This story will give you the feels. Humor. Quirk. Understanding, It's such a good read about the fears impending fatherhood. I think it was very interesting to read the layout of this book composed of lists. But I quickly enjoyed how different it was than other .books I have read.

This book, as you've probably seen already, is written entirely in lists. Pretty unique and definitely intriguing format! It got old quickly for me, however. As for the actually story, it was just OK for me. I didn't love it, but I did like it! I enjoyed Dan, the main character, and I really liked how it was a male lead character full of anxiety, fear and overall emotion - something generally reserved (even today) for the female characters.
Thanks to Matthew Dicks, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and NetGalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Matthew Dicks' new novel is one completely written in lists by the narrator Dan. The lists go beyond being a clever vehicle to tell the story, the lists are the story themselves. Dan is completely unlikable. Jill is a saint and should be canonized if she were a real person. The love story between them is lovely.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Twenty-one Truths About Love
By: Matthew Dicks

REVIEW ☆☆☆☆☆
I loved this book! Twenty-one Truths About Love is the story of bookstore owner, Dan, and his mid life mental sort of breakdown. He has a pregnant wife, a bookstore teetering on the edge of closure, a really annoying brother and a half planned plan to rob a bingo hall. Dan relays his neuroses in list format, and I initially had my doubts about this approach. Now, after reading the book, I think the lists are brilliant! This is truly an amazing way to tell a story. Who hasn't made a list or read a list in their lifetime? It's appealing because just about everyone can relate to lists, and the format is eye catching. I was absolutely hooked after the first page, and I used every spare minute to read. I usually don't laugh out loud at books, but I did with this one. Dan has a sense of humor I can understand. He is a neurotic, paranoid, intelligent and somewhat unconventional character whose life is a bit out of control. He constantly plans and schemes various ways, some crazy and some legitimate, to solve his problems. Dan's ideas expand, change and take shape as the story progresses. He learns a lot along the way. At first glance, this book probably seems weird, but give it a chance, and you'll love it. Twenty-one Truths About Love has a different style and unique voice that I found genuine and entertaining. Read it!

List-lovers, rejoice! Author Matthew Dicks has written a novel comprised entirely of that very thing. If you think it might be difficult to grasp the plot of a book written completely in list format, worry not; Twenty-One Truths About Love is as easy to understand as it is to read. This fast-paced epistolary novel takes us into the life of Daniel Mayrock, a former teacher turned bookshop owner, who is, frankly, failing at life. Daniel uses list-writing as a form of therapy, attempting to scratch out all of the ways he could be a better husband and potential father.

Daniel's bookshop is not making money, but he can't tell his wife Jill that. She wants to have a baby, and Daniel can't bear to lose face in front of her. Instead, he pretends that their savings is not dwindling away more and more with each passing month. He spends his days writing lists, in which he obsesses over his financial situation, tries to find ways to NOT get Jill pregnant, and dreams up get-rich-quick schemes.

Twenty-One Truths About Love is an unconventional little novel that is probably unlike anything you have ever read. The protagonist, Daniel Mayrock, is a self-deprecating character that readers will either relate to or love to hate. I unfortunately fell into the hate category, but maybe reading him as a woman, that can be expected. He continuously plays the victim card, looking for excuses as to why he cannot be a better husband, father, and man, in general. He continues to let bad things happen to him instead of taking control of his life. Daniel seems to lead a pretty miserable life, constantly comparing himself to his wife's deceased first husband, lamenting over how he doesn't want a child, and hating his wife's dog. And let's not forget the money woes, which utterly consume him. I was hoping that Daniel would redeem himself by the end of the novel, but unfortunately for me, that day never came. I still hated him by the end, making this novel feel less than satisfactory to me.

If you can look past unsavory personality types, however, there is a lot to like about this novel. It provided a nice change of pace, and didn't take itself too seriously. The list format is fun, although some of Daniel's lists were entirely too long and unnecessary.

