteristics, which I would agree it is. It's a story of grieving, but also finding yourself in that haze and learning to live with it. Grieving is already hard, but when there's unfinished business, it might just bring you to the brink of insanity. And it nearly does for Julia, who's been left behind to deal with the aftermath of the mess she and Gabe made of their lives. I relate to Julia so much; it hurt seeing her put herself in these positions where she came out looking like a fool, because to some extent, I felt like I was watching myself make those decisions, but I couldn't stop it. Her intensity is one of the things I loved most about her.

On the other hand, we have Elizabeth. I think I'd want to be someone like Elizabeth. She had her flaws, but she saw how important she was. No matter who downplayed her role and relationship with Gabe in the story, you can tell that she could see things a bit clearly. She was straightforward, and I really appreciated that about her. I really appreciated the sort of kinship they'd formed while tracking down Gabe's stuff.

There are so many things this book got right; its unabashed way of referencing so many beautiful things, without messing up the flow of the book. And its messy cast of characters. A particular piece of writing had stuck with me.

⋮ “Or was it that people didn’t want to see women in this way? With two suitors, there would be a victor, which meant there would also be a loser, the rejected one. No one wanted to see a rejected woman. No one wanted to be a rejected woman. Desperation wasn’t in fashion. It was embarrassing to pine after someone who didn’t want you as much as you wanted him.”

Julia and Elizabeth had been in this unconscious tug of war for Gabe's affection at the start, and the truth was, it was embarrassing. It made them very humane in my eyes, though. We will never truly know what ending Gabe would have had, given the chance, but that's the world. It never truly gives you what you want, and sometimes it's for the better, sometimes the worse. I'm glad Julia and Elizabeth could make peace with that.

[Rincey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. This is a book filled with complicated characters with complicated relationships navigating grief and reflecting on their lives. It goes on some side tangents but overall I found it to be a pretty compulsive read.

Watch my full review here: https://youtu.be/SxUTpcZhQZ8

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really didn’t care about the plot or any of the characters

[Hallie (thecommonroomshop) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars⭐️ As far as books about grief go, this one did NOT hit for me.

Julia is mourning the sudden death of her best friend Gabe and goes on a journey to try to retrieve some of his lost items. In doing this, she runs into Gabe’s ex girlfriend and they are forced to connect and get to know each other.

While Aisha Muharrar’s writing was phenomenal and these characters were very believable, I had a hard time connecting. I think this might be a book about grief for the Avoidant Types™️ Julia is constantly trying to dismiss her relationship with Gabe as a coping mechanism when it’s clear that they were actually extremely close. WHICH JUST….DROVE ME INSANE A LITTLE BIT *eye twitch.* I found her a bit judgmental overall, but I think that might have been the point!

The resolution came so suddenly and without much emotional fanfare that it didn’t stick the landing. I liked Elizabeth the most in this story because it felt like she was the only one who was actually EMOTING after this extremely traumatic event. I can appreciate humor to cope, but not at the expense of authenticity. If anything this was a study on the complete opposite way I would want to deal with a situation like this. This book needed to decide if it was a comedy or a tragedy because it didn’t quite hit either genre.

That being said, grief is messy and everyone deals with it differently. The chaos & mess felt very realistic.

[Novel Visits · Rating 4 out of 5]

@vikingbooks | #gifted I have the perfect book to round out your summer reading: 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗡𝗘 by Aisha Muharrar. This novel is a love story, but in no sense a traditional one. It’s the story of Gabe, an indie musician just starting to get a serious following. As the book opens, Gabe has died in a tragic accident at only 29. Left behind are his mom, a plethora of friends, and two women who knew and loved him in very different ways. Gabe was Julia’s first love when they were both only 18. They’d remained close friends ever since. Elizabeth didn’t have that kind of history with Gabe, but had been in a sometimes rocky relationship with him more recently. Each woman holds pieces of who Gabe was that the other desperately wants.⁣
⁣
I was impressed with the way 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘯𝘦 unfolded. The focus was fully on the women, the different versions of pain and loss each felt. Julia narrates, but Elizabeth’s perspective is still strong. For obvious reasons, theirs was an antagonistic relationship, but also one that couldn’t be avoided. While it was a story of grief, it was handled with a surprisingly deft touch and a welcome dose of understanding. ⁣
⁣
Initially, I felt like the book might be a little surface level, but I was quite wrong. In a masterful way, Muharrar built a story that, layer by layer, revealed answers to both Julia’s and Elizabeth’s questions, as well as my own. Along the way readers also learned more and more about Gabe. Though not as dark, this reminded me a bit of 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 by Claire Daverly, both excellent debuts. I know I’ll be among the first in line for whatever Muharrar writes next. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣

[Angie Miale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julia has just lost her best friend Gabe after an accident. He was only 29 years old, and in an indie rock band. At the funeral she connects with Gabe’s most recent ex-girlfriend Elizabeth. Both women have secrets they aren’t sharing, but both of them have reasons to collect the most important items from Gabe’s life, his medical bracelet, sheet music, and his guitar.

