I unfortunately just was not into these stories and couldn’t finish the book. None of them stood out to me that much and I just decided for the sake of time to DNF this collection, but I’m sure it’s great and that a lot of people love the collection.

I thought this anthology was such a super cute and light read. I read it during my lunch breaks at work. If you are looking for short stories that will have a happy ending this is the anthology to read. I wasn't completely in love with them though, so it took me a little bit to get through it. With that being said, I did enjoy some of them quite a bit and wished that I could have read more about the world those characters lived in.

I received an eARC from NetGally in exchange for an honest review.

This anthology really did not work for me. I think a lot of people will connect with this anthology – but I was not one of them. I think the authors attempted to make the stories “new” and “original” but overall, the stories were unrealistic and unromantic (ironic for a love anthology). The love story fell flat when creating the plot, and it was overall lack-luster.

Also, the first mistake of this novel would be putting Natasha Ngan’s story first – because 5 stars in every which way. This story was original, creative, heart-warming, and suspenseful all in a couple of pages. Every other story did not even compare to hers.

I loved this book and all of the tropes in it. This book made me blush so much. While I loved all the stories a lot, there were some which particularly stood out to me.
Overall I would definitely give this book 5 stars but I would also like to rate the stories individually.
Snowed in together by Natasha Ngan - 3/5

Five Stars by Amy Spalding - 5/5. This one gave me all the feels

Kissing Under the Influence by Rebecca Kim Wells - 4/5 This one was quite good and funny

The grumpy one and the soft one by Ashley Herring Blake - 2/5

Heroes vs Villains by Julian Winters - 4/5 I loved the world building. I would gladly read a longer story in this world

Love Triangle by Hannah Moskowitz - 5/5 It's rare to see a story in second person mostly because it's so difficult to pull off. Readers either hate it or love it. There's no in between. This was really well written. I absolutely loved it.

Best Friend's Girlfriend by Sara Farizan - 3/5 It took me some time to get into the story but I started enjoying it by the end

Mutual Pining by Claire Kann - 5/5 I absolutely loved the world building in this one

Sibling's Best Friend by Lilliam Rivera - 5/5 This story took me on a nostalgic trip. I've always loved puppet shows. There was a lot going on in this story and the author did a great job sorting most issues while still keeping it light hearted

Fake Dating by Laura Silverman - 5/5 This was by far my most favorite of all the stories. Even though I generally don't like fake dating trope, this was so so good and funny.

Love transcends space time by Rebecca Barrow - 2.5/5 The world building was interesting but everything else fell flat for me.

Oblivious to Lovers by Gloria Chao - 5/5 I could really relate to the MC. It was good, and funny at times.

Only One Bed at the Inn by Mason Deaver - 2/5

Secret Royalty by Malinda Lo - 4/5 It took me some time to get into the story but once I did, it was quite good. The only thing I couldn't help but notice was that at one point it should have been "Fei told her the whole story..." instead of Jing.

Second Chance Romance by Rebecca Podos - 4/5

This was a wonderful collection of stories by some of the best writers in YA right now, each a different story with its own romance trope. All were queer and featured a diverse cast of characters.

While these were incredibly sweet stories with a few that stood out more than others, I didn't find it to be anything incredible. That being said, I'm an adult reading stories meant for teens, and I may be looking for more depth than is needed for short stories for this particular demographic. I overall enjoyed this anthology, just expected a bit more.

I really do adore anthologies and this one is no different. Every author had such a unique voice and the way this book was crafted was so perfect. It had such a nice flow to it. Definitely one I tabbed and will be revisiting my favourites!

Fools in Love is a diverse, modern short story collection by various bestselling authors, based entirely on the most popular and in-demand tropes in YA contemporaries. It contains thirteen short stories, focused on tropes such as 'fake dating', 'only one bed' and 'second chance romance,' among others.

This was a very varied collection, but I especially enjoyed Natasha Ngan's story, Gloria Chao's and Mason Deaver's. The tropes were all really popular, but a lot of the takes were unique and turned some somewhat problematic tropes into sweet and interesting stories.

