The Love Study

This book isn’t your typical romance… in the best way possible. Declan, our protagonist has some serious commitment issues (left his last boyfriend at the altar and enjoys being a temp rather than having a permanent job), so when he decides to turn over a new leaf and date seriously again, he also agrees to discuss on non-binary YouTuber, Sidney’s, show. Sidney sets him up on a series of dates that they debrief afterward, but soon Declan realizes he may like the host more than any of the suitors…

The main thing I loved about this book was how REAL and raw it felt. It showed the true awkwardness of first dates, relationship beginnings, and anxiety revolving around such. The dialogue didn’t feel censored or contrived (be warned, there’s a lot of swearing–the main friend group even calls themselves the Marginalized Mutherf*ckers), and I loved the little crossed out lines showing what Declan was really thinking. This story just seemed so authentic. It’s closed door but #sexpositive at the same time, which is fantastic, and I really appreciated this story coming from an #OwnVoices author.

I teeter back and forth between giving this story and 4 and 5 because the pacing was a little off for me–the main characters got together relatively early so I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, which gave me a bit of anxiety, and because of the ebook format I was reading in, I couldn’t tell how much I had left!

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!up

The characters in Kris Ripper’s novel The Love Study are unique and complex, and just plain wonderful. Leave it to Kris Ripper to write something so wholly original, poignant, and thoughtful. The Love Study made me smile, and sometimes that’s all it takes to affirm my faith in the power of love, right when I need it most!

There hasn’t been a character who affected me quite as powerfully as Sidney in a very long time. Doing their best to thrive, they’ve created a safe place where they fit into the world. I know it’s constant work, but Sidney’s careful and intelligent approach to life is a real inspiration. They are a unique and complex character, and it’s yet another testament to the extremely high quality of Kris Ripper’s writing that we only get to know them through Declan’s story.

Speaking of Declan, what reader’s heart doesn’t break just a bit when his story starts out with the statement that he left his last boyfriend at the altar? Declan and his jilted fiancé Mason have worked hard to ensure their friendship survives, along with their places in their mutual friend group. The love and support these two provide for each other is admirable.

This is Declan’s first relationship since his disastrous attempt at marriage, and to say he’s a bit of a mess is putting it mildly. He’s on very shaky ground because he thinks of himself as unable to commit, or being unworthy of someone’s love. Heck, Declan doesn’t even want a permanent position of employment and chooses to do temp work instead.

As the story progresses, it is clear what a truly amazing person Declan is. His friendships are solid, his boss adores him, and facing his fear of relationships is a great first step toward finding love in his life again. Even more courageous is how Declan opens his heart and bares his insecurities when he discovers his feelings for Sidney. I admire this guy’s ability to confront and deal with his anxiety. I have to say that I wish I had a bit more of Declan’s characteristics inside me.

The Love Study is a classic Kris Ripper novel. Centered around personal growth, this emotional story tugged on my heartstrings, and made me look at love in a new light. As with all Kris Ripper’s writing, ze propels me to think hard about my place in the world and the relationships I have with others. For all of that, The Love Study is filled with lightness and humor. Quirky characters with clever, sassy dialogue kept me smiling the whole way through.

Declan and Sidney and their eclectic group of friends are sure to be back in future episodes of Kris Ripper’s The Love Study series. Personally, I hope it’s Declan’s jilted ex Mason, but I’ll try to be patient and wait to see whose story is next!

Review originally published at Romancing Romances.

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

2.75*

Although this is a 2.75* stars review, I feel like I should make a few distinctions, and mention a few things. First of all, I’m not queer/part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I do, however, have very good friends who are. Second, I feel like the story of the book and the meaning of the book almost deserve different ratings (intellectual chemistry anyone?).

For me, the best part of the book was closer to the end, when and after Declan, our main character, does this huge thing that changes his life immensely, as well as the life of Sidney, the person he was dating. And why? Because I think that’s when we had more emotion, when we actually saw who Declan was, and what he was dealing with.

The plot itself didn’t really clicked for me, I loved the chemistry between our characters, but I always felt like it was all a bit fake… Maybe that was the point? Because the end leads to that, to the question of what we want for us, for our lives, and the most important one of who we really are. No masks, no “doing what society thinks it’s right”, etc. This is the part I actually liked. So, for the questions it raised, I would probably give it a 4*. But for the enjoyment of the book… It just didn’t work for me. Maybe 2*?

I really liked the YouTube stuff, how they planned the love study, the dates, etc. It was interesting to see a project like that come to life. And it was fun to see Declan and Sidney connect. But that was about it.

