This book is extremely amazing. Full review is coming soon because I need to reread the book once again before giving it the review it deserves. It made my day when I read it and extremely enjoyed it and just...one of the best books I've read recently and I loved Sidney :)

I had been interested in this book from the moment I heard about it because I’m all-in for more romances starring nonbinary main characters and love interests, but due to focus issues I had trouble getting into it until I read a finished paperback. And this book is so adorable! I’m already recommending it to all my friends because Ripper includes such fantastic examinations of what makes a relationship work or not work, as well as showing exes who’ve found their way back to friendship. All around this was an absolute joy to read! And I adored the intimacy between Declan and Sidney. The scenes where they spend time together are just so sweet and gave me all kinds of warm-fuzzy feelings. And I appreciate, as an aromantic-spec reader, how in the end this is less a traditional romance and more two people being together in a way that works best for them. Despite my distaste for third-act-breakups, I gotta be honest, this is one instance where it worked for me given the context of the story and Declan’s personality, and the reconciliation was phenomenally done. Just, if you’re interested in non-traditional romance between a cis guy and a genderqueer person, check this book out! It’s so delightfully queer and great chosen family, and some of the sweetest scenes between the central couple!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my free digital copy in exchange for my impartial review. This review was written voluntarily and all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I enjoyed this book, but I had a huge problem with the characters and some events that happened in this book (no spoilers). I feel like some things could have been handled better, and they were muddled up for no reason.

I love the representation so much! There was a bunch of queer characters just existing, and their existence in the book didn't circle around their queerness. Love that!

I would have probably enjoyed this book a lot more if I was younger, and I feel this is a better fit for younger readers.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting idea behind this story and I had such hope for this book. However, it failed to deliver as the MC was quite annoying and unlikeable. The writing is laboured and the story was quite forced.
An OK read.

While I loved the premise of this book, I really struggled to get into it. Ultimately, I think this is a case of mismatch between reader and book. I found the book tiresome rather than charming.

A lot of fun all around! Enjoyed the slow burn element and the found family aspects of this, as well as the sweet romance.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Rep: queer mc with anxiety, genderqueer love interest, queer and poc side characters.


I’ve been wanting to read something by Kris Ripper for a while now and ever since they tweeted about “The Love Study” a few months back, I’ve been so excited to finally read it and it didn’t disappoint!

I loved how queer, fluffy, romantic and fast-paced this story was. It’s like the perfect comfort read, with loveable characters and a little bit of comedy thrown in too. The writing style was amazing and the romance was so cute and awkward, in the best way possible.

Overall, I loved this one and I can’t wait to read more by this author in the future!

I'll be honest, at first I thought this would be a bit cheesy for me. Any romance can be because you usually know how it's going to go, and so it's about the journey that makes it for me or not, As I got more into the story though, I really began connecting to the characters and I think that's what made me really enjoy it (my favorites being Mason and Sidney).

There were a ton of things I enjoyed about this story and how it was told. Relationships are hard, but Kris was able to show so many layers to relationships as well as address respectful ways to navigate a new relationship. I also do appreciate that the story showed that a relationship doesn't have to look the same for everyone and that's okay to figure out what feel right or makes sense for you. Though I do wish we got to see some more dates before Declan found the right person so we could have seen more growth through the experiences he had, so that would be my one critique, I thought this was a thoughtful and enjoyable read overall.

I loved this book so much! It was funny and comforting, which was exactly what I needed right now, but it also resonated with me a lot. I loved the genderqueer representation. But what I loved most, and what I could really relate to, being aromantic, is that a (romantic) relationship shouldn't have to look the same for everyone. It's something that can be molded to what the people in the relationship need from it. It's something you get to define for yourself.

CWs: anxiety, panic attacks, mentions of gender dysphoria

Loved. I love Ripper’s words and ways of building relationships. I love how characters grow and thrive by being themselves and loving others in the best way. Another great book by Ripper.

<i>The Love Study</i> is a novel about bantery awkward turtles falling in love, and that's incredibly up my aisle. This is my first time reading Ripper, and I will definitely be reading more of zir novels!

