Okay what can i say about this anthology which would be enough. It was filled with love stuck people who left my heart into a fuzz .
Honestly picked up this book for Mason Deaver but every single story was written with such beauty that I loved it through out .
People like me who love fast romcoms , would love how each story didn't stretch out a lot but still was it's own complete world . And all the representation just made it 10x better

An interesting anthology, despite some short stories varying in quality. Mason Deaver's, Amy Spalding's, Ashley Herring Blake's were wonderful! Also really enjoyed the diversity in each title composing this anthology despite the fact that the superheroic themes might have been quite redundant from one story to the next!

Fools in love is an anthology comprised of different authors. The book primarily focuses on coming of age, and it's got almost all of its stories filled with PoC, LGBTQIA+, multiculturalism, etc. It was a fun and quick read.

The authors tried to reimagine the most common romance tropes and then adding their unique touch to them. Few stories felt too rushed without proper character development, while some were properly paced with a good plot and execution.My favorite ones were 'five stars' by Amy Spalding that follows the 'mistaken identity trope'. Another one was "boys noise" by Mason Deaver that has 'only one-bed trope'. It follows mega-successful boy band members Felix and Lev and their forbidden love. In a way, it was a fanfiction of sorts.

It could've been better if the stories were slightly long and not rushed with irrational changes.*Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC*

Rating: 3.5
I loved so many stories of this book!
There was so many great LGBTQ+ representation, I really appreciated all the fun takes of the various romantic troupes like enemies to lovers and fake dating and those were my favourites.
The stories was also of many different genres like contemporary, fantasy and sci-fi which is great as it can appeal to more diverse fans.

3.5 stars rounded up!

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!!

Fools in Love is a series of short stories all about love, they all have different romance tropes like best friend's girlfriend, fake dating, only one bed at the inn etc and they made me really happy when I was reading them and the stories were so cute! Some of them were contemporary and others went deep into the sci-fi fantasy realm which was really fun, and the writers have such gorgeous writing styles (like, I could not get Natasha Ngan's story out of my head, some of the lines she wrote were amazing) and its really different and diverse and overall I really enjoyed this!

However, while most of them were really good, a couple of them took me forever to get through, to the point where I just wanted to skim them. I was excited about the tropes but the execution of them bored me a little bit.

I would recommend reading this, I think you'll find at least a few stories that you love!

A kind thank you to the publisher for the e-ARC.

This was a lovely collection of YA diverse stories. I enjoyed it, and I do believe that teens around the globe will enjoy it, too, and more than anything, relate to the diverse cast of characters. I also liked the variety of genres in this anthology.

My favorite stories were those by Natasha Ngan, Ashley Herring Blake, Julian Winters, Sara Farizan, Claire Kann, Laura Silverman, and Gloria Chao.

My one small issue with some of fantastical stories (except Natasha Ngan's and Malinda Lo's) was that the world-building was explained a little later, and I was already confused by the point I reached the description.

Overall, it was a nice "feel-good" collection of YA diverse stories where characters of all backgrounds and identities find love and their HEA, and what's not to love about that?!

I genuinely enjoyed most of the stories in this book! The romances were sweet and I thought building each one around a common romance trope was a clever approach that definitely drew me in. I loved the diversity in genre and approaches these authors took to 'romance tropes'!

I found this to be a bit middling. Some of the included stories were GREAT - they're fun tropes, the writing is exceptional, etc. There were a handful that just left a lot to be desired and didn't really keep me engaged despite their short length.

Overall, the good stories outweigh the less-than-ideal ones, so I would definitely recommend this - just with a caveat that not all of them will be great.

3.5/5 rounded up to 4/5

As is to be expected for a collection of stories, there were some I liked more than others. Overall, I wouldn't say there were any I hated, and I really appreciated the inclusion in each story. I also (spoiler) loved that they all had happy endings - currently, it's just the sort of thing I need and appreciate. I'm also a MASSIVE fan of tropes, so this was already right up my alley.