I am a list maker myself. However, this book wasn't easy to follow and was stressful for me to follow.

I guess as a reader I need a lot of prose.

A story related in lists.... a novel idea executed well by Matthew Dicks. I really enjoyed this book. I will admit to have skimmed some of the lists I wasnt as interested in, but as a writing technique it was entertaining. The characters were a bit two dimensional, but I chalked that up to the format. I found Twenty-One Truths About Love intriguing enough to seek out Mr. Dicks' earlier work.
3.5
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader. I was super intrigued but this title but unfortunately it kind of fell flat for me. I wound up skimming it.

Written entirely in list form, Dan is a bookstore owner whose business is failing. He hasn't told his pregnant wife and he's scared to death. Scared she doesn't love him as much as he loves her, scared that he's a failure, scared that she's still in love with her dead husband. He needs money and come up with a plan to rob a bingo parlor. He's scared to do that too. He's a good guy, but he has zero self confidence and has relationship issues with his absent father. It's amazing that you can actually tell an entire story in lists, but it works. I think this is the second book that I've read that has done it and it makes for a quick, fun read.

As a self-proclaimed list lover the format of this book intrigued me. It was certainly different than anything I’ve read before. At first I wasn't sure if I liked the format but it grew on me and turned into an enjoyable read. It had me laughing and muttering to myself while I read it because there’s some seriously funny points throughout the whole thing and although my life is nothing like his I found it somewhat real and relatable.

The book contained an interesting progression of the character's life and his story was presented in such an odd way but it totally worked. Kudos to the author for giving me something new to read that really clicked. It's unlikely that this book's list format would work well for many other authors out there but it was definitely a fun read for this list-loving gal.

In a Nutshell: This book's format was written completely in list form which was an interesting concept and completely worth the read.

Twenty-One Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks was written in such a unique style. The book is entirely written in lists. At first I loved it, but after a while it became annoying. However, I felt connected to the characters and the story, which is about love, fear and family.

Are you someone who likes to make lists?

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Thank you so much to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this copy of Twenty-One Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks📚

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Synopsis from the publisher: Daniel Mayrock’s life is at a crossroads. He knows the following to be true:

1. He loves his wife Jill… more than anything.

2. He only regrets quitting his job and opening a bookshop a little (maybe more than a little)

3. Jill is ready to have a baby.

4. The bookshop isn’t doing well. Financial crisis is imminent. Dan doesn’t know how to fix it.

5. Dan hasn’t told Jill about their financial trouble.

6. Then Jill gets pregnant.

This heartfelt story is about the lengths one man will go to and the risks he will take to save his family. But Dan doesn’t just want to save his failing bookstore and his family’s finances:

1. Dan wants to do something special.

2. He’s a man who is tired of feeling ordinary.

3. He’s sick of feeling like a failure.

4. He doesn’t want to live in the shadow of his wife’s deceased first husband.

Dan is also an obsessive list maker; his story unfolds entirely in his lists, which are brimming with Dan’s hilarious sense of humor, unique world-view, and deeply personal thoughts. When read in full, his lists paint a picture of a man struggling to be a man, a man who has reached a point where he’s willing to do anything for the love (and soon-to-be new love) of his life.

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Things I liked about this book:

1)A story told in unique list format

2)Daniel’s sarcastic and dark sense of humor

3)The monthly lists of bookstore recommendations

4)A heartfelt story about trying to do the best you can for the ones you love.

