All for unlikeable characters, however three in this book... not for me.

The main (huge) turn off(s) for me, is that this whole book was about women hating their body, always thinking about men, or hating other women.

What ever happened to having a human experience? What happened to not always being a total b*tch? What happened to supporting other women? What about allllll the other things in life that doesn't revolve around men?

In this book, the women only have those three things, and to me it was really hard to read. Not only was that not relatable (sure at times I don't like how my body looks, it's called bloating), sure sometimes I think about men (uh hello my handsome fiancé), and I ENVY other women, but that is not my entire existence on this planet.

The book has the same three perspectives, but they are all the same (victim of the patriarchy).

I really wish this was more relatable for millennial women (which is what the book is based on...).

Thank you netgalley and publisher for my E-ARC (is it an ARC if it is already out? I don't know what else to call it but you get the point) in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a must-read for millennials! It follows Joy, Annie, and Celine as they navigate city life, careers, and relationships. With relatable and entertaining scenes, it delves into the struggles of dating and career goals. Despite some frustrating moments, it's well-written and unforgettable.

Any story that has to deal with friends is generally a must read for me. How To Fall Out of Love is a great example of this. The connections and relationships are heartfelt and completely realistic. I fell in love with all of these characters but really connected to Annie. Each characters inner thoughts made me feel as though they could be friends that I’ve known forever. The wit and sarcasm were very funny and made reading this book a complete treat.

I really enjoyed this one! I loved getting the perspectives of all the women in the story, and found each of them relatable in their own way. Casale captured so much of what it means to be a woman navigating life through work, romance, and friendship. I would recommend this title to my peers - it probably resonates best with women in their twenties and thirties.

Such an interesting story! I loved the writing and characters. I had heard lots about it and I'm so glad I got a copy!

Thank you NetGalley and Jana Casale!

I think this book would be a good recommendation for fans of Dolly Alderton and Sally Rooney.

This very much felt like a story about what it means to be a woman: a woman in love, a woman at work, a woman at home. I thought there were some incredible scenes (when Joy finally gets her own place and becomes excited by the idea of solitude). This book definitely focused on themes of womanhood. I liked many of the moments that touched on female friendships, women caretaking in relationships, and women having complicated relationships with their own self-image and body positivity.

Three women confront the compromises they've made to appease the men they love.

Women struggling in their late 20's/early 30's hits so close to home, but damn is it fun to read. (all the drama without being involved personally? yes please). Everyone in this book needs therapy (and probably so do I).

I enjoyed the multi-POV and the social commentary on modern dating. There is more character development than plot (which can be frustrating at times), but overall an entertaining read.

I loved following the lives of three contemporary women who come to value themselves as individuals after following a life of the female stereotype.

When Joy loses Annie as a roommate, she becomes enamored of her new flatmate, Theo, whom she falls madly in love with, while trying to hide her feelings.
Soon, she finds herself cooking for him, cleaning his room, doing his laundry, being in his presence all the time, in front of the TV in the evenings, eating takeout dinners. She even begins cleaning up after his new girlfriend, Celine, who often stays overnight in Theo's room.

Annie in the meantime has an unsatisfactory relationship with her boyfriend, Jason, even though they are now living together. However, She goes to bat for the women in her workplace who have had to put up sexual harassment from their boss Arly.

Theo's girlfriend, Celine, is beautiful but troubled about her life and what she wants from her relationship with Theo.

This is a study of sorts about three women who have problems with self image, self worth, and who finally wake up to the fact that they have been acting out stereotypes of the perfect girlfriends and female employees.

The three women are different yet the same in many respects. This is a sort of coming of age novel for thirty something women, who finally learn to deal with patriarchy and find their own self worth. .

This has truly been one of my favorite reads this year. I can’t believe how much it made me laugh out loud as well as cry. It is beautifully written.

