Almost life

by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

A love story that will last a lifetime

Erica and Laure meet on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur in Paris, 1978. Erica is a student, relishing her first summer abroad before beginning university at home in England. Laure is studying for her PhD at the Sorbonne, drinking and smoking far too much, and sleeping with a married woman. The moment the two women meet the spark is but their encounter turns into far more than a summer of love. It is the beginning of a relationship that will define their lives and every decision they have yet to make . . .

Erica and Laure's love story spans decades, marriage, children, secret trysts, and the agonising changes – both personal and political – that might mean they can be together, after all. But when life brings them within touching distance again, will they be brave enough to seize a future together?

Almost Life is a story of longing for the paths not taken, and the almost lives we live.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, LGBT, Queer, Lesbian, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction

448 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2026

About the author

Kiran Millwood Hargrave is an award-winning writer whose work has been translated into over 30 languages and optioned for stage and screen. Almost Life, her third novel for adults, will be published by Picador (UK) and Summit (US) in March 2026.

Her debut adult novel The Mercies debuted at number one of the The Times bestseller list, was a top-ten Sunday Times bestseller, and was selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club and the Richard and Judy Summer Reads. It was a finalist for the prestigious Prix Femina in France, won a Betty Trask Award, and was called 'unquestionably the book of the 2018 London Book Fair' by The Bookseller. The Dance Tree was shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award and picked for the BBC Two Between Two Covers Book Club, as well as Florence + the Machine's Between Two Books Book Club.

Between them, her children's books have won numerous awards including the Wainwright Prize, Children's Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the Historical Association Young Quills Award, and the Blackwell's Children's Book of the Year. They have been shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize, the Barnes and Noble Award, Jhalak Prize, the Little Rebels Prize, the Branford Boase Award, the Blue Peter Best Story Award, Costa Children's Book Prize, Foyles' Children's Book of the Year, and thrice-longlisted for the Carnegie Award.

Kiran lives in Oxford with her husband, the artist Tom de Freston, their daughter, cats, and usually a litter of foster kittens.

Reviews

[Quirine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book destroyed me!! Depending on how it will linger I might change this to 5 stars later because holy. I was completely transported into the lives of these two women. It helps that I romanticize Paris like it’s my job, so this book already got me there. Young artists living in Paris in the 70s, smoking and drinking red wine and talking about art and politics? Absolutely yes.
Yet this turned into something much more tender and hearbreaking and beautiful as it went on.

The only reason I gave it four stars is that the character growth was not fully believable to me at all times. Erica and Laure both had such strong, distinct personalities at the start and they sort of get blurred and wiped away as time goes on. And maybe that’s what life does to us but I do wish there was some remnant of a personality left, especially for Laure.

That being said, I cried multiple times during this book and feel both emotionally damaged and enlightened

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

Gosh, I don’t even fully know how to begin to describe how I feel about this book.
It’s an understatement to say that it rocked me to my core (& made me cry countless times) honestly, because this book and the whole story somehow managed to make me completely forget that I was reading about fictional characters and not something that happened in real life.
First of all, I want to say that this book shines through the way the story is told, the writing magnificent and the storytelling just as much. I could really connect to all of the characters, our mains Erica and Laure, and all the side characters like Michel, Laure’s friends or even Erica’s husband. The story is told through both, Laure’s and Erica’s POV and not gonna lie, it has been such a gift! Especially because I had my moments where I disliked Erica quite a bit and just longed to see Laure’s side and then when it happened, I felt myself fully enyoing the moments we got to see.
Since we’re already speaking about the characters, I want to dive a bit deeper into that.
First, Erica. We start off with her in her young adult years just before she enters university, and folllow her till she is in her middle age. I liked her character at the beginning, due to her being around the same stage of life as I am now, I felt like I could easily connect to her, however, as the story progressed I felt like she didn’t have quite the character growth I wished her or even expected her to have. Which, on one hand, added to the complexity of the characters as well as the realness but on the other hand, left me increasingly frustrated at times.
Then, we had Laure. Dear god, I adored her right from the beginning and let me tell you, I cried so many times reading her side of the story. I think she seemed quite arrogant at the beginning but then just had such an excellent character development and growth which just wowed me away! I kept thinming about her and Erica’s love story over the days that I read the book and found myself so immersed in her chapters and opinions in the story. I also adored her relationship with her friends, especially Michel (gosh, I adored him sooo much), but also all the others. It was so nice to see how thesy grew and struggled too and how we got glimpses of what happened to them over the years. Though, I still wish we could’ve gotten even more detail especially when the time jumps appeared in the story.
Besides, the pacing of the story was great. As I mentioned the storytelling was phenomenal and this is surely a book which I will buy as a copy for my bookshelf and to re-read in a few months when it’s officially published. I really highly recommend!!

