Loved One

A Novel

De: Aisha Muharrar

Narrado por: Emma Ladji

Named a Best Book of 2025 by NPR and Newsweek

“[A] funny, heartwrenching novel.” —People

“A genuine pleasure to read.” —Vogue

“Full of wildly astute, delectably thorny questions about love and loss and possession.” —Maggie Shipstead, New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle

From an Emmy Award–winning writer comes a funny, wise, heartbreaking story about a woman journeying into the unknown in the wake of sudden loss

When her first-love-turned-close-friend, Gabe, dies unexpectedly at twenty-nine, thirty-year-old Julia is launched into an intercontinental quest to recover his lost possessions. Her journey takes her from Los Angeles to London and into the murky realm of the past. It also sets Julia on a collision course with the last woman he loved, a guarded, self-possessed florist and restaurateur named Elizabeth, who insists on withholding Gabe’s beloved guitar—one of the departed indie rock musician’s dearest belongings—for reasons Julia can’t understand. Both women, it turns out, have something to hide, and soon find themselves engaged in a complex dance of withholding and revelation.

An emotional mystery spanning years, continents, and relationship statuses, Loved One introduces Aisha Muharrar as a novelist intimately attuned to the intricacies of love, memory, and ambiguous loss. What happens when we admit that the deepest feelings never die? How do we reconcile various—and sometimes contradictory—truths about those closest to us? An engrossing and profoundly moving coming-of-age story with a powerful love at its heart, Loved One is poised to become an instant classic.

Tel them you love them every chance you get!

This book had so many beautiful moments in it! It had a realism and authenticity that was very relatable to Angelenos, but also served as a loving tribute to those who have touched our lives in so many different ways after they have passed. You could easily put yourself in the shoes of these characters and understand their feelings and motivations towards one another. An excellent story that is a very easy binge-listen till the very end! Kudos to the audible reader!

Just how people grieve differently.

I loved it. It touched me and I connected to it in an unexpected way. It made me really immerse myself in my feelings that I was looking not to feel.

Mispronounce

Well written but sad. The constant mispronouncing of jewelry was distracting. It’s jewel ry,not “jewelry” or “jewerley”

Truly funny, well written characters

This is a book of interesting people who seem real and relatable. Great storytelling and character development.

The dynamic between Elizabeth and Julia

This book was truly one of those stories that caught my attention and in devouring the words of the tale, I came to both like and be bothered by Gabe. He was so much, yet not enough all at the same time hah!

What I can say is that I loved the way Julia got closer to Elizabeth and how they became friends over time and due to the absence and memories and artifacts of Gabe. This is one I can say brought a smile to my face a lot, including made me laugh and tear up. thank you for writing. the narration was wonderful also! truly fit the characters and brought them to life.