The unlikely pair takes a long time to trust each other as they set out to hunt these horcruxes. On the way they learn more about each other and who Gabe was to others.

A millennial grief novel to remember, this book has good characterization and dialogue. Grief, it’s said, comes in waves. And so does the structure and plot of this novel. It’s very reflective and intensely readable. A senseless death that just happened. We never know when a random accident can take a friend. This book really leaned into the theme that the people we know are totally different to others. The Gabe that Julia knew was different than the Gabe that Elizabeth knew, and the Gabe that his fans knew.

I was rooting for Julia and Elizabeth all the way.

[cyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Victoria Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

a couple minutes by olivia dean x i look in peoples windows by taylor swift

such a slice of life kind of read, it dealt with grief in an almost whimsical way since the character was so full on in this adventure to recover his things while also trying to rediscover what their relationship meant to her.
really enjoyed it!

[Simon S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julia is eighteen when she meets Gabe—first love, then close friend—at a party in Barcelona. Their connection is immediate, the kind that shapes a person, lingering even as life moves forward. Twelve years later, Julia meets Elizabeth, Gabe’s most recent ex, at his funeral. The encounter is brief but unsettling, leaving Julia with a flood of questions about Gabe—their shared past, the person he became, and the version of him she never got to know.

When Gabe’s mother asks Julia to retrieve sentimental items from the London home he once shared with Elizabeth, Julia sees an opportunity—not just to honor Gabe’s memory, but to meet Elizabeth again.

What starts as a simple task turns into a compelling search for understanding. As Julia and Elizabeth orbit each other, drawn together by grief and unspoken truths, they fall into a delicate dance of revelation and restraint. Neither of them is telling the full story, and both have more at stake than they admit.

In a beautifully layered novel that spans a young adult’s formative years, Europe, the US, and the ever-shifting landscape of love, Muharrar brings a perceptive and emotionally astute eye to the nuances of relationships—both romantic and platonic - and the devastating mechanics of grief.

Loving someone means accepting that different versions of them exist—some we know intimately, others we may never fully understand. The past isn’t always neat or logical; memories shift, perspectives clash, and the truth is rarely just one thing. And feelings—especially the deepest ones—don’t simply disappear. They linger, shaping us, pulling us back, reminding us that love, in all its complexity, never truly leaves.

This is an assured and rewarding debut novel that resonates long after the final page—an absorbing, funny, and touching exploration of grief, love, memory, and the emotional echoes that shape us.

I loved the tone of this and the fluency with which Muharrar depicts Julia’s anger and pain in all their stages, and the clarity at which she arrives.

[Charlotte Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kept waiting for this to get good and it just…. Didn’t

[jocelyn • coolgalreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5? i anticipated loving this more esp because i flew through the first 100 or so pages. it kind of dragged in the middle but it was still a really solid debut

[Miss✧Pickypants ᓚᘏᗢ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, multifaceted debut novel about love and loss. No spoilers to ruin the story for other readers but I can share the book begins with the unexpected death of Gabe, one of Julia's dearest friends. When Gabe's mother laments about not being able to locate some of Gabe's prized personal effects, Julia takes it upon herself to seek them out The book follows Julia as she works to make sense of their relationship while searching for these missing beloved possessions.

The non-linear narrative with juxtaposed timelines are expertly woven together to build suspense and completely drew me. I found myself reading as quickly as I could to find out the whole story. There was one obvious plot line I fully anticipated ahead of its reveal but the story was interesting enough that I didn't mind its inclusion. Looking forward to seeing what this author does next.

Disclosure: Received an uncorrected ARC of this book from NetGalley and Viking/Penguin Random House LLC (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.

[Jordyn Pace · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. This book is so special to me. Thank you to @prhaudio for the free audiobook!! I read it at the right time, surrounded by grief but grieving different people and things at different stages. I absolutely loved the audiobook, the narrator brought all the different characters to life. I felt like I was going on a journey with Julia, obsessed with tracking down Gabe’s lost items and discovering the truth about their relationship.

Loved One follows Julia, whose best friend Gabe has just suddenly died at 29 years old. Julia is feeling all the complicated emotions about her grief - devastated that he suddenly died at such a young age, confused over her feelings for him, and most of all, angry that he disappeared in the last month of his life after they slept together for the first time. Julia and Gabe dated when they were very young, broke up, and became the best of friends, never taking their relationship to the next level. When it seems like they have finally made it back to each other in their adult life, Gabe suddenly ghosts Julia, and a month later, dies after slipping in the shower. Julia’s world is turned upside down and she is determined to get answers of why Gabe stopped talking to her.

