THE ROMANTICS

Little does Gael know, as he stumbles into and out of romance, that here and there his life is being tweaked by Love.

Delivering exactly as promised, there is not one bit of irony or shame in the book’s title or tagline, “a rom-com about love.” Narrator and semidirector of the heart Love disavows any role in great stories throughout history—Romeo and Juliet, Bella and Edward, etc.—telling readers, "humans make a lot of mistakes. I don't." Love's now focused on 18-year-old, white Gael. Love wants to make amends for slacking on Gael’s family by not being attentive enough to give some good love nudges that might have prevented his parents’ divorce. His devastation over his parents’ split propels Gael into falling too hard and too fast for the wrong girl, who breaks his heart by cheating on him with his best friend. Bitter and grieved but ever the romantic, Gael rebounds toward the next wrong girl. Eventually, with a little help from Love, Gael discovers the young woman who affirms the truth that “real love makes you better then you ever knew you could be.” It’s then that the rom-com madcap-ery really commences as Gael gets downright silly in order to reach his lady before it’s too late. Love delivers this sweet little bonbon of a story in a voice that’s always chipper, sometimes funny, and pretty darn smart.

For romantics and skeptics alike, this fresh dose of optimism will warm the cockles of the heart.