I’m sure it’s a great book for many people, for me it just was a bit boring story wise, but great in pointing out the problems with society and with what society makes us feel.

If I had to describe The Love Study in one word it would be ‘cute’. It’s a sweet look in to what it is about relationships that work for some people and not others. Declan is simply too darn adorable for his own good and Sidney is one of the kindest, most thoughtful people ever.

Declan still has misgivings about how he left his ex at the altar on the wedding day even though Mason has forgiven him and they’re still good friends to this day. His uncertainty about his choices and his fear of commitment makes him feel that he might never find something that’ll work for him. He meets Sidney through his friends and the two hit it off immediately. They both get the difficulties of relationships, especially when neither of them are terribly interested in conforming to traditional relationship norms. Sidney suggests that he appear on their podcast and agree to go on a series of blind dates so they can discuss his experiences. The dates are interesting but the chemistry between Declan and Sidney becomes more comforting by the minute.

I liked The Love Study and what makes it work is how endearing Declan, Sidney and the rest of the friends are. Declan’s personality reminds me a lot of someone I might read in an Alexis Hall novel – sweet, a bit awkward and a bit self-deprecating. I liked that about Declan. As for Sidney, I liked their openness and they don’t come with any judgment. I think Declan needed someone like that in his life who was new to him and could offer a fresh perspective on life and love to him. Declan also has anxiety and I was amazed by how well that was handled here. Anxiety manifests differently for people and at different times and for Declan to eventually make connections (along with Sidney’s help) to what’s happening in the moment is such a big step for his own growth. Sidney is the type of friend you want in your corner with their patience and what seems like bottomless empathy to listen and encourage. I just loved the two of them together.

Would I recommend The Love Study? Yes! On a personal level, I appreciated looking at love and relationships not only from a LGBTQ+ perspective but also through the lens of someone who feels the pressure of the typical expectations of relationships. Maybe not everyone wants everyone else wants like flowers, or a big wedding or chocolate hearts. I found it to be delightful reading where I could happily root for a couple to find their own version of happily ever after.

I’m trying to step out of my ‘comfort zone’ of m/f romances and I am so glad I chanced to see this one and request to give it a try. It’s the first m/gq romance I’ve had an opportunity to read and I really, really enjoyed it. (Note, I’m not saying nonbinary or enby because Sidney explicitly states that they identify as genderqueer rather than nonbinary).

Declan, the first-person protagonist, is a queer white man with a major romantic disaster in his past – he literally left his last boyfriend at the altar, and his friends have a horrible habit of introducing him to potential love interests by telling them about it. Sidney, however, is first introduced as a potential partner for a different member of their little gang of ‘misfits’. Strongly attracted to them, Declan is nevertheless put off by Sidney’s rejection of ‘dating’ as a premise. The two end up collaborating on Sidney’s relationship-advice-for-queers Youtube show as Declan volunteers to go on dates as a case study, and things progress fairly predictably from there as Declan eventually declares his feelings for Sidney.

This was… pretty early in the book, surprisingly early, in fact. And that’s because Declan is an absolute disaster with no idea how to have an actual relationship, and though Sidney is somewhat more together, they are actually uncomfortable trying to do conventional dating, and the two of them end up with massively crossed wires through failures to communicate. They’re cute and messy and adorable and I was massively rooting for the pair of them to get together and just talk it out (which of course, because this is a romance, they eventually do).

While this is a sex-positive book, the actual sex scenes are closed door, which I actually think was really nicely done; it avoided going into any specifics about Sidney’s body in particular which fit well with the way their gender identity was respected (and was what I’d expect from a nonbinary author). This is probably the most diversely-cast book you’ll read in a while, too; almost everyone is queer and there’s lots of racial diversity, and it doesn’t feel in the least forced. Because marginalized people do form friendship groups with other marginalized people. With the queer, BIPOC, fat and disabled. It felt normal and wonderful and there was a beautiful sense of found-family to it. I was delighted to see that another of the friendship group in Oscar is getting their own story next in the series, and I hope Mason gets a book too.

Five stars for a gorgeous queer romance, and I’ll definitely be looking for more by this author.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.

OMG, this was such a fun read!

