I mean, it's a full-length novel by Kelly Link, I was born excited for this! A lovely, tender story.

I really enjoyed this book. It was my first by author Kelly Link and after this one, I’d definitely pick up another of her works. I felt this story ticked all the boxes. It was funny, and heart felt. I highly recommend!

My unhelpful review would be that this is exactly what you expect from a novel by Kelly Link; the first half reminded me of her short stories that I don't understand (most of GET IN TROUBLE) and the second half reminded me of short stories that I love (everything not GET IN TROUBLE).

My slightly more helpful review is that THE BOOK OF LOVE has the weirdness, whimsy, and edge of pretentiousness of Link's short stories, and for the first 20-30% of this considerably sized book, I was doubtful that this was enough to sustain a full length novel of 600+ pages. After you get past that first bit though, Link focuses more on moving the plot forward and character connections that the vibes-forward flavor of the beginning melds into a more robust narrative.

This is the type of fantasy that borders on lit fic, filled with teenage characters who are so angsty and rebellious and write songs about sex and think about sex a lot and have sex a lot, but then you get characters implausibly named Malo Mogge and Bogomil and whimsical magic (that does seem like it mostly runs on vibes, to be honest) and centuries-long revenge missions.

While I personally felt the payoff was worth my initial struggle, this is definitely not the most approachable book and I would struggle to recommend it broadly.

Not my genre, and a bit too farfetched for me to get invested in. I love the cover, the title, and the author's first name. I could not get into the story and skipped around a bit. I know there's a lot of hype around this book. I'm sure it will do well with the correct readers. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This one was not my usual read, I knew little about this one going in and saw it as an highly anticipated fantasy read for 2024 so requested the ARC when I could. The more I read, the more fantastical it became, and while it is certainly fantasy, it is not the typical fantasy read I grab.

It was magic and real life all intertwined in a surreal way that left you wanting more and questioning what would happen next. It is both wholly weird but also will leave you awe-struck at what Link is able to accomplish with her words and the world she created here.

The way Link portrays each of her characters is so tangible. As a middle school teacher, the way Link paints and personifies each person in this book is so realistic and refreshing that she is able to capture the wholesomeness and ridiculousness that embodies teenagers. Susannah, Daniel, Mo and Laura all had traits that made you want to root for them but also made you question their motives.

The whimsy and magic captured in the pages outweighs the bizarre in The Book of Love and makes it a great read! Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advances copy of The Book of Love in exchange for an honest review.

Mo, Laura, and Daniel are dead. Well, they were. When they suddenly find themselves escaping the realm between death and the afterlife, they are tasked with mastering their new magical abilities and getting one step ahead of a nasty game they fear will send two of them back to the dead. The Book of Love is a fantastical journey between life, death, and back, with endearing characters you're rooting for to stay in the realm of the living.

I'm not typically a fantasy fan but Link manages to juggle a complicated storyline with many characters and lots of lore in a way that is refreshing and easy to follow. With both beautiful prose and hilarious one-liners, Link's writing makes this book so much more than a fantasy. Even now after finishing The Book of Love, I'm finding myself still thinking about its world and its characters. Highly recommend even for folks who don't normally read fantasy!

The Book of Love revolves around the profound themes of grief and the process of maturation, as individuals strive to establish their identity within society. This thought-provoking narrative explores the lives of a cohort of young adults, who, after being revived from death, confront a plethora of obstacles. While the plot may progress slowly, I was entertained while reading it didn't get bored.

The concept was kind of different - three teens come back from the dead and have to perform some magical tasks to either go back to being dead or serve the death goddess. It was completely bizarre. I can't understand why it is this highly anticipated book of the year. The only saving grace was the last few chapters when they started talking about their love for each other, and family, and friends and how that's really what's important in the world. But it took more than 600 pages to get there and I'm not sure why I continued reading.

I was really excited for this book because the description sounded amazing but for me it was just a little too long and slow. That said, I thought it was very beautifully written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

DNF- I couldn’t enjoy the writing style and was confused about what was happening. Thank you for gifting me an arc but this is a no for me.

I really wanted to like THE BOOK OF LOVE because its description sounds so promising: three teenagers are resurrected a year after going missing. Laura, Mo and Daniel work to solve the mystery of their deaths, and the blurb promises magic and all kinds of love. This plot is right up my alley. Quirky, strange, and a little dark.

THE BOOK OF LOVE sounds wonderful, but unfortunately I had to call it quits about a quarter of the way through this very long book. I may want to try again in the future when I’m in the mood for something that builds slowly, but right now I don’t have the attention span to appreciate Kelly Link’s (at times) beautiful prose. I do like long books and stories that are told from multiple points of view, but I didn’t feel much connection to any of these characters. And there are many passages that don’t add to the story (at least not so far - maybe they would have if I stuck it out) and I just can’t do it anymore. If I can’t manage to go on, I have a hard time imagining many YA readers having the stamina for this one, either.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the early digital ARC of THE BOOK OF LOVE in exchange for my honest opinion.

