A collection of short stories that are inspired by a variety of tropes. All of these stories are cute! I’m actually a little disappointed that some of these are not full-length novels. The stories span multiple genres and have a lot of LGBTQ+ pairings, with the majority being F/F (9 of the 15 stories).

Silver and Gold by Natasha Ngan:
-What happens when two sled race competitors get “snowed in together?”
-Contemporary

Five Stars by Amy Spalding:
-A case of “mistaken identity” strikes in this story.
-Contemporary

Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks by Rebecca Kim Wells:
-What happens when a magical spell goes haywire and “kissing under the influence” occurs?
-Urban Fantasy

Edges by Ashley Herring Blake:
-“The Grumpy One and the Soft One” may be falling for each other.
-Contemporary

What Makes Us Heroes by Julian Winters:
-What happens when the “Hero and Villain” are childhood friends?
-Superheroes

And by Hannah Moskowitz:
-A “love triangle” emerges when a new kid comes to town.
-Contemporary

My Best Friend’s Girl by Sara Farizan:
-What happens when you fall for your “best friend’s girlfriend?”
-Superhero

(Fairy)like Attracts Like by Claire Kann:
-A case of “mutual pining” between two coworkers.
-Urban Fantasy

These Strings by Lilliam Rivera:
-What happens when your brother’s friend becomes your “sibling’s hot best friend?”
-Contemporary

The Passover Date by Laura Silverman:
-When you finally decide that “fake dating” is better than not having a date.
-Contemporary

Bloom by Rebecca Barrow:
-“Love Transcends Space Time” in this cute story.
-Fantasy

Teed Up by Gloria Chao:
-Find out what happens when you fall for your competition in this take on “Oblivious to Lovers.”
-Contemporary

Boys Noise by Mason Deaver:
-What happens when there’s “only one bed at the inn?”
-Contemporary

Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Malinda Lo:
-A case of “secret royalty.”
-Science Fiction

Disaster by Rebecca Podos:
-What happens when you get a “second chance [at] romance” when the world is ending?
-Contemporary / Apocalypse


Special thanks to NetGalley and Running Press Kids for an eARC of Fools in Love! I really appreciate it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Perseus Books, and Running Press for the ARC!
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I am nothing if not a sucker for a good short story anthology, and this was a delight. Tropes galore! Superheroes. This was unlike most, and I truly enjoyed it, especially The Passover Date, but that might just be because I'm a sucker for a good fake dating trope.

The only reason I'm giving this 4 instead of 5 stars is because some of the stories just didn't hold my interest as much as others. Otherwise, this was a joy to read.

I received access to an advanced uncorrected proof of this book from NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this anthology. I was already excited to read it because I like Natasha Ngan, Mason Deaver, and Claire Kann, but I especially loved getting to read stories by all the authors I was less familiar with as well. Everyone is so talented, and they wrote incredibly funny and heartfelt stories about teens falling in love in fifteen different ways. My three favorite stories were “Unfortunately Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks” which is a fantasy story by Rebecca Kim Wells, “Boys Noise” which is a realistic fiction story by Mason Deaver, and “Secret Royalty” which is a science fiction story by Malinda Lo. The world-building, the humor, and the romances that bloom in these three stories were my favorites of the anthology. That being said, all the other stories are wonderful as well; these were just my personal favorites.

Something I liked about this anthology is the way it’s put together. It’s almost shuffled where readers don’t know if they’re going to read a realistic fiction story, fantasy story, or science fiction story, and I think that adds to the excitement of reading the anthology. By not knowing what to expect and therefore not creating assumptions of what the story should be like in my mind, I was able to just take in the world-building and be delightfully surprised when it turned out that the story was about superheroes or fairies or the end of the world.

Another text feature that I liked was that the main trope of each story is listed after the title on the first page of every story. It was nice to see the way the trope unfolded without guessing which one was meant to be the story’s focus.

The thing I liked the most about this anthology is that every story is different. They’re all set in entirely different circumstances with unique protagonists and surprises on every page.

This anthology is for readers who enjoy awkward protagonists, romance, hilarious happenings, and spectacular world-building.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Well this was a joy to read!

Fools in Love is a collection of short YA stories, each one using a typical romance trope - second chances, fake dating, only one bed, grump/sunshine etc.

Some of the stories have sci-fi/fantasy elements (wizardry, magic, superpowers, time jumping), but the central theme of each story is love.