My favourites:
What makes us heroes (I adore the hero / villain trope, even if I think there could have been a bit more drama between the two MCs)
Unfortunately, blobs do not eat snacks - really liked the dynamic in this one and the magical bits
Teed up - who knew a short story could get me so invested in golf?

My least favourites:
These Strings - the brother's best friend trope is one I'm not a fan of and the story didn't grip me
And - liked the change on the love triangle trope but didn't care much for the writing itself
My Best Friend's Girl - was a superhero story...not about the superhero? Maybe that's why I wasn't interested...but also I just don't think the story was as good as it could have been

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I like short stories for moments when I want to read but I need something light and this was cute, funny, and romantic, a really good combination

Very cute little anthology of love stories and the range was really nice to read and change between!

A lovely collection! I enjoyed how the tropes were played with in these stories. I especially enjoyed the LGBTQ+ rep!! Each author added something different to the collection and each stands out in their own way, which I think is important in a collection.

It was a very light and easy read. Some of the stories were really cute and I enjoyed being able to read each one of them.

I normally end up reading anthologies one story at a time, and it usually takes me quite a while to get through them. I could not put this one down though - I would finish one story and then be like: "oh! That next story sounds amazing!!"
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Natasha Ngan - Silver and Gold ("Snowed in Together") 5/5

This was just a perfect short story. Perfect. It's a sapphic story about two girls competing against each other in a deadly race, which is the coolest concept ever and which would be amazing to read a full-length novel about. Here we're just getting one night of the race, so we're not really getting the beginning or ending, and it works incredibly well. I always love stories about people who find each other in harsh environments and have to learn to be soft together, and this story had me really wanting that for the main character.
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Amy Spalding - Five Stars ("Mistaken Identity") 5/5

This story starts off so funny, with the main character's crush mistaking her for her ride share driver. And the rest of the story is just as hilarious, because instead of correcting the mistake, the main character of course drives her to her destination instead. As one does. This is again a sapphic story, yay!

"OMG KRISTA YOU KIDNAPPED YOUR FIRST IRL CRUSH BUT STILL MANAGED TO GET HER NUMBER? You are a hero for awkward girls everywhere."
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Rebecca Kim Wells - Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks ("Kissing Under the Influence") 3/5

This is the only new-to-me author in this anthology, so it was fun reading from them. This was again a sapphic story, and I did have fun reading it, although I definitely enjoyed it less than the previous two stories. The reason for that is two-fold: I didn't like the writing style that much, and I found the story lacked some necessary context and world-building. Again we're thrown in the middle of the story, which is fine but that does make it important to give a clear setting and we just didn't get that here. I did like how the trope was handled when it actually was, but it took quite some time and I felt like it was over again quite soon as well. Overall I feel like this was more a (one-sided) enemies to lovers story.
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Ashley Herring Blake - Edges ("The Grumpy and the Soft One") 5/5

Another sapphic story! Ashley Herring Blake is one of my favourite authors, and the soft vs. grumpy trope is my current favourite trope, so this story was a 5 star prediction for me and of course I was right! For how short this was, this story was chockfull of emotion and I almost cried. It's about the importance of communicating your wants and needs in a relationship and sometimes your own lack of self worth can get in the way of how you treat others, because you'll make assumptions about what they do or don't want from you.
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Julian Winters - What Makes Us Heroes ("Hero vs. Villain") 4/5

Julian Winters is another one of my favourite authors, and since he usually writes contemporary, it was really fun to read a superhero story from him! This is an achillean story and I really liked the exploration of what makes someone a villain and, again, how quick people can be to make assumptions. I would have like to see a little more world-building, though, but this was some solid fun!
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Hannah Moskowitz - And ("Love Triangle") 2/5

I very much appreciate this story for making the love triangle into a polyamorous relationship. And the 2 stars is honestly all me, but I just cannot stand reading from second person POV. I find it very uncomfortable to read and very pretentious, and it's almost never done well. Seriously, the only time I liked it was in The Night Circus. So it's really all me, but yeah, I didn't like this.
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Sara Farizan - My Best Friend's Girl ("Best Friend's Girlfriend") 3/5

