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eesh25's review
3.0
This book is set our world, but it features a secret organization that trains teenagers (since they're little kids) to be Love Interests. Each person that's likely to be important in the future is given two Love Interests, one Nice, and one Bad, boy. Caden and Dylan are sent to win the heart of Juliet. The one who loses will die. They're both very determined to stay alive but things take a complicated turn when they start to fall for each other.
And I just want to take a moment, before I have to get into the review part, to appreciate how cool this synopsis is. I mean... just... I loved this book before I even read it, that's how much I adore the premise. And for about two-thirds of the novel, things were going good.
I loved the premise, like I said, and the way the author played with the various YA tropes. For example, Dylan is the "tortured-soul Bad" and they have set pieces for situation where girl gets attacked by thugs and the boy comes in as the knight-in-shining-armour or for when the girl meets the boy for the first time, where she stumbles, falling into the boy's arms. It's all so awesome. And we finally find out why so many boys in YA novels have green eyes! They're probably all Love Interests whose eye colours have been altered.
The pace of the book, for the most part, is good and so is the writing. Where the pace falls short is toward the end when things happen way too fast and easily.
The writing falters at the same moment or, to be exacts, in scenes involving action. Normal conversation or internal contemplation scenes are fine, but when we need a scene packed with emotion or one that demands a sense of danger or urgency, it falls flat. That was the reason the end of the novel was a big disappointment. I was tempted to cut the book some slack because it's very difficult to find a standalone of this variety, but I couldn't do that. Technicalities are important.
If you're going to base a novel on an organisation, then you need to flesh out the details and working of said organization. And if you're going to show this organisation to be so difficult to defeat, them it can't be so freaking easy to break in to! You need to show danger and you need to show us how and why this organization has been functioning without a hitch for centuries. On top of that, the ending was so dissatisfactory and... convenient. Some of the character motivations were also unexplained, and side characters were not given the time they should have.
Then the epilogue happened, which did nothing to tell us of the consequences and aftermath of the ending and... things fell apart. There was too much that couldn't be overlooked.
In the end, this is a novel that had a lot of potential and could have easily become a favourite, but due to the poor execution of many of the crucial aspects, it did not. I still think it's worth a read for the good parts but you shouldn't expect much or take it too seriously.
bookishjosh's review
5.0
vimki's review
5.0
I FREAKIN LOVED THIS BOOK !!!!!! oh my god it was so good. I loved the writing and the story (it kinda reminded me of Shatter Me in a really strange way? idk). I loved Caden ah my smol boy and Juliet who i may be a little bit in love with (just maybe). ah im so happy i loved this. ive been hyping it up for a while and it totally lived up to my hype. Its currently 3:30am and I started this at midnight on the day it came out lmao. Love love love Cale's writing!! also he's the sweetest guy ever. i really hope i get to meet him soon. Cant wait to read more from Cale :-)
akookieforyou's review
3.0
*3.5*
"Hey," says Dyl. He isn't looking at the sky. He's looking at me, smiling that Bad boy smirk of his."I love you." I smile so big it's probably lopsided.
This book definitely had it's issues, like sometimes the dialogue didn't feel like real people were talking, like they were idealistic versions of people. But small problems like that put aside, I really enjoyed this book. It has a nice and sweet love story, a really fascinating premise, and some neat action scenes. One of my favorite thing about this book is how it show that everyone is the protagonist of their own story. I loved it so much when Caden finally came to this conclusion.
And I absolutely love the love and support for the LGBT+ community this book (and author) have, it really shows.
Spoiler
"Hey," says Dyl. He isn't looking at the sky. He's looking at me, smiling that Bad boy smirk of his."I love you." I smile so big it's probably lopsided.
This book definitely had it's issues, like sometimes the dialogue didn't feel like real people were talking, like they were idealistic versions of people. But small problems like that put aside, I really enjoyed this book. It has a nice and sweet love story, a really fascinating premise, and some neat action scenes. One of my favorite thing about this book is how it show that everyone is the protagonist of their own story. I loved it so much when Caden finally came to this conclusion.
And I absolutely love the love and support for the LGBT+ community this book (and author) have, it really shows.
emrodav's review
3.0
I enjoyed most of this book. The premise was really interesting and pretty much all of the characters ended up being super likable (especially Juliet, thank god. I wouldn't have been okay if she had been flat or boring, but she was great).
The issue I had with this book was the sudden and crazy shift in tone and pacing that takes place in the last 1/4 of the book. The first 3/4 was a kind of quirky take on spies and love triangles and coming-of-age. It wasn't perfect, but it was enjoyable. But then everything changed.
In fact,
Overall, the whole ending felt rushed and strange. It almost felt like the first 3/4 of the book would've worked better as the first book in a trilogy. Then the would be the second, and the crazy ending would be book three. But instead it's all kind of smushed into one book and it ends up not working that well.
Hopefully these issues are just the growing pains that come with a debut novel. I hope so, because the parts of the book I enjoyed make me hope that if/when I read another book by this author it'll be more successful.
The issue I had with this book was the sudden and crazy shift in tone and pacing that takes place in the last 1/4 of the book. The first 3/4 was a kind of quirky take on spies and love triangles and coming-of-age. It wasn't perfect, but it was enjoyable. But then everything changed.
In fact,
Spoiler
within the span of like 10 pages everyone just decides to dismantle the all-powerful LIC without much of a plan? And within about 25 pages at least 5 characters die, some in pretty gruesome ways. And then there's a rushed happy ending and happily ever after.Overall, the whole ending felt rushed and strange. It almost felt like the first 3/4 of the book would've worked better as the first book in a trilogy. Then the
Spoiler
section where they decide to dismantle the LIC and go on the runHopefully these issues are just the growing pains that come with a debut novel. I hope so, because the parts of the book I enjoyed make me hope that if/when I read another book by this author it'll be more successful.
josworld96's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
clubuntu's review
2.0
I think my expectations from this book were too high so I'm a little disappointed.
mrswhite's review
2.0
I'm all about good LGBTQ+ books, but this....was not good. Pacing was off, dialogue was bad, sloppy execution all around. The premise was good, but the writing was not.
elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I am not sure why this book as such a low rating compared to other books in the genre. I read The Love Interest for the first time when I was in the target age group, and I really liked it. Now, officially not a teenager anymore, I find this book equally as charming as I did the first time I read it. Cale Dietrich writes fun books with well-made, important characters, and The Love Interest is no exception. Silly and trope-filled on purpose, Dietrich does not take himself too seriously but still creates a book that has representation so many young people (including me!) need in literature. Definitely worth the read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Blood, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Trafficking, Slavery, Homophobia, and Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury