by Maria Semple
First published 2025
Adora Hazzard has built the perfect life according to Stoic principles. The divorced philosopher lives contentedly on Manhattan's Upper West Side, savoring her teenage daughter's company, her freedom, and her work tutoring twin boys from an old money family. She leads a group of like-minded women in her legendary Ansonia apartment building, all committed to desiring only what they possess. Then Adora meets a handsome stranger. Her carefully structured world crumbles as she plunges into black market art deals, clandestine meetings, and international schemes. The past she buried resurfaces explosively. Consumed by desire she thought she had conquered, Adora discovers herself transformed into a woman who wants desperately and will gamble everything to satisfy that hunger.
Genres: drama, romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, adult-fiction, thriller
Vibes: character-driven, emotionally-complex, intimate, philosophical, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: internal-conflict, past-resurfaces, strangers-to-lovers, transformation-arc
Setting: Manhattan, Upper West Side, Ansonia apartment building
Period: 21st-century, contemporary
384 pages · Paperback · PENGUIN US