Another sapphic story, and another superhero story! Unfortunately, this one fell kind of flat for me. It was very much okay but it didn't make much of an impact. Aside from that, I felt like we got to know the main character's best friend better than his girlfriend, which made it kind of hard to become invested in the romance.
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Claire Kann - (Fairy)Like Attracts Like ("Mutual Pining") 3/5

Another sapphic story, this time about a fat Black fairy who works at a summercamp for fairies. I found the set-up for this story to be really fun, but unfortunately I didn't quite feel the pining - it all felt a little underdeveloped.
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Lilliam Rivera - These Strings ("Sibling's Hot Best Friend") 3/5

Again, I really liked the set-up of the story - this time of a Latinx puppeteering family. I'm really not a fan of brothers (physically) fighting their sister's (potential) boyfriends, though. I find it really possessive and condescending, as if they own her and she can't make up her own mind. So that made me enjoy this story a lot less.
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Laura Silverman - The Passover Date ("Fake Dating") 4/5

This m/f story is about a Jewish family celebrating Seder. Rachel is fed up with her family always trying to push her into a romantic relationship and asking her why she hasn't brought a date, so she comes up with the only viable solution known to romance stories: FAKE DATING. This happens to be one of my favourite tropes and this was such a cute story!
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Rebecca Barrow - Bloom ("Love Transcends Space Time") 5/5

I don't even really know what to say about this story, other than that it was perfection and my heart is full. It's about grief, and trying to get back what you lost only to find something else in the process. It has cottagecore vibes, there's time travel, it's sapphic, it was just so good!
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Gloria Chao - Teed Up ("Oblivious to Lovers") 2/5

This story was very much okay - it's about a Taiwanese-American girl who's a female golf player in a male-dominated and very sexist field - but it just didn't do much for me. It honestly bored me a little and I kept finding myself zoning out. It also seemed quite convenient that she falls in love with the one guy who's nice to her, the bar is just so low. I just didn't see the appeal, I guess. I also didn't really see much of the trope, personally.
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Mason Deaver - Boys Noise ("Only One Bed at the Inn") 4/5

After If This Gets Out, I've been really craving more boyband romances, so this was a really great story! It wasn't quite 5 stars for me as I found that all the issues were glossed over too quickly and I found the writing style somewhat lacking at times, but despite that, I still really enjoyed this.
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Malinda Lo - Girls Just Want to Have Fun ("Secret Royalty") 3/5

This story was off to a rocky start for me, and overall, the writing style didn't quite work for me. I did however think this was a really cute story that used the trope very well! I especially liked the sci-fi setting.
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Rebecca Podos - Disaster ("Second Chance Romance") 3/5

I did really like the melancholical atmosphere of this story. It was again a sapphic story, set in summer, and, like the trope said, with a second chance romance. I really like a second chance romance, but my issue here was that I didn't like the main character very much, so I had a hard time rooting for the romance.

This book has a lot of very short love stories. They’re more like love moments really. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly when I saw all the authors, but I didn’t love how short all the stories were. Not enough time to connect with the characters, you know? On the plus side, this was a very quick read, and a lot of the stories were fun and adorable. If you are a fan of short one-shots, you’ll probably like this.

Thank you to the publishers and authors and to NetGalley for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

A perfect summer read, filled with all the trope-y (in a good way) romantic fluff you'll ever need, this book is absolutely adorable. No blurb necessary on this one, because it's simply an anthology (collection of short stories) tied together under the premise of subverting or exploring common romance tropes. AND. It's so, so queer, and diverse, and isn't that just the best thing ever? More than anything I love seeing diverse authors here, not just diverse characters. Inclusion beyond the page in publishing and writing is so critical, so props to Running Press Kids.

