BOOK REVIEW ALERT – Review, Recommendation, Rating & Opinion are my own.

Phoebe Davis is a 15-year-old cynic who firmly believes that love is a waste of time. Her conviction is only strengthened by the chaotic love lives of the adults around her. After her mother leaves for a humanitarian mission, Phoebe moves in with her godmother, Kate. This new environment introduces her to Emma, a quirky girl working at Kate’s thrift shop. Despite Phoebe’s best efforts to avoid any romantic entanglements, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to Emma.

Brueggemann’s writing is sharp, witty, and thoroughly engaging. The first-person narrative gives readers a direct line into Phoebe’s thoughts, making her internal struggles and growth all the more impactful. The humor is one of the novel’s standout features, perfectly balancing the more serious moments and making the story both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Rating – 3.0/5 Stars
Recommendation – Moderately High

Love is for Losers is a standout debut that offers a fresh and humorous take on the young adult genre. Wibke Brueggemann’s ability to blend humor with poignant insights into the teenage experience makes this a must-read for both teens and adults. It’s a story about finding oneself, understanding the many facets of love, and learning to embrace the chaos of life. Phoebe’s journey is one that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like an outsider or questioned the complexities of love.

I had trouble downloading this book from NetGalley, so I never got to read it! Hopefully I can read it in the future, though! Thank you for NetGalley for giving me the chance to review it.

"This is ultimately a thoughtful, funny, deeply emotional coming of age story, perfect for readers looking to commiserate with someone puzzling their way through life and love." —Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books

Ascerbic, dry wit surrounds Phoebe's musings on the cause of her friendship-break-up. She has a complicated relationship with her mother who travels the world to save those in need, but can't seem to help Phoebe through normal, everyday teenage problems.

It's clear Phoebe rejects before she can be rejected but she is also clouded in lonliness. The reader roots for her at the same time wanting to shake her out of her pessimism.

This was cute and SO WELL DONE for a YA romance. It wasn't cheesy and it was laugh out loud funny, I was happy everytime I opened the book

This was such a fun quick read! I very much enjoyed it! Phoebe was amazing and I laughed out loud so many times! Highly recommend!

I have really really tried to like this book, but I just can’t. I’m not sure why, but I’m just not able to get into it. I feel like the storyline is really promising, but the way that it sits just isn’t doing it for me and I feel really bad about saying that. I will try again at a later date and give it another go, but for right now, I’m dnf’ing at 55%. If this changes when I try again, I will absolutely change my review.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I wanted to LOVE this week - but it was likeable. The topics are important topics - learning, learning about love, learning about self - it just felt a bit juvenile for me personally.

Super cute! I love the idea of rejecting love at a young age because you have no proof it exists. We don't usually see young people have this attitude, mostly blind acceptance of what society tells them is supposed to happen.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Phoebe thinks love is for losers, hence the title until she falls in love. This is the story of first love and being yourself. Phoebe has a strong female voice throughout and will be great for teens in this age bracket.

This was an incredible book of self-exploration and the importance of being yourself and friendship. The feminist undertones are wonderful for this generations teens and this is one I would highly recommend to keep in school libraries and classroom.

A funny, honest, and frank exploration of gender, sexuality, and how to love when love can seem like such.... a bother. Definitely recommended for most YA collections.

This was pretty enjoyable. I was confused sometimes and felt it needed more, but I did have a lot of times where I laughed and just enjoyed it.

While I didn’t love this as much as I thought I would, I did enjoy it for the most part. This was sooooo slow burn but I felt like it was really realistic which I appreciated. I do t love british humor so a lot was lost on me.

A darkly funny LGBTQ+ young adult novel, Love is for Losers, is a story of falling in love and growing up in our complicated world. As someone who doesn't like feelings, Phoebe is having a difficult time with her new found feelings towards a co-worker who she believes is far out of her league. Told through diary entries, this will be a story that will feel very relatable to teens.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title, all opinions and mistakes are my own.

Honestly, I had a bit of a rough time getting into this book. I believe the reason for it being so hard was both the main character, and the fact I was reading this on my phone.

15 was a year I wanted to forget, so reading in the commentary of a 15 year old was a tad scarring (completely joking but also you know! Cringey 15 year olds) and just harder to get into. But this book does eventually pick up and actually carries through on its slow burn relationship which readers should definitely tucker through to get to.

Depending on where you're reading this review, you'll have access to the plot so I'll spare you the details which you can likely scroll up to find.

But this book is a sweet premise with a good display of diversity in characters and relationships. This book is also one that can range in appealing to younger audiences, as well as older ones too. There's something for everyone in this book the further you get into it.

Overall it was a tad harder to get into from the beginning, but it's lovely and worth sticking through.

This book was honest, heartwarming, wonderfully sarcastic and a real portrayal of a typical teenager feeling awkward and confused.

Definitely, a coming of age type of book, it is written in a diary-style with humor and comedy.

The book expresses the life of a young girl who considers loving the worst thing since stale chips, as she weaves her way thru high school experiencing bouts of teenage insanity, peer pressure, and identity conflict. I really enjoyed this book Love is for Losers! What a fantastic debut for Wibke Brueggemann, my first book reading from this author.

Love is for Losers is a great book to pick up and read. Definitely would enjoy it!

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review!! Thank you.

I was not the intended audience for this book. However it was a trip to read a book in the mind of a 15 year old girl and it made me think about my diaries that I hope no one ever reads. In the end I wanted more of her relationship with Emma and her mother. I wanted to know if she ends up giving Richard to Emma or not. I wanted to know how the reunion went with her mother since there was a death stare. All in all I don’t think I’d recommend this to my friends as this was definitely meant for teenage readers.

I have mixed feelings about this book.

I like the writing style and how the "chapters" are split into various journal entries, and I liked the romance at the very end of the book. However, it took way longer for the book to get to that point than I expected or anticipated it to, and I disliked the main character at some points throughout the story.

While I did enjoy some aspects of the book, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I was anticipating to.