Review: Love and Chaos

Love and Chaos is the second novel in a series by Gemma Burgess. I enjoyed the first, Brooklyn Girls, and even though I didn't looove it I still looked forward to reading the next book in the series. The girls made an impression and I really wanted to see what they were up to. I felt about the same with book two as I did the first but I enjoyed the time I spent reading this book.

Here's the synopsis:

Wild child and secret romantic Angie wakes up in a hotel room with $3,000 and no memories of the night before. Her best friends aren’t talking to her, she can’t get a job in fashion, her parents are divorcing, and she’s about to turn twenty-three. And life is about to get much worse.
Brooklyn Girls: Love and Chaos continues the story of our five favorite grads sharing a brownstone and starting out in New York City through Angie’s eyes. On a journey from private jets and yacht parties to dirty subways and hipster bars via crazy storms, flash floods, and retail jobs from hell, Angie discovers who she is, what she wants, how she’s going to get it —and a crazy little thing called true love.
Meanwhile, her roommates lives are imploding, too. Coco’s self-medicating and self-loathing, Pia’s breaking up and cracking up, Madeleine’s finding her voice and Julia might—just might—have met someone she can actually date.
Brooklyn Girls is the hilarious, inspiring Gemma Burgess series every twenty-something has been waiting for that tells you that whatever you do, whatever mistakes you make, everything is going to be okay. All you need is a little luck, a little work, and your best friends.

I didn't know if I'd really like Love and Chaos because I wasn't a huge Angie fan when I read Brooklyn Girls. I vowed to keep an open mind, though, and I'm glad I did because I ended up really liking her. She was an absolute mess when the book opened – drinking, drugs, sleeping around – but once she had a wakeup call she started to turn her life around. She became more of a person than the ice queen caricature that had been portrayed in the first book. I loved that she was into fashion and was desperate to find a job. She worked hard and I appreciated that. Honestly, I was a little jealous of her. I wish I knew what I wanted!

The crazy drama in this book wasn't quite as far-fetched as the first and, for that, I was glad. I had a feeling I knew what the issue with Sam was going to be and I thought that storyline played out very well. Actually, I pretty much loved everything about their relationship. I was also happy to see how things worked out with Angie's history and the problems she left behind at the beginning of the book. It was some crazy shit, there's really no other way to describe it, but she faced it and it worked out, thankfully.

Once again, I really loved the friendship aspect of this book. I love reading about a group of girlfriends, especially when they're in their twenties. Even though it makes me miss my own friends! I'm a few years older than the girls in the book but I feel like I'm at the same place in life (what does that say about my generation?). This makes me really relate to their issues and life and I love that.

Gemma Burgess' series is a great one to pick up if you want a lighter read with a lot of heart. I don't think you necessarily have to read the first book before diving into Love and Chaos, but I'd recommend it. Get to know Angie and the girls from the start and learn to love them like I have!

*A copy of this novel was provided by distributor Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review.*