A book full of cute stories, which I enjoyed reading for the most part. Like most of these sort of books there where one or two I didn't enjoy just out of personal taste. But all in all its a great read.

I liked this anthology of short stories. I found the romances fun and different. I think this is a good anthology of romance for anyone who finds themselves in-between serious reads and/or in a book slump.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I don't know which of these stories I loved the most! I love so many of these authors including Deaver, Chao, Winters and Barrow. The others are all fantastic new discoveries I'm excited to look into the backlist of!

This book was very cute! I thought each of the short stories were very fun to read and I loved that it was all short stories. Each of the short stories were so sweet and I definitely cant pick a favorite. I have always been romance trope fan so it was fun to read these reimaginings.

My favorite thing about anthologies is that they’re such great reads if you find yourself in a reading slump, or if you’re unsure of what kind of story you’re in the mood for. Fools In Love: Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales is a very entertaining collection of stories focused on bringing new light to some beloved romance tropes, such as: fake dating, there’s only one bed, love triangles and second chance romance. This anthology also has something for everyone in that not all of the stories are of the contemporary genre. There’s fantasy, sci-fi, and time travel among the contemporary stories and I really loved that there were variations in the story genres.

I won’t lie, before I started reading I was a bit worried that the majority of the stories would center around cis-gendered, straight, white couples. While there is nothing wrong with those stories, these tropes have been told time and time again from that lens and the genre could use a revamp. I was so pleased to find out, upon finishing the anthology, that only two of the fifteen stories were about cis-gender, straight couples – and only one of those couples had two white protagonists. The stories in this collection really focused on characters of color, as well as LGBTQ characters and couples, and which I found very refreshing.

I thought all of the stories were well written, and there were lots of interesting and creative ideas! There were many that I enjoyed, but my favorites were: Five Stars (Mistaken Identity) by Amy Spalding, What Makes us Heroes (Hero vs. Villain) by Julian Winters, (Fairy)Like Attracts Like (Mutual Pining) by Claire Kann, The Passover Date (Fake Dating) by Laura Silverman, Teed Up (Oblivious to Lovers) by Gloria Chao and Boys Noise (Only One Bed at the Inn) by Mason Deaver. Each story had well developed characters, a compelling storyline, and left me curious to know what happened next in the story. I also thought that Bloom (Love Transcends Space & Time) by Rebecca Barrow was one of the most interesting stories.

Fools In Love: Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales really did live up to its title by bringing new takes to tropes that we all know and love. If you’re a fan of romance stories, I would definitely recommend it!

This was a cute little selection of romantic short stories. Each story follows a different popular romance trope like one bed, enemies to lovers, fake dating, etc. The diversity of these stories was so amazing. The LGBTQ+ and racial rep was perfection. There were many different genres so it's not solely contemporary and there is a little bit of everything here so that every reader can find something to enjoy.
The authors all did an amazing job with allowing the reader to connect with the characters so early on. I loved reading everyones stories.

This collection of "retold-romances" was such a fun read! I loved the diversity and representation across the various stories. The Passover date was one of my favorites.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book for this honest review!
I LOVED this book! Each of the stories was fun and quick to get through, with memorable characters and quirky plots! There are super heroes, end of the world scenarios, deadly races, to just ordinary days in people’s lives. It was so much fun to read! A bunch of cute, queer love stories. Each story follow a popular trope, such as "hero vs. villain", "fake dating" or "snowed in together", and the settings are super diverse : fantasy words, science fiction or regular high-schoolers.
The diversity of genre and plot means that everyone can find a story that speaks to them. It's also a great way to discover several authors.

My favourites was girls just want to have fun, What Makes Us Heroes and Edges! But every single story in this book is worth reading! I will be buying this book when it gets published!

Saw it was Ashley Herring Blake and I knew I had to request this. Lots of cute and quick romance stories. Didn't realize there were so many supernatural or superhero stories in this collection, but that is probably on me.