By far the best thing about this anthology was the level of good representation that it included, especially in terms of LGBTQ+ characters and relationships. The majority of stories revolved around LGBTQ relationships and the few that didn't still included some good representation.

This was a really easy read, as each story was fairly short and it was fun to dip in and out and read one story at a time. I would definitely recommend if you're looking for something quick and easy, and want to read a fun twist on some iconic tropes.

I tend to be pretty wary of anthologies - very often the good stories can't fully carry the weight of the bad ones. And there's always at least one objectively bad one. But this book was such a delight. Most of the stories were so so good and many of them I wanted far more of. I've rated each story and provided additional thoughts below.

*Silver and Gold (snowed in together trope): 4/5 stars. This one was such an interesting twist and involved a competitive race through blizzard conditions and cute wolf pups. Absolutely a delight, and peppered with some tense moments that kept things interesting.

*Five Stars (mistaken identity trope): 5/5 stars. This was so cute and I loved it so much. It could have gone badly in a longer format, but in an anthology about romances, a happily ever after was to be expected. Plus, the main character has a delightful friend back home that's so loving and supportive and it was such a feel-good story all around.

*Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks (kissing under the influence): 4/5 stars. I really like the fantasy element of this one, and having two girls who were students having to essentially take a magical exam. The "under the influence" bit was pretty funny as well; very cute read and one of the longer stories in the anthology.
*Edges (the grumpy one and the soft one): 5/5 stars. I really really loved the character of Clover (the soft one) and Mackenzie as the grumpy one was honestly so relatable. Love these characters and would gladly read more of their adventures.

*What Makes Us Heroes (hero vs villain): 5/5 stars. With this trope, I thought I knew what to expect going in, but I didn't. There's a lot going on but it's done so well: forbidden love, parental expectations, douchebag exes - not to mention turning the idea of the village on its head. This was another great story with characters I would be happy to revisit.

*And (love triangle): 5/5 stars. Okay, full disclosure: I hate love triangles ordinarily. Even in the best case scenarios, someone ends up getting hurt and that's just not what I want to see in a romance. But this one just totally reinvented that trope. I love that it's written in second person, but also that the triangle is an arrangement that you'd expect from adults and not high school kids. It was just such a refreshing read, and honestly my only complaint is I wanted more of their story.

*My Best Friend's Girl (best friend's girlfriend): 3/5 stars. This one wasn't my favorite - the best friend in question is a superhero and he's lying to his girlfriend so his best friend works at keeping him out of trouble even though she has feelings for said girlfriend. But there was no real build-up to the two girls getting together and I had some serious questions about the best friend and superhero as well. Everybody was great, but I just wished we'd had a little more build=up to the story. No regrets on reading this one, though.

*(Fairy)Like Attracts Like (mutual pining): 4/5 stars. This was adorable in so many ways, but the fairy-themed camp creeped me out a bit - only because where the main character explains that as part of the show the audience learns the fairies are "convinced" to work for the camp. Big red flags there, especially since the main character is a person of color so it felt strange. But also they can't use flashlights at the camp because it would "destroy" the illusion for the kids. Basically what I'm saying is I think Craig who runs the camp didn't give a crap about physical safety and sensitivity. Very cool story otherwise, though.

*These Strings (sibling's hot best friend): 2/5 stars. This one was a huge letdown to me. First of all, I'm not keen on dolls and by extension, puppets; however, I can overlook that for a good story. And this just...wasn't. The writing felt rushed, the dialogue was completely unnatural and it just didn't have the same energy as the other stories. Definitely wouldn't read this one again.

*The Passover Date (fake dating): 5/5 stars. Hands down, this one was my favorite. It has so many great lines in it, quippy dialogue, close family - so much to love. I want a full-blown book about Matthew and Rachel. If you've ever had to go to a holiday gathering and been given the third-degree because you didn't bring a date, you'll feel right at home reading this. Also, "hence the cheese" is my new favorite phrase to explain doing something in a panic.

