Book in Review: Love and Other Theories by Alexis Bass
5:27 PM
Author: Alexis Bass
Publishing Date: December 30, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: ARC
Rating: 5/5 stars
WOWOWOWWWWWWW!
I finished this book in about 3 hours and I almost cried and threw my kindle out the window.
This book is just too much. I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did and I just want to tear my eyes out because it was so painful to read but also soooooo good and just... Wow.
If you think this is a light and fun contemporary romance, then you are wrong. This book totally crushed my heart and I really don't know what to do anymore.
At first, I had no idea where this book was taking me. There were too many time lapses and time skips in between chapters. I felt like it was going on all these different directions and I was left unsure of what to feel. Was I supposed to ship these two characters? Was I supposed to root for these 4 brutally broken girls who were just too mean to everyone even if they knew it was wrong? Was I supposed to like how they kept pretending and hiding their true feelings? Whose side was I supposed to be on when it came to cheating and betrayal?
I'm glad I didn't give up on this book in the end. Everything wraps up perfectly and I mean that in a way that it's imperfectly perfect. I wanted to ship Aubrey and Nathan so hard - but even I knew this sweet young love turned too ugly in many different ways that left not only me completely crushed and heartbroken. I wanted to root for these girls - but it was a lost cause. It was evident in the end that the point of this book is to show us how ugly and harsh things can get, and you definitely don't get more if you give less. I liked how the book ended and it gave me a semblance of hope that the main character would be a better person.
The character development of this book is just astounding. It's so subtle, in the way that you just get it, without any form of big realization or THIS IS IT monologue coming from any of the characters. Aubrey is wonderful and fantastic and I could relate to her a lot. She progresses throughout the book and her maturity is evident in the end. Shelby is also very interesting, though I found her mostly despicable. Her character is so different, but altogether understandable in her actions. I'm not sure what happens to Nathan and I can't seem to figure him out. I can't seem to differentiate the sweet boy who reads school readings to Aubrey and gives her flowers and meets her parents and charms them, from the boy who does something as cruel as sleeping with Aubrey's best friend and ALMOST getting her pregnant. Really? WHAT?! I'm not sure of him yet, and if I don't figure him out, I'm taking this as a cue that his character was made to be impossible to read.
There is NOTHING beautiful about this book. It is ugly and heartbreaking and it will make you want to pull your hair out one by one. But it's absolutely breathtaking and it will give you so many feels to the point where you just want to rip your heart out from your chest and cry, cry and cry. This is an amazing coming of age story that will stay with you for a long time.
3 comments
I have this book and seeing this review just made me want to read it RIGHT NOW!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this - I am definitely trying to get to this one as soon as I finish with the book I am reading now. :)
I am so excited for this one!! I've heard some mixed things about it but I'm still excited!!!! Glad you enjoyed, hope I do too! :)
ReplyDelete~Fari @ My Little Corner For Books
I've been seeing this book around a lot and it definitely sounds like an amazing read! Great review!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
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