Fools in Love is a collection of short stories about love. Each one of the stories was completely different and written by different authors.

I found this idea to be super interesting, as I’d never actually read a book of short stories, much less one where each story is written by a different author. I really enjoyed all of the stories, they were super fun, light reads and easy to get through when you just want a quick read.

If you like cute romance scenarios, but don’t want to commit to a whole novel, this is definitely a great alternative. It gives you everything you look for in a romance book, but not as big a commitment.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for an e arc of this book.

Fools in love is a collection of short stories that features 15 authors that took on the task to write a story based on the most famous love tropes out there. As everyone, I do have my favourite tropes when it comes to romance, but it was still nice to read such a variety of them. I do believe that as a whole this collection was cohesive and enjoyable.

My ratings for each individual story are:

- Silver and Gold by Natasha Ngan 4/5
- Five Stars by Amy Spalding 3/5
- Unfortunately, blobs do not eat snacks by Rebecca Kim Wells 3/5
- Edges by Ashley Herring Blake 3.5/5
- What makes us heroes by Julian Winters 3/5
- And by Hannah Moskowitz 4.25/5
- My best friend’s girl by Sara Farizan 3/5
- (Fairy)like attracts like by Claire Kann 2/5
- These strings by William Rivera 2.5/5
- The passover date by Laura Silverman 3.5/5
- Bloom by Rebecca Barrow 4/5
- Teed up by Gloria Chao 3.5/5
- Boys noise by Mason Deaver 4/5
- Girls just want to have fun by Malinda Lo 2.5/5
- Disaster by Rebecca Podos 2.5/5

FOOLS IN LOVE is an eclectic collection of joyful teenage teenage love stories, and I loved every second of reading them. Many of these stories struck me as very experimental; concepts and techniques are developed in these stories that you wouldn't see from a full-length YA novel, which was very refreshing, if not risky. Of course, given the diversity in genre and author style there were stories I preferred over others; however there is truly something for everyone in this collection.

Standout stories were written by: Mason Deaver, Julian Winters, Ashley Herring Blake, Laura Silverman, Amy Spalding and Lilliam Rivera. (AKA the contemporary ones, which is my preferred genre)

3.5 rounded down

i’m not a major fan of short stories Or stories that are based in romance but, this had some really fun concepts. I enjoyed the different authors voices and the heavy LGBTQ influence.
It’s hard to rate a short story collection done by different authors and in different styles but generally i had a good experience. it felt like fan fiction one shots but made on ao3 instead of wattpad.

Review is up on The Wellesley News!

Society needs more short story anthologies. Too often, I’m not willing to start a whole new book because I don’t have the mental capacity to digest an entire story, but a good short story can pull you in without capturing too much of your time. And then the story is extremely good, so you end up reading the next one, and then the next, and the next, and the next.
“Fools in Love” satisfies the itch for a good story — a good love story, at that — perfectly, with stories by a group of absolute rockstar authors, all giving their take on a tried and true romcom trope. Besides the fact that this book has absolutely superb queer representation, I also think the lineup of stories is incredible. Usually with anthologies, I find a few stories that I like amidst a sea of less enjoyable ones, but I had a superb time with this entire book.
I’m veering away from my usual review format now to have enough space to discuss every story. Enjoy my very short thoughts!
“Silver and Gold” by Natasha Ngan is a take on the “snowed in” trope and is a lovely way to start things off. Amy Spalding’s “Five Stars” is a hilarious case of mistaken identity when a girl’s crush mistakes her car for a rideshare. “Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks” is a cute love story about two magic students kissing “under the influence” (of a magic dust, not from drugs). “Edges” by Ashley Herring Blake made me squeal with excitement multiple times because I absolutely love the “grumpy one and soft one” trope.
“What Makes Us Heroes,” a delightful spin on the “hero x villain” trope, is by Julian Winters and features a teen superhero trying to get over his ex and the son of local villains who helps him out with that. “And” by Hannah Moskowitz considers the question, what if you simply resolved a love triangle with polyamory? “My Best Friend’s Girl” features, as you might imagine, the trope of the same name, but make the best friend a superhero and the main character also a girl.
Claire Kann’s “(Fairy)like Attracts Like” is sapphic mutual pining set at a fairy summer camp. “These Strings” by Lilliam Rivera tackles the “brother’s hot best friend” trope with a backdrop of puppeteering. Laura Silverman convinced me with “The Passover Date” that fake-dating is actually amazing and that straight people do exist. “Bloom” by Rebecca Barrow is about love transcending space and time, but no, it’s not about space—it’s about time traveling by way of magic flowers.
“Teed Up” is a classic Gloria Chao story with total obliviousness and a lot of golf. Mason Deaver warmed my heart with “Boys Noise,” where two boy band members have only one bed in their hotel room. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Malinda Lo is the “secret royalty” trope in a futuristic sci-fi world. Rebecca Podos’ “Disaster” wraps it up with a second chance romance between two girls growing up in the 90s.
“Fools in Love” comes out on Dec. 7. I received an early copy from the publisher, Running Press Kids, in exchange for an honest review.

