Book Review: Things I Know About Love

Things I Know About Love by Kate Le Vann

So, when I downloaded this book into my phone, I kind of had high hopes for it. With a promising, slightly quirky title, how could I not? Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed.

Things I Know About Love is a charming tale of a girl who gets a fun, movie worthy, romantic summer love story that most girls dream about. However, it mirrored “The Fault in Our Stars” a little too much for me.

A couple falls in love with one another while on vacation (Ok, technically, Adam wasn’t on vacation.) But, one half of the couple dies at the end. – but not before capturing the hearts of its readers, making them go “oooh” and “aww” at their charming love story.

When I first began this book, I was mildly bored, “Not another book based on blog posts!” I remembered thinking the minute Livia began telling her story as she steels herself for her flight to the US. But, I pushed through, and I hate to say that I actually fell in love with it. Well, for one, the characters were British, and two, the story was set in a city that I love – New York. And my policy in life is: Any love story that happens in the city that never sleeps is bound to be a good one.

At first, I found Livia terribly dull. Nothing out of the ordinary – aside from you, know she’s spent a huge, important, chunk of her life in the hospital. But, despite finding her boring, I actually got to relate to her. (and I must admit, she kind of made me want to dye my hair a vivid red the next time I go to the salon) A girl who’s dabbled in relationships, but not enough to call experienced, someone insecure about the physical part of it, someone who occasionally has something to hide, someone who had her heart badly broken and was still reeling from it.

I had to say, when I realized how similar we were, I began to love Livia.

And of course, Adam was lovable from the start. I loved how adorkable he was, I loved how head over heels he was over Livia, I loved how lovestruck he was. And my heart absolutely broke in time with his.

You could say that despite my earlier…distaste over the book, and how I still think that it’s a bit too like “A Fault In Our Stars” I kind of loved this book at the end, and I’d probably be willing to give it a 4 over 5 stars. 

And would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a quick and light read.