*Bloom (love transcends space time): 4/5 stars. I so wanted to love this one fully and there's definitely a lot about it that I did love - the idea of plants having magical properties is so cool - but the end of the story is why this gets a 4 from me rather than a 5. Obviously, a happy ending, but given the nature of the orange blossoms - that they decide where you need to be sent in time - I didn't understand how Mera and Delphine were going to be okay having a bag of the blossoms. Presumably, they would use them to keep returning to each other over and over again, assuming the blossoms felt that's where they needed to be; I know there's an age difference between them that's probably around 10 years or so, but I would have just liked it if there'd been a better way to end it by having Delphine find Mera in the present, rather than traveling forward to be with her. It felt like too much was left to chance. This is another one that I wish could be a whole book - I really loved the characters and want to see more of them.

*Teed Up (oblivious to lovers): 4/5 stars. I hate golf. I have zero interest in it, period. But I cared about this story and the main character a lot. I wanted Sunny to win her competition so badly, and even if that weren't possible, to have her come in higher than she does. Liam is adorable and so supportive, and I do love that Sunny gets to do her own thing at the end. I just wish she could have won overall and showed the idiot men that she's just as capable.

*Boys Noise (only one bed at the inn): 3/5 stars. I felt like this one was only loosely fitting the trope. The truth is that the two characters have shared a bed multiple times before, and so there's never a moment of tension of them being in the bed and wanting to be close but feeling like they can't. In fact, by the time they stumble into the bed in the present, the story is basically over, happy ending achieved. I will say it gave some interesting insights behind the scenes of how boy bands work; they might not be true, but honestly they read way too realistic to think otherwise.

*Girls Just Want to Have Fun (secret royalty): 3/5 stars. Again, this was another one that I felt just had so much potential and we just didn't get enough of the story for my liking. I loved the worldbuilding so much - I wanted to see more, and I wanted to see more of the relationship between Jing and Fei, but alas it's a short story and there's only so much room.

*Disaster (second chance romance): 2/5 stars. I'm not a fan of apocalyptic stories and this one had so much tension and anxiety in it that I couldn't even enjoy the two characters being led to their second chance. There's an asteroid headed to Earth and in an Armageddon-style solution, demolition workers are sent to try to blow it up before it can destroy the planet. But we won't know if it's going to work, and there's a countdown, and oh hey, while you're expecting a sweet romance, why not have some heartbreaking conversations between Dina and her parents? She's in Massachusetts at boarding school and they're in Florida, and of course given that the world may be ending in three days' time, no one wants to be driving buses and other forms of ground transportation. And because of bits falling from the sky, planes aren't taking off. So Dina is stuck without her family and she's only 17, yeah that's the kind of setup I want. In addition to all that, she gets together with her ex-girlfriend, whose stepmom is pretending there's no chance the world is going to end and insists on carrying on as normal. But Jem, Dina's ex, is of course a mess and finally they're going to have a conversation in the last few moments before they know if the world is ending or not, and the whole conversation about what happened between them is a letdown. It was a stupid misunderstanding on both parts, and rather than having a conversation earlier to clear the air, they did the stupid thing and just carried on thinking the other person was the worst. Ugh, the story itself isn't bad, per se, just not my cup of tea. And definitely not the one to read right before going to sleep.

What happens when a group of romance writers take common romance tropes and give them life using a multicultural and LGBTQ+ cast? You get some stellar short stories that breathe life back into some tired literary devices. This book is fantastic if you are looking for short stories situated within the romance genre that features BIPOC and queer characters. The stories aren't especially "spicy" and not all of them were incredible but the anthology as a whole is fantastic if you're looking for some romance escapism.

Some of my personal favorites included "Silver and Gold" by Natasha Ngan, "Passover Date" by Laura Silverman, and My Best Friend's Girl by Sara Farizan. The stories are easy to read, many of them are perfect length and tempo for a quick read before bed, and the characters are often incredibly believable.

