Loved this. Loved it so much. Read it, recommended it, bought it for friends. Such a wonderful moving novel.

A really moving story of grief and love, Writers & Lovers was a really enjoyable book for me. Thank you for the chance to read and review this title.

I dont know why i didnt send a review of this book earlier. I enjoyed it enough, it was a fun read so I will keep my eye out for Lily's future releases.

Another book that I enjoyed so much that I bought it. Both plot and characters were well written. I really enjoyed this book

While I enjoyed this book, I found it quite slow and was surprised when I wanted to keep reading as it's not my usual pace. I related to Casey in the way she wants to not fall into the same mundane existence of everyone else in their thirties, especially as she tries to write her novel. Her relationships are complicated, the emotions around her mother heartbreaking - overall Casey was in incredibly well written character.

Writers&Lovers is one of those books that completely absorbs you while reading it, you become attached to characters and their stories. You find yourself rooting for them, wanting them to be happy. I was pleased that Casey managed to achieve some of her dreams and that she managed to get a closure, too. Overall, I really enjoyed it.
P.s. team Silas!

“I don’t write because I think I have something to say. I write because if I don’t, everything feels even worse.”


In Writers & Lovers, Lily King portrays an intimate and profoundly heartfelt slice of life that brims with wry humor and precise observations on grief, loneliness, identity, and creativity. This is truly a gem of a novel, a wonderful display of bravura. King seamlessly blends together realism and romanticism, capturing with humor and tenderness Casey’s everyday experiences and struggles.

“[I] think about how you get trained early on as a woman to perceive how others are perceiving you, at the great expense of what you yourself are feeling about them. Sometimes you mix the two up in a terrible tangle that’s hard to unravel.”


Writers & Lovers transports its readers to Massachusetts in the summer of 1997. Casey Peabody, our narrator, is in her thirties and attempting to navigate life after her mother’s sudden death. A recent heartbreak has made her feel all the more lonely and vulnerable, and Casey clearly longs to feel that she belongs and that she has not wasted the last years of her life writing a book that will never be published. While most of her friends have abandoned their creative pursuits—opting for more sensible careers and or starting their own families—Casey remains devoted to her writing and to the idea of one day becoming a published author. After her mother’s death, Casey feels even more unmoored and unsure of herself. She finds herself observing the customers who eat at the restaurant she works for, yearning for a connection of her own. Eventually, Casey grows close to two men, both of them writers, one is famous and a widowed father of two, the other is around her age.

“I have a problem with that sometimes, getting attached. Other people’s families are a weakness of mine.”


This novel gives us a glimpse into a particular period of Casey’s life. From her day-to-day activities and worries to the sorrow she feels at her mother’s death and the anxiety brought by her writing, her job, her college debt, and health concerns. The wry wit that characterises her inner-monologue mitigate the many trials and misadventures, Casey, experiences throughout the course of the novel. While the romantic relationship she forms along the way does play a role in Casey’s journey, this novel is first and foremost about her writing. From the process of creating a story to how it feels to write, Writers & Lovers is very much a love letter to writing. Casey’s reflections on writing reveal her relationship to this craft as well as the different ways in which the public and publishing industry view male and female authors. King’s meditations on life, grief, and creativity demonstrate extreme acuity and insight.

“What I have had for the past six years, what has been constant and steady in my life is the novel I’ve been writing. This has been my home, the place I could always retreat to. The place I could sometimes even feel powerful, I tell them. The place where I am most myself.”


Casey is the novel’s star and I found her voice to be hugely endearing. Despite her dalliances with melancholy, deep-down she remains hopeful that she will publish her novel. King captures Casey’s idiosyncrasies, her quirks, the way she thinks and expresses herself, in such vivid detail that she felt very much like a real person to me. The characters around her too came across as fully fleshed out individuals whose story doesn’t revolve around Casey herself. They are nuanced and multifaceted, regardless of how often they crop up in Casey’s narrative. The restaurant scenes were so realistic that they reminded me of my unfortunate time in F&D (it truly feels like a microcosm).

Writers & Lovers is a deeply affecting and ultimately hopeful story about a woman’s determination to pursue her dreams, in spite of societal pressure and of other people undermining her capabilities as an author or life choices. The author’s prose, the setting, the characters, the subject matter, all of these spoke to me. While reading Writers & Lovers I was struck by a sense of nostalgia while reading this, perhaps due to it being set in the 90s, which is still lingering over me as I write this. I found myself desperate to see how Casey’s story would conclude and unwilling to part ways with her.

“It’s a particular kind of pleasure, of intimacy, loving a book with someone.”


Inspiring, witty, and full of heart Writers & Lovers is a truly luminous novel that I can’t wait to read again and again.

PS: the first time I tried reading this I hated it so I can see why it wouldn’t appeal to everyone. At the time I was in the doldrums and took Casey’s romantic expression too seriously. My apologises to the 40 people or so who liked my original review of this but I now love this book (what can i say, i'm a turncoat 🤡).