The thing I enjoyed most about this collection is the wonderful diversity. Queer love, different religions featured, different cultures - there was even a polyamory story, which I haven’t seen much in YA.

Some of the stories had fan fiction vibes, or ended too abruptly for my liking, but the majority were rich and really packed an emotional punch for just a handful of pages.

My favourites were Five Stars (f/f, mistaken identity) and The Passover Date (m/f, fake dating).

Honourable mentions to Boys Noise for trans rep, and to Teed Up for managing to get me excited about golf - with a great stage parenting story in with the romance. So impressive for so few pages!

I throughly enjoyed reading all the HEAs/HFNs back to back. A winner! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC.

Fools In Love is a collection of short stories, each of them a fresh take on a classic trope such as mistaken identity, hero vs villain, siblings hot friend etc.

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!

My favourites were The Passover Date by Laura Silverman, What Makes Us Heroes by Julian Winters and Edges by Ashley Herring Blake! But every single story in this book is worth reading!

I give this one 4/5 ⭐️

Fools In Love will be out on the 7th of December 2021 so keep your eyes peeled for it!

THIS WAS DELIGHTFUL! Such a fun lighthearted read I adored reading all the tropes and seeing all the diversity!

first of all, this lineup?? oh my gosh it's incredible???

in relation to the book itself, i'm not normally a big anthology fan but i thoroughly enjoyed this one. i think my personal favorite stories were claire kann's, mason deaver's, and natasha ngan's but i really liked all of them. the diversity was so great to see and i was really reminded of the power of short stories. i do wish there had been a bit more consistency (while i understand that the complete opposite is the point of an anthology, it was a bit jarring to go from a story about wolves to one about cars), but it wasn't enough to completely detrack the book for me. overall a very enjoyable read!

thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. i really liked this book and it was a quick and easy read, i’ll be sure to check out some of the writers of the book in the future. i give it a 4/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book for this honest review!

This was such a sweet anthology, with lots of diversity. Each story follows a certain trope, and although I think some of them would have been better off without the trope included before the story because they weren't very accurate, I still enjoyed most of them! My personal favorites were Boys Noise by Mason Deaver (the classic one bed trope), What Makes Us Heroes by Julian Winters (maybe I DO like hero/villain romances sometimes) and Bloom by Rebecca Barrow (love transcends space and time!!!)

ARC review - Fools in Love
(pub date Dec 7)

my rating: 5 stars
genres: short stories, romance, lgbtqia+
age: 13+ (-intimacy)

this book reminded me of the power of short stories. in just a few pages per story, i fell in love with every character as they, too, fell in love. the diversity in this book was amazing, and I would definitely recommend it if you want to diversify your bookshelf :) honestly no cons at all. there was a mix of contemporary, fantasy, sci fi so there is something for every reader. i will be buying this book :) scroll for short summaries of each story (each plays on a well-known romance trope

snowed in together
a beautiful commentary on taking the second step in a relationship, but with fantasy and wolves!

mistaken identity
a cute feel-good romance full of musical songs and awkwardness

unfortunately, blobs do not eat snacks
a magical assignment turns into something more sinister, tense and mysterious with some well-written romance

edges
a beautiful exploration of what it means to be out, and respecting boundaries, definitely one of my favourites :)

what makes us heroes
a well-written story that shows just how heroic villains can be

and
a cute story about a real life love triangle, polygamy and everything :)

my best friend’s girl
a beautiful commentary on knowing when somebody is the one

(fairy)like attracts like
a romance so cute, it is a fairytale :)

these strings
a coming of age story about having confidence to make a move

the passover date
a wonderfully heartwarming jewish play on the fake dating trope

bloom
a touching story about missed connections, recommend this one for plant lovers :)

teed up
a cute sporty story for golf lovers

boys noise
THE ONE BED TROPE need i say more? freaking beautiful

girls just want to have fun
space. secret royalty. an inticing romance that will never be... or will it?

disaster
the end of the world is imminent - can you reunite with a lost love?

A collection of amazing beautiful, lovely stories that I'm so glad I got the chance to read. I loved the diversity and I loved the different romances and how there were different, unique tropes in every one.

this book and all the little stories are lovely in many ways. it is so refreshing and lighthearted despite some of the characters lacking chemistry. i flew through it so quickly!!

Great book of entertaining short stories. With lots of diversity. Would recommend for young adults and LGBTQIAP community.