Anthologies and short stories aren't quite my thing; I prefer many pages to get to know characters and worlds with a lot of depth. Perhaps as a result, and due to the lack of continuity between sections, I didn't speed though this book like I might a different one. But I still give this anthology a solid 3.5 stars. I can't say that this book will live long in my memory—but I did thoroughly enjoy reading it, and though I liked some of the stories more than others, I overall had a lovely time.

I'm thinking I'll go through each short story, detail its trope, and give some brief thoughts to finish out this review. Here goes! As always, any spoilers (though I keep them to a minimum) will be blocked out.

Silver and Gold, by Natasha Ngan: snowed in together
Right away I could tell that this fantasy-esque mushing race was Natasha's work—the prose was excellent, the characters were compelling, and the world—even though it spans only a few pages!—was exciting and fantastical. I love this trope, and I love Ru's character. A great introduction to the book, and one of my favorite stories!

Five Stars, by Amy Spalding: mistaken identity
This story was cute! Filled with (cute, not secondhand-embarrassment-level) awkwardness when a girl is mistaken for an uber driver. Not my favorite within the book, but nice.

Unfortunately, Blobs do not Eat Snacks: kissing under the influence, academic rivalry
This story was a sort of victorian(?)-era fantasy that reminded me of Sorcery of Thorns a bit in its setting and vibe. Two aspiring magicians are tasked to work together as partners for their final examination, and things go a bit wrong. I don't think the kissing under the influence quite fits here, as it's certainly not the highlight of the story, but this one is still cute. I loved how the writing style fit the era and genre.

Edges, by Ashley Herring Blake: the grumpy one and the soft one
I LOVE this trope, and although Edges didn't quite deliver enough of the grumpy-and-soft dynamic for my liking, I still very much enjoyed it. Great commentary on how one may be perceived by others while bisexual and out.

What Makes Us Heroes, by Julian Winters: hero vs. villain
Oh, I do love a smirker, and Kyan is definitely a smirker. I loved the setting of this story in an Incredibles-esque modern world with superheroes tasked to address the world's problems. Loved thinking about what it means to be a hero in today's political climate though the lens of this story.

And, by Hannah Moskowitz: love triangle
This one wasn't my favorite. I think because the tone and writing style didn't quite land for me, and as a result, I guess I couldn't quite take the characters and their conflict seriously—and the ending felt awfully convenient. Things happened to the characters in the resolution, who were quite passive, and that's not the best storytelling.

My Best Friend's Girl, by Sara Farizan: best friend's girlfriend
This one was enjoyable! More superheroes, which aren't usually my thing, but it works here. I was uncertain about the best friend's girlfriend beat, but I ended up liking this short.

(Fairy)like Attracts Like, by Claire Kann: mutual pining
I love this trope, and I loved this story! So creative and sweet, with a twist I didn't see coming until the end. There are lots of subtle touches in the dialogue that really give this couple something special. And again—I love a smirker, and Glory's a smirker.

These Strings, by Lilliam Rivera: sibling's hot best friend
The prose in this story really did not appeal to me—it felt clumsily done, and rather generic. Sort of fanfiction-y, which I wouldn't want to see in a published book, and I think it and the plot's simplicity caused the rest of the story and characters to fall flat. I also really don't like the possessive-brother beat. And, ultimately, there was no real tension—it all resolved too quickly and easily to feel meaningful.

The Passover Date, by Laura Silverman: fake dating
This was one of my favorites! It was too sweet and touched on some nice themes such as old friendships, worth within a family, and more. I loved reading about Passover, too. The ship in this one makes my heart happy.

Bloom, by Rebecca Barrow: love transcends time
Immediately I loved the premise of this story, as well as how beautifully it's written. Very well done, and so imaginative, so lush—although I think for love that transcends time, I should have been more invested in the romance.

Teed up, by Gloria Chao: oblivious (strangers) to lovers
One of my favorites, by far! This one brought tears to my eyes at the end. It was just so perfect in every way—and I don't even like golf! Very fitting time to read about these themes of modern athleticism, particularly with the discourse around the Olympics. Lovely. Squealed at the happy ending.

