An imaginative, big-hearted magical adventure for a set of teens who stumble into the bloody sport of a minor god and her minions. Reminiscent of a younger, queerer American Gods. Link's wit and creativity are on full display and there are some gorgeous pieces of writing.

My biggest pet peeve with books is formatting, and I hated this format. There’s something about un-numbered chapters that just doesn’t make for a good reading experience for me.

While I didn’t dislike the writing, I couldn’t get into this. DNF

I love Kelly Link's writing style, and have loved her short story collections for years, recommended them to others, especially Magic For Beginners. Therefore I was so excited to see a novel length work! This was a beautiful story and I enjoyed reading it. Thank you for the ARC!

A beautiful yet confusing book. Slow-paced yet kept me reading.
Link has made every character so engaging, and you care so deeply about what is going on. Yet sometimes that "what is going on" makes absolutely no sense. However, I still kept reading and it overall didn't detract from the beauty of this story.
This is one of those books that it's hard to explain why I cared so much, and reading other reviews that just seems to be Link's style. You will care and you will be confused why you care but it will still be beautiful.

This novel was okay. It wasn't as spellbinding as I'd hoped. There was definitely great imagery. It was an interesting story, but it took too long. It only gained traction towards the later half of the novel. My rule of thumb is if I'm not invested by chapter 4, we have a problem. This was the problem. It dragged, immensely. The novel is way too long for the story that was being told. It could easily cut 100 pages or more. As a freelance editor, the first chapter could have been elevated. The circle of dialogue took me out of the story more than once. Wordiness doesn't always equate to eloquence.

The Book of Love starts with Susannah grieving over the death of her sister, Laura, along with their friends Daniel and Mo. Then Laura, Daniel, and Mo are resurrected, with a back story that they've been in Ireland for nearly a year, participating in a music scholarship program that also allowed them to complete their high school graduation requirements a semester early. After that, it gets weird, but in a good way.

The magic in this novel centers around Malo Mogge, a goddess from another dimension, and Anabin and Bogomil, who guard Malo Magge's door, the only door she has left out of the multitude she once had. Anabin and Bogomil were once human, before they were recruited as priests to guard the door, a process which requires a key that has been lost for centuries. In their search for the key, the two priests found Susannah, Laura, Daniel, and Mo, who are bound to each other and those around them by a complicated web of love of multiple types: familial, romantic, and platonic. This book explores the various types of love and how each type of love impacts the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the characters. It is told by multiple narrators and can be a bit hard to follow; be sure to watch the chapter headings that indicate the speaker. Recommended for older teens and adults.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was incredibly excited to see this when it popped up, and was even more stunned when I was granted an advance of this (thank you again!). I've been interested to see what Kelly Link would do for her first full length novel, as she's mostly been known for her short story work. We get a fascinating look into a small town through three teenagers, who are unexpectedly bought back to life after a death they can't even remember, and the tasks that are put to them by two guardians of a door. It blossoms out from there to involve an ancient goddess, the grudge of a brother and his dead brother's lover, two guardians long past their time, and the core of the whole book, which ties all of these characters together in a horrid happening and an amazing climax. She hits the ball out of the park on this one. Pre order it now, I'm sure that Barnes and Noble is doing another preorder sale to entice people.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a few different tries to initially understand what was happening at the beginning of this book. Having earned a Ph.D. in English, I would like to think I’m intelligent enough to read most books. However, I’m still not entirely sure I “completely” understand the plot, even at the end.

I gave this book 3 stars (generously) because it wasn’t a bad book, but it just didn’t quite mend all of the fences holding the plot line together.

I was sad to finish this remarkable fantasy based on classic European folklore. It’s got a fascinatingly complicated plot and many dimensional characters, and if you immerse yourself in it you’ll be richly rewarded!

The Book of Love, full of love, and more so magic, is, I suspect, magic itself. A magic pondered and woven and given substance by the grand magician extraordinaire: Kelly Link.

There are many keys, here. Magical keys. And yet, the greatest key of all is the one all around us: love.

It can open doors, and close them. It can take life and it can give. It can mend and (re)build. Magic, alone, can do this, too. But sometimes

“Magic is volatile.”

Laura and Daniel and Mo are dead. Until, that is, they escape and return. They, and one more. Not all is as it once was, though. And all the while, magic forces follow them, manipulate them, taunt them, and hunt them.

When Malo Mogge, the biggest, hugest big bad, comes calling, our friends, their loved ones, their unknown-to-them ones, and their whole town are caught in the trying-est of perils.