Stylistically, I do think this book will be a challenge for a lot of readers. It very much could have been edited down both in content and in terms of the dialog. You know how normally, even the most awkward of interactions in a novel are a very smoothed out version of real life awkward conversations? Well, this book goes full in on realism in the awkwardness. Expect lots of struggling to get words out and filler words, like well and umm. Because it's all bantery and because it did feel authentic to me, if a bit twee I'll admit, I enjoyed the writing. However, as I mentioned, stronger editing could have sharpened this into something really amazing and more broadly appealing.

The premise is that Declan, who left his best friend at the altar six years before, agrees to start dating again on the YouTube channel of new acquaintance Sidney. While this is abrupt, it does fit Declan's impulsive, goofy personality, so I believed it. (Declan is a LOT. Actually, they're all A LOT, but I enjoyed them almost all the time.) Besides, I'm willing to accept most silly romance premises and blind dates while building chemistry with the one sending you on the dates? Here for it.

The chemistry between Declan and Sidney is great. Like, I feel like they genuinely just enjoy being around each other, which is really nice. One advantage of the load of words and constant banter is that you really get a sense of that connection and what they're like day to day. If they can enjoy each other even with the nervous babbling and misspeaking and apologizing, they'll be amazing when they calm down.

Also, I've been asking all the time for a romance where what's romantic to the couple is not considered traditionally romantic. They pretty much just like to hang out and talk and maybe even do their own things while sharing a space. This is exactly what romance is to me 99% of the time, and so I really loved seeing them find someone who shared that.

There's so much queer representation in this. Like, so much. I particularly loved that Sidney's genderqueer and uses they/them. There's nothing hateful in this book either, aside from Sidney mentioning mean comments on her YouTube, but I don't think they even mention any sort of detail. The book very much feels like a happy, queer bubble. There's slight acknowledgement of the world outside of that, but mostly it's this queer friend group that is exceedingly extra but always there for each other, making a safe space and a home.

I very much enjoyed this novel. I wish it had been edited more heavily so that more readers could appreciate it like I have, but for the right readers (awkward turtles who love constant banter), this book is a delight. Many aspects reminded me of <i>Boyfriend Material</i> by Alexis Hall, so if you enjoyed that (it's also VERY bantery and a bit too long), then absolutely give <i>The Love Study</i> a try.

Kris Ripper has such a unique voice so I was looking forward to this book and wasn’t disappointed at all. The Love Study is filled with awkwardness and I’m such a sucker for that in romance. This book explores so much about what does a romantic relationship *need* to look like to actually still be a romance?

I loved so much how Declan and Sidney begin the story trying to find someone for Dec to date and have this journey of figuring out what each of them actually needs in a relationship. I highly rec this to anyone looking for an untraditional romance that’s still a romance.

Grade: A-

This captured my attention and imagination from the first page, very much like The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai. The similarities only increased when the main characters ended up doing a mini series on dating--queer, in this case, not straight--for a YouTube video rather than to promote the dating app that the previous book had done.

Themes and characters were just as engaging in both novels.

I don't know what it was specifically but, as I read, this also came to remind me of the intense amount of sweetness and good communication skills between the main characters of Anna Zabo's Counterpoint.

So this is a first person narrative solely from the point of view of Declan, self announced person who left last boyfriend at the alter. And this is quite an important point, given that he then proceeds to flagelate himself for it for the entire rest of the novel. Despite the fact that Mason, the man he left at the alter, is his best friend and has more than forgiven him.

For the majority of this book, though, there was like no drama. There was careful lead up to the drama--which is essentially that Declan suffers panic attacks and was basically working himself into one through a guilt spiral all the way through the early pages--but for the most part this is a sweet and comfortable read where no one really does the wrong thing.

Declan is one of a five person friendship group who have been around each other since they were all in college. Two of them--Mia and Ronnie--are about to get married, which is sure to cause some anxiety and flashbacks for Declan.

And if I have to complain about the number of times I had to go back and double check who was talking between Mia and Mase, then at least it didn't ruin the experience of reading the story as a whole.

I've never read a book with the main character as an office temp, but that was very cool to see my experience in working on the page.