Thank you to Netgallay and Pan Macmillan for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchnage for a honest review.

[Em Anderson-Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable. It's 2am and my face is wet with tears having been unable to put this down until I finished it. I think it's safe to say that this book really spoke to me.

For me, Almost Life was a perfect blend of A Little Life, One Day, Past Lives, Saltwater: aching, passionate, beautiful, crafted, it follows the interwoven lives of two women who meet on the steps of Sacré-Cœur in Summer 1978. What could be, what is, how long something can last, what makes something work - these are the central questions of Almost Life and captivated me wholly. Sapphic romance doesn't do this book justice: I found the depiction of Laure and Erica's connection through the years to be so beautiful and nuanced, so real, that on multiple occasions I reread whole sections so I could relive the scene and experience the emotions afresh. Alongside this, the story had dynamism and social commentary and humour and sex and depth and pace and I just never wanted it to end but couldn't rest until it did (which, on reflection, sort of parallels the plot).

big, big yes for me.

[Isa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lesbian normal people. Quite devastating, but incredibly addictive. Though it is not the most superb novel, with certain aspects of it falling into stereotypical parts of queerness, i still recommend it if you are seeking something heavily character driven and reflective of relationships and connections.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Two young women meet in Paris in this decades-spanning tour de force about the enduring power of young love and the poignant heartbreak of missed chances—perfect for fans of One Day and Normal People.

Erica and Laure meet on the steps of the Sacré-Coeur in Paris, 1978. Erica is a student, relishing her first summer abroad before beginning university at home in England. Laure is studying for her PhD at the Sorbonne, drinking and smoking far too much, and sleeping with a married woman. The moment the two women meet, the spark is undeniable, but their encounter turns into far more than a summer of love. It is the beginning of a relationship that will define their lives and every decision they have yet to make…

Erica and Laure’s love story spans decades, marriage, children, secret trysts, and the agonizing changes—both personal and political—that might mean they can be together, after all. But when life brings them within touching distance again, will they be brave enough to seize a future together?

Beautifully capturing young love and all its complexities, Almost Life is a story of longing for the paths not taken, and the almost lives we live.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Messy lives are so much more interesting than tidy, orderly ones. Messy for the right reasons...like being in love with two people for the usual complex, complicated reasons we humans fall in love...make for even better, more involving reading. Then there's the ultimate messiness of not being able to decide what to do about any of it. That is the most relatable thing of them all.

Of course, the emotional cost of being in two equally important relationships...well, grief and guilt and anger are spread around pretty thickly, pretty widely, and really heavily. Erica and Laure are connected but in ways that are demanding, requiring choices to be made. Erica is the one with A Plan (children, career as a novelist), so she chooses her Plan over the loose, freeing love of Laure (that will never get her one step closer to fulfilling her Plan).

Laure. Her plan for life is to love, to make love, to build around her loving chosen family of outsider misfit gay folk a nexus of happiness and support. As this story begins in 1978, I needn't tell older readers what was about to ram into the walls of the world...suffice, for those who were not there, to say that COVID was not the first deadly plague that came out of nowhere your elders faced. Laure being in the gay world of Paris feels it, bears it, as it scythes through her circle of loved ones. Erica, insulated in marriage and children, feels it less, but she feels love for Laure and the deeply conflicted happy delights and miserable lows of being a human in a family.

Author Hargrave is not going to trudge through the lives of Laure and Erica, taking us into bedrooms and kitchens and school meetings; we hop and bounce and move through their worlds, seldom seeing them together, but always connecting, and always dreaming of what might have been if....