A really thorough anthology! There were a few cringe-worthy stories, but that’s expected in a book of shorts. I liked the diversity.

Book 43 of my 2021 Reading Challenge

Fools in Love: Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales

Summary (via Goodreads)
Expected publication date: December 2021 (I read an ARC)

Join fifteen bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming authors as they reimagine some of the most popular tropes in the romance genre.
Fake relationships. Enemies to lovers. Love triangles and best friends, mistaken identities and missed connections. This collection of genre-bending and original stories celebrates how love always finds a way, featuring powerful flora, a superhero and his nemesis, a fantastical sled race through snow-capped mountains, a golf tournament, the wrong ride-share, and even the end of the world.
With stories written by Rebecca Barrow, Ashley Herring Blake, Gloria Chao, Mason Deaver, Sara Farizan, Claire Kann, Malinda Lo, Hannah Moskowitz, Natasha Ngan, Rebecca Podos, Lilliam Rivera, Laura Silverman, Amy Spalding, Rebecca Kim Wells, and Julian Winters this collection is sure to sweep you off your feet.

First Impressions/Judging a Book by Its Cover
I selected this book while browsing on NetGalley (full disclaimer below). The cover, along with the tagline "Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales", attracted my attention and the description kept my interest after I clicked through.

I've been especially drawn lately to books of short stories, especially by multiple authors, because that's about what my attention span can handle at the moment. There really isn't a downside - I hope to enjoy it but it's not a huge commitment if I don't (I'm one of those that HAS to finish a book I've started).

My Opinion
4 stars

**I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley and would like to thank the author and/or publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review it**

I read this book in August and it was a perfect light vacation read. It embraces the tropes in a "wink-wink-nudge-nudge" way but also doesn't make fun of them; they became tropes or formulas for a reason and that's because there are readers that respond to them. Each story also listed the trope they were leaning into and that was fun - there were some I hadn't thought of as tropes before.

I also think short stories worked well because part of the reason I get frustrated with certain tropes is because if people JUST TALKED there wouldn't be so much miscommunication and unnecessary drama but with the entire story only lasting a few pages, things are condensed and cleared up quickly. After looking at my notes and seeing how many times I noted "good length", this format definitely worked for me.

As always with collections with multiple authors, I liked some stories more than others but looking at the book as a whole, I liked or loved all of them. I took a few notes on each story individually so I might as well include them.

"Silver and Gold" by Natasha Ngan:
I really liked this one. It had an unique concept and went deep enough to care without being overly gushy.

"Five Stars" by Amy Spalding:
First crushes and butterflies is exactly what my jaded heart needed to read at this moment. There was a meet-cute that was still semi-plausible.

"Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks" by Rebecca Kim Wells:
I would read a longer version of this for the plot and the adventures, not even just the romance. I also loved the line, "Davina kissed her and it was like the answer to a question she'd only recently realized she'd wanted to ask."

"Edges" by Ashley Herring Blake:
This was deeper than I expected for a short story. The author packed a lot in but it felt natural. It was cute.

"What Makes Us Heroes" by Julian Winters:
Light and fun.

"And" by Hannah Moskowitz:
Having a poly type relationship at a young age wasn't something I'd read before, especially to have it handled so maturely with clear and open communication.

"My Best Friend's Girl" by Sara Farizan:
Everyone is just chill. It's nice to read a story with queer relationships where the act of coming out isn't the whole plotline.

"(Fairy)Like Attracts Like" by Claire Kann:
I felt the characters' relief at being seen.

"These Strings" by Lilliam Rivera:
This is the kind of story that I liked for the reasons above...having it in a short story format kept the time before the confession of feelings manageable so I was still invested and not screaming at the book like a maniac.

"The Passover Date" by Laura Silverman:
The kind of ending that made me sigh. New love.

"Bloom" by Rebecca Barrow:
This story was good but since most of the story had them apart from each other, there weren't as many 'romance' aspects as in other stories.

"Teed Up" by Gloria Chao:
Cute. I know exactly what the author means when they describe someone as "tasting like sunshine" when they kiss.

"Boys Noise" by Mason Deaver:
Long but cute.

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Malinda Lo:
This one was fine. Again, it's something that would have driven me crazy as a longer book but as a short story, it was a whirlwind and fun.

"Disaster" by Rebecca Podos:
Not plausible but what end-of-the-world scenarios are? It was fine.

I found these short stories very good. The only two problems I had with them was 1) I always wanted more in almost every story and 2) I felt ripped out of the story after and had to take my time reading the next after. The stories themselves are strong, and I am glad I was given the chance to read them. I have been recommending it to my friends already.

Thank you for the chance to read and review.

A great YA anthology. This book has LGBTQ+ reps
and is full of tropes love Fake Dating and many
more fs)

Individual ratings:
- Silver and Gold (Snowed in Together) by Natasha Ngan: 3⭐️
- Five Stars (Mistaken Identity) by Amy Spalding: 4⭐️
- Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks (Kissing Under the Influence) by Rebecca Kim Wells: 3⭐️
- Edges (Grumpy and Sunshine) by Ashley Herring Blake: 3⭐️
- What Makes Us Heroes (Hero vs. Villain) by Julian Winters: 4⭐️
- And (Love Triangle) by Hannah Moskowitz: 4⭐️
- My Best Friend’s Girl (Best Friend’s Girl) by Sara Farizan: 3⭐️
- (Fairy)like Attracts Like (Mutual Pining) by Claire Kann: 2⭐️
- These Strings (Sibling’s Hot Best Friend) by Lilliam Rivera: 4⭐️ ***
- The Passover Date (Fake Dating) by Laura Silverman: 5⭐️ ***
- Bloom (Love Transcends Space Time) by Rebecca Barrow: 4⭐️ ***
- Teed Up (Oblivious to Lovers) by Gloria Chao: 5⭐️ ***
- Boys Noise (Only One Bed) by Mason Deaver: 3⭐️
- Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Secret Royalty) by Malinda Lo: 3⭐️
- Disaster (Second Chance Romance) by Rebecca Podos: 3.5⭐️

Overall thoughts:
When I first read the synopsis for this and saw that it was an anthology of short stories each based on a different romance trope, I was immediately interested. I love a good trope, I think they’re so fun!
This anthology covered so well-beloved tropes like fake dating and only one bed while also including a few that I feel are more underrated like snowed in together and oblivious to lovers.
There was really great diversity represented throughout the collection in the stories, characters and authors. This ranged from many different sexual orientations, races and religions.
I’ve had the pleasure of reading a few amazing YA anthologies this year and this book now gets to join that group! I love that these were spins on “traditional” tropes with diverse couples, allowing more readers to see themselves represented in literature.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the authors and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is an absolutely lovely collection! The stories are mostly YA and generally feature queer protagonists, though this is usually not the focus of the story, just incidental to the character's identity. The stories themselves are widely varied and often feature magical, fantasy, and superhero elements. I was very impressed by how much world-building the authors could do in such short works.

And the tropes! The tropes! I love a good trope and they were treated so well here. It made for sweet, funny, and utterly charming tales of our stumbles into love. I found something to enjoy in each of the entries and I strongly recommend this for an enjoyable read!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

As a romance book lover, I really enjoyed this book! I liked seeing the short stories organized by common romance tropes like "Second Chance Romance" and "Fake Dating." The representation is phenomenal, and I also appreciated how diverse the genres are. I would keep this book on my bookshelf for my students looking for LGBTQ+ options. I think my favorite was "Boys' Noise" by Mason Deaver.

This was a DNF for me. Although there were cute love-stories within this, none of these characters ever really felt full. Even in the longer short-stories, there was always an aspect lacking. I'm a trope-lover through and through, but I'd rather a trope to be poorly executed with full characters, than an amazing trope with flat characters. So sad to not finish it, but just because it's not for me, doesn't mean its not for you!

3,5 Stars

- Silver & Gold, Snowed In Together (3,5 Stars) - this was really cute and such a interesting story fantasy wise.
- Five Stars, Mistaken Identity (4 Stars) - loved the writing style, even though it was very short I liked the MC immediately and loved how weird and cute this story was.
- Unfortunately, Blobs do not…, Kissing Under the Influence (4 Stars) - again, I LOVED the fantasy aspects! They were so interesting and the MC & her love interest were adorable.
- Edges, Grump & Sunshine (3,5 Stars) - This story wasn’t as memorable but I remember really liking it while reading? Even though I can’t remember a lot.
- What Makes Us Heroes, Hero vs. Villain (4 Stars) - this was surprisingly good, I don’t know what I expected from a hero & villain story, but I really enjoyed it. Especially the discussion about prejudice and why the villain is the villain.
- And, Love Triangle (2 Stars) - at least this was really a triangle but apart from that I really disliked the MC. Which is sad because as loved Hannah Moskowitzs Sick Kids in Love.
- My Best Friend‘s Girl, Best Friends Girl (5 Stars) - this story was so dorky and cute and I loved it. Would have absolutely read a whole book about them.
- (Fairy)like attracts like, Mutual Pining (3 stars) - was this cute? Yes. But it just wasn’t my favorite, can’t really say why.
- These Strings, Siblings Hot Best Friend (2 Stars) - The Brother and parents were so annoying and the MC & love interest as well. I just didn’t like anyone, sorry.
- The Passover Date, Fake Dating (4 Stars) - Fake Dating when they are already interested in each other is the best thing ever, I loved this. Also, this made me hungry.
- Bloom, Love Transcends Space Time (3 Stars) - was good but just not my fave.
- Teed Up, Oblivious Lovers (4 Stars) - who knew Golf could be so interesting? But no, really, this was cute & I was pleasantly surprised because I didn’t really like one book I read by the author.
- Boys Noise, Only One Bed (4,5 Stars) - ugh, this reminded me of I was Born for this and If This Gets Out & it was SO good.
- Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Secret Royalty (3 Stars) - was it good? Yes. I am just not the biggest fan of secret royalty and everything happened SO fast.
- Disaster, Second Chance Romance (4 Stars) - loved the topic and setting (world is maybe going to end) & discussion about coming to terms with your sexuality.

Thank you to Running Press Kids for an eARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

So, I love anthologies. It's nice and refreshing ot get a new story every few pages. Buuuut this one kind of fell flat for me? There were a few good moments, but overall there wasn't a story that made me go: this is AMAZING. I need more.

I started taking notes on each story, but I stopped because I just wasn't enjoying them as much. There is great diversity and so much lovely LGBTQIA+ rep, but overall, I was just kind of bored?

It was okay, but unfortunately kind of strange and not quite what I was hoping for.

It’s always the same with shortstory anthologies, some you don’t like, some you absolutely love and want more of the story!
It’s the same with this one, but over all I really liked them all. The most outstanding thing about this one was how absolutely diverse it was!!!
A romance anthology that is super queer and diverse is not a thing I take for granted and I applaud!!!
All of these were super quick reads and it’s amazing if you just have 10-30 minutes of reading time to squeeze into your day, without having to stop in the middle of a chapter.
I read each story on one evening before bed and it was perfect.
My absolute favourite about this was, that this book mainly consists of sapphic storys. This book is a real win for the lesbians! 😂

Natasha Ngan: A sapphic fantasy story about a competition to win a deadly race (with a wolf pack on sedges through the ice!!! I repeat: wolves!!!!). Two competitors falling in love, it was gripping and steamy! 5/5

Julian Winters: A gay superhero trying to win back his super-superhero ex…but the villain might win? 😏 4,5/5

Mason Deaver: A trans guy falling in love with his boyband bandmember while they both take a sneaky vacation together…oops. 4/5

Amy Spalding: A girl accidentally kidnapping her crush. The kissing was a little rushed, but who minds? There’s limited time in shortstories. I loved everything about this!!! 5/5

Rebecca Kim Wells: Opposites attract, enemies to lovers magical lesbians forced on a school mission together. The love interest is a purple haired badass. (I was immediately in love). The MC has a lot of anxiety. I loved them so much together! The ending was super funny. I want more!!! 5/5

Ashley Herring Blake: The grumpy one falls for the soft one? For me it was more like a popular girl and loser without friends kind of thing. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this story, there was too much squeezed into this and too little feelings for me. 3/5

Hannah Moskowitz: Honestly, this was my least favourite story in this book. It’s written in second person narrative and it isn’t my favourite thing to begin with. It’s about a poly/ open relationship and I just didn’t feel it. Don’t know how else to put it. 2/5

Sara Farizan: Another superhero/alien story, but this time not the MC. The “I’m in love with my best friends partner” trope just isn’t for me sadly. It was also solved way too easily in my opinion. I kinda liked that the story was more about the MCs friendship, but really it’s an romance anthology so…there wasn’t really any romance. 1/5

Claire Kann: A story with a fat, Black, adopted, lesbian MC! Two girls who are pining for each other in fairy summer camp without realising it, but in the end realise they have even more in common than they thought. I liked this one, but we don’t really get to know the characters a lot and the story itself wasn’t overwhelming or even very romantic. 2,5/5

Lillian Rivera: I really liked the story of this! It’s about a latinx family who’s family business is a puppet theatre. That’s nothing I’ve ever read about in a book and such a cool story. This was the first f/m (I’m not saying straight, who knows) romance in this! I wasn’t a fan of the “you kissed my sister I’m going to punch you” thing. 3,5/5

Laura Silverman: A second f/m story! I absolutely loved this one!!! It’s about a jewish girl who’s annoyed by her family who are asking her every year all over again where her date is for Seder…so she obviously decides to bring a fake date this year. And of course they actually like each other in the end.
I loved the talk about that romantic relationships aren’t for everyone and she and her sister deciding that they will do everything differently when it’s their turn.
This was absolutely cute and I loved to learn about all the passover traditions. Nothing was explained and I had to google a lot, but I loved exactly that. American culture isn’t the norm, so why explain everything in a jewish story?!
Her date was adorable and I loved everything about this story. 5/5

Rebecca Barrow: This one wasn’t my favourite tbh. It’s about a girl traveling time to save her mother from death and then meets a girl she falls in love with.
I didn’t get in what time this was supposed to play until the end (always good for a time travelling story) and what exactly happened to her mother. Also the feelings were super rushed. It just wasn’t for me. 2/5

Gloria Chao: A female pro golfer falling in love with a nice boy she meets at a tournament. This story was actually more about the sexist (and racist) sports world, the girl struggling to live up to her parents expectations of her and her realising what she really wants in life. Golf sadly isn’t exactly interesting to me and the romance felt a little rushed. I liked the loveinterest though and for a longer story this would have worked better. 3/5

Malinda Lo: Gays in space and a royal princess escapee. I really liked this story, the setting was cool and I loved the characters. Sadly this story was really, really short in comparison to the others and it all felt super rushed. If this would have been a whole book of even a longer story this could easily have gotten a better rating. 3/5

Rebecca Podos: An (almost) doomsday, the perfect day to win back your ex-girlfriend. This one was a sapphic second chance romance with a jewish MC and I overall really liked it. I liked the part about figuring out her sexuality a lot. Overall this was a story with a very gloomy mood and little conversation though, so I didn’t really feel the love a lot. 3/5

dnf @ 50%

Thank you to netgalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I started reading this back in June, and finally decided to dnf this October. I love the concept, but had a really hard time remaining engaged in the stories.

This is a collection of YA lgbtq romance short stories, each one based on a different trope. Some of the stories I loved and wanted more from (Edges by Ashley Herring Blake!!), but some I had to push through. There were so many sapphic stories which I loved and all of those ended up being my favorite!!

Overall I love the representation, the charm, and the concept, but I do think as I get older it makes it more difficult for me to enjoy YA romance to the extend I did when I was younger.

I definitely recommend this to any audience that thinks the concept sounds interesting! This was totally a “It’s not you, it’s me” type of DNF.

Fools in Love is a sweet compilation of YA love stories with plenty of LGBTQ+ representation. Each short story is a different romance trope, from "grumpy meets sweet" to "fake dating" to "only one bed at the inn," along with a whole lot of others. This collection was engaging and exposed me to stories in several genres that I wouldn't normally read, so it was a good way to take in some sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero tales that I usually shy away from.

My favorite stories from the collection were "Boys Noise" by Mason Deaver (the whole reason I requested this in the first place), "Bloom" by Rebecca Barrow, and "Disaster" by Rebecca Podos. There were a few at the beginning of the book that I wasn't particularly fond of, which made me question if I would want to continue reading, but the stories in the back half of the book were immensely better and I'm so glad I made myself finish. Overall, I give it a strong three stars.

This book literally has something for everyone. Each story has a romantic trope that leaves you wanting more.
The stories have great representation throughout and all flow so well. I definitely enjoyed some stories more than others - but that's just dependent on whether you like the trope or not.
This is a perfect book for YA readers and has something to offer every romantic.

Fools in Love is a sweet collection of short stories revolving around love. It was a cute, light read with all of the love tropes! I also enjoyed the representation in the stories. Some of the stories were hit and miss for me, which made getting through this book somewhat tedious at times. I guess that's always the risk with Anthologies. That said, there were some great stories in here and I would definitely read more by those authors.