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Member Reviews

Huge thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book!

I really thought I was going to like this book. The premise sounded interesting and like nothing I’d read before, and there were some really good sections of the the story but sadly it fell a little short for me. It was ok, but not something I would recommend to friends unfortunately.

Full (spoiler-y) review here: http://wmsreads.tumblr.com/post/182109224497

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I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Crazy Cupid Love is the first novel I’ve read by Amanda Heger. It tells the story of Eliza, a clumsy descendant of Eros who is a cupid. When her family’s business starts having some trouble she decides to help out and use her abilities as a cupid once again. However, to do this she has to have a mentor before she can officially be licensed. This mentor ends up being her childhood crush and old friend Jake. However, her clumsiness soon comes into play and suddenly sparks are flying between the two.

There was a lot of things that I really liked about this story. For one, it had a very unique premise that I actually have not encountered in a romance novel before. It was well written and angst-free. The romance between the main couple, Jake and Eliza was also very cute and I was definitely rooting for the two. However, in some ways, it felt very insta-love ish and that’s not my favorite thing so I would have liked to see more build up in developing their feelings. I also enjoyed the humor that was dispersed throughout the book.

I enjoyed the first half of the story quite a bit. However, I’d like more of a backstory into the whole magic aspect of it. The book doesn’t provide a lot of background on the eros, technocupids, fury, descendants, etc. So for me, when the book got heavier into all of that information, I found it a lot harder to follow. Plus, It seems to be set in the same world we live in but everyone knows about the cupids and as a reader I’d have liked to learn more about that.

This book is told in alternating points of view between a first-person Jake and third-person Eliza. My copy didn’t tell you who was narrating each chapter. That didn’t make it too difficult to follow, but it would have been useful.

Otherwise, I thought the story was cute and for that reason I’d give it three stars.

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I loved the concept for this story but overall I just wasn't excited reading it. I wasn't invested in the characters and with such a cute concept and story I think my expectations were a bit higher.

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I love love, and I love mythology. Thus, I found Amanda Heger’s paranormal romance “Crazy Cupid Love” to be a very charming book. An adorable and cheeky read!

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Eliza is a lousy Cupid. Yep. She's got rotten aim with her arrow, for one thing. One big thing! Jake, her mentor, has some thoughts on the subject, especially when she hits him by mistake. This is a fluffy light romance with some moments where you'll smile, if not chuckle. It's not deep and you know how it's going to end but it's a worthwhile read, especially when you need something fun. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

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I think the book would have worked better if it was NA, I found some of the characters actions or thoughts childish.

The premise was interesting, Cupid's in the modern time era but for me it failed to deliver. It could easily be a small town romance and "we can't be together because you're my supervisor".

Friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and Eliza and Jake were cute together. I liked that there were a few chapters from his point of view that added to the story.

Overall I was bored and I couldn't connect with the main characters but if you like friends to lovers and want to read a contemporary with magical elements this is your book. I was disappointed because it was quite what I was expecting but it wasn't a bad book.

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I really enjoyed this book. I don't typically read romantic comedies with a paranormal/magical twist, but the cover was so cute that I couldn't resist. I'm glad I did. It was funny and sweet. I liked Eliza a lot, and Jake was a swoon-worthy hero. They were cute together.

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Crazy Cupid Love was just the right book for me to read after too many emotional ones. It is such a cute story that I could not put it down. Magic and spells abound for a struggling modern day Cupid who must face her fear of failures and somehow save her family’s match making business. There is an undercurrent of evil working against her but her best friend (a guy she really loves) is by her side the entire way.

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A cute read that made me laugh. I enjoyed this take on being a Cupid. Never really read a book with this theme before but I liked it. Plus her clutzy ways reminded me of well.. me! Pages agent my quick and I thought it was well written.

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This book was about Eliza, who has the world’s worst luck, and Jake, who is a family friend. Both are descendants of Eros. Eliza is a trainee cupid and Jake is her mentor. Eliza discovers that she is a very powerful cupid and she is madly in love with Jake and had been since she was a kid. It was an interesting story.

It was a quick read that had me laughing. The best was the government department A.S.S. Some of the stunts that she pulls with Jake also had me laughing.

The reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is because the trend is to have a strong female character, but she has to be clumsy. It gets old quick. The story would have been just as good if the Eliza was not clumsy or if it was not pointed out every 5 minutes.

