Oh, my heart. Kris Ripper's The Love Study made it feel all full and fuzzy. This novel is probably the cutest romance I've read all year (and you all know I read A LOT of romances).
Here's the synopsis:
What happens when the search for the perfect date goes perfectly wrong? Don’t miss this charming romantic comedy from critically acclaimed author Kris Ripper.
Declan has commitment issues. He’s been an office temp for literally years now, and his friends delight in telling people that he left his last boyfriend at the altar.
And that’s all true. But he’s starting to think it’s time to start working on his issues. Maybe.
When Declan meets Sidney—a popular nonbinary YouTuber with an advice show—an opportunity presents itself: as part of The Love Study, Declan will go on a series of dates arranged by Sidney and report back on how the date went in the next episode
The dates are…sort of blah. It’s not Sidney’s fault; the folks participating are (mostly) great people, but there’s no chemistry there. Maybe Declan’s just broken.
Or maybe the problem is that the only person he’s feeling chemistry with is Sidney.
I had all of the feels with this book. Usually that's only happening with Karina Halle's lighter romances that are also full of angst. But Ripper's novel is dealing with characters who are facing their issues with romance and dating head on and, well, it's not pretty. There's anxiety, panic attacks, crying, and friends who tell their friend that he's being an idiot. BUT there's also dating hijinks, buddy watching documentaries (SO CUTE), and an amazing friend group (seriously, everyone needs a groups of friends like Declan has). So while I was swooning over how adorably awkward Dec and Sidney were and loving the lead up to them dating, I was also almost in tears with how hard it was for Declan to really let go and feel like he deserved love, or at least to date such a lovely human like Sidney. (Maybe I was also just super stressed and emotional this week and the book was really hitting me hard?)
I liked the pace of this novel, particularly that the relationship part of things started early on. There was enough teasing and flirting and enough time to get SUPER invested in their dating. Then, as you would expect, it all went to hell and then they needed to work together to get to the Happily Ever After I was desperate for. I liked that it explored all kinds of relationships and issues people may have with dating and the norms and rules we're supposed to follow.
And have I mentioned the friends enough? The group - Mason (who Declan left at the altar), Oscar, Ronnie, and Mia (the latter two are a couple about to be married) - call themselves the Marginalized Motherfuckers. They found each other in college and sort of clung together because they were all, well, marginalized in different ways. They tease but they are so caring, too. Whether that's talking Declan into patching things up with Sidney or the guys preparing a "staycation" for Ronnie and Mia's honeymoon (complete with erotic fruit, of course). Come for the romantic relationship, stay for the friendship.
This book hasn't been written to teach straight people like me anything but it did. There were a couple of new to me gender terms that I had to look up and I'm really glad about that. I like to think this romance is an example of why so many of us read: to gain a deeper understanding through fiction of what others' lives might be like.
Finally, I'm really happy this is the first book in a series. Next up will be The Hate Study which will feature Oscar, one of Declan's friends (and part of the Marginalized Motherfuckers) and I think Declan's "underling" from his temp job.
I don't know if it's come across enough in this review but I'll say it like this: I cannot recommend The Love Study enough. It's a ridiculously cute, smart, heartfelt rom com (heavy on the rom) that I'm going to remember for a long time to come. Kris Ripper has written such a fun and important sex positive, entertaining queer romance that I am so here for.
Buy The Love Study
IndieBound * Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Apple * Google * Kobo
About the Author
Kris Ripper lives in the great state of California and zir pronouns are ze/zir. Kris shares a converted garage with a kid, can do two pull-ups in a row, and can write backwards. (No, really.) Ze has been writing fiction since ze learned how to write, and boring zir stuffed animals with stories long before that.
Connect with the Author
Website * Twitter * Facebook Group * Instagram * Goodreads
signed by Barry Lyga for her, yay!
