This is a fantasy story about a group of teenage coming back from the dead and then trying to stay alive, but also figuring out how they died in the first place. It is an interesting combo American Gods and the 1986 film Labyrinth - and not just because there is a character named Bowie. It is weird and it is lyrical. If you like these things then The Book of Love may be for you.

The issue is that it is way too long for what the story needs and therefore it gets incredibly boring at points.

Overall this was not for me.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

I'm sorry to say I did not finish this book. I don't enjoy DNFing ARCs and I try to select books I believe I will give a glowing review. I made it through to 16%, but it wasn't compelling enough for me to want to go on. I will not be sharing a review, as I do not wish to review something I have not read in full.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been an admirer of Kelly Link’s short fiction for a long time, so I was eager to read her new novel, The Book of Love. This book follows three teenagers who’ve recently come back from the dead. They have a chance to stay in the living world…but not all of them. Who stays and who goes will be determined by their performance in a series of challenges. But there’s more to this game than meets the eye, and the stakes may be even higher than the kids understand.

As one might expect from the title, love is a central theme of this book. I really appreciated that romantic love isn’t the only variety of that emotion featured. The love between (grand)parents and (grand)children, the often complicated love between siblings, and the love shared by platonic friends, all get their time in the spotlight.

I did feel like the pace of the book was a bit slow. Kelly Link is a master of atmosphere, and her shorter works, like “The Specialist’s Hat” and “Two Houses” are full of an eeriness that makes me think about them even years after I first read them. It’s hard to maintain that kind of dreamlike atmosphere over a length of 600 pages. Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing what Link does next.

OKAY WHOA. So this book is 9398457 pages long. And did I mind that? At first, yes.

First off, I don't think reading long books on a Kindle is for me. I like to see the progress I've made, what I have left. And the tiny percentage of completion in the bottom left-hand corner did NOT cut it.

That being said, let's get to the book itself. Laura, Mo, and Daniel are dead. Like, dead dead. We begin our story in what seems to be an in-between realm, with their music teacher Mr. Anabin as their only guide. Meanwhile, Laura's sister Savannah (in all her lead singer, rock star glory) is flipping out on in their little town of Lovesend, Massachusetts. Her sister, boyfriend, and pal have vanished without a trace.

The trio can get back to their lives--- if they accept a bargain from their music teacher. But this bargain comes with a HUGE ask. And so the magical journey begins.

Y'all. The STORYTELLING. The WORLD BUILDING. The DIALOGUE. Just phenomenal. It takes a bit to get rolling, but I upon finishing it, I think it's needed. We needed alllll the context, all the easter eggs, the detail.

I would go back to this world in a second. Kelly, bring us back there! Bring us back!

4.5 stars!

This was our March pick for my book club The Inky Phoenix, and Kelly Link is a true sorceress. This books might be the most bizarre and beautiful book I've ever read and our discussion with the club was luscious. I truly hope Kelly continues to write in this longer format. Genius.

This book turned out to be a lot more than I was expecting from the title "book of love." It ended up being a lot more cosmic and large scale. I found that it did drag some in the middle of it's 600 page span. Overall though, lovely, interesting and human characters with an epic tale.

The premise of "The Book of Love" is intriguing—three friends find themselves in a waiting room before death, and to escape their fate, they must complete three trials.

However, the story is bogged down by an excessive number of characters, each with their own backstory, which detracts from the central plot.

A more focused narrative on one or two main characters would have been more effective.The repetition within the narrative, where revelations are reiterated to newly introduced characters, further hinders the flow.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Three friends are in awaiting room waiting for death… The idea of this book was really intriguing to me. But the reality of this book was way more than I was ready for. There were so many characters and very little backstory. It was confusing and the writing style was so dream like an unreal it made it difficult for me to follow. it was also extremely repetitious with characters repeating other characters in different words. All in all this just wasn’t my cup of tea. Thank you, NetGalley for the digital copy.

3.5 This is a book I’m really torn on, because I found the premise and characters to be really interesting but was SO ready for the book to be over a few hundred pages before the end.

Some things I enjoyed:

🩷 The premise was very unique, and trying to figure out what was going on and how the characters died and came back was fascinating.