Things I wasn’t crazy about:

1)The end was wrapped up very neatly and quickly in a kind of unbelievable they live happily ever after type situation. It wasn’t very believable after all that had happened that everyone is happy and fine with no real conflict.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! I wish the ending had had a bit more depth, but that didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of this book full of sarcastic humor and bookish references galore📚😊❤️

Twenty-one truths about love was a unique read. It was unique not only because of the format; the book is written completely in lists, there is no dialogue. It was also unique because it talks about love and family from the male perspective. I do not usually get to read such topics from the man’s POV and it was quite interesting. That is not something easily accomplished but the author managed to do it in a great way.
Moreover, Dan was quite funny and it was really enjoyable to read his thoughts, some of them were hilarious.
I have read another Matthew Dicks book before and this time it was something completely different but equally worth and absolutely worth it.
It was an easy, fast and enjoyable read. It was light but at the same time, it talked about important things, struggles that not only women have but everyone.
I highly recommend it, I truly enjoyed it.

21 Truths about Love by Matthew Dicks

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own. This clever book is unlike any I’ve ever read before. The entire book is comprised of lists written by Daniel. Daniel records important things like his finances and the state of his marriage in list format, as well as silly things like underrated songs and ways to get into fights on Christmas Day. It’s a great one-sitting read. 4 stars.

Sometimes funny, mostly not. Books about lists written in list form always sound like a good idea and always end up annoying. If you treat it like a compilation of essays you may enjoy it.

I loved this book! A book written fully in lists might come off as a little odd but it actually intrigued me even more about it. It reminded me a bit of "The Lover's Dictionary: by David Levithan, which I also loved. This book is more enjoyable because you do have a little bit of the unreliable narrator going on and that's something I enjoy in thrillers and although this is very far from a thriller, it has the same impact. I strongly recommend this book.

I thought this book was clever and fun. I liked the format and the way the story unfolded. The book was unique which is hard to find these days.

I must say I was initially intrigued by this title because of the formatting of the story. Books written in various formats always tend to catch my eye and I usually enjoy the change of pace from your average novel. I did indeed enjoy the way this book uses only lists by the main character to tell the story. However, there were some places in the book that I felt could have used more relevant lists to help tie in to the plot a little more. That being said, I did like the humor in some of the more irrelevant lists in the book that were funny observations of the mundane things in life.


I wished I could have warmed up more to Dan, the main character in the story. I could understand the frustration and uncertainty he was going through with all of the changes happening in his life, but some things he did just didn't make sense considering how smart and practical the guy seemed to be. Most of what you see throughout the story gives you a sense of how Dan is trying to handle all of the small and large changes and predicaments that life is throwing at him. The only major confusion I had was the plan that Dan was trying to put into place to solve his financial problem. It seemed kind of absurd to me. I don't know, just my opinion.

I rated this book 2 out of 5 stars which in my rating system means that I thought it was okay. It had some humor and you were hoping throughout the book that Dan would come out on the other side of the story with a clearer vision of his future and a way to handle his life going forward. It just didn't quite fit the vision I had of it going into reading it. If you're looking for a story with a non-conventional format, take a gander. If you're looking to see how a man copes with big changes in his life and how he makes it out on the other side, take a peek.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this title.

I loved the short entries and lists that this book is made up of.
I had both an E Galley and final copy of this book sent by the publisher. Immediately appealing as a book of lists and a main character who owned a bookstore.
Dan is the kind of honest and quirky guy we all want as a friend, but he doesn’t really get close to others. He loves his wife Jill more than anything. His insecurities are his biggest problems. He writes down everything and this is endearing.
While it isn’t a great great work of fiction this book is endearing and thought provoking. I found myself sharing snippets with my husband and I have a friend I want to share it with right now. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press.

Twenty-one Truths About Love was a quick read, written entirely in list format. There were some gems of advice throughout the book, parts that made me laugh out loud (terrible people think Turkey Trots on Thanksgiving are a good idea - my family did this every year in my childhood), and parts that made me cringe. Unfortunately, the list format as a whole didn't work well for me. The man character, Dan, felt a little whiney, which is probably in large part because I didn't get to know him, outside of lists where he complained regularly and talked about horrible decisions. The good parts made it worth reading, but I likely would not pick up a book entirely in list format again. It would have suited me better if there were lists throughout a novel, rather than solely lists to tell the story.