It's a technique whose use means that a reader wanting a saga, a densely woven tapestry of emotional connections explored and explained, is not going to be satisfied. This story explores how the truly, intensely important loves in our lives crystallize us. Shaping the futire is not all that often a deliberate act, despite the mountains of books and stories that tell us we can take charge, we can direct our own life-movie. Erica meeting Laure awoke to her bisexuality, and I am here on this Earth to tell you that sexual awakening is not under the awakened's conscious control and is seldom a force for good until lots of painful lessons about emotions and plans gone awry are learned. Erica and Laure set in motion changes and processes of healing and cycles of misery and destruction in their lives. Lives lived, of course, but more interestingly roads not taken. These are the strands of Author Hargrave's story that sang and shimmered in my mind's eye.

I must say that this technique militates against deeper explorations of the women's relationship to each other. There is an inevitable sense of unsettledness, of being in motion without being headed in any particular direction, as a price exacted for seeing into the "almost lives" that pepper every person's experience—without most of us being aware of them, aware of their ghosts anyway.

I'm sure this story would ignite terrific book club discussions. It's tailor-made for the present moment of multiple inflection points converging on unknowable futures that preclude each other. Well worth your time and treasure.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when you read an ARC, you get this feeling of overwhelming excitement, knowing something great awaits the reading community and once it is out into the world, it is guaranteed to become a star. Almost Life is one of those books.

Spanning decades from the late 1970s to early 2010s, Almost Life follows the intertwined lives of two women who meet on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur on a stifling hot summer day. What ensues is an honest and messy exploration of love, life, identity, motherhood, and grief. It is a dance between two souls that will define not only their lives, but those around them.

Against the political and social backdrop of the 1970s/80s, we see Laure and Erica evolve from Montmartre to Norfolk and everywhere in between. I love the vivid descriptions of locations and depiction of art in this novel, grounding and guiding readers from one moment in time to the next. The secondary characters further enrich this journey.

Yes, this is a sapphic love story. It is also complex and heartbreaking and frustrating and everything in between.

a favourite 2026 release.

out on March 24th. Thank you to summit books and simon & schuster canada.

[Liralen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Erica and Laure meet in a sweltering Paris summer, it's a blip in their lives—until it isn't. That blip becomes a hookup, becomes a romance, unspools into something all-consuming. But Erica is only in France for the summer, and it's 1978, and being together requires a series of choices that Erica knows will upset the direction of her life. So she goes back to England—but that's really only the beginning.

She knew she could not live how Laure and her friends lived, at the edge of things, even in Paris. [...] She didn't want to exist like that. She wanted to get married, to have children. She wanted to write novels [...]. She wanted simple joy, simple happiness, simple love. And loving Laure, even if she were a man, would not be simple. (loc. 1123*)

Erica and Laure make for such messy, complex characters—maybe at the beginning one seems more straightforward than the other, or more confident in herself, but as time goes on the lines blur. They drink too much; they make bad decisions; they make good decisions; they have friends and lovers and dramas; some of their sharp edges blur into something more palatable and some of their more endearing personality traits wither over time. For Laure in some ways the question of their relationship is simpler; she is already entrenched in queer (though they would not use the term then) life in Paris, and when Erica dreams of them being together, it is back in Paris. Laure has already set aside a need for convention. But for Erica, in the 70s and 80s and beyond...she can see multiple paths, and multiple paths that would bring her joy. Some of them are easier than others.

I'm good at forgetting the book description by the time I read a book I'm interested in, so I didn't realize right away just how much time this would cover. Theirs is not a quick story, over in a summer—theirs is one of those relationships that pulls you in and spits you back out and you wonder, time and time again, if that was the one who got away...or rather, you know that was the one who got away. And what's left is what to do with that knowledge. Very much recommended to anyone with a queer one who got away and to lovers of character-driven stories.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a long story, but I walked into a bookstore in January and walked out with an ARC copy of this book. I intentionally don’t seek out ARCs because I don’t want to feel swayed to review a certain way. And I know this isn’t how ARCs work, but rather how I work. Anyway, I put off reading this for weeks because I knew it would be heart-wrenching. But I wasn’t sure if that feeling would make sense or feel earned.

