How (Not) To Fall In Love by Lisa Brown Roberts, published in February 2015 by Entangled Teen.

Read: January 2015
Genre: Young Adult/Romance/Contemporary
Source: Publisher – this does not affect my opinion of the book.
#Pages: 278
Get It Now: Wordery

Goodreads Synopsis: 17 year-old Darcy is completely unprepared when her car is repossessed from the parking lot of her elite private school. Turns out her father, a semi-famous motivational speaker, has skipped town, abandoning his family while his business collapses. Desperate to sell her expensive jewellery for much-needed cash, Darcy discovers that her dad’s brother runs a funky thrift shop on a street full of eccentric characters, including a coffee shop owner named Liz and one supremely hot fix-it guy named Lucas.

Can Darcy find the courage she needs to adapt to the necessary changes brought about by her family’s drastically reduced lifestyle? And will she open her eyes to the amazing realization that Lucas wants much more than friendship from her?

The Review

I had read a couple of “heavy” books in a row, and really fancied a lighter contemporary. This book may have started out that way, but there was a lot more substance here than I was initially expecting, and I found myself staying up until 2am to finish it because I just could not leave it down! I was not mentally present the next day at all! I was very pleasantly surprised by this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary reads.

There was plenty of character development in this story, which I absolutely loved. Darcy may start out as what seems to be a spoiled little rich girl, but she goes on an emotional roller-coaster throughout this novel and eventually matures and develops into a great character. Speaking of characters, there are some great ones in this book – I LOVE Uncle Charlie, Liz and Lucas, and I have to say there were some elements of this book that felt a little One Tree Hill to me. I doubt anyone else felt this, I think it was just a personal thing. Darcy’s parents are a major let-down for pretty much the whole novel, and it made me feel so sorry for her, I really related to her scenario on a personal level and I think that made me connect even more, both with her, and this book.

One part I (unfortunately) didn’t relate to, but massively enjoyed, was the romantic developments and major swoons in this book. I had so many feels! If anyone finds a Lucas, please send him my way. The relationship in How (Not) To Fall In Love was just adorable, I had a major book hangover because of it!

This book ticked all of the contemporary boxes for me, but because there were so many other elements to the story, it became so much more than that. A very solid read that will appeal to a wide audience.

The Rating

4/5

Have you read How (Not) To Fall In Love? Or do you plan to? Let me know in the comments!