Finally, another story with her twin would be interesting. Overall the story kept me interested even through the slow times. I was given an advance copy for my honest review.

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When Eliza Herman learned that her family Cupid business is in trouble, she had no choice but to help. But her history of mishaps when it comes to her magic worries her. She always enchant the wrong persons, making them in love (and in lust) with her and she did it to Jake too, her childhood friend and crush, and now mentor. But Eliza has a business to save, so she and Jake set rules to keep his arrow-struck desire at bay. But love is maybe stronger than they ever thought and before long they're both rethinking their stance in love.
REVIEW:
I love the concept of this novel. Descendants are on the spotlight and in this book, the Descendants of Eros. Cupids are a thing and they're on business. People go to them to fall in love or bring back the spark between couples. I think it's a great concept but as great as it is, I think the execution of the plot fell flat and unsatisfying in the end. It's NOT really bad but I want more. I want more. This is a series so maybe I'll see more. (Note this is a series but can be read as a standalone)

Still it was an okay read.

I like the idea that our MC, Eliza, is not at all good at being a cupid, that way, I would see her develop not just as a character but as a cupid. But I must admit, at the first quarter of the story, she's TOO clumsy and too lame. I almost dislike her. Entered Jake. Jake makes Eliza's character look better to the reader. It's because Eliza finally has someone she interacts with who really sees her as someone who can do amazing things. Sure she has good relationship with her brother and father, but her mother's usually mean. Not in an evil way but she sees Eliza as someone who can do no good.

I like the little twist of a conflict added in the story so overall this is an OK read, as I said earlier. I still enjoyed it but not as much as I expected, I look forward to reading more from this author and especially the next ones in the series. :)

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A cute, unique play on the idea of Cupid and his love-inducing arrows, Crazy Cupid Love was fun to read! It's definitely fantasy-based, but it takes place in a contemporary setting, where the descendants of Cupid drive cars instead of flying around on wings. There's a council of Descendants who regulate their people, and the services of Erosians (descendants of Cupid/Eros) can be bought for a fee. It was fun to see all the different ways they helped people find love, and in particular, how each Erosian's skills differed in strength. Lots of thought obviously went into this worldbuilding, and it went really well.

Eliza Herman does not want to be Erosian, but unfortunately, life is not fair. Not only is she a descendant of Eros, but she is also the most powerful Erosian in modern history, able to enchant others without a single drop of blood being drawn. This leads to her accidentally enchanting people constantly, and for her safety as well as that of others around her, she has no desire to join the family business. But when her family's business is in trouble, and her brother asks for her help, she can't help but say yes. It's only for a few weeks, after all - what could go wrong?

Eliza was so much fun! I loved her hilarious mishaps and her reaction to the many personalities introduced in the story. While I did feel a prologue would have been beneficial, to help me better understand her history, I did eventually pick up on what had gone wrong and why she was so adamantly opposed to working as a Cupid. Her interactions with Jake Sanders, a childhood friend she had a crush on for years, were entertaining, and Jake was a great contrast to her. He was her anchor in a lot of ways, keeping her from drifting off into dangerous territory, and although they definitely butted heads, I loved how he just wanted to protect her. Even at the expense of himself and his own interests. Besides Jake and Eliza, the reader is introduced to other characters as well, including Eliza's family. If you want to read about dysfunctional families, it definitely feels like you can satisfy that desire quite easily for most of the book. Eliza's mother made me mad for about 95% of the book, and her brother was really immature. Given that Eliza's childhood wasn't really explained, it took me a while to understand why they treated her the way they did. Especially when her father was so much their opposite, loving her along with all of her faults.

I hope to read more books by this author soon! Crafted in a unique way, this story captured my attention from the first page and engaged my imagination. Loved it!

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I picked up a copy of this book due to the premise. It sounded good and I was ready for a light hearted, funny read. Well the light hearted part was correct but the humor was missing.

Eliza is a klutz. I kind of felt bad for her. She had a lot to prove with her family history. Eliza tried her hardest to show she could be a good cupid even if at first she was resistant to the idea. Although, I could understand where she was coming from. Her mother was mean towards Eliza and had no faith in her.

In regards, to the love interest Jake; I thought he was alright. He at least tried to bring some humor to the story. Again, my major disappointment is the fact that I wanted humor and didn't get it. Additionally, the characters were "so, so". The storyline felt like it was lacking in substance. A nice idea that didn't fully execute all the way.