Review: This was a great short story collection! My favorite stories were Gloria Chao's (An adorable couple who are oblivious!) and Laura Silverman's (Fake dating! The best trope!), but I think the whole collection was wonderful! I definitely think there is a story for everyone in the book, and I would definitely recommend reading it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Fools in Love is a series of short stories all about love, this book is adorable because the stories are so romantic and my absolute favorites are "Edges" by Ashley Herring Blake, "What Makes Us Heroes" by Julian Winters, "Five Stars" by Amy Spalding and "Silver and Gold" by Natasha Ngan. Each story follow a popular trope: enemies to lovers, love triangles, hero vs villain, mistaken identities, snowed in together, fake dating and relationships. There’s a great representation of diversity with LGBTQ characters. Some stories are contemporary and others are sci-fi/fantasy, I enjoyed reading stories of different genres. It’s an excellent collection of romantic stories and I recommend this book.

Characters

The characters in each of the stories were well developed, and they each had their own personalities. With anthologies like this, characters can start to run together, but all the characters were different, and I could tell who I was reading about. All of the characters were sweet and really cared about the other people in the stories. The characters had interesting hobbies and backstories as well.

Plots

The plots to all the stories in this collection were interesting. Each one was different, and they were all unique based on the trope used. Some were modern stories, and some were fantasy and sci-fi. I enjoyed reading most of the stories here. Bloom, using the trope, Love Transcends Space and Time by Rebecca Barrow, follows a woman named Mera who is looking for someone she has seen in her mother’s garden and was talked about in letters. The Passover Date by Laura Silverman is a fun story following the fake dating trope. My final favorite story was These Strings by Lilliam Rivera is a fun take on sibling’s hot best friend.



Writing

I loved all the writing in the stories. All the writers were wonderful, even the ones I didn’t know of before, which for this anthology was a lot. All the writing matched the stories well, and I felt each author’s writing added to the story without taking away from the characters or the plot.

Romances

All the romances in this anthology were so cute. Most of them were LGTBQ+, which made me happy, and they were all executed well. I loved how each of the stories had a trope but flipped the trope on its head, adding their own unique way to tell the story. Each romance was interesting and I enjoyed seeing the characters get together.

Enjoyment

I had such a great time reading this book. The stories made me happy seeing the romance tropes I enjoy seeing told in a new way. Some stories are longer than others are, but they were all the length needed to tell the story.

Fools in Love is a collection of sweet stories all by different authors, with lovely characters and settings.

What this book lacks is creativity. The book dragged on and on because every story was just like the last. The writing style and character arcs were a recycled formula with no fresh twits, whatsoever. Although I enjoyed that the stories featured LGBTQ+ and racially diverse characters, it was not enough to maintain my interest throughout it all.

Thank you to NetGalley for my approval of this arc.

Fools in Love is a collection of diverse love stories from multiple authors. I loved that all the characters were of the LGBTQ community and race inclusive.

However, I want to point out that there was nothing remarkable about the stories. None of them stood out where I went "Yup! That's my favourite!"

With 15 different short stories in this collection, after a point of time, all of them started to run into each other. It was the same "style" in each of them. Yes, there are 15 different authors, but it's like all 15 of them had the same idea when it came to the execution of their stories.
The second half of the title says Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales and honestly, there were no "fresh twists" to these stories.

Furthermore, the stories had plot lines that seemed to be better suited for full-length novels. Another problem that I encountered was that either the plots were too detailed and took away from the leads or they barely scratched the surface.

Overall, none of these stories, except one, did it for me. It is shocking since there are so many of them to choose from. These were, at best, nice.
I know there are readers out there who will love these and readers who will see themselves in these characters and stories.


★ ★ ★ ★ ★



Below you will find the individual rating for the short stories in this collection.