In this book, “who will survive and what will be left of them” takes on a whole other ball of wax of a (magical) meaning. And love, magic or no, maybe might just conquer all? Perhaps, perhaps. Either way, “love goes on even when we cannot.”

Kelly Link didn’t just shoot for the stars with her debut novel, she brought the stars to us.

The Book of Love is “dark and lovely and strange.” It couldn’t be more perfect.

This is an interesting book. While it took me a little while to get into, I eventually found myself really enjoying it and looking forward to picking it up again to read further. The characters were well developed and realistic for the age they're meant to be — teenagers — while displaying complexity and depth. The writer leans harder on evocative prose than rapid plot development, but overall, the characters' unique, surreal and high stakes journey feels fresh.

Thanks, Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lovely prose, but bad pacing.

I wanted to like this. Blurbs by some of my top authors led me to believe that I’d really enjoy this book. It was just too long for the amount of plot given. I wanted the story to MOVE and it felt like the writing just…got in the way? I don’t know how to describe it because I was just uninterested the whole time.

Not a bad book by any means, but not for me. 3/5 stars. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review The Book of Love. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. The story seems interesting and original. The writing is lyrical and almost dreamlike. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t something I personally enjoyed.

I didn’t connect with the characters. It’s also very slow pacing wise. The back and forth between characters and time was a too much for me.

I do feel that there are people that will love this story and how it unfolds, the characters and the writing itself.

Thank you so much Netgalley for this ARC!

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It took forever for me to finish this book and forever for me to review it. I did finish reading it, even though I was tempted several times to stop reading. It was so weird. I don’t really understand the purpose of it. There’s a story that’s hard to follow, characters I struggled to like, and everybody just has sex with everyone. It was nothing like I thought it was going to be from the description, and I’m not sure who would go for the book, honestly.I haven’t read anything else by the author and can’t compare it to anything else, but if this is the general way her other books go, I wouldn’t read anymore. There’s a lot of creativity that went into the book, but it really fell short for me. FYIviolence, profanity, sexual content

This is Kelly Link's first novel, and boy is it a big one! Coming in at over 600 pages, The Book of Love follows a group of undead high schoolers as they try to figure out the game they're stuck in and learn about magic. There is a lot of love and lots of magic and music. The pacing felt uneven to me personally—it was slow at the start and too fast at the end. There's a lot to like here for longtime fans of Kelly Link, though.

Unfortunately this one was a DNF for me, As soon as I picked it up it became apparent that this was written in a prose that just wasn't for me. The section of this book that I read often felt long winded which made the experience of reading it a long one for me. While the writing is beautiful I felt very aware that I was reading instead of getting lost in the story.
I also struggled to feel invested in any of the characters. I did not find them particularly likable of fun to read about and that is always a struggle for me in books.
Overall I definitely think there is an audience for this book it just happened not to be me. But if you are looking for magical realism and lyrical writing I would give this one a try.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. The Book of Love is a tough book to capture in a quick summary but, in essence, this book is about three characters— Laura, Mo, and Daniel— who learn at the beginning of the book that they’ve died. They are given the opportunity to return to life and must complete a series of magical tasks in their return.

I’d like to first start off by saying that I have mixed feelings generally about this book. It was very long and there were several points where I really felt there length. But, there were also points in the book where I got swept up in the characters and the writing and pushed through. I felt that by the end of the book, I got to know the characters very well and I enjoyed this journey of getting to know them. However, the journey itself that they go on throughout the book just felt anticlimactic to me; I kept asking myself throughout the book “Ok, so what?”. I did not feel very connected to the characters’ mission throughout the story and it just felt like I was waiting for some big payoff at the end that did not ultimately come to fruition for me. The ending was a bit disappointing and it felt like all of the effort/pain the characters experienced did not really get them anywhere.

I will need to sit with my thoughts for a while on this book but, I’m ultimately glad I read it. The characters will stay with me for a while, even if the plot did fall a bit flat. It’s possible it was also just me, as it was not clear what the ultimate point or take home of the book was supposed to be.

This is a good book to sink your teeth into if you have a day to just get lost in a long book and especially if you like character centric books.

At first, it was tough to get into the book, but the intriguing premise kept me going. The writing was good but sometimes too detailed, and some chapters felt a bit aimless. I'm glad I stuck with it because the pace picked up in the middle, and things got really engaging. The world-building and characters turned out to be highlights that made the effort worthwhile. Overall if you don’t mind a book with a slow start that lead to rewarding payoffs, this might be the book for you. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars

I kept getting echoes of David Mitchell, maybe with a sprinkle of Stephen King, in the best way. And I have to say upfront that the title is terrible and does this book a disservice.

