1/5 STARS

***** DISCLAIMER***** I don’t normally read romance novels. In fact, romance is probably my least favorite genre. I am the kind of person that enjoys books that have realistic relationships and characters and I have found, over the years, that the tropes that are present in romance novels often don’t embody this. I read this book because it was the choice for a book club I participate in with my friends. I would have never read this book otherwise. HOWEVER, just because I don’t read romance novels or don’t understand the appeal, does not in any way belittle the experience of people who do enjoy these novels. Some people want the escape of a fantasy world and others want the escape of a fantasy romance. Who am I to judge someone’s preference? As, I don’t really like romance novels please take my review with a grain of salt. It’s probably wise to read another review before you decide whether to read this book or not.

Synopsis:

Laurie falls in love at first sight with a boy she sees out her bus window. She proceeds to look for this boy for the next year and can’t stop talking about him for 12 months. (Even though she knows nothing about him besides that he is attractive and was reading a book…)

Then a year later, OMG how ORIGINAL, Laurie’s best friend’s new boyfriend is the guy from the bus stop! Omg, what will she do? London is such a small world. Gag.

The love at first sight:

Ok, so no matter how engaging this story was or how it ended, because there was love at first sight it was automatically a 2-star book for me. I would have DNF’d the book at this point, but it would be so rude to just not read the book that someone else really wanted to read and discuss for this month. So, I went on with it.

—Rant about love at first sight—-

Let me tell you why I hate love at first sight. It’s entirely based on attractiveness. It assumes that all that matters for a relationship to be successful is how attractive the other person is. Oh, but what if they have a job that you hate? What if they are a complete asshole? What if they are married?? What if they have a completely opposing set of values from you? I would like to think that love is much more than the superficial things in life.

Plot:

One major plot hole that I just can’t get over: How did they not end up seeing each other on the bus again? Laurie could have easily taken the same bus that she took that day at the same time to find him again. Especially, because we hear from both of them that that is their normal bus route home after work. How unlikely is it that they wouldn’t see each other again after a year when they are taking that same buses home at the same time 5 days of the week? It just makes no sense to me.

Overall, the plot was super predictable and forgettable. They both just date a lot of different people and the whole story toggles between whether they will end up together, or whether they won’t. Oh, shocker, they do end up together.

Characters:

First, there is a lot of telling about the characters qualities rather than showing. They regularly say that Laurie is “shy” and “quiet” but we don’t see anything that shows that until about midway through the book. We are also constantly told that she is so kind and that at one point that she has a “way of making everyone around her feel important” but her actions in the book make her seem like the opposite. She spent the first few pages of the book complaining about all the other people on the bus and her job. She also constantly complained about other women in the story including Oscar’s brother’s wife, Oscar’s mother, and many of Jack’s girlfriends.

Her main love interest, Jack, sucks. He literally rips a necklace off Lori’s neck when he is depressed and drunk. It leaves a mark… I don’t see how it’s swoon-worthy to want someone who becomes abusive when he is upset. Also, he is super jealous of Laurie’s boyfriend, Oscar, and is a complete douche to him when it is clear that Oscar is just trying to be kind. He is such a hot head throughout the whole novel.

The divorce:

Laurie gets married to another man, Oscar, at one point in the story. They get a divorce after 5 months because she doesn’t want to move to Brussels for him but later she moves to Edenborough for Jack (like ok so you will sacrifice your career for a man as long as it is the right man, k, you have so much integrity, such feminism, love it)

Laurie says that she and Oscar are not right for each other because they are just “so different”. In reality, I think the only difference between her and Oscar was that Oscar grew up rich and Lori didn’t. Let’s just make a chart to see what Laurie and Oscar have in common and what Jack and Lori have in common…

Oscar and Laurie

• Both are “stable” and “slow to anger” (Jack is a hot head and an a**hole)
• Both are extremely family oriented (Oscar with his mother and Lori with her family) We don’t really see much or hear much about Jack being concerned about his own mother or other immediate family members.
• They are both “not jealous” people (Jack is extremely jealous.)

Jack and Laurie

• Both did not grow up rich
• Both friends with Sarah  

In my opinion, the qualities that Oscar and Laurie share seem to be more value-based. Jack and Laurie, on the other hand, have only superficial qualities in common.

Another trope in this novel that I hate:

Amanda (one of Jack’s girlfriends) is sugar-free and, for some reason, this is an annoyance to Jack. Laurie is in contrast to Amanda as the cool girl who is able to eat whatever she wants and still have a good figure. Oh, sorry to boys of the world (& girls who want to use this trope to feel superior) most people can’t measure up to societies unrealistic body expectations while simultaneously eating a bunch of cake and cheese.

Perfect Love:

This may be the case with a lot of romance novels, but I hated how everyone was looking for their “100%” match. That is just not possible in real life. The assumption that relationships should be perfect and should not require compromises is damaging. Real relationships and marriages take A LOT of f***ing hard work. Nothing in life works perfectly every day. There is no perfect relationship, just like there is no perfect job, no perfect family member, and no perfect friend. I think it’s more romantic and enviable to read about a relationship where the couple loves and supports each other despite the bad 10%, where they work together to make compromises and move past those moments. Perfect love is not present in this novel and, even if it was, I wouldn’t want it anyways.