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lizzieslittlebooknook's review
4.0
Fools in Love is an anthology of short stories based on all of your favourite romantic tropes. From enemies to lovers to love triangles there is something for everyone with a fresh, modern twist on each one.
Like all anthologies there were good ones and there were ones I didn’t particularly enjoy but overall it was a lovely variety of love stories. This was also a great diverse book as it included a lot of different genders, races and sexualities. It was really well balanced.
From paranormal, to Sci fi and superheroes the romance stories are told across a wide expanse of genres to mix up the themes. It is great to see the variety of authors and the quality of writing them have produced for this selection of short stories. These authors have been picked from a variety of backgrounds and countries so they are all unique settings and characters. You are sure to find your favourite trope and romance sub genre within this book.
If you are looking for a fun read that you can dip in and out of whenever you want then you should look this up if you are into your romance stories. My favourite one is about a woman who races wolves, I won’t say anymore but you will know it when you read it.
Like all anthologies there were good ones and there were ones I didn’t particularly enjoy but overall it was a lovely variety of love stories. This was also a great diverse book as it included a lot of different genders, races and sexualities. It was really well balanced.
From paranormal, to Sci fi and superheroes the romance stories are told across a wide expanse of genres to mix up the themes. It is great to see the variety of authors and the quality of writing them have produced for this selection of short stories. These authors have been picked from a variety of backgrounds and countries so they are all unique settings and characters. You are sure to find your favourite trope and romance sub genre within this book.
If you are looking for a fun read that you can dip in and out of whenever you want then you should look this up if you are into your romance stories. My favourite one is about a woman who races wolves, I won’t say anymore but you will know it when you read it.
livjolee's review against another edition
4.0
*ARC provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* This book is a great read for young adults and teens. Especially for those who may be a part of the lgbtqia+ community, with a wide range of representation being included across the different short stories in this collection. The collection also features elements of many different genres from superheroes to wizards or just a regular everyday scenario. This collection is sure to feature at least a few short stories for someone to enjoy, that being said some stories were not my favorite and fell flat in comparison to the storytelling of others. But, I enjoyed many of the featured pieces making this read a solid 4/5 stars!
khoyle29's review
3.0
Fools in Love: Fresh Twist on Romantic Tales is a bunch of short stories that twist the traditional romance tropes. Most of the characters are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. The authors do a good job of changing up the stories, but with short stories I always want more. Some of the stories I liked more than others-typically my favorite trad tropes were my favorites in this book. This book was a Blind Date with a Book pick from my library.
neurorobin's review against another edition
3.0
This was a collection of short stories, some of which were good and some of which were not.
trisha_thomas's review
3.0
2.5 stars rounded up. I love short story compilations. They make it easy to read a quick story here and there and not have to follow a storyline or think too deeply about it all. But many of these stories felt too short. They would barely introduce the main characters before it was over. The few longer stories just didn't hold my attention. A few of the scenes started truly horrific - like the opening to a horror story - and I just couldn't find them romantic or sweet. This set just didn't work for me - but I did love the diversity in the characters and I think the stories will work for others as cute, quick reads.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
kieraisreading's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
*arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Fools in Love is a cute and fun romance short story collection. I loved the diversity in this book! The stories featured characters from all walks of life, great LGBTQ+ rep!
The selection of authors was great, and I discovered so many new authors who I would like to read from in the future.
As with all short story collections some of the stories really stood out to me, and others didn’t. But collectively I enjoyed most of the stories.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, romantic read.
*arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Fools in Love is a cute and fun romance short story collection. I loved the diversity in this book! The stories featured characters from all walks of life, great LGBTQ+ rep!
The selection of authors was great, and I discovered so many new authors who I would like to read from in the future.
As with all short story collections some of the stories really stood out to me, and others didn’t. But collectively I enjoyed most of the stories.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, romantic read.
sandmoe's review
4.0
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for a honest review!
Fools in Love is a wonderfully diverse collection of short stories based on different romance tropes like fake dating, only one bed, mutual pining, secret royalty etc.
I loved how all the stories are so vastly different, the collection had everything from contemporary to fantasy to superheroes and villians to time travel - there’s something for everyone. I absolutely loved how the majority of the short stories were sapphic - every time I started on a new story where the main girl was queer my heart skipped a beat.
