Review: Love & Other Theories by Alexis Bass

Love & Other Theories by Alexis Bass

Publishing Date: December 31, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen; An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Pages: 377 pages
Young Adult Contemporary Fiction

The Premise: The story follows 17-year old Aubrey Housing who is in her final year of high-school. With good friends and early acceptance to Barron, life for her seems just about uncomplicated and carefree as it can get. That is, until Nathan Diggs moves to town. Aubrey and her friends have a set of rules that they abide by to ensure that they are "heartbreak-free", but Aubrey is having a hard time keeping that rule with Nathan.

My overall thoughts and review: The premise of this story sounded really interesting when I was first offered the book. I found that the relationship between Aubrey and Nathan to be quite sweet. Nathan came from a small-town and had a close group of friends was just an all-around nice guy. I quickly learned that Aubrey and her friends were quite like the "mean girls" that every typical highschool contemporary romance had, and I've read books before that had the typical "mean girls" and I was okay with it (i.e. Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian's Burn for Burn series), but the mean girls in this book really irked me for some reason. No matter what, I just couldn't understand why for the life of me the character of Shelby. Even at the lowest points, I couldn't empathize with her and in turn, it made me really unsympathetic when things took a turn for the worst for Aubrey, the protagonist. I find it really hard to full enjoy a book, especially when you don't particularly like the protagonist. I also just can't empathize when a perfectly all-around nice guy is in a way ~ruined~. There was very little character development throughout the book and you only really see growth in Aubrey at the end. I think what I enjoyed most about the book is the ending because it was honest and truthful that in highschool, things may seem like forever, but in reality, they aren't. The ending wasn't a typical happy one and I think that it was the best way to end it. All in all, I enjoyed the book but it wasn't anything that dazzled me. If you are hoping for a YA-romance similar to that of Stephanie Perkins' writings, then I don't think this would be for you. It is worth the read, however, if you feel that the premise is something that you would be interested in.

My rating of the book: ✮✮✮ (3/5 stars) 

Now available for purchase at:
Chapters/Indigo

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by HarperCollins Publishers for consideration/review. All opinions are my own.