Rating 3.75

Thank you to Random House for providing me with a copy through NetGalley. I’ve seen this book around and had a friend recommend this so it was great to finally come around and read it.
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The Characters - I struggled following Joy and Annie on many levels. While I had moments of resonating with their struggles, I found them to be unlikable women. But mostly, I was left concerned for when I turn 30 in a few years. Both Annie and Joy are 30 but acted like 24-25 year olds and that added to the dislike towards them.
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Annie - If I had to pick anyone to resonate with, it was probably Annie but that’s still a stretch. While I came to respect her near the end of the book, I found her to be quite horrible at the beginning and questioned her intentions with Joy.
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Joy - Not sure how to word this delicately but Joy was in serious need of professional help. Her obsession with Theo went beyond obsession to the point that I could call her a stalker if she didn’t live with Theo. I understand fixating on someone you crush on but to the point where you lie to others and say they’re your boyfriend…well you’re just the wrong kind of delusional. It was painful to read Joy’s chapters because she was a train wreck. Honestly, reminiscing even now about her actions has me cringing.
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Celine - So Celine is described as drop-dead gorgeous as so many people were fawning over her but I just need to know what does she look like - like who can we compare her looks to so I can understand better?
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The Men - All the men in this book were trash and what an unfortunate reminder of what is out here in reality.
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The Writing - It is clear Casale wrote Joy and Annie to be extremely annoying and I think we forget to applaud authors for doing that. There was some time where I was questioning where the book was going and what the overall point was but near the end, you come to discover that it’s about three women who undergo a realignment of focus - they pivot from the men in their lives to self-love and self-respect.
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Overall, I liked “How to Fall Madly Out of Love” and would recommend it to other women.

This was a quick read and I really enjoyed it. How to Fall Out of Love Madly follows the lives of three thirty-something women as they navigate their careers, love lives, and just being a woman in the world today. Annie, Joy, and Celine were all uniquely different women with distinct voices, but I found them to all be relatable in different ways.

Annie finds herself in a relationship with a man who doesn’t really seem to care much about her at all. She has a great career and excels in that field. Joy, Annie’s friend and roommate, struggles with her relationships and her family life. She wants to be loved and have a home she feels welcome and safe in. Celine is incredibly beautiful and seems to have it all, but even she feels insecure in the most perfect parts of herself. Also, the men here all suck.

I read part of this via audiobook and have to say it was really well done. I would definitely recommend consuming it that way. This book is not heavy on the plot, but if you’re looking for a more character driven novel with flawed and relatable female characters I’d recommend checking this out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for a review copy.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an ARC!
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Unfortunately I DNFed this, it just didn’t catch my attention and maybe I’ll get into it again when Imm in the perfect headspace to give this another try!

I found this very lack luster…. And just because it’s about three thirty-something women, does not warrant the comparisons to Fleabag or Rooney it’s been getting. I found the ‘feminism’ dated, the characters dull, and just generally this didn’t seem to have anything new or interesting to say. It’s a shame, because the reverse love story idea is a good one….

This book was relatable, emotional and compelling! I loved the characters, I loved the writing, I loved the plot. I enjoyed every page and would love to read more about them!

3.5 stars

I guess I was expecting a break up or a romance to get over in How to Fall Out of Love Madly, but that’s not what you get. But I will say I feel like I got so much more than what I was expecting.

This book is a little deeper and more profound than I expected. I could definitely feel Joy’s pain. She just wanted to be wanted and loved so she grasped on to the first person who showed her a little attention. And Annie wore rose covered glasses half the time masking the issues she was having in her relationship instead of confronting them. And then we have Celine, who on the outside is perfect, but her inside is a different t story.

I love how this book is told from 3 very different women and you get to see that no one is perfect and that everyone has issues although they may not be the same as yours. It really was a very enlightening read.

***Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

DNF. I kept hearing about how this book is so much like Sally Rooney or other millennial malaise novels, and it's nothing of the sort. As another reviewer mentioned, the three main characters are women and I'm not even sure it passes the Bechdel test. The unlikeable characters provided no new perspective and no intrigue to make me keep slogging through their bad behaviors from page to page. Like, it just wasn't interesting enough for me to want to know their thoughts. I'm so sorry. Huge disappointment.

Thank you Netgalley and Jana Casale for this advanced copy. This one really just wasn't for me. I think it was partially the pacing that threw me off. For the first 25% of the book I was more invested but I eventually lost interest the more that I read. I'm not the biggest romance fan, but I do enjoy it at times. I just think these characters and this story didn't work well for me.

I expected more romance then women fiction but still a stunning beautiful book. Thank you to Dial Press for the gifted ARC my honest review.

I love the cover of this so much! Can I get it on a tote bag?? The book was good too, I liked the nuanced portrayal of all the women and wouldn’t mind seeing them again in a new book!

I love roommate stories and career stories and this had both and done in such a realistic way.

This was a fun not so love story. I thought the birth control tie in aspect was a new twist, interesting and thought provoking.