A collection like this is a lot of fun. Selection of stories are something for everyone and this is an all-around winner for tropes. Perfect read to just relax.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

this was a really cute collection of love stories. perfect for when you're in the mood for a certain trope but don't want to commit to a full-length novel. it's reminiscent of one-shots in a way, which i'm a big fan of

all the stories were well-written, with good diversity and representation. most, if not all, stories featured LGBT+ and/or POC characters. my faves were definitely 'what makes us heroes' by julian winters, 'these strings' by lilliam rivera, and 'teed up' by gloria chao

some couples lacked chemistry and i did feel as if the world-building in some short stories fell flat. however, i won't fault the authors for it as they are confined to such a limited word count. it did lessen my enjoyment of the story, which is why my rating is at 3 stars

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Wow this book will give you the feelings!!! As a true romantic I loved this book and the diversity of the love stories. Perfection 😍

I honestly found this very entertaining. Many teens love tropes like fake dating or enemies to lovers. There was very good LGBTQ+ representation. As a member of this community I thank the authors for that.

*Thank you to the publisher,author and Netgalley for providing me with a E-ARC of "Fools in Love " in exchange for an honest review.*

I LOVED this anthology because of the twist these authorsites gave to well- loved romance tropes. My favorites were "Edges" , "Hero's vs. Villians", and "Love Triangle" by Hannah Moskowitz.

Fools in Love is, overall, a very solid anthology. It’s full of stories I loved (although, yes, there were a handful I very much did not love), and ones I want to come back to. If I averaged out my ratings of each story, this apparently merits a 3-star rating, but I enjoyed reading it enough to give it 4-stars instead.

Silver and Gold by Natasha Ngan

For a long while, this was my favourite of the stories. It’s a masterpiece in how to get you caring about characters, a relationship, and a whole world in less than 20 pages. I knew, from Girls of Paper and Fire, that I was going to love Natasha Ngan’s story, and I was blissfully proven right. Set in a world that might be fantasy, might not be, it’s a little second chance romance between competitors in a race, stuck in a tent together overnight while a storm rages around them. It’s the kind of story that works perfectly in an anthology: it leaves you both satisfied and wanting more.

Five Stars by Amy Spalding

I think it’s time to admit that Amy Spalding and I just do not get along. There was nothing outright wrong with this story, but I just found myself not caring about it. It’s a cute enough story I suppose, but there’s something about Amy Spalding’s main characters that I don’t vibe with.

Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks by Rebecca Kim Wells

I will fess up to the fact that I was… somewhat wary going into this story, on account of the title. But there was a massive amount of whiplash between the title and what the story was about. It actually follows two members of a magic school, rivals for first and second place in their graduating class, paired together on their final exam in a village in the middle of nowhere. I loved the dynamic between the characters, and their burgeoning romance. It was really cute, up until the part that the title references which was… just a bit weird and felt, in the nicest way possible (admittedly not so possible), like a small child’s idea of something funny. But given how off-putting I found the title, I think we should chalk it up as a win.

Edges by Ashley Herring Blake

Ashley Herring Blake is one of those authors I can go into their books knowing that I’ll enjoy whatever’s written. So I was always going to like her story in this anthology, and, guess what!, I did. But. If I’m going to be picky, I only ever really liked it. Nothing more. It’s a story based on the grumpy/sunshine trope, here between one student tutoring another, which… I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of, but neither am I not a fan. I feel that in this case, though, I needed it to be a full-length story to really get behind their relationship.

What Makes Us Heroes by Julian Winters

If Julian Winters’ story in the Up All Night anthology was contrasted by the other contributors such that it ended up as my favourite of them all, then the complete opposite happened here. The concept itself is very good—fake dating superheroes, to not be humiliated in front of one of their exes—but the execution. Good lord the execution. The writing is cringy and preachy and honestly, if I’d have skipped this one out entirely, I don’t think I’d have missed a thing. I thought that perhaps I could rate it 2 stars, to be kind, up until this quote:

“Wait sweetheart—”
“Oh no, I don’t do pet names. It’s Gabriela or Gabi. Damn the patriarchy,” Gabi shouts back.

I mean. What do you even say to that?

And by Hannah Moskowitz

This is a story that could definitely have benefited from being longer. It’s about a girl who ends up dating two boys, who subsequently end up falling for one another. I really liked that it represented polyamory (the only case of it in this anthology), and also that it was a case of it where they were all in love with one another. However. Hannah Moskowitz obviously wanted to cover the entire progression of their relationships, from first meeting the third member of the relationship, up to all of them together, and the short story format just didn’t work for that. It ended up feeling very bitty, jumping between events so rapidly that you can’t really believe in the progression of their relationship. There were hints at discussions to be had, negotiations to be made, but, with this story clocking in at the shortest, none of that really made it to the page. Overall, it was just a bit disappointing.

