Saturn Returning, out May 5, 2026
A smoldering, soul-splitting debut that tracks three friends through the celestial chaos of adulthood, love, and queer identity.
Jordan Caleb is a freshman at McCallen College when she meets Trace. From the moment the confident, tattooed Trace compliments Jordan's Alanis Morissette T-shirt, their friendship feels fated and electrically charged. When the two friends meet mercurial transfer student Silvia, she catches Trace's eye. Their instant attraction eclipses the nascent pull between Jordan and Trace, forming a messy constellation among the three women.
Over the course of a decade, their orbits send them to opposite coasts: Jordan builds a life in New York City, while Trace and Silvia get engaged in Seattle, yet the three remain linked by the gravitational pull of the past. As they approach thirty and the apogee of their Saturn return, their bond splinters when Trace calls Jordan with a shocking revelation, exposing a web of heartache, secrets, and unspoken desires.
Saturn Returning charts the complex paths of human connection and queer friendship, questioning how we define ourselves against the relationships that have shaped our lives.
Now available for pre-order from Bookshop.com, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or your favorite local bookstore!
"Reading Saturn Returning felt like having drinks with an eloquent lesbian as she spills her intimate, messy, and vulnerable gossip. Propulsive and lyrical; a vivid, tender, and incisive story about aging, queer love, and friendship."
Emily Austin, author of We Could Be Rats and Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead"Saturn Returning is, affectionately, a big queer mess. Addictive, sexy, and psychologically astute, I couldn't put this book down. The characters are incredibly alive, [and] the prose vivid and honest. Narby writes with clarity and wisdom about attachment, identity, and the turbulence of life, love, and friendship, capturing the pain and joy of queer relationships that resist easy categorization. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next."
Marisa Crane, author of A Sharp Endless Need"With Saturn Returning, Kim Narby has accomplished the near impossible: crafted a book so delicious that it's nearly impossible to put down. What does it mean to love someone for so long that you're no longer capable of seeing what they've actually become? I loved these beautifully messy characters and their twisty, years long friendship. Gorgeously written and wonderfully funny, Saturn Returning is a sexy stunner of a novel."
Kristen Arnett, author of Mostly Dead Things"The lines between true love and true friendship queerly blur in this tender and beautiful debut. With a laser focus on the painful years between finding yourself and becoming an actual adult, Kim Narby deftly weaves a messy love triangle that entangles the reader as much as her finely wrought characters. I can't wait to read more from her."
Gabrielle Korn, author of Yours for the Taking and The Shutouts