This review contains affiliate links, which earn me a small commission when you click and purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my small business and allowing me to continue providing you a reliable resource for clean book ratings.
Book synopsis from the publisher: Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings, Abby isn’t going to take any chances.
Which is where the list comes in.
Abby gives herself one month to do 10 things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list, she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being.
But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems . . . and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.
My take: 4.5/5 stars. It’s been a while since I’ve read a Kasie West book, or a contemporary romance in general. It was nice to get back to a wholesome, quick read with great banter and a fun plot. I don’t really have many negatives to say about this book. I thought I was going to give it five stars, because it held my attention very well the whole time, but then there was a bit more content than I was expecting from Kasie West, a normally very clean author. There were also some small parts about the plot toward the end that I wasn’t the biggest fan of.
The concept of Love, Life, and the List is very cute. I loved seeing Abby trying new things and completing her list. Even I was mentally crossing things off the list along with her, as she had new experiences. Then, it was fun to see her coming up with new painting ideas based on these experiences. Abby is a great character. She’s very sarcastic but never mean, and I rooted for her from the start. I enjoyed her growth.
Now I’ll move on to the romance. Abby and Cooper had great banter. I always love the best-friends-to-lovers trope, and that definitely came through in this book. However, at times I did think the way they acted with each other and how physical they got was a bit too much for them only being friends at the start. But that was minor.
The plot was very engaging. Once I got into it, I flew through Love, Life, and the List. I also wasn’t expecting something that happened about 80% of the way through. I genuinely thought it would all go as planned, which would’ve still been fine, but it was a nice surprise when things changed.
Rated: Moderate. Some mild language. Sexual content included a lot of thinking about physical closeness and touching, a mention of making out, and characters kissing with tongue.
Click here to purchase your copy of Love, Life, and the List on Amazon.