💜 Each character had a very different voice, and the author did a really nice job of differentiating them. We had many different perspectives and I imagine writing so many different PoV’s has got to be a challenge! I was never confused about whose perspective I was reading.

💚 The characters were not always likable, and they felt realistic in all of their many flaws and in the relationships they had with each other. Some of the side characters were utterly delightful!

💙 I think some complex ideas like grief, expectation, and complex family dynamics were handled well.

🧡 The story, for the most part, felt pretty immersive. It was also wonderfully weird!


What I didn’t love:

💛 The book was over 600 pages and I feel like it should have been closer to 350-400. There was a lot of repetition, sections with way too much exposition or inner dialogue, and many inconsequential scenes were rehashed from multiple perspectives. This made it drag for me, and I got to the point where I just wanted the book to be over.


Overall I did care enough about the plot to finish the book, but it did feel like a slog at several parts. I liked it and am not sorry I read it, but it isn’t one I’d choose to read again.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House for the advanced copy!

Kelly Link’s publications previous to this have all been short story collections, so it was intriguing to see her work extended to a novel-length. Link is a master of surrealist fiction in which bizarre and dream-like elements feel as natural a part of the world’s texture as anything else, and lend a depth of meaning to the narrative that rewards rereading. There are many scenes throughout the book that shine individually with the darkly weird and magical moments Link specializes in in her shorter fiction. True to form, The Book of Love begins with four characters emerging from an involuntary voyage through an impossible-to-describe nether-realm straight into a high school music teacher’s classroom. The story follows them as they attempt to gain answers about what happened to them and why, how it connects to an ancient and arcane struggle they’ve unwillingly been embroiled in, and in what form their lives (and that of the seaside New England town they live in) might continue after such an altering event.

Link juggles multiple (5+) point of view characters without losing the narrative thread. It helps that all their stories are closely intertwined, so one chapter will illuminate what was happening across town from the events of the previous, and their personalities are strongly realized and distinct. The web of relationships between these characters, their friends and relations, and their supernatural interlocutors is beautifully realized and pulls the narrative in unexpected directions.

Some people have complained about the length and pacing, and while I did find myself occasionally feeling the pacing stretch a little more slowly than I’d like, it wasn’t a big problem for me and I liked the way the plot was not rushed and each character’s experiences and thoughts were given room to breathe.

I’m still pondering the title, as “The Book of Love” at first seems unspecific and potentially misleading, genre-wise. Each chapter is titled “The Book of [character name]” to indicate the point of view character, which could have somewhat biblical implications à la “The Book of Job” etc. (in some ways, the supernatural struggle they are involved in does have implications over life, death, and the souls of people far and wide, so perhaps it’s not inappropriate to frame their experience as this kind of religious account, though it’s much more true-to-life than mythological). It can also be related to the theme of romance genre writing that comes up throughout the books: one of the characters’ grandmothers is a famous romance writer, Maryann Gorch (pen name Caitlynn Hightower), which incidentally leads to many delightful asides about romance book tropes, but also a constant interrogation of real vs. idealized love, and their many forms. “She said romantic love, the kind she wrote about, was just one room and there were lots of others,” one character remembers about the author. I’m sure there are other aspects to the title that I haven’t thought of yet, but I do still suspect the book might have been better served on the marketing side of things by an alternative.

On the whole, I really liked The Book of Love, though I didn’t feel it packed the same concentrated punch as Link’s short fiction—which is perhaps because she was trying to do something entirely different here. I think I’d still recommend her short fiction as the best starting point to get into her work. Her story “Skinder’s Veil” (most recently published in her newest collection, White Cat, Black Dog) is one of my favorite short stories from recent years, and I also liked her earlier collection Magic for Beginners. That’s all I’ve read of her so far, so I’m very excited to have more Kelly Link to read! I will certainly be reading her next novel if she decides to publish more.

While I enjoyed the way the author explored themes of grief and love, I didn’t particularly love the writing style. I did love the magical elements and world building though.

This is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. The magical realism is incredible and it truly is a love story that you cannot miss.