Boys Noise, by Mason Deaver: only onE BED AT THE INN AHHH
Ahh, boybands. Gotta love 'em, and I definitely enjoyed this story. It didn't get quite as one-bed-at-the-inn as I hoped, but there was romantic tension, and culmination in a perfect kiss. Lots of fun!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun, by Malinda Lo: secret royalty
This short was so creative! Space princesses? Count me in. I had major Cinder vibes with this one, and I loved it. Mechanic and princess run free and wild in an intergalactic space station. I wanted noodles after reading this one—very enjoyable!

Disaster, by Rebecca Podos: second chance romance
Aww, this one was just sweet. As sweet as a story can be when it's centered around the end of the world, of course. I love seeing a couple work out their differences, and it was a fresh change for this anthology that the romance had once existed and failed.

Overall, this was a great and fun summer read filled with romance and representation. Well done. I would recommend it to young romance fans!

Fools in Love is a nice compilation with such a wonderful array of representation and I really love the use of prompts, but despite knowing and loving a fair few of the authors involved previous works, I was disappointed. A lot of these didn't live up to expectations.

Silver and Gold by Natasha Ngan / 3 stars

Five Stars by Amy Spalding / 3 stars

Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks by Rebecca Kim Wells / 2 stars

Edges by Ashley Herring Blake / 4 stars

What Makes Us Heroes by Julian Winters / 4 stars

And by Hannah Moskowitz / 3.5 stars

My Best Friend's Girl by Sara Farizan / 2 stars

(Fairy)Like Attracts Like by Claire Kann / 1 star

These Strings by Lilliam Rivera / 2 stars

The Passover Date by Laura Silverman / 4 stars

Bloom by Rebecca Barrow / 2 stars

Teed Up by Gloria Chao / 3 stars

Boys Noise by Mason Deaver / 4.5 stars

Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Malinda Lo / 3 stars

Disaster by Rebecca Podos / 3.5 stars

I am a lover of romance books, my beginning years of reading all I read were romance or rom com books.
This book is a compilations of short romance stories, sadly I was not able to bring myself to finish it. Some of their stories are actually good, very entertaining but some of them felt like it was just one of the ending chapters of an exciting book, is like they took the resolution chapters of one of their work and put them into Fools in Love, and this is what happened (in my opinion) in the first chapter/story. Like I said there are some good stories that are very entertaining, but it just didn't grave me enough for me to enjoy it more. Though thanks to this book I have discovered that I don't necessary love compilations of love stories and that instead I prefer a whole book about a story, because what I enjoy the most about romance book is being able to connect with the characters and feel like that love story is happening to me, which this failed to do, but I don't blame it, at the end of the day they are short stories.

A delightful collection of stories highlighting the diversity of love.
As is usually the case with collections I enjoyed some stories more than others. Some I loved and could of happily have read feature length books about their characters whilst others I struggled through or even had to skip ahead. Luckily these were rare as most were very enjoyable.
The first two stories in the collection - “Snowed in together” & “Mistaken identity” we’re both fine but I felt they were abit of a weaker start to the collection. It wasn’t until the 3rd title “Kissing under the influence” a magical academy inspired story that I really became invested in the collection. I personally felt this would of been a much stronger title to start with, equal parts Funny, sweet & intriguing enough that I actually wish it was longer.
My absolute favourite of the collection was “Hero vs Villian” which had major Renegades vibes which I adored. I was invested in the developing love story of the two protagonists and again could of quote happily have read a feature length story featuring them.
The most surprising story out of the collection was “Love Triangle” by Hannah Moskowitz. The selling point of this collection was exploring alternative relationships and I was pleasantly surprised to find this story centered around a Polyamerous relationship. I feel this is not a type of relationship often featured in literature especially YA so I respected the collection & author for featuring it.
I would of liked to have seen some Ace representation but otherwise this was a very sweet light read.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC. I really appreciated this cute collection of short stories about love. Some were more extremely heartfelt than others but this wasn’t too bad.