Gilmore has established herself in the literary world via her literary fiction, contemporary romance, and cozy mystery novels. The Lonely Hearts Book Club is preceded by Gilmore’s novels Ruff and Tumble (2021), I Hate You More (2021), and the Forever Home series (2019-2020). Like The Lonely Hearts Book Club, Gilmore’s previous publications explore themes of love, friendship, and community. Gilmore’s stories prioritize human connection as a source of empowerment and healing, which is an essential facet of the Up Lit genre within which Gilmore writes. Up Lit, a term for uplifting literature, refers to stories with themes of hope, optimism, and strength in the face of adversity. The tone of this novel and the characters’ journeys align with these ideas of overcoming the difficulties of life and finding joy in human relationships.

In Gilmore’s author biography, she defines herself “as a book lover” (357). Her innate appreciation for literature is reflected in the narrative circumstances and themes of The Lonely Hearts Book Club. Throughout the novel, an unlikely cast of characters finds themselves connecting over literary discussions and fictional characters. Like Gilmore herself, her characters find “pleasure in reading” and losing themselves “in a story” (6).