This was so darn cute !! 🥰

This is a collection of short love stories, we get it all, from enemies to lovers, love triangles, in love with the best friend, and missed love, I loved them all 💕

And LOOOOOVE the queer representation, really really loved it and enjoyed it and it was just so cute and it made my heart melt.

I do have some favourite stories, that I really really enjoyed, a few of them are :

Five stars by Amy Spalding.
What makes us heroes by Julian winters.
My best friends girl bu Sara farizan.
The Passover date by Rebecca barrow.
Girls just want to have fun bu Malinda lo.

It’s perfect for romance lovers, young adult lovers, LGBTQ+ lovers and just lovers of love in general.

Some stories have the typical romance trope and some have a bit of fantasy sprinkles thrown in them. And like I said before, I just loved it.

A collection of short stories about love. I found some of them to be good and others just bad. Most the writing was okay, nothing great. The editing could have been better as well as the stories,

This book is a great read for young adults and teens. Especially for those who may be a part of the lgbtqia+ community, with a wide range of representation being included across the different short stories in this collection. The collection also features elements of many different genres from superheroes to wizards or just a regular everyday scenario. This collection is sure to feature at least a few short stories for someone to enjoy, that being said some stories were not my favorite and fell flat in comparison to the storytelling of others. But, I enjoyed many of the featured pieces making this read a solid 4/5 stars!

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing me with a free e-book copy of this book. This does not influence my opinion in any way.

Fools in love is an anthology all about love. There are several short stories featuring LGBTQ+ relationships in different genres from contemporary to Sci-Fi.
This is a great read for someone who craves sweet stories with lots of tropes (enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, one-bed...).
It's a pretty fast-paced read and can be perfectly used as a palette cleanser or as a quick summer read.


Sadly, I didn't enjoy every story. Most of the stories felt a little rushed or had a writing style that didn't feel quite right for their genre.
Nevertheless, I found some stories I enjoyed and wished they were a book on its own.

My favorite were "Hero vs. Villain", "Fake dating" and "Secret Royalty". Overall I would say that even though it wasn't my favorite read of this year, many readers will find a story in here to their liking and the representation is great.

This really didn't work for me. It'll be great for a lot of other people. But I had a difficult time connecting to any of the MC or the love interests. I didn't see anything new or recognize any 'fresh twists'.

I wanted to love this collection. I used to devour 'one-shots' on fictionpress a decade or so ago like I would die if I didn't. But none of these held my attention like those stories used to. And it's a shame.

Too many of the stories were too focused on info-dumps of the scenes and of things. Short stories for me need to be character driven and too many times we got a lot of background information that wasn't relevant to the setting.

A lot of these stories also fall in to the 'love at first sight' trope which I'm not much of a fan of. The stories I liked the most were the one where the characters knew each other and had either build a briendship or had enough time to actually get to know one another.

Unfortuantely there wasn't anything happening on the page that made me want to keep reading. I found myself skimming large paragraphs looking for the character interaction and avoiding the long (and boring) backstories and info-dumps of scenery or buildings.

There is a lot going on. Plenty of genres and themes and tropes. So you're likely to find something that you enjoy. I did like 3 or so of the stories but nothing I would insist others read.

So, overall, it was fine, but if you want to read about time-travelling lovers, or women in sports, or the end of the world final lovers confessions, go to fictionpress and read it for free.

Thank you to Running Press and NetGalley for providing me a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first time reading an anthology, and while I probably won't purchase any physical copies, it was really fun to read short stories from some of my favorite authors, as well as get a taste of some authors I've heard of but haven't read yet.

The theme of this anthology was romance (obviously), with each story putting a spin on classic romance tropes. It focuses primarily on LGBTQ+ romance, with just a few cishet couples mixed in. Some of my favorite tropes are in here, including soft/grumpy and fake dating, so I was pretty excited for those.

I reviewed each story in here individually as I read. Here are my thoughts on all of them...