Almost Life follows the lives of two women who meet in Paris, on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur. Erica is 18, embarking on her first solo trip to another country before she starts university in England. Laure is in her mid-twenties, a seasoned Parisian doing a PhD at the Sorbonne. She has very little patience for tourists, but beautiful women are always a bit of an exception. What was a memorable but disastrous first meeting turns into a summer of possibility, sexual awakenings and first loves. Until real life intrudes on their bubble.

The book continuously asks the question of What if? What if Erica had stayed in Paris? What if Laure had called Erica when she said she would? What if Laure had never kissed Erica in the first place?

What’s interesting to me about this novel is that I was never really sure I should be rooting for Erica and Laure at all. There are good reasons why they shouldn’t work, and yet I wanted them to work. Or rather, I wished for what was possible if they could work—of Erica being brave in all aspects of her life and not settling for what was comfortable, of Laure finding peace and true happiness in a sustaining love. Of course, the the alternatives didn’t seem too bad either (with one exception).

Am I being vague? I’m trying to be.

Almost Life spans decades in which the lives of these women continue to intersect—through heartbreak and new relationships, through sickness, grief, and new life. What remains constant is the possibility that *this* time will finally be the one where they’re both brave enough to really try.

Almost Life isn’t a romance, so it shouldn’t be a surprise where this story goes. But I have struggled to read too many books this year, and I didn’t want to put this one down.

4.5 stars. For as much as I liked this book, it definitely wasn’t perfect. Laure seemed a bit of a French cliché to me and France/Paris was romanticized way too much in this, but my complaints are small. It’s my first Kiran Millwood Hargrave and would definitely read more of her work.

[alyssa✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

gotta collect my thoughts on this one …..

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost Life is a novel about the lives two women did and could've led, as their love story never quite goes the right way. Erica is eighteen and in Paris for the summer before starting university, where she meets Laure by the Sacré-Cœur, a doctoral student at the Sorbonne. They are drawn to one another and fall in love, but the summer cannot last forever, and each choice they make changes their lives in different ways.

Told both from Erica and Laure's perspectives, this novel spans through their lives, using time jumps to show the impact of what happens in each section. Some moments were particularly powerful, like the depiction of a character with AIDS and his friends' support, and Laure's reflections on not having children, and the book delves deep into the idea of lives not lived, though at times this imagining feels a bit overdone, wallowing in miscommunications. I really liked some of the characterisation, for example Laure and Michel's friendship, and how the book explores the messiness of human connection. However, it did feel like any love that Erica or Laure felt other than for each other was stated by them a lot, but not really shown in any depth, even though these relationships were meant to be very important to the plot and their own relationship with each other.

This is a sad, queer 'what if?' type novel that hinges a lot around miscommunications and missed chances, exploring how sometimes romantic relationships never seem to get the right opportunity. Occasionally the conceit of everything being 'almost' was a bit wearing for me, but generally it is an emotional novel that feels like a successor to the gay novels mentioned in the book itself.

[Constance · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 stars tbh. I have so many notes. The whole book was giving the author studied abroad in Paris and needed the world to know.
Firstly, Laure fell into such french caricatures at first and then finally had character growth. Erica on the other hand was the opposite! She fell into the typical woman who loses herself in marriage and motherhood trope but not in a well done way. Secondly, the dialogue was infuriating! Poorly done. Why was it mainly in french at first and then, until the end, all in english? Also if you're going to write in french have the decency to check if it's correct... because it wasn't...
This read like a wattpad book especially in certain descriptions. I do enjoy reading a bad book once in a while though! Reminds me how good books are good!

[Andrea (looseleftlesbian) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Welp, I knew I was going to cry. The publisher literally dared the reader not to cry while reading Almost Life. Going in, I knew I probably would. I’m a sucker for nostalgia and what ifs. I don’t think we think about how different our lives can be with one decision.

