An average anthology where there a few hits but most are average. I like the representation and range of genres and tropes, but there were only two I really enjoyed and had to dnf several. This will probably be the last anthology I try to read because I always struggle with them

Lovely read! All the short stories had a different feeling but all of them had someone stupiditly in love with someone else, also all the representation was so diverse and cute! Loved how we also got lots of genres, we had contemporary , fantasy, adventure...And the best part is that it gave me a taste of some authors I've never read anything by them and now I'm definitely going to check it out!

Fools In Love is a romantic anthology with short 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. The anthology is also edited by Ashley Herring Blake and Rebecca Podos.

This is a very unique collection of stories that features many different favorite romance tropes. It’s a very quick read.

This is a great offering for the LGBTQIA+ young adult community that didn’t exist when I was a kid. It’s good for teens to see themselves in books, especially romances, & know that it’s beautiful & ok. I enjoyed being able to hop from story to story.

What a fun compilation!

Fifteen unique stories all centered around love. This is a great casual read. Something you can pick up at random and fall into. I actually read it in a random order based off the titles, I found it made the experience so much fun as you don’t know what you’re going to dive into.

Obviously, not every story resonated with me. The first one for example, I felt needed a lot more exposition. A lot of them felt me wanting for more. But otherwise this is a great collection of short stories.

My favorite was “the Grumpy One and the Soft One” by Ashley Herring Blake. I could hear an entire book just on those two characters.

Thank you to Netgally for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVE love and anthologies and so many of these author's beautiful stories! It might be my favorite anthology since Hungry Hearts. I can't wait to display and share this title with our patrons!

This was an interesting collection of LGBTQIA YA short stories that felt like such a creative endeavor. I enjoyed that the stories were diverse - both in content and representation of characters. It was also nice that the stories were not just one scene, so you actually got context for the narrative you were jumping into.

My favorite stories were “Edges” and “What Heroes Make.”

I felt like the writing was consistently pretty good, which is not always the case with anthologies.

The stories were cute overall. It was interesting to read them from the perspective of an adult and to think about how would’ve appreciated the diversity in them as a young adult.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital arc of Fools In Love!

When I saw Fools In Love available on Netgalley, I jumped on my chance to get an arc. I’ve been so excited to read Mason and Julian’s stories since this book was first announced. But sadly, as a whole this book didn’t live up to my expectations.

Pitched as fresh takes on classic romance tropes, Fools In Love was just an okay read in my opinion. There are definitely some gems (such as Mason and Julian’s stories and a handful of others), and almost all the stories are queer or otherwise diverse (sooo many sapphic stories in here it was great). But, that being said, I just didn’t have as much fun with these stories and characters as I had hoped. It almost felt like the tropes, which in my opinion should have been front and center and played up, were pushed to the side in favor of a plot too convoluted for a short story.

Regardless of my personal opinion though, I’d still recommend this book to anyone that’s looking for a couple fun stories (mostly) about queer kids falling in love in different silly ways (seriously there’s some weird ones in here like a story that revolves around a family’s puppet business), as well as to anyone who wants to support these authors!

Fools in Love is a sweet and fun new collection for lovers of YA and romance. Collecting some of YA's most popular authors, Fools in Love will leave readers head over heels for these stories.

3.5!

I loved this anthology of twists on some of my favorite romance tropes and I adored the amount of LGBTQ+ rep in these pages. It didn't feel thrown in to meet a requirement because more than half the stories had queer MCs! The book also had Fat MCs, Jewish MCs, Black MCs, Latinx MCs, Asian
MCs. There's tons of rep here that I absolutely adored and I loved getting to read them all together here in one book.

When I picked this up, I decided to read it in order of which tropes I enjoy the most but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed some of the stories with tropes I wasn't looking forward to. The love triangle one almost broke me it was so good and I would pay good money for an entire book about those characters.

These stories are also full of magic, space, time travel, monsters, disasters, superheroes and some just plain old contemporary settings for romance. It felt like reading fanfiction in the best way.

Some of these were a little too cheesy or overdone for me to handle but I often reminded myself that they're YA stories and young adults have a lot of big feelings (same tbh I can't imagine outgrowing them lol)! I think the demographic this book is intended for will love it, but I still think older readers will enjoy it as well.

My ratings of each story:
- Silver and Gold by Natasha Ngan: 4/5
- Five Stars by Amy Spalding: 2/5
- Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks by Rebecca Kim Wells: 4/5
- Edges by Ashley Herring Blake: 3.5/5
- What Makes Us Heroes by Julian Winters: 2/5
- And by Hannah Moskowitz: 5/5
- My Best Friend’s Girl by Sara Farizan: 3/5
- (Fairy)Like Attracts Like by Claire Kann: 3/5
- These Strings by William Rivera: 1/5
- The Passover Date by Laura Silverman: 4/5
- Bloom by Rebecca Barrow: 4/5
- Teed Up by Gloria Chao: 3.5/5
- Boys Noise by Mason Deaver: 2/5
- Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Malinda Lo: 2/5
- Disaster by Rebecca Podos: 3/5

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an arc of this book!


