Scan barcode
A review by rachelmariereads
Fools in Love by Ashley Herring Blake, Rebecca Podos
5.0
This is the best romance anthology I’ve ever read, and I truly believe that there is a story in here that will resonate with every reader. Fools in Love takes all of the most well-known tropes and spins them on their heads. Think “enemies to lovers,” “one bed,” “love triangle,” — you name it and it’s in here somewhere. And normally, I think of those tropes as cheesy, and overdone. But Fools in Love proved me wrong time and time again!
I think my favorite story was Bloom by Rebecca Barrow, with the trope “love transcends time and space.” In Bloom, Mera plans to travel back in time to kill the man who would end up murdering her mother. The writing and the magic system in here was so beautiful! Mera’s mother taught her flowers have magical properties, and that consuming an orange blossom can give you the power to travel in time, but you can’t control your destination. Instead of finding the man who killed her mother, Mera meets Delphine. This story was so heart-wrenching and tender, it absolutely stole my breath away.
But so many of the stories were incredible! Some of my other favorites were Five Stars by Amy Spalding, The Passover Date by Laura Silverman, and Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Melinda Lo. There were contemporary, fantasy, and sci-fi stories, and so much amazing representation! There were gay and lesbian couples, trans characters, and even a polyamorous trio, which I have never before seen in a piece of YA literature! There were Jewish characters, and Latinx characters, and Asian characters, and Black characters… this book truly had it all! Reading this made my heart so happy.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more impressed by a collection of stories. I really wasn’t sure how this was going to go when I cracked it open, but every story was wonderful to read! If you’re looking for a sweet romantic pick-me-up I promise you’ll find something special in Fools in Love! There is something in here everyone can enjoy, and I truly can’t recommend this enough! One of my favorites of the year, by far.
I think my favorite story was Bloom by Rebecca Barrow, with the trope “love transcends time and space.” In Bloom, Mera plans to travel back in time to kill the man who would end up murdering her mother. The writing and the magic system in here was so beautiful! Mera’s mother taught her flowers have magical properties, and that consuming an orange blossom can give you the power to travel in time, but you can’t control your destination. Instead of finding the man who killed her mother, Mera meets Delphine. This story was so heart-wrenching and tender, it absolutely stole my breath away.
But so many of the stories were incredible! Some of my other favorites were Five Stars by Amy Spalding, The Passover Date by Laura Silverman, and Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Melinda Lo. There were contemporary, fantasy, and sci-fi stories, and so much amazing representation! There were gay and lesbian couples, trans characters, and even a polyamorous trio, which I have never before seen in a piece of YA literature! There were Jewish characters, and Latinx characters, and Asian characters, and Black characters… this book truly had it all! Reading this made my heart so happy.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more impressed by a collection of stories. I really wasn’t sure how this was going to go when I cracked it open, but every story was wonderful to read! If you’re looking for a sweet romantic pick-me-up I promise you’ll find something special in Fools in Love! There is something in here everyone can enjoy, and I truly can’t recommend this enough! One of my favorites of the year, by far.