I wasn’t sure what I expected out of this story, but I got so much more out of it than I thought, especially with Laure’s story and struggle with alcohol.I loved both Erica and Laure, but found myself more drawn towards Laure throughout the story. Maybe that has to do with us both being lesbians. I often thought of it unfair how Erica could go and have the husband, kids, etc and still want more. To still take from Laure. I have no doubt that she loved Laure, but I can’t help thinking about how it all made Laure feel. To make love with your husband in her ex lover’s bed? To see her with her kids and wanting to have a child that is a blend of her and Erica.

I was screaming at Erica when she was drunk, accusing Laure of cheating in the 80s. The hypocrisy of it, her, cheating on her husband, accusing her lover of doing so. All while Laure’s best friend was dying. But at the same time, I didn’t hate Erica for it. I didn’t even dislike her. I hated some of her actions, sure, but I think the way the author told their love story, their individual stories, made me feel the unconditional love for both of them. I feel as if it is hard for me in real life, to seperate people from their actions. But in Almost Life, it was easy, simple almost. I should probably dive deeper into why that is, but like fiction and this story, I feel like it is better to lose myself in the story.

Perhaps I relate to Laure due to thinking of a single woman throughout the book. Thinking about who my Erica is. Bracing myself for being a friend in her life because I can’t fathom not being in it. Thinking about possibly having to see her with a man and children. Children I will wish were mine and hers. Erica lies to herself at first about who she is, her sexuality. My Erica does the same, but I feel as if she will never accept the truth like Erica did. Perhaps I am making Laure and Erica’s story too much about me, but what is fiction for after all?

I was wondering where they would end up. I hoped they would eventually be together but I knew in my heart they wouldn’t be. Even after the ocean scene, the finality of it, I was okay. But when Erica didn’t go to see Laure after the stroke, after her husband told her to go and that he knew about the affairs, I lost it. I can’t believe that she could be so selfish. Up until then, I understood her choices and decisions. I didn’t like them, but I understood. but she was selfish in not seeing her. Yes, I get not wanting to see her half paralyzed, but I feel as if there were other reasons. It being easier to be with her husband, the reason behind most of her decisions when it all boils down to it. While we get both POVs throughout the story, I started to see this as more of Laure’s story. I don’t know if that’s because she as a character grew more or if it’s because I saw so much of myself in her.

I am not sure how to feel about the death scene, about Erica not finding out about Laure’s death until three years after the fact. I keep thinking that it was true love that Laurie had for Erica, true love that had her thinking of someone who hurt her so much, so many times, but she still forgave her in the end. I can’t help but wonder if Erica’s love for Laure was ever that way or even real. Maybe that’s unfair. Maybe I’ll think differently once some time passes and these emotions aren’t so raw.

I don’t know how to explain what this book did and is doing to me. I feel seen and I feel alone. Because how do you explain to a friend the profound sadness you feel in your chest over a character? How do you explain that you’re scared the same will happen to you?

I will never forget this book. I will never forget Laure, Erica, or Michel. I am not sure if I will be able to reread this, but I will buy the physical book. This will be in my top five of books I’ve read.

In the words of Laure, “There is little to say because sometimes words are so small.”

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Finally able to write this now that I'm not crying! Sometimes you come across books with titles that don’t quite make sense in the context of the book. Almost Life is not one of those books. A story of two women who love each other throughout their lives, circling the other. Almost, but never truly succeeding in making a life together.

I loved the characters here. Erica is relatable, messy, and at times unlikeable. Laure is just as relatable, critical, and tragic. Even the side characters were lovely, Michel especially dear god.

The writing of this book was so immersive that decisions felt like I was on the receiving end of them. I experienced so many emotions during this book, including: crying three separate times. It was painful, the way in which things never worked for Erica and Laure. Seeing the effect of marrying Ant and becoming a mother on Erica was especially difficult for me.

Erica choosing not to see Laure, the description of Laure’s death, and Erica finally learning about it three years after actually destroyed me.

I am not a fan of the bury your gays trope, and wasn’t really prepared for that coming into this, if one could argue that’s what’s present here, but I think it made sense in the context of the narrative.