There were very few stories I didn’t care for, 6 out of the 15 stories were solid 5 star ones, and the rest were mostly 3-4 stars, with the exception of 2 1-2 stars ones. Overall this was a great collection, and I will most definitely buy the physical copy when it comes out.
Individual ratings below, average rating: 3.9 stars.
Silver and gold by Natasha Ngan - 3.5 stars. I need a whole book just about Ru like right now.
Five stars by Amy Spalding - 4.5 stars. It was funny and cute, a perfect little one shot where I still felt like I got to know the characters. Kind of abrupt ending.
Unfortunately, blobs do not eat snacks by Rebecca Kim Wells - 5 stars, please, ma’am, I need the whole book like right now.
Edges by Ashley Herring Blake - 3.5 stars. I love the trope, but this novella didn’t really fulfill my needs. 10/10 would read the book if it was ever written.
What makes us heroes by Julian Winters - 4 stars. Need a 3 part book series sir
And by Hannah Moskowitz - 2 stars. I hate love triangles with a burning passion because I never feel like I’m given a satisfactory ending, the exception is only when it ends in all three getting together, which this one did, and I was happy about that... however, the story was written as a wattpad y/n story from like 2012 and I couldn’t get into it.
My best friend’s girl by Sara Farizan - 4 stars. I keep saying this, but I really need a whole book.
(Fairy)like attracts like by Claire Kann - 3.5 stars, this one kept me confused but intrigued.
These strings by Lilliam Rivera - 1 star. This one did not work for the at all, I cared for none of the characters, nor the story.
The passover date by Laura Silverman - 5 stars. This is the perfect little novella.
Bloom by Rebecca Barrow - 5 stars. A masterpiece, really.
Teed up by Gloria Chao - 5 stars. Perfect.
Boys noise by Mason Deaver - 5 stars. This story didn’t really focus on the one bed trope, the trope in question felt more like the mutual pining trope… but it was really good so I’m not complaining.
Girls just want to have fun by Malinda Lo - 5 stars. This is the second time I’ve read a novella collection with a Malinda Lo story and desperately needed a whole book for it. She already wrote a book based on her story in the All Out anthology so there is a chance, right? Right?
Disaster by Rebecca Podos - 3 stars. Love the pettiness of the main character
Fools in Love is a wonderfully diverse collection of short stories based on different romance tropes like fake dating, only one bed, mutual pining, secret royalty etc.
I loved how all the stories are so vastly different, the collection had everything from contemporary to fantasy to superheroes and villians to time travel - there’s something for everyone. I absolutely loved how the majority of the short stories were sapphic - every time I started on a new story where the main girl was queer my heart skipped a beat.
There were very few stories I didn’t care for, 6 out of the 15 stories were solid 5 star ones, and the rest were mostly 3-4 stars, with the exception of 2 1-2 stars ones. Overall this was a great collection, and I will most definitely buy the physical copy when it comes out.
Individual ratings below, average rating: 3.9 stars.
Silver and gold by Natasha Ngan - 3.5 stars. I need a whole book just about Ru like right now.
Five stars by Amy Spalding - 4.5 stars. It was funny and cute, a perfect little one shot where I still felt like I got to know the characters. Kind of abrupt ending.
Unfortunately, blobs do not eat snacks by Rebecca Kim Wells - 5 stars, please, ma’am, I need the whole book like right now.
Edges by Ashley Herring Blake - 3.5 stars. I love the trope, but this novella didn’t really fulfill my needs. 10/10 would read the book if it was ever written.
What makes us heroes by Julian Winters - 4 stars. Need a 3 part book series sir
And by Hannah Moskowitz - 2 stars. I hate love triangles with a burning passion because I never feel like I’m given a satisfactory ending, the exception is only when it ends in all three getting together, which this one did, and I was happy about that... however, the story was written as a wattpad y/n story from like 2012 and I couldn’t get into it.
My best friend’s girl by Sara Farizan - 4 stars. I keep saying this, but I really need a whole book.
(Fairy)like attracts like by Claire Kann - 3.5 stars, this one kept me confused but intrigued.