➜ Silver and Gold: Snowed in Together, by Natasha Ngan - 2 stars

➜Five Stars: Mistaken Identity, by Amy Spalding - 2 stars

➜ Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks: Kissing under the influence, by Rebecca Kim Wells - 2 stars

➜ Edges: The grumpy one and the soft one, by Ashley Herring Blake - 3 stars

➜ What Makes Us Heroes: Hero vs. Villain, by Julian Winters - 3 stars

➜ And: Love Triangle, by Hannah Moskowitz - 1 star

➜ My Best Friend's Girl: Best friend's girlfriend, by Sara Farizan - 1 star

➜ (Fairy)Like Attracts Like: Mutual Pining, by Claire Kann - 2 stars

➜ These Strings: Sibling's Hot Best Friend, by Lilliam Rivera - 2 stars

➜ The Passover Date: Fake Dating, by Laura Silverman - 3.5 stars

➜ Bloom: Love Transcends Space & Time, by Rebecca Barrow - 2 stars

➜ Teed Up: Oblivious to Lovers, by Gloria Chao - 3 stars

➜ Boys Noise: Only One Bed at the Inn, by Mason Deaver - 3 stars

➜ Girls just want to have fun: Secret Royalty, by Malinda Lo - 1.5 stars

➜ Disaster: Second Chance Romance, by Rebecca Podos - 1.5 stars


2.5 Stars!

I loved all of these short stories. They were all so dynamic and sweet, and each one made me smile really hard. I loved the amount of representation in this book. The amount of queer authors that came together for this warms my heart. Can't wait for more people to read this. Such a cute collection.

While I'm not normally the biggest fan of shorter stories and anthologies, seeing the authors involved I just had to read this. I loved the largest majority of stories in this particular anthology, many making me wish they were full books so I could exist with the universes and characters for much, much longer. I laughed and I cried and I mostly had the best time. I rated down for the miscommunication trop in many of them, but that's more of a personal taste.

**Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review**

I'm not usually a reader of short stories anthologies but when I saw the authors of this one I was instantly hooked on the pitch, even more so when I read that it was all romance stories. However I didn't like all of the stories equally which is why I rated this book a 3 stars out of 5. My favorite stories were the ones by Ashley Herring Blake, Julian Winters, Hannah Moskowitz, Laura Silverman and Mason Deaver, most of which I'd already read books of.
I mostly enjoyed the contemporaries story because I found they delved more into character development, and just because I generally enjoy contemporary more than anything. However none of the stories were bad or anything, each of them had something cute and enjoyable. Also I found the diversity of this anthology to be so refreshing and effortless, ie the characters race, genders or seualities were never the focus point of the story but just a part of a characters live. I thoroughly recommend this anthology and it made me want to read some author's books even more.

Collection of 15 Romantic stories featuring mostly LGBTQ characters.

It has a variety of tropes such as enemies to lovers, love traingle, best friend's sister, fake relationship, love at first sight, mistaken identities. And a vast range of genres such as sci-fi, sports romance, super heroes, a fantasy fictional world, time traveling, summer romance and even end of the world.

I loved and adored each of the story. And each story plot and characters are so unique and different from each other you feel like you are getting transport to different world within seconds.

Majority of the stories are about LGBTQ characters and I think this book features them in one of the best ways. Even though being short stories you connect with the characters, feel their chemistry and root for them instantly.

It even depicts a series of emotion from being insecure about oneself to being certain what they want, one sided love to being vengeful, hung up on ex to loving someone from years.

This book is full of sunshine, rainbows, unicorn and everything good in the world. This book is a warm cup of coffee on a winter's day while snuggling with your favorite blanket. This book will definitely make you smile even if you are going through your worst days. I can't recommend this book enough.

Do you need anymore convincing or reasons to read this book? Just go buy & read now!

Executed With Panache And Flair….
Fifteen authors, fifteen tales. Each tale a reimagining of familiar romantic tropes and each done well and executed with panache and flair. A truly enjoyable book which will stir the reader as they immerse themselves in tales of the heart. Just lovely.

Entertaining, enjoyable, and sweet. This collection was wonderful. I had the chance of falling in love with short stories again thanks to this book. I loved the different tropes and enjoyed them a lot. I am sure many people will love this book. I couldn’t recommend it more to be honest! A 5 star read for sure.