I truly enjoyed sighing and muttering my way through this pretend-dating, love quadrangle LGBTQIA YA romance mess. It's a movie waiting to happen! Option it already, Netflix!

3 stars

Like most books that I pick up, I really wanted to like Love and Other Natural Disasters. I mean, who doesn't love a book with Asian-American characters (more specifically Japanese-American), sapphic relationships, and the fake-dating trope?

I liked this book, but my overall positive attitude towards Love and Other Natural Disasters was not the result of incredibly well-written and likeable characters or swoon-worthy romances. Instead, I liked this book due to how well the author addressed homophobia (especially in the elderly Asian community), the occasional struggles of love, and finding acceptance with your true self.

I think that I definitely would have enjoyed this book more if I was more connected to the characters. The only characters that I really liked in this book were Stephen (Nozomi's uncle), Max (Nozomi's brother), and Dela (starting at around the 50% mark). I found Nozomi, the protagonist, to be way too optimistic, day-dreamy, judgmental (and hypocritical near the end), and self-centered (kinda). I don't know. Nozomi just irked me. I was also not a big fan of both Willow and Arden because I felt that they were too obsessive and passive-aggressive for my taste.

The romance was another part that I did not love. I found myself cringing at some parts of the novel, and I honestly didn't really care about the endgames.

This one is for fans of fake dating stories, and this is a fake dating story with a bit of a twist on that plot. The side stories with the family are also interesting throughout the book, and it all ties together. I found myself rooting for one couple early on and then had to wait a bit, but worth the wait. Cute wlw novel with plenty of emotion too. Will hand to fans of romance novels, particularly those wanting a wlw romance.

While the writing is sharp, and the story classic- I felt some of the plot and conversation to be a bit obvious. The high points of the book shine through when we look at some of the underlying themes of LGBTQA+ acceptance, familial ties and racism. It almost seems like this read would of benefitted from not having a central romance at all. It was strong enough on its own regards to not merit a slow friends into lovers theme.

I received an ARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

At first I wasn’t sure what to make of the book, it had a lot happening at once but I really liked it. The main character Nozomi is a very optimistic 17 year old. She wants everything in her life to turn out just the way she plans it, like a romcom, she is adorable.

This book really takes a look at the people who want their lives to be like a romcom but it does it in a way where you don’t feel as if you’re being attacked for being that way. In the book her brother Max is a voice of reason for her, telling her the things she might not want to hear but needs to. Nozomi really learns who she is and what she’s okay with and I love that.

*spoilers* She learns that she doesn’t have to change herself to be with the person she wants and while that’s a cliche, I love it. In the beginning I wasn’t sure who she was going to end up with but i’m glad it was Dela. I always love a good rivals to lovers. *spoiler*

Nozomi is able to bring everyone in the situation around her love and I think that’s beautiful. I really hope that in the end they are able to make the long distance relationship work.

This was sweet and engaging. I didn't like it as much as It's Not Like It's a Secret, but it was still good and I would recommend it to a YA audience.

I didn't really like Willow that much. She grew over the course of the book into a character I liked more. But it was hard at first for me to understand her. I enjoyed her family, and her brother. I appreciated her journey learning with her Baba.

(I love a fake dating trope, but this one didn't quite work for me. From the get-go, one person didn't want to be fake dating and somehow that didn't feel so trope-y to me.)

Perfectly predictable, intensely adorable. A light and lovely romance that captures the reality of how race and queerness interact with your entire life. It's a breath of fresh air to see a queer story where the conflict in the relationship is not that it's a queer one, but that it's a romcom situation we've seen in hetero circles as well.

Thanks for reminding the world that love is love, and being a silly teenager navigating romance (or even navigating a lack thereof- ace friends I see you) is a perfectly normal experience for all of us.

Points off because it was almost too predictable. I loved it though! Passing on to my High School librarians for their collection.

Disclaimer: I recieved this ARC in exchange for an honest review from @NetGalley.

This book is a sapphic fake dating with an Asian protagonist. This is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Becky Albertalli. Nozami is hired as a girlfriend to make Willow's ex jealous. But things get tricky when fake friends turns into a real romance.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

Be wary of love. It can sting. It can change you and it can also cause you to fall.

This is a book about love, change, family, friendship and deception. The story is a good one. Characters of all ages, facing life's challenges with human consequences.

'Love and Other Natural Disasters' is a YA rom-com novel centering around Nozomi Nagai, who has moved to San Francisco for the summer. Determined to date the girl of her dreams, Willow, she agrees to fake date her in order to make willows ex-girlfriend jealous - but Nozomi has a plan of her own to make Willow fall in love with her for real. 
Personally, I was not a fan of Sugirua's debut novel 'It's Not Like It's A Secret,' so I cam into this novel with relatively now expectations. I could not be more thrilled with how this sophomore novel turned out! This book is not only fun to read, but can make the reader think without being overly preachy. Central conflicts include an unaccepting grandmother, divorced parents, affairs, and dementia. This book finds a way to tackle all these issues seamlessly without detracting form the central romance plot, which is really what we're all here for.
I love the representation in this book: the main character and love interest are asian, as well as another asian character and a black character. The book tackles themes of racism subtly, without delving heavily into the politics of racial justice as much as 'It's Not Like It's a Secret' does, something that I think makes the book flow amazingly while keeping dynamic realism.
All in all, I think this book has amazing flow, and depicts teenagers in a way that is authentic to the modern experience. Nothing about this book is groundbreakingly amazing, which is why i would rate this book 4/5 stars, however I definitely suggest this read for anybody who wants a fluffy fake dating rom-com to get them through their summer.