———

Silver and Gold by Natasha Ngan — the "Snowed in Together" trope.

★★★☆☆

Summary: In a high-stakes sled race, Mila gets trapped in a blizzard and attacked by a mythical creature, only to be saved by the girl who had kissed her the previous year and ran.

This first story is action-packed and sweet but I couldn't really get behind the romantic plotline. There's didn't seem to be much evidence that Ru had loved Mila all along, like she said she did. Nevertheless, it had a unique premise and a lovely ending.

———

Five Stars by Amy Spalding — the "Mistaken Identity" trope.

★★★★★

Summary: When Krista's school crush Audrey accidentally climbs into her car thinking she's an Uber driver, she decides to play the role and finds herself driving her to her destination anyways.

This story is hilarious and delightful. It's a carjacking turned kidnapping turned awkward rideshare turned meet cute. I was laughing and smiling pretty much the whole time.

———

Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks by Rebecca Kim Wells — the "Kissing Under the Influence" trope.

★★★★★

Summary: Two teen mages, Tess and Davina, are sent off to a nearby town as part of their magic academy's final exam... only to find out that much darker magic is at play.

Oh, this one definitely needs to be a whole book. Mystery, magic, and sapphic romance. I'm obsessed! I'd love a chance to explore this world of magic more extensively.

———

Edges by Ashley Herring Blake — the "Grumpy One and Soft One" trope.

★★★★☆

Summary: Mac is an art tutor for popular girl Clover, and though they've been getting closer and closer with each session, Mac doesn't know how to confess her feelings.

I'm a particular fan of this trope, so I really enjoyed this story. It's light and funny at times while still packing in a lot of character development.

———

What Makes Us Heroes by Julian Winters — the "Hero vs. Villain" trope.

★★★★☆

Summary: Shai, a superhero with the ice powers, is getting ready to win back his ex, when old-friend-turned-villain Kyan walks into the coffee shop instead.

This story was my first time reading Julian Winters, and all the wonderful things I've heard about him were confirmed. His writing is delightful and rich with humor. I'll have to look into finally getting my hands on his other books.

———

And by Hannah Moskowitz — the "Love Triangle" trope.

★★★★★

Summary: You are at a party with your boyfriend Billy when he introduces you to Enzo, a boy who kicks up feelings in your chest immediately, for reasons you're unsure of.

This was both my first time reading a second person story as well as my first time reading polyamorous romance, and it was so so good. Poetic and thoughtful and sweet. I am in love with Enzo.

———

My Best Friend's Girl by Sara Farizan — the "Best Friend's Girlfriend" trope.

★★★★☆

Summary: Teen superhero Hal is with regular schoolgirl Clara, and whenever duty calls, his best friend Alia covers for him. As he begins to disappear more and more frequently to save the town, Clara and Alia grow closer.

I always feel kind of weird reading stories with tropes like this, but this queasiness was overridden by how cute and sapphic it was. I wish we'd gotten to see more of Hal's superhero-ing.

———

(Fairy)Like Attracts Like by Claire Kann — the "Mutual Pining" trope.

★★☆☆☆

Summary: Nia works with Glory at a fairy-roleplaying sleepaway camp for children. Afraid of accidentally confessing her feelings because of an honesty curse put on her at birth, she has been avoiding Glory at all costs — that is, until they are paired together in the same cabin.

I could not get behind this love story hardly at all, unfortunately. I was way too confused about whether the main characters were actual fairies or not, and how Nia's curse fit into the plot. The end was cute, but not enough to save it.

———

These Strings by Lilliam Rivera — the "Sibling's Hot Best Friend" trope.

★★★★☆

Summary: Lili feels suffocated as her parents continue to brush off her desires to be the showrunner of her family's puppeteering business. The only person who feels like a breath of fresh air is Oscar, her brother's best friend.

I loved the way this story was written and how unique its plot was. Lili is a beautiful narrator. I was rooting for her almost immediately.