Sidney is the gorgeous nonbinary character who ends up being Declan's love interest. But first Declan goes on three whole dates with other people on Sidney's YouTube show before the two of them even realise they are into each other at the midway point.

One of the things I absolutely loved about this narrative was how it grew to define what did and didn't work for these two particular characters in terms of relationships. Also just how intelligently this was written. I laughed out loud at the ways that they put things sometimes, but honestly how else are you meant to put the realities of life and relationships? Sometimes that requires long words and sentences!

Definitely hoping for another book in this series, perhaps with either Mason or Oscar with fellow office temp Jack.

This was adorable and fun!
Sidney and Declan had amazing chemistry and made for a couple very easy to cheer for. It definitely helps that their individual arcs were compelling and well developed. Overall, a great read.

I feel like there aren't that many romances out there with trans/nonbinary/genderqueer rep, but maybe they're just not coming across my radar. Regardless, I'm so glad THIS book did come my way, because it's great.

Declan and his friend group felt a lot like the folks I hung out with in my early 20's - a bunch of weirdos who communicate best by giving each other shit. I also identified with Sidney feeling like they'd missed the memo on how to make real and lasting friendships. Both Sidney and Declan go through an amount of personal growth and introspection, and I ADORE Sidney and their Spinster Uncle YouTube channel that's like an updated "Dear Abby" for queer folks. Declan also has major anxiety issues, suffering from a few panic attacks throughout the book as what looks (to my extremely NOT professional opinion) like generalized anxiety disorder, in additional to some major self-esteem and commitment issues. I love that the characters are all so multi-faceted and flawed and REAL. There were several points where I just wanted to wrap Declan or Sidney (or let's be real, the both of them at once) into a big Momma Bear hug and tell them it would all be okay. Sidney gives some VERY good advice, and I wish Your Spinster Uncle was a real YouTube channel I could subscribe to.

I really hope there will be more to this as a series, like a book for Mason and for Oscar. Oooh, Mason and Mara next maybe? I'd read it!

This book took me far longer than I would've liked, so maybe it wasn't the story for me.

That being said, really appreciated how inclusive the story was ranging from a wide spectrum of queer representations - that I can applaud.

the story itself, I felt like the author was trying too hard to be humorous. the correction from the very beginning felt a little stained, not very organic at all for me it was just an alright book, nothing too negative, nothing overly positive.

I have no strong feelings for it.

This was a very interesting read! The cast of characters were a very unique group which I felt a sort of kinship to since they really had the exact energy of a queer friend group. Declan's journey is a normal trope of "guy afraid of commitment" but I found it refreshing to see him work through the reasons behind it and it's not all rainbows and sunshine. Sidney was delightful and seemed to be autistic coded which found very cool, and the representation is fantastic.

The story isn't anything new and groundbreaking when it comes to romance novels, but the way in which it's navigated is fun, silly, and very emotionally real and that's very important!

A perfect little romance, feel good book, it was just mind blowing sometimes, and i just love it. I recommend 100% to read this little book about friendship, love, forgiveness, and LOVE LOVE LOVE.

This was very cute, fun, and quick. There was a lot to like about this book. The friend group was very relatable and I would have loved more about them. They are a big group and I felt like their dynamic wasn't fully formed, but if there is another book, they would be perfect. I loved Sidney and their YouTube channel. I think it was a very fun way to get them in the same room as Declan. I will day I didn't love Declan. I don't think his growth throughout the book was highlighted, especially at the end. Overall, I am happy to have read this and I hope that we get move love stories featuring gender queer folks.

Thank you Carina Press for the advanced readers copy of this novel. I was excited to expand my horizons by reading this LGBTQIA+ novel. As a heterosexual white woman I have much to learn about diversity and how to increase my knowledge of these topics.

I found this story read much like most romances I enjoy. It was quick and fun! I appreciated learning the depth of these characters and how they can accept themselves, no matter how they identify. I did really struggle reading the they/them pronouns however. I am fully aware this is my naivete`. I need to learn how to read topics such as this fluidly.

Again thank you Carina Press for allowing me to learn some of my weaknesses in this read. It was a fun YA novel.