Description: People "Best Sapphic Historical Romances" - Harper's Bazaar "Most Anticipated Books Coming Out This Spring" - Autostraddle "Most Anticipated Queer Books for March 2026" - Time "New Books You Should Read in March"
"Hargrave has a great eye and ear for close-focus, intimate scenes. Conversations, sexual encounters, and meals are vividly alive...Laure and Erica are richly drawn, in both heart and mind." --The New York Times Two young women meet in Paris one sultry summer in a 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.Brief description: Kiran Millwood Hargrave is an award-winning, bestselling novelist. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages and shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize. Her debut novel for adults, The Mercies, was a New York Times Notable Book, USA Today Best Book of 2020, and won international awards including a Betty Trask Award and the Prix Rive Gauche à Paris.