Girl goes to college. Girl vaguely knows boy because of the circle of friends surrounding. Girl grows up.

The Love Story Will Self-Destruct by Leslie Cohen is so, so much more than a lighthearted rom-com/chick lit book. Eve and Ben are two people in a group of friends from college. Eve is..neurotic and lonely and just looking for her place in this world. Ben is a very regulated and serious man, who is methodic and funny and....also looking for his place in this world. We follow them (and vaguely, their friends) from college to their early 20s, in New York in the mid to late 2000s. (So, YES 9-11 is a part of this story.)

This is a story about finding your path, about crossing paths with people and eventually finding your way to where you are supposed to be.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

4.5 Stars

Have you ever read a book and been left wondering how it felt like absolutely nothing happened but somehow SO much happened at the same time? This is that book for me.

It read sort of like a diary where you’ll learn everything about Ben and Eve’s lives and how they missed each other for so long but crossed paths so often. You’ll learn of Eve’s struggle with the death of her mom and her absent father and her inability to trust in anything good.

It’s mentioned early on that Ben’s friends think that he is boring and for a majority of the book I didn’t see it. I just saw him as steady, calm and level-headed. Then as we watch as Eve’s emotions start to get the best of her, Ben does seem to come across as unfazed, emotionless and yes, boring. When things blow up and Eve becomes her own worst enemy, I saw that Ben does have emotions, but he doesn’t express them outwardly.

He is the calm to Eve’s storm.

Even in the end when you’d expect a certain excited reaction to something Eve casually acknowledges he is steady and calm. At first I was disappointed because who doesn’t want a big show of emotion, but that’s when I hit me. His reaction was more real than anything I’ve become accustomed to in Fiction, but exactly what I witness first hand in real life. Proving that true love and romance isn’t always show-boating and loud, sometimes calm and steady is the best reaction of them all.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley for voluntary review

This was one of the most boring books I have read in a long time! The only character I ever connected with was Ben and, I only enjoyed the last 3 chapters of the book.

This being a debut novel I knew I would either love it or hate it well I loved it. I tore through this book like there was no tomorrow I couldn’t get enough. It was gritty, messy and pure delight. This author has a long career in front of her.

First, it was easy for me to get into this book because when we go back in time to Eve's senior year in college it is 2005 and that was my senior year. It made me smile that I could go there to that exact year and remember where I was in that year. Now granted she was in New York City and I was in North Carolina, but same spot in time!

What a cute and sweet love story. Sometimes when you are reading all the heavy literary fiction and mystery thrillers and such, you just need something light and airy to escape for awhile. Eve and Ben both have opportunities to move the story along from their own perspectives and I love hearing about the ups and relationships from both the guys and the girls point of view.

There isn't much to stay beyond the fact that I just adored this book. I hope that this isn't just the one and only from Leslie Cohen and that she continues to write books that are in the same vain as this book. I would even suggest readers to get this book and hold on to it for your next vacation, it would be a perfect any time of the year vacation - easy to pick up and put down and just a sweet simple escape!

DNF at 25%. I just can't handle the stream of consciousness overload. The synopsis is incredibly appealing, but the style is not for me.

This story begins when Eve and Ben are in their final year of college at Columbia in New York. They know each other in passing though they have polar opposite majors: English and Engineering. Eve, true to her major, has very few unexpressed thoughts; the ones that stay swirling around in her mind are also innumerable. She takes existentialism, angst, and sensitivity to a level that would give Aristole, Kaftka, Nitsche, and Kierkegaard headaches. Because of some significant losses in her life, she is constantly on guard against more pain and loss. Ben exemplifies his engineer calling as someone who is steady, logical, and not prone to dramatic emotional outbursts or seeing his life in blazing colors as does Eve. His job a as a structural engineer is a good metaphor for how Ben sees life: logical, ordered, and calm. Eve, for Ben and the reader, is sometimes emotionally exhausting making it a challenge to like her; however, clearly she is someone with a deeply wounded heart.

Eve and Ben stay close to their college friends and so occasionally run into each other, mostly in bars and restaurants. At some point they look across a crowded room and make a connection that becomes more than a casual hookup. They each bring something to the relationship the other is missing. For all Eve’s neuroses, she has a joie de vivre than Ben lacks while he helps her to stay on a less frenetic emotional track. Eve’s previous serious boyfriend, Jesse, a musician is too much like her. Some of my favorite lines in the book exemplify the problem of two overly emotive people as a couple: “Shouldn’t that help? No. Because your darkness isn’t like my darkness.” Ben, overhearing the conversation between Eve and Jesse, thinks that “It should be illegal for two English majors to date each other.” This level of humor keeps the story from being too bogged down in existential drama.