Thoroughly enjoyed this exploration of writing, life and family. A more complex narrative than I expected and I’m glad for it

This started slowly but pulled me in little by little and ended up being one of my favourite books so far this year!

Writers & Lovers balances plot and character development beautifully, weaving in a number of very real and thought-provoking themes. It is so many things at once: a romantic, coming-of-age novel, a meditation on work and the creative process, a look at grief and pain, and so much more. Casey was a likeable character and I found myself rooting for her every step of the way.

I particularly loved the way art, music and food were described in this book to enhance the reading experience. The ending was also extremely satisfying and exactly what I needed!

This is a book I can see myself re-reading (which is incredibly rare) since it is so well done that I know I will get even more from it on a second sitting.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful intimate story about a woman coming into her own, a struggling writer, trying to figure out her life. I feel like this is one of the few books I've read which truly captures what its like to be a woman in your early thirties, I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone feeling a little lost in life and trying to figure their lives out.

I kind of loved this book actually. It’s a quiet novel; it starts softly, and it never explodes into action, yet there’s just something about it that kept me enraptured. I now desperately want to read King’s debut, and hopefully relive this feeling.

Casey is dealing with heartbreak at the end of a romantic relationship and grief following the death of her mother. She is lonely, struggling with debt, and living in a shed.

This isn’t the 30-something life she imagined. She was supposed to be a successful writer, not a waitress with an incomplete novel.

When two men enter her life, Casey finds herself asking and being asked the very questions that she has tried so hard to ignore. What exactly does she want from her life? What needs to change in order to make this happen? Daydreaming will only get you so far!

Writers & Lovers by Lily King is a quiet novel about grief, creativity, 'the literary scene', love, and what it means to really work towards the goals you have set for yourself.

This was a sleeper hit for me. I enjoyed it when I read it late last year, but King's moving depictions of grief stuck with me much longer than I expected.

This was simply a case of it's not you, it's me. I think I went into this book with very different expectations to what I received, so I found that I spent most of this book not really understanding what the plot was or how to really engage with it. I like to connect with the stories I read and I just couldn't connect to this one, unfortunately. As I said, I can't give you any issues with the book itself, just my inability to connect with it.

Content warnings: the death of the mother, adultery.

Writers & Lovers follows 31 year old Casey, a struggling writer, waitress and a failed romantic. Casey's attempts to finish her novel is driving her to the brink of despair. But this novel serves as a hopeful reminder that despair is never permanent.

For me, this book is at its core a story about risk. Which is so interesting as the book is not full of cliffhangers & crazy story arcs. It's slow, gentle and serves to remind us that the greatest risks are sometimes how we choose to live our everyday life's.

If you enjoy character driven books then this one's for you. Very readable and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Took a star off because it can be, at times, slightly pretentious. But we are following the life of a writer so in a way I wouldn't expect anything less.

An interesting one and I’m not totally sure if I loved it, but I did enjoy it! The characters were interesting and well developed but left wanting a little more

An engaging story about Casey, a woman grieving her late mother and trying to complete a novel she’s been writing for many years. We follow her story as she negotiates working as a waitress, writing, falling for 2 very different men and generally trying to work out her place in the world.

I enjoyed reading this book and got behind the protagonist from the outset. I’d recommend it to those who enjoy a beautifully written, character-driven novel

I liked this book but didn’t love it as I hoped I would .
It took a while for me to get into the story , I didn’t find Casey particularly interesting for some reason but at the same time I wanted to continue reading ! And I did warm and to her and her journey . It’s a tale of love , desire and finding ones path , I loved the New England setting and for me it ended up being good escapism from current life .
I will certainly look to read more from the author .

I adored Writers & Lovers. It is a kind of coming of age story, but for adults rather than teens. It's a moving, sensitive tale of grief, while at the same time being funny and uplifting. Lily King is so inspiring!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This novel follows Casey who is dealing with heartbreak over a break-up and the grief of losing her beloved mother. She is working as a waitress and also working on her novel, which has been a work in progress for quite a few years now but she never seems to finish it. Then she finds herself in the middle of a love triangle and is finally pushed to make a decision about what she wants from life. I really enjoyed this book. I picked it up after reading the blurb as Casey seemed like her life was in a similar place to mine when I was her age. Casey’s life gets way more complicated than mine ever did but I could really identify with the grief she had for her mum and the way this seems to impact on her decision making. I read this novel quite a while ago now and it hasn’t stayed with me as much as I thought it would but I did really enjoyed it and I would recommend it.

I wanted to like this book, and I got what I wished for. I liked it. I didn’t love it. It didn’t blow me away, and in fact it took me a bit of getting into, but I did like it. I think it was the writing style rather than the actual story that got in the way. The author has a very distinct voice, and it took away from my enjoyment.