This is a Love Story by Jessica Thompson

Title: This is a Love Story

Author: Jessica Thompson
Publisher: Coronet

Publication date: February 2, 2012
Pages: 448
Buy: Amazon
Rating: 4.5/5 stars  

For fans of 500 Days of Summer, Notting Hill and New Girl, This is a Love Story is a very exciting first novel from Jessica Thompson. This is a love story. Boy meets girl and girl falls for boy - that much is true. But when Sienna meets Nick it's not the way it happens in love stories. It's because of a squirrel on water skis...She sees Nick's dangerous brown eyes and thinks, Don't. Fall. Into. Them. Who will be there to catch Sienna when she falls? She is so fragile. She has so many secrets, and he is not that serious. Funny and sad, this is the story of two people destined never to come together in the great love affair they crave more than anything else.

This book is hands down the BEST LOVE STORY I'VE READ SO FAR. You know what? You don't even have to read the rest of this review because I guarantee you, you will love everything about this book. And if I'm wrong, then there's something wrong with your heart, buddy. This book turned me into a bundle of squeals, giggles and tears. 

And because I want you to feel like you're wearing a blanket made of marshallows when you start to read this book, so you'll feel the same way I felt, I will make this review spoiler-free.

See, this story is about a girl and a boy who love each other, but can't find the courage to tell the other person. I know that sounds like the ultimate chick flick cliche, but its approach is entirely different. It isn't the sappy teenage "boy-meets-girl" romance (thank God for that) but it's still your typical love story. What made this story stick out was the realness of the feelings of Sienna and Nick. The story is told in both their POVs, which was ideal, because it showed their individual feelings toward each other. It also gave the characters more depth, more "personality", as the writing in both POVs has a distinct quality, making it seem like the one who wrote the narrative was the character himself/herself. The writing in this book is absolutely perfect for its tone. It's light, sweet, and it gives you just the right amount of excitement.

I loved how it was driven by love, yet love didn't conquer the whole story. Both characters grow throughout the book, each kicking down their own difficulties and showing their own vulnerabilities. Nick's depth was something I liked especially. I adored that his vulnerabilities shone through, turning him into a guy that, despite his "habits", is still scared and unsure inside. Although it hurt to see him with other women, I think that side of him had to be shown to make the story realistic. I mean, he's a guy. Sure, he loves Sienna, but he's still a guy.

For most of the book, I was frustrated... in a good way. I wanted badly to take either Sienna or Nick by the shoulders and tell him/her, "CAN'T YOU SEE HE/SHE LOVES YOU TOO?" There are just so many missed moments. They could have said something, but nope, as the blurb has said, "This is the story of two people destined never to come together." Because it seems that they can never be together, you get to keep reading to find it out if and how they finally find their piece of shared happiness. That's one of the reasons why I loved this book so much.

I cut down .5 of a star because I think 448 pages is too much for a love story. Five years pass in this book, and I'm sure that was needed in order to show that true love is patient, blah blah, but really -- I think that less important scenes could have been cut. At one point, the story started to become dragging, although it kept its sweet and cheesy feeling. Sweet and cheesy feelings just surprise you with every turn in this book.

Most people might say that this book is unrealistic, that having two people deny their feelings for each other for so many years is unreal. But think about it, it could happen. This book just tells us that there are dozens of possibilities if love is kept a secret, if love is denied and replaced with something lesser, all because people are afraid to embrace it.

If you're a hopeless romantic like I am, you should not turn away from a book like this. It's sweet, cute, light, but absolutely full of hope in love.