This is the story of a small town, a handful of (primarily) young people and their dreams and relationships, and godlike entities who interfere with them. It is epic.

This is my first Kelly Link book, and I’m really impressed with the quality of the writing, the super distinct characters, and the unique premise.

It did feel longer than even its 640 pages should which is why I just couldn’t give it the full five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House!

I would call this a “in the meantime” style of book. Each chapter forms a part or whole of the story of a person. There are several overlapping stories that take the reader back and forth so you can view pieces of the plot from various perspectives.

Susannah has lost her sister, lost her bandmate, lost her friend. She’s terribly angry at Laura, but misses her acutely, and takes it out on her sister’s old guitar by smashing it against her desk. While Susannah sleeps, the guitar fixes itself. Where did they go? Somewhere horrible and dark, a prison that they finally escaped. Now they find themselves in their music teacher’s classroom; Mr. Anabin magically provides them with bodies. There are Laura Hand, Susannah’s sister; Daniel Knowe, drummer for My Two Hands both Knowe You; Mo Gorch, Susannah’s friend; and a no-name mystery of a person named Bowie. Then Bogomil arrives. He is the keeper of the realm from which the four have slipped. He is ready to take them back, but makes a deal with Anabin, who seems ready to plead on their behalf. Two will stay and two must return. They learn they have been dead for a year, but Anabin “fixes” things so that it seems like they were in Ireland for a study-abroad year. They will appear to be home for a holiday visit. Anabin tasks them to try to remember details from the night they died, then gives them the first of three trials: to use magic and bring proof. Those who do not complete the trials risk returning to Bogomil.

As the group works on the task of digging into long-dormant memories, they re-enter time changed. They have obviously changed: they know death, know the horror of Bogomil’s realm, and know that they’ve been gone a year, so things at home have changed too. Mo’s grandmother has died; everyone else is a year older, and those who have been dead have a hard time filling in the gaps. They know they died the night of Daniel’s birthday, sometime after My Two Hands both Knowe You played a set at the Cliff Hangar, after Susannah kissed Rosamel Walker, Laura’s long-time crush, and Laura took out a petty revenge by kissing Daniel during the pause in “The Kissing Song” when kissing happens. Beyond that, they adapt to the lie that they were in Ireland and pretend like things are normal, even though Daniel and Laura have switched ears, and they are all ravenously hungry all the time.

In the meantime, Susannah, brainwashed by Anabin into thinking that Laura, Daniel and Mo have been gone, not dead, is mad at them all, and she doesn’t know why. She indulges in angst and risky behavior: casual sex with a new boy in town, Thomas. In the meantime, Mo, in his grief about the passing of his grandmother, indulges in casual sex with Vincent, a minor character. Aside that is purely personal opinion, and one that other readers might think I have antiquated views about: there is a lot of sex in this book, some explicit, and I feel like it is treated like another thing you do when you’re bored or when you don’t know what to do with yourself, or when you’re hurt by someone and want revenge. There are instances where the sex brings joy and wonder, but these instances are unexpected and tinged with anxiety or insecurity (getting found out, breaking rules, breaking hearts, fear). I get that it’s a book of love - eros is definitely covered.

In the meantime, Daniel and Laura, taking the task set by Anabin more seriously, are trying to piece together what happened the night they died. Daniel remembers that prior to the event, he had told Susannah that he was quitting the band. They make their way to the Cliff Hangar to replay the events of the night. There, they meet Malo Mogge, a red-headed nightmare of a person who wants Laura to sing…

As the stories progress, the reader learns from Thomas, who is Malo Mogge’s servant, that Anabin and Bogomil’s stories are wrapped up in a convoluted past where Malo Mogge is worshiped through sacrifice. It’s a past that Laura, Daniel, Susannah and Mo, along with the mysterious Bowie, must unravel in order to make sense of their deaths and in order to give themselves a chance to live.

As I think back, these are the things I liked about the book: Laura and Susannah have a complicated relationship, and Link does a fantastic job with these characters. She’s skilled at getting into the reality and grittiness of bereavement, and skilled at developing scariness - of Bogomil, his realm, and of Malo Mogge and her excesses. I like the music theme, and appreciate how this is woven throughout the stories.

There are lots of strands that make the plot interesting: the story of dead kids who come alive; a mystery that needs to be solved and a set of tasks that need to be filled at the behest of a god; the story of bad communication and deception “for one’s own good;” sibling rivalry; actually, truly falling in love and not understanding or wanting to understand that’s what’s happening. These are the pieces I want to remember the most.

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley, for granting me a copy of this book for review. Any opinions are my own; I’m not receiving any kind of douceur for my write-up.