I suppose common for their age, Eve, Ben, and their friends spend much of their social time in a miasma of drinking, drugs, and partying during college and over the next several years. For someone like Eve, having her tongue even more loosened does not bode well. Neither Ben nor his friends are much improved from the mind altered state either. Not surprisingly, when problems happen in the relationship, Eve is the instigator. Drama is as drama does. Good behavior and brain cells lost during a wedding, once again influed by alcohol, Eve does something that sets up her own heartbreak.

As with many stories set in New York, the city itself also becomes a kind of character. Eve and Ben give very detailed descriptions of life in the microcosm of New York from their alternating points of view making that part of the story an intense experience. Ms. Cohen’s descriptions of the New York life offers a very intimate portrait of the dichotomies that exist between the rich and poor, old buildings and newly renovated ones, as well as the challenges of living in the constant fray and finding places of sanctuary from it. Overall this is a well written story though it bogs down at times in some tedious internal monologues from Eve not surprisingly. The thought that lingers with me is that people who are well-educated and rely on their minds for their work, Eve as a writer, and Ben an engineer working on the Freedom Tower, use and abuse mind altering substances. Perhaps this story can serve as not only a quirky love story, but a cautionary tale.

This is a book that I enjoyed towards the middle and the end. But the beginning is where I struggled. The main character is in a unhealthy relationship and she isn't really happy with where her life is going at the moment, but she doesn't seem to know how to change it. Instead of going on about how I don't like this part of the book I'm going to fast-forward to the parts I did like.

The middle of the book is where she starts taking control of her life and figures out what she wants and how to get that, plus she finally wants to get into a healthy relationship! (I know we all have unhealthy relationships, but as soon as we meet her ex I knew he was not good and just wanted that portion of the book to be over.) This is where we meet Ben whose job I found fascinating. Ben and Eve while dysfunctional at times grow and learn together. We see them go through so much and surprisingly I really enjoyed a lot of it. How they both were connected from a young age as well and didn't even know it was something new for me. This is also the first book I've ever read where the characters lost someone in 9/11 so to read that and to see how it affected both of them was something new for me as well.

Even though this is new adult, there were no sex scenes, sex is mentioned as well as drug use and a lot of drinking.

This is a book that I would not normally read, but I am glad I decided to try it out and got out of my comfort zone for a change.

I am still in shock that this is Leslie Cohen's debut book. This book was extremely well written and it will suck you in, trust me.

I will say that I was not 100% sure about Eve in the beginning. Then she grew on me and she grew on me fast.

Eve is a young woman who clearly has anxiety issues that stem from her father leaving her at a young age and her mother dying. I couldn't even imagine what she went through.

Eve is looking for relationships that she knows will fail in the end. She is broken and feels as if she is only good for broken things. Which is so far from the truth, once you get to know her!

Ben is well....a great love. Well that is what I call him. He melted me heart in this book. He is the go to guy, he is the friends with benefits guy, he is the don't lie to me guy, and he is the bring home to your parents guy.

These two are soul mates and didn't even know it. It took them a long time to get there but I am so glad that they did.

Omg and when you read the one part, you will know too that these two are meant to be. When I read that part I was so engrossed I forgot to breath and I got goosebumps!

I am even more happy that Eve allowed herself to accept love and to know that she is good enough for Ben.

The ending was bittersweet becuase I wanted to know so much more about their future but that is ok.....because I am hoping there is a book two. Eve's sister's story. Hint, hint!

Title: This Love Story Will Self-Destruct

Author: Leslie Cohen

Publisher: Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books

Reviewed By: Arlena Dean

Rating: Four

Review:



"This Love Story Will Self-Destruct" by Leslie Cohen



My Thoughts....



This was a interesting read with Eve trying to find herself...being with the right person with a lots of drama issues that seemed to keep her so very unhappy. Then here comes Ben who seems to come in and out of Eves life. I liked how he seemed to have a order in his life where as Eve seemed to be all over the place with her many crazy issues. I found this story that went back and forth making we wonder would they ever come together and stay together? I found the title of this story really fitted the story as you will see how this author brings this all out for the reader. It was of great interest as the author brings in the subject of 9/11 so uniquely into this story. By the end of the read the reader will get a story of 'two unlikely people who finally find each other. Now, to know more you will have to pick up this good read and see how well this author brings it all out to the readers.