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I am a huge fan of Amanda so I was beyond excited to see another book from her up on Netgalley! Then the name grabbed me and without even reading the description I was like YES PLEASE!
Crazy Cupid Love is an amazingly cute romantic novel with a surprising mythological twist. At first I was like hmmmmmm what…but OMG Amanda did it so good that that twist was truly my favorite part.
I truly fell “crazy cupid in LOVE” with this book! You will def want to add this book to your 2019 Must Read list!

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"Crazy Cupid Love" is such a fantastic romance novel with a mythological twist! Eliza is a descendant of Eros, a.k.a. a Cupid, but she has never really embraced her heritage. She always seems to stumble and have her gift go awry. With some Cupids, they have to draw blood to work their powers (like with the traditional bow and arrows) and make someone fall in temporary love (to be differentiated from the real capital-L Love). Eliza is so powerful that even the tiniest injury can induce love (essentially lust). As such, she views herself as a liability and stays out of the family Cupid business.

After Cupids went public, the government has highly regulated them. When she learns that her family's business is in trouble, Eliza offers to step in temporarily, but doing so will require her to go through the government regulations/licensing process. As part of that, she must select a non-family member mentor. Luckily (or unluckily), Eliza's childhood friend Jake has returned from the Cupid Corps and offers to be her mentor. Unbeknownst to the other, they have each had a crush on the other for a long time. While on her first case, Eliza accidentally drops a candy dish on Jake and gives him love (not the capital-L kind) for her. They set up rules that seem really hard to follow.

As Eliza works to keep the family business running, it turns out there is something more sinister afoot and Eliza is trying to figure it out along the way. With the romance, funny anecdotes, and the mystery of what is happening to Cupid enchantments, the book is a really enjoyable ride. In terms of the romance, I absolutely loved the couple- we get a couple sections from Jake's point-of-view which were icing on the cake. With the cases Eliza handles, this adds some funny and sweet stories to the plot. Adding in the mystery (which I honestly did not figure out on my own- the best kind), it gets a slight cozy mystery feel.

Overall, this was a really fantastic read, and I really loved it! You'll want to snag this one before Valentine's Day, and I think you'll fall in love with these characters and story too!

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

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I really enjoyed the first half of this book; the concept itself is fairly original, so I was intrigued. I also thought the romance was nice, except the love interest's chapters. Those read...for lack of a better term, serial-killer-esque. The protagonist's chapters are in third person, yet the love interest's are in first person, and it is very very startling to suddenly be inside of someone's head. Someone who lusts after the protagonist (which, again, read more creepy than romantic, even though I liked him). The second half of the book fell short for me because the plot just got too boring. Also the fact that the first half is all about the romance and then suddenly we fall into a weird plot line? Yeah, I didn't care for it.

Overall, though, this book was cute. The world building and the concept is cool, but I wouldn't say that the Greek mythology aspect is super apparent despite the way the summary is written. I liked the romance and the characters, but really, this book fell flat in the actual plot line.

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A fun and entertaining read. I particularly liked the chracter of Eliza, who had plenty of mishaps as a cupid! The storyline kept you guessing as to what would happen in the end.

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This was such a fun read! I didn't know what to expect when I started this one and I must say I was pleasantly surprised.
The premise was very nice. Eliza, a descendant of Eros, fills in at her family Cupid-for-hire shop and makes couple fall in love. Unfortunately she also accidentally enchants Jake, her mentor!
I was sold! The novel is filled with funny moments but it also has its steamy and romantic scenes.
I really liked this book and I can't wait to see what the author has in store for the future.

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Such a fun and funny read about Cupid's crazy route to matchmaking and love.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author. All opinions are my own.

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Amanda Heger’s wildly charming Crazy Cupid Love is a wonderful, magical little fantasy romance in which fantasy creatures are real – and they’re looking for love.

There’s nothing in the world Eliza Herman hates more than Valentine’s Day. It’s cutesy, cheesy, it clashes with her birthday - and it causes other effects to spark up and negatively affect her life.  For Eliza is a Cupid – a descendant of Eros with Erosian blood running through her veins – and she’s blessed and cursed with the ability to help anyone fall in love, with her or another person if she causes them a minor injury, (and vice-versa).  Naturally skilled with magical powers, Eliza instead runs around desperately trying not to get her bones broken or her skin sliced, a task which is complicated by her clumsiness; and being mainly annoyed by her powers, which have cost her multiple jobs.  She’s otherwise extremely unpopular with others, especially when compared to her extremely popular twin brother Elijah.  Even her anxious mother seems to find her clumsiness a nuisance.