The author did an amazing job writing this, I cannot stress that enough. But god was this painful to read. Absolutely devastating. This book will undoubtably stay in my mind for the next few weeks and I will be unable to escape it. Most definitely will be purchasing a copy when it is released. UPDATE: Bought my copy!!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing the e-ARC for honest review.

[emily faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave has left me utterly speechless. Words can't even begin to describe how this book made me feel, but I will try (with tears still rolling down my face)

This god damn book tore me in half, and I haven't gone a day without thinking of it since. The two main characters, Erica and Laure, feel so palpable I genuinely felt as if I was walking among them.

Set in the late 70s, the story follows Erica, freshly eighteen, fleeing Norfolk for a dreamlike summer in Paris. When she meets Laure on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur, she isn't prepared for how irrevocably her life is about to change.

Laure is a philosophy student who is unapologetically Parisian, dominant, and who's living in a way that both fascinates and unsettles Erica. Erica on the other hand, is young, inexperienced, and riddled with insecurities and a shame she doesn't yet understand. The way these two orbit each other is SO consuming.

The novel unfolds chronologically throughout the years, expanding beyond Erica and Laure to the people who shape their lives. Each character feels so rich and distinct, identifiable from one another in a way that made me come to love them all in their own light. The writing is so descriptve and immersive, and while I myself have never visited Paris, I felt like I was right there experiencing it for myself.

So much thought and love has been poured onto these pages. So much reflection, doubt, and humanness. The way Kiran explores sexuality, addiction, sobriety, and the AIDS epidemic is handled with such care. It feels so unapologetically intimate and raw.

I find myself gravitating back to this book constantly, replaying moments and characters in my mind. Almost Life is a profoundly multifaceted exploration of desire, identity, love, and becoming. I plan to reread this ASAP!!

Thank you so very much to Macmillan Aus for the ARC.

[daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Erica and Laure, a heady summer in Paris is the start of a lifelong love affair. We first meet Erica at the cusp of adulthood, as a tourist in Paris, infatuated by a young woman sitting reading on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur. What follows is a messy and intense exploration of identity, self-discovery, love, loss, and heartbreak. The story begs the question of will-they-won’t-they, and even when our two main characters are separated by hundreds of kilometres, we see how their love for each other and their time together affect their lives and choices.

As time passes and our characters change, we see how the world around them changes alongside. Because even though this is a love story, it is also so much more than that. It is a love letter to art and history with social and political commentary present throughout the entirety of the story as well.

As much as I adored the wide cast of characters, I do unfortunately think that this was the reason why I didn’t fully connect with any of the characters in this story on a deeper level. I enjoyed reading about them all and exploring their stories, but at no point did I feel a stronger connection to any one of them, and this unfortunately did affect my reading experience. Despite this, I can acknowledge how raw and moving a story this was, and I do see this becoming a favourite among many.

The publisher very kindly provided this arc through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book made me HURT
we follow Laure and Erica from a meet-cute in the ‘70s and check in on their lives during points throughout several decades. I think this is best going into pretty blind, their stories take some unexpected turns. really well written by Hargrave, emotionally packed and really fucking depressing at times! Yayyyy

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm calling it right now that 2026 is going to be full of bangers; I've already read three in pre-pub and this one is leading the charge. Queer Paris! Intellectuals! Love and heartbreak and yearning!

This is an epic love story between two women spanning decades and continents. You'll fall in love with Laure and you'll fall in love with Paris, and you'll sympathize with Erica even though she will aggravate you to no end. This story hit me in all the feels and I never wanted it to end.

If you liked Heart the Lover, add this one to your TBR.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost Life is the perfect title for this book. It's literally about exactly that – the almosts in love and how that 'almost' can echo and haunt you for an entire lifetime.

Erica and Laure meet by chance in Paris and form an intense connection that never fully fades, even as years, relationships, and responsibilities pull them in different countries and directions.

This isn’t a dramatic, sweeping romance. It’s slower and more reflective, focused on timing, identity, and the small choices that shape a life. It is also more character driven than plot. I found it interesting the way both women dealt with how their fling came to an end and didn't last forever, and if you asked me at the beginning, I think I would have predicted each of them to have reacted opposite than how they individually did.