———

The Passover Date by Laura Silverman — the "Fake Dating" trope.

★★★★★

Summary: Rachel's in dire need of a date for her family's Passover Seder, an old-fashioned tradition which she's failed to participate in for the past six years. In order to prove to everyone she won't be alone forever, she asks Matthew, an old friend, to fake date her for the evening.

This story is perfect. I love Laura Silverman to the moon and back, and she's crafted a delightful and funny little tale here. I definitely need an entire fake dating book from her.

———

Bloom by Rebecca Barrow — the "Love Transcends Spacetime" trope.

★★★★★

Summary: Mera travels back in time to kill the man who murdered her mother, only to find a girl her age, Delphine, in the house he's supposed to be at.

This story was absolutely gorgeous and so poetic. The world is well-established, the romance is perfect, and the ending is a tear-jerker. This is the longest story in the anthology, around 30 pages, but it never felt that way. I was in love with it immediately.

———

Teed Up by Gloria Chao — the "Oblivious to Lovers" trope.

★★★★★

Summary: Sunny Chang is a golf wunderkind and the only woman competing in the US Junior Amateur. When a (tremendously cute) fellow contestant named Liam tries to get to know her, she has to figure out if he wants to get in her head like the rest of the men, or if he's truly rooting for her.

I was so enthralled with this story. I squealed and clapped when the two lovers kissed, a huge smile on my face, and I couldn't help but cheer whenever Sunny hit a good ball or had the lowest score. This one is definitely one of my top favorites.

———

Boys Noise by Mason Deaver — the "Only One Bed" trope.

★★★★★

Summary: Lev and Felix, two members of the megafamous boy band Boys Noise, take off on a weekend trip to New York for Lev's birthday. As the hours tick down, Lev struggles with his longtime crush on Felix and wonders if anything about this is platonic.

I absolutely adore Mason Deaver's work, and this story is no different. It's wholesome and sweet and beautiful. It should be noted that the whole "only one bed" thing doesn't really play a big role however; it's mostly two bandmates exploring the big city together and reminiscing. If you are interested in a longer story about a forbidden boyband romance, I recommend Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich's If This Gets Out.

———

Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Malinda Lo — the "Secret Royalty" trope.

★★★★★

Summary: Fei Cheng is working at a repair shop in the Isamar space station when Princess Qīnghé arrives on her imperial ship as part of a birthday tour around the galaxy. When the princess suddenly goes missing, a dazzling girl by the name of Jing arrives at Fei's shop asking for help, and the two embark on a night of fun.

I really enjoyed this intimate escapade. I've been somewhat interested in exploring Malinda Lo's writing recently, but this confirmed her talent to me. I'll have to pick up Last Night at the Telegraph Club next time I'm out.

———

Disaster by Rebecca Podos — the "Second Chance Romance" trope.

★★★☆☆

Summary: With an asteroid hurtling quickly toward Earth, Adina finds herself at her ex-girlfriend Jemma's house to await either a successful NASA mission or the end of the world.

I thought this story was okay, but I couldn't really get into it. The foreboding and uncertainty was almost too intense and the romance felt weak in comparison. I suppose it felt out of place in this anthology after the lighter stories that came before it.

———

Overall, I think this anthology is delightful. Whether you're a seasoned romance reader or you're still trying to sort out your favorite tropes, this book is an excellent compilation of many popular storylines.

This is a solid collection of short stories about romance tropes, many of which are queer, which I loved to see! Not every story was to my taste - there were a couple I skipped - as they are not limited to contemporary romance but also sci-fi/fantasy. However the majority were engaging and some quite touching.

Fools in Love is a wonderfully diverse collection of short stories based on different romance tropes like fake dating, only one bed, mutual pining, secret royalty etc.

I loved how all the stories are so vastly different, the collection had everything from contemporary to fantasy to superheroes and villians to time travel - there’s something for everyone. I absolutely loved how the majority of the short stories were sapphic - every time I started on a new story where the main girl was queer my heart skipped a beat.

