Vera, a love story (Planeta Prize 2025)

Vera, una historia de amor is the Premio Planeta 2025–winning novel by Juan del Val—an intense contemporary story where love is not only a promise, but also a risk. Vera has spent more than two decades living according to a strict script: elegance, discretion, and the “dignity” expected from the wife of a marquis. But at forty-five, newly separated and finally free from instructions, she begins to ask herself questions she never allowed before: what does she want, what has she sacrificed, and who is she without the role she has performed for years? In the middle of that awakening she meets Antonio—younger, from a modest background, and completely outside her social world. What draws them together is more than attraction: it’s the possibility of stepping off the path everyone else wrote for her. Their bond, both improbable and provocative, becomes the spark for events no one expects. As Vera rebuilds her life, her ex-husband refuses to accept her rebellion. What starts as wounded pride grows into something darker: control, obsession, and a sense of entitlement to what he believes he cannot lose. The tension rises as the consequences of accumulated losses begin to take shape—and the story turns into a sharp exploration of power, class, desire, and the price of choosing yourself. 

If you like emotionally driven literary fiction with a strong female lead, relationship conflict, and escalating psychological stakes, this novel delivers a fast, modern reading experience with a dangerous edge.