let’s talk about love ~ a book that gave me ALL THE FEELS

Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: January 23 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 5 stars
Goodreads Blurb:
Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting–working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she’s asexual). Alice is done with dating–no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.

But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!).

When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood

my review (aka a list of things I loved)

First, I just want to establish that this book is PERFECTION. And that’s all I have to say! WAIT! I’m just kidding! Of course I have more to say!

• If you’ve ever had a crush on someone (which I have), you’re probably going to relate to the main character, Alice, at some point in this book. She’s going on a whole rollercoaster ride of emotions and she takes us with her!
• Which brings me to the second reason I’m in love with this book…Alice is the kind of character I wish I could be friends with. Alice loves pinterest and food and she’s working at a library. That’s literally the dream part time job for a book lover like me. She’s honest and funny and I really admired her for confronting difficult life things and dealing with them as best she can (e.g. acephobia from her ex girlfriend). Alice also has to deal with pressure from her parents to figure out what she wants to study ASAP and it was great to see her face that head on. As an eighteen year old who is also still figuring things out, I empathised with Alice a lot. 
• And of course I couldn’t not mention Alice’s Cutie Code!! This is a scale (of colors) that she uses to rank cute people she meets. Little things like this brought Alice’s character to life for me and made the book even more fun and enjoyable. 
• Also, Alice is a biromantic asexual black girl and this book really delves into her experiences being ace. As the book progresses, she learns more about herself and we see her grow more confident.
• Alice and Takumi GIVE ME LIFE. I’ll be honest, their relationship is kind of insta-lovey because they meet each other and sparks fly. HOWEVER, their relationship actually develops over the course of the book as they get to know each other and that makes it less shallow. So it’s insta-love done right! 

• (Also I’m on summer break right now and this book made me wish I had (A) a job and (B) attractive coworker to crush on!!)

• The last thing I really loved about this book is how it’s character-driven and focuses more on their everyday life. For example, we read about Alice staying up late hanging out with her friends or how she (not so creepily) watches her crush read to a bunch of kids. I feel like even the most mundane life things (e.g. moving!) seem far more interesting and exciting in this book. 

to sum it all up….

Alice is working through some things and there are definitely heavy moments in this book but despite that, Let’s Talk About Love is THE book that made me squeal and giggle. I smiled so much my face hurt and I recommend checking out this book if you’re in the mood for a cute, swoon-worthy contemporary read.  

have you read let’s talk about love? are you planning to? are there any YA contemporaries that gave you all the feels? what are your favorite diverse books? tell me everything! 

Advertisement