The Romantics by Leah Konen Pages: 336
Published by Amulet Books on November 1, 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Magical Realism, contemporary
Source: Paperback ARC from Publisher
Perfect for fans of Lauren Myracle and Rainbow Rowell, The Romantics will charm readers of all ages.
Gael Brennan is about to have his heart broken when his first big relationship crumbles on the heels of his parents’ painful separation. Love intervenes with the intention of setting things right—but she doesn’t anticipate the intrusion of her dreaded nemesis: the Rebound.
Love’s plans for Gael are sidetracked by Cara, Gael’s hot-sauce-wielding “dream girl.” The more Love meddles, the further Gael drifts from the one girl who can help him mend his heart. Soon Love starts breaking all her own rules—and in order to set Gael’s fate back on course, she has to make some tough decisions about what it means to truly care.
The Romantics is a young adult romantic comedy about love. told from the perspective of love. I totally, well, loved this concept, and I hope we see more in this world. At the end of the book, there was a little hint that we might see another story told by love, featuring a different couple. (and how I hope that is true!) The Romantics was a very cute read. I loved the chapter titles and variety of writing styles. Leah Konen did an excellent job switching from omniscient narrator, to list style for some chapters to text messages between the characters. All of it worked really well with the flow of the story. And they were hilarious.
What I loved the most about The Romantics is that the main character (other than love) is a guy. Yes, this is a guys love story and I find that so refreshing. Gael is a hopeless romantic and he is just totally adorable. I loved reading all of Love’s antics to try and steer him away from the dreaded rebound. Love was too funny. She cracked me up, and I loved all of her pop culture references. She is one funny gal. Right off the bat you feel for Gael, because the book starts out with the second worst day of his life (that’s the chapter title) so you know it is going to be bad. And it was a bad day for a teenage guy to go through, that’s for sure. However; I do have to say I think his friend redeemed himself. And I don’t say that lightly. I almost never have that opinion, but in this case I really liked the groveling he did, and anyone could tell their friendship was genuine. Either way, this sub plot was just background for the real romance.
The romance in The Romantics was very cute. It was a little predictable, but cute nonetheless. I liked the direction that Love steered Gael in. And all of the mishaps along the way were pretty hilarious. I think The Romantics would make for a super cute movie, or tv show featuring Love as your trusty narrator. I would watch it! If you are a fan of cute romances with really funny writing and pop culture references, The Romantics is a great book for you. I really liked Leah Konen’s writing style. I thought she was hilarious. I can’t wait to read another one of her books.
. @BookBriefs thinks #TheRomantics by @LeahKonen is a 'hilarious, good time' @abramskids a #RomCom about love, told by love Click To Tweet
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Julie @ Happily Ever Chapter
Great review! This one sounds really good…and they compare the writing style to Rainbow Rowell?? Count me in! lol!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
Its super cute and pretty funny Julie. I hope you get a chance to read it 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Brittany
It’s definitely refreshing to see a guy’s love story! This book sounds super adorable 😀 I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂
Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
Michelle @ Book Briefs
Thanks Brittany. It was refreshing. and it was also refreshing to not see love be the one that falls in love with the guy. I liked that she was just the narrator.
Thanks for stopping by Brittany 🙂
Kara
I love the idea of this, and of course, there is a Cara in it, so you know I have to read it!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
Yep, and you will really like Cara too! You should check it out 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Kara 🙂
Sam
I just read this the other day, and I have to agree with your assessment. The concept of love telling us about love – adored it! It was sweet and adorable and focused on all sorts of love. It made me smile. (I used this for my Pop Sugar Challenge)
Michelle @ Book Briefs
yea it was very cute and I liked that love was simply the narrator and not a love interest herself. that was refreshing
TeacherofYA
This book does look adorable! ?❤️?
Michelle @ Book Briefs
it is!I hope you get a chance to read it 🙂
TeacherofYA
It was on sale on Amazon and I missed it…it’ll go on sale again. I look forward to it now! (Gotta go based on sales at this point, lol)
Autumn
I’m kinda digging the whole twist of Love being the narrator, very interesting…
Michelle @ Book Briefs
it was a cool twist. I would love to see more books in this series. There are so many cool stories love could tell 🙂
Krystianna
Great review! This one sounds pretty interesting. I really like the cover.
Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian
Lori
This one sounds so fun! I really love when stories have a really unique twist and love as the narrator sounds super unique! I really adore when a guy is the MC in a love story. I really need to read this one!
danielle hammelef
I love books that make me laugh and the romance sounds like fun. I am curious about the unique narration and have to check this book out. It sounds like a fun, lighter read than some of the books I’ve tackled lately.
Penny Olson
I like the idea of love as a character. Pretty original.
Victoria
Great review, this sounds like an interesting book!