I have some mixed emotions about this one.
A piece of advice, pay attention to the years. If I recall correctly, this book spans about ten years.
I wish there could’ve been more interaction with Eve’s sister. She had like one scene and a phone call but for some reason, I really liked her.
Eve is just a hot mess, let me tell you. But she’s REAL. And I really liked Ben.
For a debut book, this one is great! It’s a bit slow paced but I did enjoy it!

I found both leads to be utterly charming, although it was slightly annoying to have the cliche emotional woman/logical man setup, but since Ben ended up seeing things more Eve's way in the end I didn't mind too much. It's definitely a very New York book, so if you don't care for NYC, I wouldn't bother. The plot is extremely sparse, but it is a romance after all, and it's really just Eve and Ben growing into people who can actually like each other and stay together.

I really tried to like this book I mean really tried. It started off so promising but soon dismantled into a hot mess. The characters seemed all over the place and it took forever for the hero to get introduced. The heroine was just unlikeable to me, I couldn't connect with her and as far as her describing events in the story she went into way too much detail over the wrong things. I found myself skimming this a lot. What i will say is that this author has potential and I am sure this will do fine on amazon.

I was looking forward to reading this book and excited by the description. I was hoping for another quirky character I could relate to like in Me Before You or Admissions. Unfortunately the book got off to a slow start, and I had to struggle to continue reading it. Also, I realized that I really didn’t relate to and actively disliked all of the main characters! It was a bit of a slog, and a potential climactic point in the plot towards the end was simply glossed over and never fully explored.

I absolutely loved this book. This book drew me in right away, from the very first page. What a journey the author takes you on! You will quickly fall in love with Eve, with her many quirks and habits. You'll also find yourself rooting for the happy ending. And what a great twist. Love!

I didn’t think this book was that great. Cute but blah.

Eve is a normal girl although normal might be a stretch when describing her. The thoughts that flit through her mind during this book are equal parts amusing and confusing but who ever said being a girl was easy? Work, school, guys, oh! And don't even get me started on the worries I have about mismatched socks, which is more common than you'd think! Teasing spoilers aside, I found Eve to be a wacky zany character that I cheered and groaned for during the book. One of those times where I empathize waaay too much with the characters but that's never a bad thing!

Allow me to introduce Ben. Quiet steady and smart Ben is a rock. He's..basically every girl's dream guy I suppose. Or at least every young woman's dream man, and as thisnis a slight coming of age novel I'd say that fits him perfectly.He's serious, has a reliable well paying job, not terribly bright with the touchy feelie stuff and his friends sum up his role as the all around Good Guy.

The plot of this story is simple: girl meets boy. Goes after wrong one. Lives a little, learns and forgets and returns to average joe. As the novel progresses things change not just in Eve gaining feelings for Ben but in Eve growing up bit by bit. Ben grows as well but we dont see that change as much as we do with Eve. Did I mention that it all takes place in New York, the City of Dreams, The City that never sleeps, ie: in my opinion the best place ever!

After reading the first few pages, I was so excited! The writing felt fresh, but so relatable. It immediately had me making Rainbow Rowell comparisons. In case you're wondering, I love Rainbow! Unfortunately, shortly thereafter the story was shaping up to be less and less like the type I'd enjoy.

WARNING: Spoilerish details ahead...

There was an incident where the heroine and her friends shared some drugs in a cab, then there is the unfortunate job opportunities and recreational activities that occupy Jessie’s time, not to mention Eve and her proclivities. All of these things may be very typical of 20-something Columbia University students, or New Yorkers, or not-quite rich kids, but I don’t want to read about it.

SPOILER ENDS

On the plus side, the writing is quite good -- tangible and textured. Also, I loved the hero, Ben. He's a rare jewel and what any girl would want in a man. Not to mention, he's just the right amount of chill and accepting that Eve needs.

All in all, I think the author is a good storyteller. I just didn’t happen to like many of the characters featured in this offering. As long as you don’t mind character’s who are nonchalant about drug use, among other things, you may like this one.

I received an ARC of this book, from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was not for me. I just could not get into it... it was too drawn out for my taste