Rating: 4 STARS Genre: YA/LGBT/Fantasy/Romance Standalone/Series: Standalone How I got this book: Bought There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets. Caden is a Nice: the boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: the brooding, dark-souled guy who is dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose the Nice or the Bad? Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their games. They have to be—whoever the girl doesn’t choose will die. What the boys don’t expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both. This book is a prime example of why, whilst I absolutely love reading (spoiler-free) book reviews, I don’t allow them to completely dictate my reading choices.
It’s also why, whilst I love writing book reviews (so much so that I decided to start this blog), I will never write a review for a book that I didn’t connect with or enjoy because I firmly believe that each and every person gets something different from reading a book and that no two people will have exactly the same experience when reading the same book. I came across The Love Interest on Twitter and was completely intrigued by the synopsis, an LGBT Spy YA novel!! When I went to add it to my TBR on Goodreads, I noticed a couple of not so positive reviews of the book, and whilst I respect the opinions of those readers, I enjoy forming my own opinions, especially since the book already had me excited from the synopsis alone, and I’m really glad that I did! The Love Interest is fantastic! I think the concept is original and fantastic, it gave me sort of sci-fi vibes too which was really interesting. The characters are likeable and somehow relatable even despite their unusual circumstances. I loved Caden and Dyl so much!! Every interaction made me smile and swoon just a little bit more. I think the author does a fantastic job in providing a fantastical plot that’s filled with relatable characters who you can’t help but care about whilst also featuring a really strong LGBT message, as well as being a strong advocate for self-acceptance. "I didn't exist to teach her a lesson, and it irks me that she thinks labelling me is okay now. Like, by liking guys I automatically take on that role in her life. That I'm suddenly a supporting character in her story rather than the hero of my own." I was asked in another post if this story features a love triangle, and without giving too much away, whilst it does feature certain elements of a love triangle, it certainly doesn’t follow the usual stereotypes. The pace is great, I never once found myself drifting off or getting bored, I was fully invested in the story from the very beginning. The characters are compelling, the ‘antagonists’ are menacing and, in some cases, downright creepy! The slow burn romance was perfection, it was so sweet (even with the slight confusion towards the end) and features probably my favourite romance trope of all time! It was light-hearted, sweet and so much fun to read. There were a couple of plot points I was unsure of and have a few questions about, like, why Dyl lied, and why the LIC feel the need to incinerate EVERYONE, but it was nothing major and certainly didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. Overall, I’d highly recommend this fast-paced, action-packed, diverse YA to anyone looking for a new take on the traditional ‘spy’ storyline. It actually reminded me a little bit of the film ‘This Means War’ (if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it) but with more creepy robots, cool inventions and teenage angst. Oh, before I forget, I also wanted to go on a weird tangent and talk about the book itself, as in the physical paperback. This book has a really stunning cover, and it feels so weird!! Most books are glossy and smooth, but this book is sort of rough, which I absolutely love for some reason! It really stands out! Comments are closed.
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About Kay (She/Her)
Book addict, film mad, music lover, business owner, writer and mum (not necessarily in that order), living in the UK. About Sophie (She/Her)
Sophie loves books (obviously). She has a passion for photography and spotting wildlife, and is interested in anything made with passion and creativity. THIS BLOG IS SPOILER FREE!
Rating system: 5 Stars - AMAZING!! 4.5 Stars - Almost perfect! 4 Stars - I really loved it 3.5 Stars - I liked it alot 3 Stars - I liked it (I don't typically review books that I rate below 3 stars)
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