This Love By Lotte Jeffs ... A debut novel spanning ten years of extraordinary friendship, about soulmates, unconventional families, and the limitless, ever-changing forms love can take When Mae and Ari meet outside a crowded gay bar during their final year of university, their connection is instant, sparking a lifetime friendship. Stubborn and no stranger to breaking hearts, Mae needs Ari's bright light to guide her out of her self-centered ways. Reeling from a scandal in New York, vibrant, charming Ari sees Mae as an anchor keeping him grounded. Though they are young, ambitious, and queer, both Mae and Ari secretly daydream about settling down somewhere with a garden, children, and dogs, building a life that feels like home. They make a pact: Somehow, some day, they will have a child together. In the decades that follow, Ari and Mae realize that fulfilling their promise will not be as simple as they once hoped. Navigating toxic partners and hidden secrets, combating the heavy weight of grief, and relishing the spoils of flashy media careers, the two struggle to reconcile their ever-diverging paths. Although nothing goes quite to plan, Ari and Mae—alongside their dearest friends and lovers—come to realize that the messy, devoted, tight-knit family they could build together might be better than anything they could have ever imagined.
Author
![Lotte Jeffs]()
Lotte Jeffs
In 2016 Lotte Jeffs won 'Writer of The Year' at the Press and Publishing Association Awards. The following year she was shortlisted for 'Columnist of the Year' for her ELLE magazine column, Lotte's Lexicon. She has been a features writer and columnist for the past 15 years, writing for the Guardian, the Saturday Times, the Sunday Times, the Evening Standard, YOU magazine and ELLE. Lotte has enjoyed a successful career on staff at magazines most recently as Deputy Editor and Acting Editor in Chief of ELLE. She has appeared on TV and radio and reguarly hosts and participates in industry panel discussions. Lotte was head-hunted by the global advertising agency Ogilvy to join its UK office as a Creative Director. She now works freelance as a writer and creative consultant. Having pivoted into a different, but similar, industry she continues to keep a toe in journalism, writing a Notebook column for the Evening Standard, features for the national press and celebrity cover interviews for newspaper supplements and magazines. She lives in London with her wife, Jenny, and their daughter.