There were very few stories I didn’t care for, 6 out of the 15 stories were solid 5 star ones, and the rest were mostly 3-4 stars, with the exception of 2 1-2 stars ones. Overall this was a great collection, and I will most definitely buy the physical copy when it comes out.

Individual ratings below, average rating: 3.9 stars.

Silver and gold by Natasha Ngan - 3.5 stars. I need a whole book just about Ru like right now.

Five stars by Amy Spalding - 4.5 stars. It was funny and cute, a perfect little one shot where I still felt like I got to know the characters. Kind of abrupt ending.

Unfortunately, blobs do not eat snacks by Rebecca Kim Wells - 5 stars, please, ma’am, I need the whole book like right now.

Edges by Ashley Herring Blake - 3.5 stars. I love the trope, but this novella didn’t really fulfill my needs. 10/10 would read the book if it was ever written.

What makes us heroes by Julian Winters - 4 stars. Need a 3 part book series sir

And by Hannah Moskowitz - 2 stars. I hate love triangles with a burning passion because I never feel like I’m given a satisfactory ending, the exception is only when it ends in all three getting together, which this one did, and I was happy about that... however, the story was written as a wattpad y/n story from like 2012 and I couldn’t get into it.

My best friend’s girl by Sara Farizan - 4 stars. I keep saying this, but I really need a whole book.

(Fairy)like attracts like by Claire Kann - 3.5 stars, this one kept me confused but intrigued.

These strings by Lilliam Rivera - 1 star. This one did not work for the at all, I cared for none of the characters, nor the story.

The passover date by Laura Silverman - 5 stars. This is the perfect little novella.

Bloom by Rebecca Barrow - 5 stars. A masterpiece, really.

Teed up by Gloria Chao - 5 stars. Perfect.

Boys noise by Mason Deaver - 5 stars. This story didn’t really focus on the one bed trope, the trope in question felt more like the mutual pining trope… but it was really good so I’m not complaining.

Girls just want to have fun by Malinda Lo - 5 stars. This is the second time I’ve read a novella collection with a Malinda Lo story and desperately needed a whole book for it. She already wrote a book based on her story in the All Out anthology so there is a chance, right? Right?

Disaster by Rebecca Podos - 3 stars. Love the pettiness of the main character

this was so cute to read! an excellent collection that i thoroughly enjoyed. the variety was admirable (rtc)

Fools in Love is an enjoyable and cute short story collection featuring a variety of different genres and popular romance tropes.

When I started the book I was not aware that over half of the stories were sapphic, which was a very pleasant surprise as I am sapphic myself.

I liked almost all of the stories, but my favorites were BOYS NOISE (only one bed) by Mason Deaver, FIVE STARS (mistaken identity) by Amy Spalding, and BLOOM (love transcends space time) by Rebecca Barrow. FIVE STARS had me smiling like crazy, I loved the concept of BLOOM, and I desperately need a full novel about BOYS NOISE.

On to the things I didn’t like: I had some issues with the pacing of some of the stories, I personally don’t like the "sibling’s hot best friend”, so THESE STRINGS by Lilliam Rivera wasn’t my favorite, and I didn’t like the writing style of AND (love triangle) by Hannah Moskowitz.

All in all, I gave Fools in Love 4 stars because it was a very enjoyable read for the most part

