Publishing company Bonnier Books UK announced on Monday that its imprint Hot Key Books has acquired The Pools, a new novel by bestselling author E. Lockhart, known for the global hit We Were Liars. The book will be published in paperback in October 2026.

Emma Matthewson, executive publisher at Hot Key Books, secured English UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada and Australia and New Zealand from Hannah Babcock, Director of Subsidiary Rights at Random House USA.

The Pools is described as an intense and atmospheric love story set in a small New England town famed for its hot springs. The novel follows teenagers Lexie and Chester, whose relationship develops amid hidden pasts and personal turmoil. Their lives are upended after a winter swim involving five people, including Chester, triggers events that send shockwaves through the town and permanently alter Lexie's life.

E. Lockhart said the novel combines plot twists, a New England setting, romance and gothic elements in a new way for readers. Matthewson described the book as a haunting love story told in lyrical prose, weaving tragedy, fractured lives and unexpected turns with an uplifting romantic thread.