Loved One is an ode to love, friendship, and the nuances of grief and loss. I really loved how the author wrote a depiction of grief that is not the typical, crying person, overwhelmed with sadness and instead focused on other stages like denial and anger, and even the dark humor and jokes that can accompany grief. The characters and plot were so interesting and so relatable. I also loved the writing style so much. What an impressive debut novel!!

The audiobook was absolutely amazing, I loved the narrator so much. She brought Julia’s character to life and especially highlighted Julia’s varying emotions as she worked through her grief. This book is FUNNY at times and I loved how the audiobook brought the underlying humor to life. But at the same time, making me CRY, especially at the ending.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.50 stars.

Julia's best friend (and former lover) dies unexpectedly, and vows to get back a special bracelet for his mom, that she swears his past girlfriend Elizabeth still is harboring. Only problem - Elizabeth is in London and doesn't know Julia.

While the parts about grief were really well written, it was the friendship between Julia and Elizabeth I just couldn't get into. There were supposed to be funny parts, like are we really supposoed to believe some of these just happen?

Regardless, I ended up skimming through to the end and enjoyed the happiness the both eventually find.

[Leanne Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bumping up to 4.5 stars
I have had a summer full of books that have surprised me- and all in good ways! This is another one. It turned out to be very different from what I expected, and at first I was disappointed, then so happy. This felt new and fresh, and I ended up loving it.

Julia's first love and now best friend, Gabe, a professional musician, dies suddenly in a freak accident. Prior to his death, they were in awkward, difficult phase of their relationship, which also makes Julia's grief over his loss complicated. On top of that, as a favor to Gabe's mother, Julia volunteers to travel to London to find Gabe's current girlfriend, Elizabeth, in an effort to get some of his most sentimental belongings back. This follows Julia on her journey and the relationship that forms between her and Elizabeth.

Grief is hard. Complicated grief is harder, and when things were left unfinished prior to a sudden death... well, it's just a lot. Muharrar, an Emmy winning television writer (she wrote the Parks and Rec Galentine's Day episode!) gets this so right, and without melodrama. I actually went in thinking this might be literary, but it it's definitely more upmarket, contemporary fiction. At first, I was afraid I'd walked into a cliche "chick lit" book, but thankfully I was wrong. Once I settled into the tone, I loved it. Muharrar gives these women grieving Gabe so much dignity, and they are full human beings outside of their relationships with him. They aren't catfighting and competing- they are all sorting their grief and their feelings about Gabe. Julia in particular has to confront many things she'd rather not.

"I could see Gabe again. Not the moments when I was most upset or conflicted about him, but all of Gabe, fully. Which even for a brief moment I could not take."

This publishes 8/12, and I highly recommend it.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I know that grief takes practice. And I'm patient with myself. Even though death happens all the time, no one could ever be a natural at this."

Gabe was Julia's first love. Over a decade ago, they shared an intimate, innocent romance one brief summer in Barcelona, but even though it didn't work out, they became and remained best friends.

Now 30, Julia is a successful jewelry maker and Gabe is a popular indie artist - following the dream he had all those years ago, when Julia first heard that beautiful voice of stranger she couldn't place for weeks singing at the university campus courtyard.

Tragically, Gabe passes away in his hotel room in LA after a show one night at 29. Grief-stricken and filled with questions, Julia goes on a trip to London to confront Gabe's most recent ex, Elizabeth, about something eerie she said in the bathroom at Gabe's funeral, and try to gain possession of some of the belongings he left back in London.

This book was amazing. There were constant flashbacks to times when Gabe was alive, so I felt like I really got to know and love him, flawed as he was, which made me feel like I was grieving as much as Julia and Elizabeth. There was a mystery element to the story with Julia going to find Elizabeth and figure out what she meant by what she said in the bathroom, and I loved getting to know little by little the truth of both of their experiences with Gabe.

One minute, they were bonding over their grief, and the next, they were back to fighting because of the truth of their secrets. Grief really does come in waves, and they were mad at Gabe, themselves, and life, but took it out on each other.

The book allowed for major introspection and reflection on life in general, the people who matter most, and how worth it it is to hold grudges - spoiler: it's not.

It was a very realistic take on grief and love and all the what ifs that go on in your mind when you lose someone close to you. Highly recommend.

[Daria | dariasbooked · Rating 4 out of 5]

grief x complicated relationships core

felt some similarities to Talking At Night!