Michelle Hart’s first novel is a haunting study of solitude and connection, moving and memorable

A gorgeous storyteller, Hart is gifted with a poet’s precision, blending image and idea. Sensual and wise, this novel channels the melancholic exhilaration of dangerous love

A beautiful book so filled with sharp longing and perfectly phrased vulnerability that I read it in a reverent hush

In Michelle Hart’s debut novel, she tackles vulnerability, attachment, and the purpose relationships serve in our increasingly isolated lives

Seductive and lyrical with poetic detail, this is an unforgettable account of a forbidden romance made extraordinary by Hart’s precision and lyrical touch. A compulsive read that satisfies and haunts

At the heart of this sensual debut novel is the story of yearning between young Mallory and a married college professor. Theirs is a transactional desire on the surface, but Hart delves into the motivations of both Mallory and the professor, referred to in the text only as The Woman, to reveal important truths about what our closest relationships say about us, and what they help us conceal

Transfixing . . . Mallory’s intense interiority and self-consciousness will remind readers of Sally Rooney’s work, and Hart’s prose is delicate and piercing. This is auspicious and breathtaking

Does something exceptional . . . Has flashes of Sally Rooney’s CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS, or Halle Butler’s THE NEW ME. Sometimes it’s erotic, sometimes it’s devastating. . . But the writing always crackles, written by someone who clearly knows what it’s like to desire another woman in ways you just barely understand

Michelle Hart’s coming-of-age novel skillfully depicts forbidden romance and the shame it can foster

An electric debut