story craft

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Reasons to Love 

– friends to lovers
– strong father-daughter relationship
– sarcastic, loveable grandfather
– mental illness representation

Themes:

Cautions: a couple of passionate kisses, but not too intense or super descriptive; no foul language

Format: Hardcover

Genre: YA romance

Favorite quote: “We can only control ourselves. No matter how much we wish we could twist and bend someone else’s will to ours, they have to want it too.” —Abby (347)

Review:

Love, Life, and the List is such a sweet summer romance read. The friends-to-lovers trope is one of my absolute favorites, but I didn’t know if this book would turn out that way. I love (and hate) that Kasie West did that to my heart. But this was such a raw and real book. We start out knowing Abby confessed her feelings to Cooper, but he doesn’t immediately go, “Oh, wow. I love you too.” So, we get to take a journey of growth with Abby as she moves from being content with all that’s familiar to trying new things and speaking her mind rather than just saying what she thinks people want to hear so she doesn’t disrupt the status quo for anyone else. In doing that, she buried so much pain, and we see her unravel in the best way.

Kasie also wove in a lovely father-daughter relationship (Abby’s emails with her Dad, who’s deployed throughout the book, are some of my favorite witty exchanges) and a grandfather-granddaughter relationship (her grandfather is a snarky teddy bear, and I adored his sense of humor). While I wish we had seen a little more growth from Cooper, in a way, it makes sense that it takes him the whole book to really grow. To change. To realize he wasn’t the best friend he should have been. Their relationship is so cute, and I totally love that he at least appears in one other book for a scene or two (Moment of Truth). Such a lovely romance, well worth the read—especially for those artists who struggle to tap into their emotions or know what it’s like to form a community of people who help you grow stronger as a person and an artist. Can’t recommend this enough!