This anthology has twists on romance tropes! Each story is a different trope, and let me tell you, these are wonderful! This might be one of my favorite anthologies ever. Each story is unique, diverse, and interesting. I loved every single one of them!

My favorite story in this collection is the one by Mason Deaver! They did such a fantastic job and I absolutely loved it.

Pub Date: 12/7/21

I really liked this book. I’m getting more and more into short stories and anthologies. I think my favorite was Gloria Chao’s take on oblivious of lovers and Lillian Rivera’s take on fake dating. I was really glad to get a look at some more of these authors works and hope to eventually check out more of the work(s) by some of these authors.

I love tropes. Inject them into me. I love almost all of them. So imagine my excitement of about a YA anthology covering the tropes.

Usually, when I read anthologies, I have that yearning for these to be turned into longer pieces, thus defeating the whole purpose of an anthology of short stories. Interestingly enough, I didn’t feel that with this anthology. I thought that each story was a perfectly contained text. When each one ended, I was satisfied with where the story left off.

As is the case with anthologies, some of these spoke to me more than others. I’m not big into Sci-Fi/Fantasy so I had a tough time with those. But the contemporary ones I found to be delightful.

There are some heavy hitters here in terms of contributors and I found myself loving the stories by the authors who I gravitate towards anyway (Julian Winters and Mason Deaver).

At the end of the day, I felt a little all over the place with this anthology. I’m happy I read it but the stories that didn’t do it for me seemed to be more frequent than the stories that did.

But that’s the rub with an anthology, isn’t it? You’re never going to love all the stories.

3.5 stars rounded up.

it's a collection of short stories , that I thought might be a change from reading a novel but I didn't like them. I wasn't fully interested in the stories and I did not quite enjoy myself.

I love a good romance trope, I can’t lie. When I first saw this book available on NetGalley, I instantly requested it. It turned out to be nothing like I expected, but not in a bad way.

Fools in Love is incredibly, containing stories with a diverse set of main characters. While I loved that aspect of it and recognize that this book is going to be well-loved by many, it wasn’t for me. It feels very much like something I would have loved in late middle school/early high school, though. So… you know who YA was actually written for 😂

From a writing aspect, these stories also didn’t feel too different from each other. I was looking forward to different writing styles, but this felt very much like one author the whole time. It makes it cohesive, but you do lose a lot of the beauty of featuring multiple authors.

Overall, I still would recommend this to a younger audience!

Thank you to the publisher (and NetGalley) for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Great collection, loved the queer representation, but did make me realize I am not a short story person unless it’s litfit. Love the authors!

Fools in Love is a short story compilation focusing on teen LGBTQIAP romances, contemporary, fantasy, and science fiction. Each story is separate with no connections to other stories in the anthology. Some are better than others, as one could assume - but overall it was an enjoyable time reading these stories by some amazing authors.

I definitely suggest this for those readers who need more LGBTQIAP in their lives and adore simple, romance tropes. As with most short stories, they are... short, so don't expect fully defined plots and huge character growth - these are short, fun, and include other levels of diversity as well. One of my favorites included was a story featuring Jewish MCs.

**Thank you to Running Press Kids and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review**

Thanks to Netgalley and Perseus Books for the ARC of this! All thoughts and opinions are my own :)

I am obsessed with Ashley Herring Blake, so when I saw that she was the editor on this anthology I requested it right away! I’m so glad I did, because all the stories were adorable. So many were great, but my absolute favorites were: Boys Noise by Mason Deaver, Disaster by Rebecca Podos, and The Passover Date by Laura Silverman. The only story I didn’t like was written in second person, and I just don’t enjoy that as a reader, the characters and plot were interesting, and had my brain not been yelling “I’ve never done that, that’s not me!” every time it said you, I probably would’ve enjoyed it. I can never decide with second person if it’s meant to be drawing me in and making it relatable or whether I’m supposed to read it as if there’s a narrator speaking to one main character, but I just don’t like it.

I really enjoyed that there was so much diversity, in the genres, settings, and characters. Definitely recommend this for fans of any of the included authors, fluffy queer YA lovers, and people who enjoyed the All Out anthology.

This collection of short stories was delightful! Full of diverse characters, the stories include tons of LGBTQ+ and POC rep from a bunch of Own Voices authors. I had read some of these authors before, but most of them were brand new to me and I will definitely be checking out more of their stuff! Each story follows a certain trope often found in the romance genre, but they range from contemporary to fantasy to science fiction and more. There were a few stories that I would have wanted to see turned into fully fleshed out novels as the ideas were so fresh and exciting. I recommend to anyone who wants to curl up with a collection of sweet, light, diverse stories!

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fools in love is a collection of short stories featuring 15 different authors. It features some typical and famous love tropes with a lot of amazing representations! Overall loved the idea and I have my expectations for some of the authors! This is perfect for lovers of LGBTQ+ romance and comes with a variety of genres! We have fantasy, magical stories, contemporary ones and more!

Let’s see about each story individually!

