ARC Review + Giveaway: No Love Allowed

22718738Release Date: April 19, 2016
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

It’s all fun and parties until someone falls in love in this modern fairy tale from author Kate Evangelista. Caleb desperately needs a fake girlfriend. Either he attends a series of parties for his father’s law firm with a pretty girl on his arm, or he gets shipped off to Yale to start a future he’s not ready for and isn’t sure he wants. And sadly, the last unattached girl in his social circle has just made the grievous mistake of falling in love with him. Fortunately, Didi, recently fired waitress and aspiring painter, is open to new experiences. As the summer ticks by in a whirl of lavish parties, there’s only one rule: They must not fall in love!

 

I’m a huge fan of the Swoon Reads line and No Love Allowed is a great addition to it. If you don’t know already, Swoon Reads is an online community where writers can submit their manuscripts, readers give feedback, and then Swoon Reads publishes loved ones. I definitely love how much readers are involved on this site. Besides being able to read, rate, and comment on manuscripts, readers are also able to chose the cover direction for chosen novels.

No Love Allowed begins with Caleb, son of a very successful attorney, breaking up with his girlfriend because she broke his only rule—don’t fall in love with him. We find out Caleb has this rule because of what changed in his father after his mother committed suicide when he was younger. Didi is his waitress at the country club where he breaks up with his girlfriend, and they hang out with each other after Didi is fired from her job. When Caleb’s father find out Caleb broke up with his girlfriend, the daughter of an important client, he decides to punish Caleb by taking away Caleb’s year long European trip unless he follow’s his dad’s rules. To survive his summer, he’ll need to find a fake girlfriend who won’t fall in love with him, and he knows just the girl.

Didi lives with her single mother, who is barely making ends meet. Part of this reason is because of Didi’s medication for her bipolar disorder. Now that she doesn’t have a job, she has a lot of free time on her hands, and she’s up for a summer of fun where she’ll be able to get a little taste of how the wealthy live.

I loved how the main characters were portrayed. It was very refreshing and important to see a main character have a mental illness and still have a normal life. It was also great watching Caleb try to deal with coping with his mother’s death and moving forward with his life.

The romance between Didi and Caleb was adorable, and I really liked watching their relationship develop. I also enjoyed the supporting characters. Caleb’s cousins were both so fun and I loved how they took Didi in and became friends with her. The story is told through alternating third person POV, which was an interesting choice for a YA contemporary romance, but it ended working out fine. The ending was definitely predictable, though, but it was still super sweet.

Overall, No Love Allowed is another swoon worthy addition to the Swoon Reads line. I recommend it for those looking for a cute, easy, and fast read!

My Rating: 4 hearts

*This ARC was provided to me by the publisher through Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for a honest review.*

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About Kate

When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn’t going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is a graduate of De La Salle University – Manila with an Bachelor of Arts in Literature. She taught high school English for three years and was an essay consultant for two. Currently she writes full time and is based in the Philippines.

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  • I just signed up for Swoon Reads.! Thanks for the tip. [I had only done Wattpad] Glad you enjoy this story, especially the characters, despite the predictable end, . Though I don’t read YA contemporary romance I’m always interested in the mental illness topic. So I may check it out as my first Swoon Reads’ read 😉

    • Yes, I’m definitely a fan of the fake relationship trope! I hope you’ll enjoy the book! And yes, US only.

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