Check Me Out - Haven February 2026

HEART THE LOVER

By Lily King

“Heart the Lover” examines that particular ache of a relationship that didn’t end because of a lack of love, but because of timing and youthful mistakes. Moving through time, the story evolves years later to address the shifting concept of love, adopting a more reflective tone as the narrator reconciles her stable present with the “one that got away.” It is a story about the kind of first love that never truly leaves you, and how the person you were with them still exists somewhere inside the person you are now.

AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE

By Tayari Jones

Told through multiple perspectives, the narrative shifts between characters to offer a 360-degree view of the emotional fallout. Rather than centering on the tragic event at the center of the novel, the story turns inward, focusing on the intimate, human struggle of trying to stay connected. In the end, it becomes a powerful examination of whether a marriage can survive a profound injustice, or if some bonds are irrevocably changed by time and circumstance.

ONE TRUE LOVES

By Taylor Jenkins Reid

An emotional love triangle - one where you know someone is going to get emotionally crushed - including the reader! The story follows Emma as she grapples with an impossible choice between two different lives and two different loves, ultimately exploring whether it’s possible to have more than one “true love” in a lifetime.

OUR SOULS AT NIGHT

By Kent Haruf

This novel is a tender look at love that isn’t about grand gestures, but about the simple need for another person’s presence. Two elderly neighbors, both long widowed and living alone, decide to embark on an unusual arrangement to combat their shared loneliness. It is a gentle, sparely written story about the courage it takes to seek happiness late in life and the external pressures that can threaten even the quietest of bonds.

BROKEN COUNTRY

By Clare Leslie Hall

A clever blend of thriller and psychological drama. Moving between past and present, the story builds toward a high-stakes turning point where secrets can no longer stay hidden. It is a slow-burn exploration of how a first love can haunt a person’s future, offering a raw look at the jagged, often desperate lengths one will go to protect their version of happiness.

THE REST OF OUR LIVES

By Ben Markovits

Our narrator, Tom, drops his youngest daughter off at college, triggering the memory of the secret pact he made years earlier to leave his wife after her affair. Instead of returning home, he keeps driving west on a solo trip, seeking out people from his past to help him sort out his present. It’s a small, intimate story that focuses on the slow erosion and complex endurance of a long-term marriage, and the subtle ways people hurt each other over decades of proximity.

NORMAL PEOPLE

By Sally Rooney

This novel is proof that not all love stories are happy. The story follows Connell and Marianne, who remain connected over many years, despite repeatedly misunderstanding each other. Rooney writes with restraint and emotional precision, capturing how two people who love each other can still hurt each other. Issues of class and social status complicate their dynamic even further.

THE TIME HOP COFFEE SHOP

By Phaedra Patrick

This novel offers a grounded look at how long-term relationships can lose their spark and what it takes to find it again. This is a classic “feel-good” story about appreciating the beauty in life’s imperfections. Greta

Perks is given the chance to step back into the idealized, scripted world of her past and escape the current struggles of her current life. Ultimately, she must decide whether true love is found in a flawless fantasy or

in the difficult, honest work of choosing each other in the real world.