My Best Friend’s Girl by Sara Farizan

I started this story thinking it would be straight. I really should have trusted more in Sara Farizan, because it really wasn’t, and also it ended up being possibly my fourth favourite story in the whole anthology (yes, I have rankings). It’s a story about a girl who has to cover for her best friend (who is a superhero) with his girlfriend, who she happens to be in love with herself. The relationships in it were very sweet and I loved how it turned out at the end (no spoilers though).

(Fairy)Like Attracts Like by Claire Kann

What more can I say about this than simply, I just didn’t like the writing. I couldn’t say what it was about it, but I didn’t enjoy reading it. And so, I didn’t care about the story, I didn’t care about the characters, it was just. Not up there as a favourite, to say the least. It probably also didn’t help that much that I genuinely couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be a fantasy or contemporary story (I think I landed on fantasy). Probably one I could have skipped, in fairness.

These Strings by Lilliam Rivera

I hate to say it, but I think this was my least favourite story of all. Yeah, I’m surprised it beat out Julian Winters’ too, given how little I enjoyed that one. But this one? I don’t quite know how to describe the amount of pain it put me through. This was a play on the sibling’s best friend trope, but it somehow managed to hit all the worst parts of it (I thought these stories were supposed to be reimaginings?). Misogyny? Check. Overprotective brother? Check once, check twice because he actually gets into a physical fight over it all. Add onto that really bad writing? Well. Is this 1-star review any real surprise?

The Passover Date by Laura Silverman

A welcome antidote after the hell I was put through in the previous story. It’s a very sweet tale featuring fake dating, where the mc’s family insists on people bringing dates to their Passover celebration (as a tradition), so the mc plucks up her courage and asks a boy she used to be friends with (and has a minor crush on) to play the role of her date. And, of course, he’s more than happy to because he has a crush on her. Truly, I think these two characters could carry an entire story, it’s one of those ones you just want more and more of.

Bloom by Rebecca Barrow

By far and away my favourite contribution. It took me a single page of this story to work that out. It combines gorgeous writing, pining, themes of grief and love and revenge, and a beautiful romance between a girl and the daughter of the man who murdered her mother. I’m not sure how to describe just how much I adored this one. It’s the kind of story that just stays with you, haunts you really, and I just know I’m going to be thinking about it forever.

Teed Up by Gloria Chao

It’s safe to say I do not give two shits about golf. As part of my degree I had to do a presentation based around golf (and psychological strategies golfers could use), and it was the most boring few weeks of my life. I refused to learn any terminology then, and I refuse still now. However! There is good news. While I still don’t care about golf, Gloria Chao did get me caring about Sunny and Liam, so I think we should all take that one as a win.

Boys Noise by Mason Deaver

There’s not much for me to say about this one, in all honesty. It was a cute, friends/bandmates to lovers story, one I thought perhaps I might want more of (although whether the story has the mileage to stretch to a full-length novel is another matter), but it didn’t really stand out to me (apart from the fact it’s the only story in this anthology with trans rep—a little disappointing to be fair). It was a nice read, and I enjoyed it, but never much more.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Malinda Lo

Writing this review, it took me a good few seconds to remember what this story was about. That probably says more about me than the story, but I did find it kind of bland, with not a whole lot to it. But. I should also admit that I’ve never really loved Malinda Lo’s stories (barely even liked some of them, to be brutally honest), so we should all have seen this one coming.

Disaster by Rebecca Podos

The fact that this story is what ends the anthology may well be the reason I rated this 4 stars, instead of the average of all the stories (approximately 3 stars). If Rebecca Barrow’s story hadn’t blown me away earlier in the collection, this would be my favourite one. A second chance romance, at the end of the world? That uses the word lesbian multiple times? One that makes you root for the characters, in just a few pages? It’s probably the perfect short story. And, while it does leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger, it leaves you with a feeling of hope overall.

A wonderfully entertaining collection of LGBTQIA+ friendly short stories.

There are 15 magical, trope filled romances, leaving you with an overall warm and satisfied feeling.

My favourites include “Five Stars” by Amy Spalding, “(Fairy)Like Attracts Like” by Claire Kann, and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Malinda Lo.


Highly recommended for readers in search of adorable, engaging, queer-inclusive romantic YA.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.