These strings by Lilliam Rivera - 1 star. This one did not work for the at all, I cared for none of the characters, nor the story.
The passover date by Laura Silverman - 5 stars. This is the perfect little novella.
Bloom by Rebecca Barrow - 5 stars. A masterpiece, really.
Teed up by Gloria Chao - 5 stars. Perfect.
Boys noise by Mason Deaver - 5 stars. This story didn’t really focus on the one bed trope, the trope in question felt more like the mutual pining trope… but it was really good so I’m not complaining.
Girls just want to have fun by Malinda Lo - 5 stars. This is the second time I’ve read a novella collection with a Malinda Lo story and desperately needed a whole book for it. She already wrote a book based on her story in the All Out anthology so there is a chance, right? Right?
Disaster by Rebecca Podos - 3 stars. Love the pettiness of the main character
thebooklovebot's review
3.0
A great YA anthology. This book has LGBTQ+ reps and is full of tropes love Fake Dating and many more
brooke_review's review
2.0
Fake relationship. Enemies to lovers. Snowed in. If you love romance tropes, then don't miss Fools in Love, an anthology of short stories by a wide variety of YA authors, featuring tales in genres ranging from fantasy to realistic to science fiction.
It should be said right off the bat that Fools in Love is a LGBTQIA-majority YA anthology with only three of the fifteen short stories featuring traditional male-female relationships. Not only does this collection primarily feature queer main characters, but it also has a wide range of racial diversity and types of LGBTQIA relationships as well, including polyamorous, bi-, and trans- characters. With that said, this collection will appeal greatly to readers in the LGBTQIA community and to those who enjoy a wide variety of love stories. For those who prefer traditional romances, pass on this collection because it is not for you - the "fresh twist" on romantic tropes that this anthology boasts is that these aren't your average relationships.
Each entry in this collection takes a romance trope and spins a story around it. For featuring 15 different tropes written by 15 different authors, I found the stories in this collection to be surprisingly formulaic. Very few stories featured relationships where the characters were already in love. Rather most of these tales feature the start of a relationship, so we basically see the same story over and over again, just written into a different genre and setting ... and of course with a different trope. Unfortunately, this rush to develop a relationship over the course of a few pages (these are short stories, after all) leaves most of these characters and their romances falling flat on their faces, undeveloped and uninspired.
However, there were a few standouts, including Laura Silverman's The Passover Date. This story is vibrant, diverse, and entertaining, while also being cute and comical. It was practically the only time in this anthology that I settled into the story and actually enjoyed it instead of checking to see how many pages I had left until it was over.
In all, I think that this is an important anthology for those looking for representation in YA literature, however, the execution and storytelling leaves something to be desired.
It should be said right off the bat that Fools in Love is a LGBTQIA-majority YA anthology with only three of the fifteen short stories featuring traditional male-female relationships. Not only does this collection primarily feature queer main characters, but it also has a wide range of racial diversity and types of LGBTQIA relationships as well, including polyamorous, bi-, and trans- characters. With that said, this collection will appeal greatly to readers in the LGBTQIA community and to those who enjoy a wide variety of love stories. For those who prefer traditional romances, pass on this collection because it is not for you - the "fresh twist" on romantic tropes that this anthology boasts is that these aren't your average relationships.
Each entry in this collection takes a romance trope and spins a story around it. For featuring 15 different tropes written by 15 different authors, I found the stories in this collection to be surprisingly formulaic. Very few stories featured relationships where the characters were already in love. Rather most of these tales feature the start of a relationship, so we basically see the same story over and over again, just written into a different genre and setting ... and of course with a different trope. Unfortunately, this rush to develop a relationship over the course of a few pages (these are short stories, after all) leaves most of these characters and their romances falling flat on their faces, undeveloped and uninspired.
However, there were a few standouts, including Laura Silverman's The Passover Date. This story is vibrant, diverse, and entertaining, while also being cute and comical. It was practically the only time in this anthology that I settled into the story and actually enjoyed it instead of checking to see how many pages I had left until it was over.
In all, I think that this is an important anthology for those looking for representation in YA literature, however, the execution and storytelling leaves something to be desired.