This book left me thinking about the people we almost build a life with and how “almost” can last forever. I really liked it, and I think many others will too when it publishes in March :)

Thank you Netgalley/ Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC.

[MJ Beauchamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Love at first sight is always spoken in the past tense. The scene is perfectly adapted to this temporal phenomenon: distinct, abrupt, framed, it is already a memory (the nature of a photograph is not to represent, but to memorialize) . . . this scene has all the magnificence of an accident: I cannot get over having had this good fortune: to meet what matches my desire.”

~Roland Barthes, A Lover’s Discourse

Almost Life is a coming of age story about the choices we make, the things we say (or don’t), and the lessons we learn.

What if your first love was the love of your life? A love so deep it never fades, outlasts time and distance, heartache and longing.

Erica and Laure first meet in Paris, 1978. Both students, they spend an unforgettable summer together - enjoying art and literature, walking the city, drinking and partying, and falling in love.

When time comes for Erica to return home, to Great Britain, they part… moving on, yet never letting go.

Timing is everything, as much as we want to believe otherwise. As the saying goes; life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.

Thoughtfully written and endearing characters, graceful and empowering. A new to me author, I now look forward to reading more of.

Special thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy.

[nat ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity of reading this arc.

Now, I’m feeling very conflicted about this book because while I was seeing a lot of 5 stars ratings for this one I couldn’t feel the same. It is not that I hated the book but it didn’t resonate with me as I hoped it would. I LOVE stories about missed chances with queer characters (don’t dwell too much on that). I love the angst and the pain of wanting to be with someone but feeling like you can’t and that’s what I thought this book would be but that in the end there would be some hope to hold on to.

I can’t pinpoint exactly what went wrong in this book for me but from the start I found the writing a little hard to get used to and then I just couldn’t connect to the characters in any way. The descriptions of the characters felt way different than what you see in front of the book and the “resolution” of the story didn’t satisfy me with all that we went through in the book. The cheating and the fact that it fell a little into the stereotype of bisexual people will always cheat. The issues with Erica’s body and postpartum depression weren’t explored more and they were just simply mentioned here and there. There were some things that just happened and then were never addressed anymore. It had important themes to explore but most of them went under the rug, which was a little weird because we got two main problems (alcoholism and AIDS) that got devoted time and attention and had their resolution.

I know for now I’m in the minority of not loving this book but I would still recommend if you are interested in a story like this.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review! This book was excellent. The writing, the story, the characters; all of it was brilliant. I absolutely adored Laure and her character development. I would do anything to protect Erica. Books like this remind me of why I love reading and why stories like this are so important.

Almost Life follows Erica and Laure and spans many decades, first loves, heartbreaks, marriages, affairs, life, and death. There’s a lot of beautiful imagery about art and paintings that envelope the story in such a meaningful way. The primary setting of Paris leaves such a lovely landscape for Erica and Laure throughout the years, especially with its politics. I would go more into the story itself, but I think it can be summed up with those sentences above. I don’t want to spoil anything.

The yearning in this book was top tier! I fully believe that queer romance like this is just so beautiful and important to read. It has the historical fictional aspects since it begins in the 70s, and all of the political undertones throughout the novel, from class to sex, felt so necessary to tell this story. I will never stop reading and recommending queer fiction because when things feel fraught, it’s books like this that remind me of how beautiful and tender these relationships can be.

And all my love for Michel! He was the backbone of this story. I can’t wait for this book to be published so readers can fall in love with Michel and keep spreading his story specifically.

I’m sorry this review is sort of disjointed. I am looking forward to pub day because I need a physical copy of it. I want to annotate it and bring it everywhere.

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful, stunning read about love that continues to bloom over the decades even as two people go their own separate ways. We see how they both try to move on and start their own separate lives and how they keep intersecting again every now and then. I loved both Erica and Lauren’s personalities so much in this book. The emotions were so palpable I felt them myself. I was constantly wondering where the next few years would take them, and if my guesses would be right. This is a beautifully written complex and relatable love story and I will certainly read it again and again.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Cate - Catethereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an arc of this book.

