BOOK REVIEW⎜This Love Story Will Self Destruct by Leslie Cohen

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RATING

So yeah – not a romance. Not silly. Definitely way more book than indicated by the cover or the blurb.
Way more book than I anticipated – in the best way possible. If you’re looking for a love that’s not about throbbing members, glamorous women and unrealistic expectations but about cockroaches, pajamas and the *Potato Chip Incident* this is the story for you.

Book Infos

This is the classic tale of boy meets girl: Girl…goes home with someone else.

Meet Eve. She’s a dreamer, a feeler, a careening well of sensitivities who can’t quite keep her feet on the ground, or steer clear of trouble. She’s a laugher, a crier, a quirky and quick-witted bleeding-heart-worrier.

Meet Ben. He’s an engineer, an expert at leveling floors who likes order, structure, and straight lines. He doesn’t opine, he doesn’t ruminate, he doesn’t simmer until he boils over.

So naturally, when the two first cross paths, sparks don’t exactly fly. But then they meet again. And again. And then, finally, they find themselves with a deep yet fragile connection that will change the course of their relationship—possibly forever.

Follow Eve and Ben as they navigate their twenties on a winding journey through first jobs, first dates, and first breakups; through first reunions, first betrayals and, maybe, first love. This is When Harry Met Sally reimagined; a charming tale told from two unapologetically original points of view. With an acerbic edge and heartwarming humor, debut novelist Leslie Cohen takes us on a tour of what life looks like when it doesn’t go according to plan, and explores the complexity, chaos, and comedy in finding a relationship built to last.

Author : Leslie Cohen
Title : This Love Stroy Will Self Destruct
Series : 

Number of pages : 366
Publisher : Gallery Books
Release Date :  January 23rd, 2018
Genre : Women’s Fiction.

The Angry Reader Review

Have you ever grabbed a handful of brightly colored candies and tossed them in your mouth thinking “all right! m&m’s!” only to discover you now have a mouthful of skittles? That’s what this book did to me – an unexpected tart flavor with a surprising deliciousness. I thought I was going to get sugary sweet, but instead I got something to chew on.

A large portion of this book is about how Eve is neurotic and self-destructive and a hot mess. Cohen doesn’t dip her toes in the crazy pool – she goes in with a cannonball. Eve has to be one of the most believable, relatable and all-around lovable characters I’ve met. During her bizarre inner-monologues I thought “cool. Leslie Cohen has been inside my head.” I found a story and an author that allowed me to connect to the characters on this visceral cerebral level. There was little physical description of Eve or Ben – but their beautiful idiosyncrasies were there in vivid detail.

Ben is…okay, this is gonna sound rude. But Ben seems so incidental to the story…until he doesn’t. I was all about Eve – riding the Crazy Train with my girl wondering “what’s this guy doing here?” Til suddenly Ben felt like air – necessary. Cohen pulled the disparate strands of her multi-hued story from the air and weaved them together at the end – a bold tapestry of a story.

I am jittery. A worrier. An overachiever. My husband is my rock. My anchor. And this is a love story that reflects real life – Quirky. Mundane. Stressful. Brilliant. A couple of times the story was so painful I had to set the book down and walk around. Twice I read paragraphs out loud because I needed to experience the writing on more levels. And while I didn’t cry I did get a little teary – more than once.

So yeah – not a romance. Not silly. Definitely way more book than indicated by the cover or the blurb.
Way more book than I anticipated – in the best way possible. If you’re looking for a love that’s not about throbbing members, glamorous women and unrealistic expectations but about cockroaches, pajamas and the *Potato Chip Incident* this is the story for you.

Author Bio & Links

Leslie Cohen was born and raised in New York. She studied fiction at Columbia University, and wrote a weekly music column for a newspaper in Colorado before working in publishing for several years. This is her debut novel.

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