Riku Onda (Japanese name: 恩田 陸), born in 1964, is the professional name of Nanae Kumagai. She has been writing fiction since 1991 and has won the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers, the Japan Booksellers' Award, the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Novel for The Aosawa Murders, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize, and the Naoki Prize. Her work has been adapted for film and television. The Aosawa Murders was her first crime novel and the first time she was translated into English. It was selected by The New York Times as a Notable Book of 2020.
Lionheart tells a beautiful story of two lovers, Edward and Elizabeth, searching for each other across time although every time they meet, they will be seperated again. Each chapter of the book begins with a painting that the author used to illustrate an important part of the chapter. My favourite painting is the one where Edward stands under a tree in a field waiting for Elizabeth with a rainbow in the background.