When Elijah chooses to celebrate their shared birthday by bringing Eliza a piñata stuffed with condoms (a tribute to a traumatic childhood memory involving candy, vomit, and the birth of Eliza’s cupid powers) their father promptly has a heart attack and passes out into their birthday dinner. On her way back from the hospital, Eliza runs into the handsome Jake Sanders, and realizes she’s in terrible trouble. Jake’s gotten much cuter since she last saw him.

She’s known Jake, a fellow Cupid, since they were in elementary school.  Once close childhood friends, they had drifted apart in junior high, and after Jake enlisted in the Cupid Corps to aid war-torn areas, he fell out of Eliza’s life entirely.  Discharged, he’s back and acting as a courier.

Soon, Eliza finds out that Elijah and her mother are fighting over Herman and Herman, the family’s cupid-for-hire business, which owes over thirteen thousand dollars to the California Department of Seduction.  Herman and Herman’s business is suffering from a lack of modernization and stiff competition from Vic, who runs a more modern but less reliable and hopelessly sleazy establishment across the street.  In light of her father’s heart attack, Eliza vows to stop running from her destiny and test for a provisional Cupid license, and Jake, who knows how to do enchantments and has more experience than she does, is willing to be her mentor and help her out.  He joins the team to bolster Eliza and Elijah in their time of need.   Eliza borderline-passes, which is enough to allow her to take her place in the family business, but her results are mixed.

The last thing Jake and Eliza want is to fall in love; Eliza doesn’t believe in it, and Jake plans to run for a spot on the Northern California branch of the Cosmic Council, a notion extremely rare for Erosians; so the last thing he wants is to fall for Eliza right now.  But then Eliza accidentally enchants Jake – which forces them to work at a distance to keep him from falling in fully in love with her.  Yet the two of them – bit by bit, fantasy by fantasy and case by case – are doing just that.  But soon enchantments start going wrong and long-bespelled relationships begin falling apart. Something’s messing not just with the Hermans’ magic but with the magic of all Cupids, and it seems to tie in to a popular video game.  A conspiracy is afoot that seems to be trying to not only undo the magic that all Cupids share – but the very spell that keeps love alive in the modern world.

This book was a total, complete delight. Crazy Cupid Love is so easy to get lost in and so much fun to read that you’ll find yourself smiling along and nodding in public.   By the time Jake and Eliza find themselves being blackmailed into helping a woman re-enchant her sex android into falling in love with her, you’ll be strapped in for the wild, out-of-left-field ride the author is taking you on.

The important part of the story is the simplest part: Eliza’s a wonderful heroine who never gives up, and Jake’s a great guy who wants Eliza to be happy.  Their romance is a lot of fun, and is built on old memories and a fresh foundation of purpose.   It’s the little ways in which Jake cares about Eliza – bringing her Dunkaroos from Canada because they were the only thing that made childhood worthwhile to her - and the little ways Eliza cares about Jake – like pushing him into following his dream of sitting on the counsel – that drives the book.  Theirs is a love built on peach cobbler-flavored condoms and Ron Weasley, her squat, orange, piece of crap car which won’t obey anyone but Eliza.  I loved them both.

The minor relationships in the book are great, too.  Elijah and Eliza have a wonderful, well-meaning and teasing relationship that’s sometimes punctuated by a little bit of unnecessary meanness from Elijah, which they eventually work through and grow out of.  Eliza and her mother, meanwhile, have to push through her mother’s lack of faith in Eliza so that Eliza can reclaim her faith in herself and her mother can see who she is as a person; something that happens gradually.   Also populating the universe are a number of clients of Herman and Herman, from a seemingly sweet couple of septuagenarians who turn into a pair of bickersons the second Eliza’s enchantment wears off, to a group of maenads straight out of Clueless.

The only flaw I found in the entire book was the fact that, in this split-PoV tale, Eliza’s chapters are related in the third person, while Jake’s chapters are in the first.  This keeps a bit of distance between the reader and Eliza, but not enough to really detract.

The worldbuilding here is fantastic and fun; very deep and very trenchant, but not in a way that’s intimidating.   If you want to get lost for a few hours in the harsh, unforgiving chill of winter, Crazy Cupid Love is an excellent way to do it. It’s the most unique, refreshing myth modernization I’ve read in ages.

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