This novel is a lot like Link's short stories, which I love. A little fairytale, a little fable, all mixed up with modern sensibilities. But the bigger, baggier format of a novel allows the story to get sloggy and tedious. I almost bailed on this book several times; I kept going because I like Link's ideas and tone so much. I really hoped she'd make my time worth it.

Ultimately, I think this would have been better as a story. Or maybe, maybe, a couple of linked stories. I just don't think the expansion yielded anything that couldn't have been said in a short story.

Thanks to netgalley for the advance copy.

I thought this was a beautifully written book, but I think I would've loved to read a chapter or a few chapters of it, but maybe not the full length book. It's 600 something pages and I don't think it has enough tension to propel me forward. It's quite funny at parts, mainly when the mundane clashes with the supernatural or just teenagers being teenagers. It's heartfelt too. Just too rambling and too long.

I love, and I mean LOVE, Kelly Link's short stories but I couldn't really get into this and that pains me so much to say.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had a really difficult time settling into this novel. First, the paranormal isn't my preferred genre. The scenery was interesting and diverse, but the going was long and difficult. It was beautifully written but so descriptive that it meandered at times. There were entire chapters I felt were completely unnecessary, bringing nothing to the plot or character development (or at least not enough to make an impact) so that the story would lose nothing if they were cut. The multiple POVs were difficult to keep track of initially, too.

On the other hand, the remainder of the book came together, and at the 60% mark, I was invested. The prose was still beautiful but with more energy to fully engage you. The world-building was unique, and the characters were wonderfully developed, each bringing their charms, quirks, and, at times, reprehensible behaviors.

Overall, I think anyone who reads this book will be pleasantly surprised. Marked as 4 stars; actual rating 3-1/2 stars.

This was an amazing story and was very fun to read. I have to say I loved that she incorporated magic, romance and supernatural all into one. To read about everything that Laura, Daniel and Mo go through in this book. Kelly Link's writing is Chefs Kiss, I loved everything about this book and I can't wait to get a physical copy in hand and do a re-read.

The good: I loved the prose and I appreciated not ever feeling like the writing was over simplified for a ya audience. I also appreciated the diversity and representation in the characters .

The disappointing: It was a very slow read. I felt that there was a lot of rehashing conversations that could have been eliminated to speed up the first half of the book. It wasn’t until a little past half way that you finally begin to get to the action, and for such a long build, I felt that things fell a little flat at the end.

I wanted to like this book. The premise is intriguing and it came recommended by a couple authors I like and admire. However, after getting 15% into it, I couldn't finish it--a decision I didn't take lightly.

Link's prose can be beautiful. I found her voice interesting--like a stream of consciousness, but narrated in 3rd person? Occasionally points comments were made that gave me pause, but also took me out of the story. For instance, in the middle of a character trying to figure out how they died and how they were back from the dead and what the heck happened to them and two friends, there was a comment about where a particular phrase/idiom stemmed from. While the question prompted me to consider it, it also felt unrealistic for the situation. There were other portions where a character practically notices every toy and item out of place in a home and how chaotic and disastrous it was. It gave a great picture, but was it really necessary? Probably not.

While the premise was all there in the blurb, I didn't get a delivery of the promise of the premise by the time I had to set it down. And, honestly, I didn't feel connected to any of the characters enough to care what happens to them by then. I did like that there were multiple points of view, so you'd get a feel for each character and their experience, but there were so many at times it got confusing. There were other times that Link seemed to hammer a point multiple times, like I get it, Suzannah and Laura practically hate each other! According to other reviews, around 40/45% of the way through, things pick up, but I have too many responsibilities at the moment to wait that long for a payoff. Perhaps I'll pick it up again in the future when I'm looking for a slower moving book.

This book is marked for YA, and as a teacher, I can't think of many students I'd recommend this book for. I'm going to take a guess that this has a very niche audience. I'd probably recommend it to kids who read a lot and prefer slower moving books, who will allow a story to take time to develop. However, I think many teen readers would get frustrated and abandon it.

I was not expecting for me to love this book. First off the book cover is gorgeous, The title captivating, The plot was so original. The story is beautifully written, with lyrical and spellbinding, language. I really loved how magic, love, and music are interconnected and depicted throughout the book.

Many of Kelly Link's stories exist in my mind so vividly that I was really excited for this one. The Book of Love is filled with compelling characters and relationships that intertwine complexly over the course of the plot. Link's writing has a way of making the whole world fall away for me, and this was definitely apparent in this book. At times, the overarching plot felt less clear to me but I was so invested in the characters I didn't mind as they got sidetracked. I especially loved Susannah and Laura's arc and Daniel's relationship to his family. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to go on an adventure and feel a lot of love while the journey goes on. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy.