While none of these stories particularly resonated with me, the majority of them were quite sweet and comforting. I loved the range of genres in the book, and I immensely appreciated the diversity of characters. However, most of them didn't really stand out in a way that would make me say "Oh, yes! This is a favourite!"

Certainly a book I would recommend for teenage readers, especially queer teenagers, but I think I was hoping for more when I started this book.

Such sweet and romantic love stories! I absolutely loved the diversity and representation in these and the different authors and the LGBTQ representation. However. I didn’t love them all as I hoped I would. It started out really great, but then it kind of fluctuated a little with how much I enjoyed the stories.
All in all I did really enjoy the experience.

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

DRC provided by Perseus Books, Running Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Representation: queer protagonists of colour, queer white protagonist, lesbian white protagonist, bisexual white protagonist, queer Black protagonist, queer fat Black protagonist, Latine protagonist, Jewish protagonist, queer protagonist, Taiwanese protagonist, gay trans white protagonist, queer Chinese-coded protagonist, lesbian Jewish protagonist, bisexual secondary character of colour, lesbian white secondary characters, queer Black secondary character, queer secondary character of colour, Jewish secondary characters, queer white secondary characters, queer Chinese-coded secondary character, bisexual white secondary character, bisexual white tertiary character, Latine tertiary characters, Jewish tertiary characters, tertiary characters of colour, Taiwanese tertiary characters.

Content Warning: violence, institutional racism, anxiety, death, sexism.

Fools in Love edited by Rebecca Podos and Ashley Herring Blake is a beautiful anthology about love with a myriad of different characters from numerous backgrounds, with various identities and sexualities.

Silver and Gold “Snowed in Together” by Natasha Ngan ★★★★

Five Stars “Mistaken Identity” by Amy Spalding ★★★★★

Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks “Kissing Under the Influence” by Rebecca Kim Wells ★★★

Edges “The Grumpy One and the Soft One” by Ashley Herring Blake ★★★★★

What Makes Us Heroes “Hero vs. Villain” by Julian Winters ★★★★

And “Love Triangle” Hannah Moskowitz: I do not read stories by bullies.

My Best Friend’s Girl “Best Friend’s Girlfriend” by Sara Farizan ★★★★★

(Fairy)like Attracts Like “Mutual Pining” by Claire Kann ★★★★

These Strings “Sibling’s Hot Best Friend” by Lilliam Rivera ★★

The Passover Date “Fake Dating” by Laura Silverman ★★★,5

Bloom “Love Transcends Space Time” by Rebecca Barrow ★★★★

Teed Up “Oblivious to Lovers” by Gloria Chao ★★★,5

Boys Noise “Only One Bed at the Inn” by Mason Deaver ★★★★

Girls Just Want to Have Fun “Secret Royalty” by Malinda Lo ★★★★,5

Disaster “Second Chance Romance” by Rebecca Podos ★★★★,5

This is the kind of book that no believers should read. An Anthology about love and its clarity. The true love that everyone is looking for and few can see. Thank you so much to the Authors for this amazing piece of work. Society needs books like this.

This was compilation of cute, sweet short stories focusing on LGBTQ representation. I loved how the stories were from several different genres and explored all kinds of romance tropes. It was a fun and happy collection that definitely warmed my heart.

I definitely liked some stories better than others but overall this collection was delightful. I’m not usually a fan of short stories because they are so quick but once I accepted that these stories were more like snapshots of a relationship, I could get more on board.

My only complaint is that everything was happy. There were no but struggles or hurdles and each story ended with a happily ever after. After awhile, the stories got to be predictable and a bit boring because of this. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved it! I just wish there were a bit more challenges to overcome in some of the stories to make the love more worthwhile.

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.