Fools in Love takes popular romantic tropes (i.e. only one bed, fake dating, mutual pining), and puts a fresh spin on them. This anthology contains multiple genres, from contemporary romance to fantasy.
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I was originally excited for this anthology because many of my favorite authors were contributors. Normally anthologies can be very hit or miss for me, but this has to be one of my favorite anthologies of all time! I enjoyed quite a few of them, and there are definitely quite a few authors I am interested reading more from.
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SILVER AND GOLD- Natasha Ngan- wlw- 4.5/5
I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the anthology and the first story was a fantasy. I loved how it incorporated both the trope "snowed in", and even "second chance romance". I loved the writing style as well, and I cannot wait to read more from Natasha Ngan.
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FIVE STARS- Amy Spalding- wlw- 3/5
This story had so much promise, but ultimately the plot line read almost creepy. I feel as though there were better ways to use the "mistaken identity" trope. The fact that it was sapphic was amazing, but the plot just bothered me.
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UNFORTUNATLEY, BLOBS DO NOT EAT SNACKS- Rebecca Kim Wells- wlw- 5/5
My favorite story in the anthology! This is a fantasy, and the worldbuilding was remarkable, especially considering that it was a short story. I loved the characters, and the ending is one of my new favorites. I cannot wait to read more from this author.
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EDGES- Ashley Herring Blake- wlw- 3/5
I was so excited for this story because Ashley Herring Blake is one of my favorite authors, but unfortunately this fell flat for me. I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters, and I feel like the trope of "the sunshine and the grump" was not used well.
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WHAT MAKES US HEROS- Julian Winters- mlm- 3.5/5
I love Julian Winters' writing style, and thankfully this was no exception. I didn't love it, but is was solid. I love it when superheroes are incorporated into the story, and this was just such a fun story.
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AND- Hannah Moskowitz- m/m/f- 3/5
I loved the representation in this story, but ultimately it was just too short. Major events took place via a time skip. and the ending just seemed very rushed. The writing style was beautiful, but this story just needed more depth.
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MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL- Sara Farizan- wlw- 4/5
I normally do no care for the "best friend's girlfriend" trope, but this was done very well! I was pleasantly surprised that it was sapphic, and I really liked how cheating wasn't a plot point. Again, it is so much fun when there are superheroes in a story, and that was also a fun touch that I was not expecting.
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(FAIRY) LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE- Claire Kann- wlw- 3.5/5
I was so excited for this story, but ultimately it was just so confusing. The line between contemporary and fantasy was continually blurred, and it just was hard to keep up. The premise itself is confusing as well. I did love the writing style though.
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THESE STRINGS- Lilliam Rivera- m/f- 1/5
My least favorite trope is 'brother's best friend", and unfortunately this was not done super well. As a whole, this anthology is very lighthearted, and this book just hits you with super unlikeable characters, an unfeasible romance, and a slap of misogyny.
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THE PASSOVER DATE- Lauren Silverman- m/f- 4.75/5
This was adorable! Lauren Silverman has some of the sweetest romances, and this was no exception. Laugh out loud funny and just adorable!
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BLOOM- Rebecca Barrow- wlw- 4.5/5
This story was beautiful! I loved the look into grief and sadness, and the magical realism element was amazing as well! The writing style was just gorgeous, and I cannot wait to read more from this author!
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TEED UP- Gloria Chao- m/f- 3.5/5
My biggest issue with this story was that it didn't really use it's trope, "oblivious to lovers". There are so many good ways it could have been used, but it was like it wasn't written with the knowledge of the trope that would be used. It was great on it's own without the trope though!
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BOYS NOISE- Mason Deaver- mlm- 4/5
This was so much fun! I don't really have too many thoughts on it, but I enjoyed it and I would love to read a longer inspired by it!
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GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN- Malinda Lo- 5/5
So this was AMAZING! It is a sci-fi story with the trope "secret royalty". It was just done so well, and I loved the side character just as much as the main character. I cannot wait to read more books by Malinda Lo, and she might be one of my new favorite authors!
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DISASTER- Rebeca Podos- wlw- 3.5/5
This story was fine. It wasn't bad by any means, but I just don't have any strong opinions on it. The premise was super fun though, and I liked the ending. It might have fared better as a full length novel instead of a short story.
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As a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology! I loved all of the sapphic representation, and I just had such a great time reading it. My favorite stories were "Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks", "The Passover Date", and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun".
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.