The characters of The Love Study–Declan and Sidney especially, though the rest of the OGMFers too–are such a wonderfully quirky bunch. I loved that their idea of a bachelorette party was a slumber party with their entire friends group, and every time they all got together on the page their camaraderie shone through in everything they did (though it is more than a little uncool that they constantly bring up the fact that Dec left his fiance at the altar three years ago–especially when that fiance is one of them). There’s a teaser for Oliver’s book at the end, and I am here for it–I can’t wait to spend more time with this bunch! Is it May 25 yet? 😉

But back to The Love Study…

The premise behind the plot–that dating is hard, and queer dating has its own challenges on top of that, so Sidney’s going to help Dec navigate his way through it with their YouTube advice show–was a bit gimmicky, but fun. It was very quickly obvious to everyone *except* Dec and Sidney that they were the ones who should really be going on dates, though honestly that part was resolved a bit faster than I was expecting. Which was fun, but then it gave Dec extra time for his commitment-phobe, I-am-clearly-broken-because-I-left-my-boyfriend-at-the-altar-so-I’ll-just-hurt-them-too self to slowly build up to a massive freak out.

Which he does. In spectacular fashion.

Luckily, this is a romance with a guaranteed HEA (it’s right there in the Carina Adores promo materials!) and Sidney, being an advice giver-outer by (at least one of their) profession(s), ends up taking him back without making themselves into a doormat, and a delightful HEA is had by all.

Well, is had by Dec and Sidney, and the other friends who are already paired up when the story starts, at least. Which brings us back to Oliver (May 2021!) and Mason (the ex-fiance who’d better be getting a book too–I assume sometime after that?)…and here I am, counting the days… 😉

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

3-3.5 stars- Not a perfect fit for me, but some great attributes to make it worth the look

The Love Study was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I was intrigued by the plot, loved that it featured a genderqueer main character, wasn’t a traditional romance in many senses of the word, and felt really true to itself. But honestly, I expected more pizzazz I guess, or maybe it just didn’t hook me enough. That said, though this couple wasn’t “it” for me, I can’t help but be interested in the next pairing on the horizon, so *shrugs emphatically*.

The writing in The Love Study is really smooth, the dialogue felt natural for the characters, and the romance was cute. I liked the indirect way Sidney and Declan’s relationship begins because it felt authentic and very organic. I also appreciated that the path and resolution was so different from the norm rather than trying to fit into a frame that wouldn’t work for these characters. So yes, lots of positive for this book. And yet, I frequently felt very “meh” about the characters themselves.

If I were going to pinpoint what went wrong for me, I would say it was lack of connection. Though Declan and Sidney are physically intimate, the scenes are fade-to-black or referenced after the fact. And while I wouldn’t say my romances need to be extra steamy, perhaps the exclusion of those scenes combined with the characters’ awkward and quirky exchanges gave The Love Study a bit of Young Adult feel, which is admittedly not my jam. Additionally, there was a good amount of inner monologues and in depth analysis of feelings or reactions. Despite this working for the book’s plot and fitting the characters’ personalities well, my interest would wane.

In the end, I think this is a case of great story and writing, just not exactly a good fit for me. Nevertheless, The Love Study is definitely a book I’d recommend to teenagers or young adults because it truly does a great job at recognizing that romance, gender, and attraction is very much a spectrum and celebrates the differences in each couple’s concept of happily-ever-after.

I am so torn on The Love Study by Kris Ripper. I really loved the fast pace of the dialogue when the MF’s group gets together, along with all of their snark and how they hold each other accountable and feel comfortable calling each other out. I felt a kinship with Declan since I often talk in tangents and say awkward things.

But I just couldn’t get over how for a bunch of people in their late 20’s and Sydney being mid-20’s (at least that’s what I gathered) act like a bunch of junior high kids. And all of that giggling. I can’t. I’m a happy person and laugh a lot, but everyone continually giggling, it just kept pulling me out of the story. If this was marketed towards a YA audience I would be giving it a higher score. And I do recommend high schoolers to give The Love Study a read.

There was so much talking about every aspect of the relationship which is great because I feel communication is the most important thing in every relationship, but it was through the entire book. I know communication should not stop once you start sleeping together (you should probably even do more), but as a reader it was too much. I felt like I had a teacher repeating the lessons on love and relationships over and over, instead of enjoying a romance book and seeing the two main characters grow.

Talking about growth, there was very little of it in regards to Declan. In fact, at 80% into the story he had a total meltdown and just threw it all away. Now I know this happens all the time in romance movies/books where the main character doesn’t feel like they are good enough for the other one, but the world is open here. With so much new in queer and glbta writing, why do the conventional norms need to be followed. Ripper could have just skipped all of the drama and continued on with the happily ever after. Or skipped over the breakdown and given us more of a look into queer dates. Sure there were three before Sidney, but since this was a study in queer dating, having Declan go on more dates would have enhanced the story even more.

There is a lot of potential with The Love Study if the story was tightened up, but I think before reading another romance by Ripper I would check the reviews to see if the writing style has changed at all.