Almost Life, Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Almost Life, Kiran Millwood Hargrave
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Almost Life

Author: Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Narrator: Patricia Allison

Unabridged: 14 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/24/2026


Synopsis

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.

About Kiran Millwood Hargrave

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.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Quirine on March 26, 2026

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,......more

Goodreads review by Em on August 19, 2025

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,......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on February 12, 2026

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 L......more

Goodreads review by Constance on November 20, 2025

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 w......more

Goodreads review by Abbie Toria on March 30, 2026

4.5 stars Almost Life made me feel all the emotions. 🇫🇷 Historical & contemporary fiction ✒️ Follows the lives of Laure and Erica from 1980s onwards 🍷 Dual POV 🇫🇷 Paris & Norfolk ✒️ LGBTQIA+ 🍷 For fans of One Day ✒️ From one of my favourite authors! So many parts of Almost Life hurt my heart to read. My f......more