Silver and Gold by Natasha Ngan – 4.5 stars
Lesbian and Bi Reps
This was nothing like what I was expecting, although I should have know that something wild would come from Natasha Ngan! This is a story set in an impossible competition of wolf-sledging. It was definitely unexpected and I loved how much the story was built in so less time. I can’t help but want more of those characters and would definitely read a full novel like this! Great start!

Five Stars by Amy Spalding – 4 stars
Lesbian Reps + Anxiety Rep
This was more on the line of what I was expecting of a Romance Anthology. It was sweet and fun to read and I was completely engaged in the romance! This is much like an unexpected Uber Ride experience! It was quite simple but it definitely gave me all the right feels.

Unfortunately, blobs do not eat snacks by Rebecca Kim Wells – 3 stars
Lesbian Reps
This is a one-sided enemies to lovers story with some magic and fantasy elements. I would have liked it a bit longer and had some more insight of the world since we are thrown into the middle of it all. It was interesting and I would read more about the magic in this world. The two characters are in a final exam to graduate from their magical school but things don’t go as linear as they thought it was going to be and they end up having to save a city instead.

Edges by Ashley Herring Blake – 3 stars
Bi and Lesbian Reps
This was a cute school romance with two very different characters and a lot of misunderstandings. One of our mc is afraid of being hurt and alone. She closes herself by saying that others didn’t even really want to be with her, while she is the one putting up walls and not others. I could definitely identify with that… I found it definitely cute but nothing really special.

What makes us heroes by Julian Winters – 3.5 stars
POC mc + Bi and Gay Reps
This is a super hero story with some cool super powers and an enemies to lovers story. It also talks about how one shouldn’t be defined by what their parents are or aren’t and that you should be with someone you love and not just because it would be best. I found it really cute and it definitely gave me all the cute feels!

And by Hannah Moskowitz – 2 stars
Bi and Polyamory Reps
This is a romance featuring a love triangle, which is incredibly common to see, but in this one we have also some polyamory reps, which made it more unique. I wasn’t a fan of the story however. I get the concept and it would have been fine, if only I actually had cared for any of the characters? It was all way too fast and I by the end was just not invested in it.

My best friend’s girl by Sara Farizan – 3 stars
Bi and Lesbian Reps + Persian and Chinese American Reps
This is a cute love triangle set in high school with some superhero elements. It was quite cute and I really liked how much friendship it had in it too! Loved their relationship and how much it meant to them.

(Fairy)like attracts like by Claire Kann – 4 stars
POC mc and Lesbians Reps + Plus-size Rep
This is a story set in a camp where they work with kids (kinda like a summer camp for two days?), reenacting different types of fairies. Our mc tho has some fairy qualities herself, like not being able to lie, which makes it a lot more difficult when she is paired with her crush! This was really cute and it definitely surprised me at the end!

These strings by William Rivera – 5 stars
Latinx Rep
This story is all about puppets and family traditions! I really enjoyed this one. It gave me all the feels, it was subtle and it was fun! I loved that even tho sometimes is difficult to step up to family, our mc was willing to follow her dreams. Also, I love puppet stories so, this was a win for me!

The passover date by Laura Silverman – 4 stars
Jewish Rep
This is about a Passover Seder date family tradition. Our mc keeps on not bringing a date for the past years. This is the first year she manages to bring someone so naturally that’s a big thing! I really liked the tradition in the book, especially done like our mcs family! And the romance was super cute and simple! Lovely passover cheddar. If you know, you know! 😛

Bloom by Rebecca Barrow – 5 stars
POC mc and Lesbian Rep
This story is about time. And how to wield it. I don’t want to give more than that because this was a gorgeous story and I think it’s just best if it surprises you. I loved how tender and beautiful it was written and I loved how strong the romance was, I could just feel it you know? Loved it.

Teed up by Gloria Chao – 4 stars
Taiwanese American Rep
This is about a girl being on a so called “boys world” – golf. How difficult it is for her to be accepted just for being a girl. Everyone either says bad things behind her back or wants to get close for the wrong motives, until Liam. Liam changes everything and it’s beautiful! Loved seeing her finding herself and her love for golf. Super cute even if I know nothing about golf!

Boys noise by Mason Deaver – 3 stars
Trans Gay Rep
This is about two boys in a boy band called Boys Noise. Dealing with all the downsides of being in a boy band that has a lot of rules for both their protection and for the desired outcome from the public, they decide to run away for a day or so to New York for one of the boys’ birthday. Their relationship developed really slowly and nicely and it was quite cute to read about!

Girls just want to have fun by Malinda Lo – 3 stars
Lesbian Rep + Chinese” Rep
This is about a princess that ends up falling in love with a normal girl during a night. It’s very sci-fi and the story is really cute and inventive. There’s a lot about the world and it seems really interesting. Reminds me of a contemporary Cinder.

Disaster by Rebecca Podos – 3.5 stars
Jewish Lesbian Rep + Bi Rep
End-of-the-world romance to end the anthology! This was a really cute romance full of misunderstandings that lead to the perfect ending. It’s a second chance romance and I couldn’t root more for the happy ending!
Overall this was a really cute collection of very diverse stories. My favs have to be: Silver and Gold, These Strings and Bloom!

If you are into romances and all things queer and diverse, this will be perfect for you!