I never know what to write about the books I loved. Usually I just say “omg read this, so good, loved it”. But that would be such an understatement for “Almost life”. The book wasn’t on my radar, I just saw the cover and I read the blurb and I thought “hm I think I’ll enjoy this one”. Little, did I know how much i would love this book.

”Laure wondered again how exactly people fell in love. Desire felt easy, and so did its leaving, not however did someone become as entangled in another person’s soul as they did in each other’s bodies?”

I am a lover of tragic stories. Give me pain, yearning, sadness, grief, love, give me memorable quotes and developed characters. Give me something that feels real and right. This is how “Almost life” felt.
“Almost life” is the story of two women that were almost together. Told throughout the decades, since 1978 until 2013, it’s a sad story, a tragic one. I don’t want to say a lot of things, it would be a shame not to go into this blind.

The characters felt so real, so different than what you usually read. Erica is eighteen and she’s in France on her own. There, she meets Laure. The story is told through both of them, sometimes at the same time, sometimes we have a pov with only one’s thoughts. I loved both of these pov equally. It’s hard to choose between them, Erica is just a child when we meet her for the first time. She doesn’t know a lot of things about people, about the world or about her. Laure, she knows things, but she doesn’t understand Erica or her feelings towards her.
Erica is messy, sad, and so unlikeable at times. It’s hard to understand her or her choices, but then I was thinking about the choices I made in my life and I tried to be more open to this great character.
Laure is very different than Erica. She’s tragic, she’s more intelligent and more spoken, she’s the most Parisian person, and she knows more about life, art or politics.

Besides the characters, what I loved the most was the writing. I don’t know what Kiran added in this book, what magic she used, but I couldn’t stop reading. I’m not a fan of long chapters, but this book was perfect thanks to them. The quotes hit different so many times. It was so hard to read, especially when you start to realise where this is going, so immersive that I felt like I was next to these two beautiful characters, in Paris and in Norfolk, in museums and cafes and restaurants.
The author put so much love into this book. It explores so many different aspects of life: love, pain, grief, addiction, sobriety, AIDS, sexuality, hate. It’s so raw and so real, I can’t stress enough about “Almost life”.
Since I finished it, I can’t stop thinking about it. The ending was devastating, I cried a lot and then I remembered how lucky I am that I got to read this beautiful story.

”There were never strawberries / like the ones we had / that sultry afternoon.”

[Defne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this felt like sitting front row for a masterclass in character development, pacing and
multiple timelines/POVs. I fell in love with Laure
and Erica from their first encounter and shed silent tears after the last page. A must read for lovers of sapphic yearning and complex dynamics.

[Evah Engel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sad lesbian book and I prefer a happy lesbian book. It was still very good and really made me want to go be in a beautiful garden, maybe even a beautiful French garden. I think my mom will like it because of all of the French art stuff. The chapters were too long, but at least there were good stopping points in the middle of chapters

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not exaggerating when I say this book completely stayed with me and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. This is one of those rare stories that feels quiet, aching, and unforgettable all at once.

Following Erica and Laure from a chance meeting in 1970s Paris through decades of separation, longing, and missed moments. This isn’t just a love story. It’s about timing, choices, and all the “what ifs” that shape our lives.

Every page felt intimate and real. The characters are messy and human, their connection magnetic, and the writing is absolutely stunning. It broke my heart in the most beautiful way. A love story that lingers long after the last page.

This is the kind of book you don’t just read, you really feel.

This is a must read if you love emotional, character driven stories.

[Mary in the sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the fuck. I’m SOBBING and I’ll be INSUFFERABLY recommending this book to everyone. SAPPHIC YEARNING is everything to me.

[milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

actually quite lovely. parisian lesbian a hero british bisexual just a woman and isn't it all so important ... this book does something quite marvelous which is to completely turn my opinion of both characters on their head while leaving me w empathy for both. magnificent!

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’est parfait. Alexa, play ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ by Chappell Roan.

[Ellenor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored this. A heartfelt story set in the 70s up until present day about two women, Erica and Laure, and the paths they could’ve chosen. The writing was immaculate and the characters felt so human - I loved them both in different ways.

Full of longing and heartache, I highly recommend ❤️‍🩹