The Book of Love by Kelly Link
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Laura, Daniel, and Mo have just been informed that they have been dead for the past year. They are given the chance to come back if they can complete a few tasks. Meanwhile, Susannah has been trying to come to terms with their disappearance and now some strange new people have come to town.
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This book was quite the read.
First of all the heft of it. 😅 At 628 pages or 24 hours of listening time, The Book of Love is a beefy endeavor. I’m not quite sure that it needed to be this long.

We got multiple POV and I always love a good large cast of characters. The core characters were Susannah and her sister Laura, then Daniel who is their neighbor and bandmate, and Mo who is friends with Susannah. I enjoyed the story between the sisters and their mom, there was tension, drama, and familial love.

I also enjoyed Daniel’s back story with his blended family. Daniel was a stubborn one and I rolled my eyes at him a couple of times.

There is definitely a big role that the fantasy genre plays in this book and I can appreciate the plotline that was going on here. It was interesting and very thoroughly explained. I had no questions about that.

I didn’t really like Thomas, he bugged me. I could have done without him, personally.

Also all the little romances going on throughout the book felt more tedious than anything. I would have preferred to stick to the fantasy aspect of the story with merely alluding to relationships lasting or starting.

And then the end was a little melancholy.
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3⭐️⭐️⭐️ All in all I don’t think this one was really my jam. I didn’t hate it, rather it was just ok. There were parts I really enjoyed but also parts that really annoyed me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book felt very fresh and new while simultaneously feeling like a timeless fairy tale. The classic fairy tale elements of quests and magic made it feel familiar, while everything else gave it a wonderfully modern spin. The best comparison I can make is to Neil Gaiman's American Gods. I adored each of these characters for their own reasons, despite each of them being very flawed and downright dislikable at times. I think Mo is my favorite because I am drawn to his simultaneous selfless devotion to his family and his selfish focus on his own desires and wants.

Now for the complaints. The first is that portions of the book seemed irritatingly repetitive. I realize that part of this was due to each character having different pieces of the puzzle, however, it became a little frustrating how many times certain events happened (view spoiler). The next (and related) complaint is that there were too many perspectives. I lost count after 7. These differing perspectives didn't add a whole lot to the story, as most of the time they just rehashed the events/revelations of the previous chapter from a new character's point of view.

Publication Date: 8 February 2024

i loved this so. much.

how one of a kind! funny! magical! weird! emotional! lovely! love-filled! emotiony! it was everything and more.

this managed to be over 600 pages long and feel longer AND do so in a good way.

i had such a good time.

I love Kelly Link’s short fiction so I was really excited for this! I think ultimately I find her work more palatable in smaller chunks, but this was still a worthwhile read, even if it felt too dense at times.

The Book of Love is a polarizing novel you’ll either immediately love, or struggle to connect with. I, unfortunately, seriously struggled to connect with any character in this book. There is a lot going on, yet in terms of story it often feels daunting and as though it drags on forever. Let me explain. I am not a big sci fi or fantasy fan and often struggle with the immersive world building, as I find it very difficult to get lost in the world. This is exactly why I feel like The Book of Love wasn’t for me, but I can clearly see if being a title many will fall in love with.

I’m a diehard Kelly Link fan—and her stories are often what I recommend to friends who want literary fiction with just a twist. So naturally I was delighted to receive a galley for her debut novel.

It took me a bit to get into it, but eventually I was hooked and read until the end. If I wasn’t a loyal fan of her short fiction already, this novel ultimately did it for me. And now I’m telling all my friends to catch up and read it!

Interesting concept. Overall, I like the story. I do agree with others who have said that there are too many characters. There were times when I felt a bit lost or that just when we were getting to understand what was happening, it would cut back to a different character. It just jumped back and forth a lot.

That said, I loved the more whimsical elements in the book. I also loved the references to Chattanooga, TN as it's my hometown. It was fun to read the little details about some of our landmarks within the book. Does anyone happen to know Kelly Link's connection of the author to Chattanooga? I'd be curious if she has lived here, visited, or something else. Regardless, it was neat!

🧚🏻Thanks so much to NetGalley, Random House, and author Kelly Link for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Grateful for the opportunity to read the ARC. This was a little slow for me at times but overall I enjoyed this book