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A review by ablondieslibrary
Truly Madly Deeply by L.J. Shen
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I find myself loving every single book LJ Shen writes, and this was another one that just could not put down!! From the very first page it was clear to me that Cal and Row were endgame. Unfortunately for Row, but fortunately for us, Cal can’t get out of her own way to realize that.
The push and pull dynamic between Cal and Row was written so perfectly. Row’s grumpy, standoffish, give zero fvcks attitude, combined with his golden retriever energy towards those he loves was quite literally ✨chefs kiss!✨ Cal is sunshine, quirky, unique, socially awkward, chaos, and still perfection all around. These two together were everything I’ve come to love from LJ - comedic, loving, hot & spicy, and a couple of epic proclamations of love!! I laughed, I cried, and I absolutely never wanted it to end.
Love story aside, the immigrant representation in this book hit me right in the heart. As the granddaughter of a Hungarian immigrant, I could see so much of my grandfather and my childhood in Cal’s story with her parents. Cal’s parents embraced their Russian roots, and the way Cal took the brunt of that as being labeled “different” to her peers just to protect and shield them had me in all my feels. This book was as much about a happily ever love story as it was about learning to accept others who are different from you, the ones who are uniquely themselves and don’t fit in any one particular mold, and treating others with kindness because at the end of the day you don’t know what someone else is going through. (ps @authorljshen - i apologize in advanced for being as socially awkward as cal when i meet you friday!!!!!!)
“𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠… 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚, 𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚. 𝙈𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚.“
The push and pull dynamic between Cal and Row was written so perfectly. Row’s grumpy, standoffish, give zero fvcks attitude, combined with his golden retriever energy towards those he loves was quite literally ✨chefs kiss!✨ Cal is sunshine, quirky, unique, socially awkward, chaos, and still perfection all around. These two together were everything I’ve come to love from LJ - comedic, loving, hot & spicy, and a couple of epic proclamations of love!! I laughed, I cried, and I absolutely never wanted it to end.
Love story aside, the immigrant representation in this book hit me right in the heart. As the granddaughter of a Hungarian immigrant, I could see so much of my grandfather and my childhood in Cal’s story with her parents. Cal’s parents embraced their Russian roots, and the way Cal took the brunt of that as being labeled “different” to her peers just to protect and shield them had me in all my feels. This book was as much about a happily ever love story as it was about learning to accept others who are different from you, the ones who are uniquely themselves and don’t fit in any one particular mold, and treating others with kindness because at the end of the day you don’t know what someone else is going through. (ps @authorljshen - i apologize in advanced for being as socially awkward as cal when i meet you friday!!!!!!)
“𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠… 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚, 𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚. 𝙈𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚.“