ARC Review: Love Hurts by Malorie Blackman

When I first saw this book on Netgalley, I knew I had to read it because a) the cover is super adorable, b) so many incredible and widely known authors are part of this anthology and c) I love everything that has to do with romance inside books. It’s not highly necessary, but I’m always searching for those insane feelings in every book I read. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that the book, though it does have to do a lot about relationships and love and heartbreak, is merely a compilation of other books’ excerpts, and that’s something I’m not much into.

The first short story is one written by Malorie Blackman and I enjoyed it a lot, but while I was moving from extract to extract, I began struggling to connect with the characters and their romances. It was hard because, though some parts were cute or a little bit sad, I didn’t know why or how they ended up in their situations. Sometimes (most of the times I’d say) it is necessary to know their backgrounds to undertstand their feelings.  That’s why I believe this compilation didn’t actually accomplish its purpose: to make me feel how much love hurts or heals. 

With that being said, I do have to admit that I loved how diverse Love Hurts is. It has a wide collection of stories from blind main characters to LGBT, and from androids to questionable type of beings. Some stories were better that others (in my opinion) but again, I can’t say much about them because it’s not like I know everything about their worlds. 

The bottom line is: this anthology is cutesy and a likeable light read, but only of you’re into reading excerpts and looking to find YA book recommendations with romance. Despite of my disappointment, thanks to this anthology, I now have a new hefty list of books to try out and I hope I can tap into those romantic relationships that Love Hurts introduced me to.