Book Review : This Is A Love Story by Jessica Thompson

Title : This Is A Love Story
Author : Jessica Thompson
Publication date : 2nd February 2012
Publisher : Coronet
Source : Purchased

Rating : 5/5

This is a love story. 
Boy meets girl and girl falls for boy – that much is true. 
But when Sienna meets Nick it’s not the way it happens in love stories. It’s because of a squirrel on water skis…
She sees Nick’s dangerous brown eyes and thinks,
Don’t.
Fall.
Into.
Them.
Who will be there to catch Siena when she falls? She is so fragile. She has so many secrets, and he is not that serious.
Funny and sad, this is the story of two people destined never to come together in the great love affair they crave more than anything else.

I adore debut novels, yes I do. In fact I love a good story with a fantastic title! This Is A Love Story was the third book I bought this year, I’ve Got Your Number being first, followed by 50 Ways To Find A Lover. TIALS was marked as a to-read for me since I was serving my country on national service, without a way to get it, I waited till March 17th. Long time, it was. So I bought it when I finished my service to my country and started right after 50 Ways To Find A Lover, and immediately, I was drawn into the lives of Sienna Walker and Nick Redland. You know the feeling when you imagine real-life actors as the characters in your head? Well, for me, Sienna was played by Rachel McAdams (well, because I read TIALS after watching and loving The Vow) and as for Nick, Jake Gyllenhaal. For me, this has been the most romantic read ever, and normally, I don’t get sappy reading chick lit, but TIALS really pushed my buttons. Aside from the lovely story, doesn’t the cover make you swoon? It’s a pretty shade of blue, my favourite. Ahh, so gorgeous. I’m sure everyone has guilty pleasures, mine’s fabulous romantic comedy fiction and deliciously lustful covers! :)

Provided, the synopsis at the back of the book of the story wasn’t very clear and I had a vague feeling about the story, I mean, in every love story, either the girl or guy will fall hopelessly in love with someone and prove their love for them but there ought to be obstacles and all that, then happy ending. Lalala. Oh, I was wrong, because you see, TIALS was written from Sienna and Nick’s point of view which allows the readers to discover the depth of the characters. Basically, the both of them love each other but there were cock-ups along the way and that led to confused feelings for each other, like the time Nick called Sienna “dude” to play his cool but from Sienna’s POV, it seemed like he’s not interested in her or the time when Nick said she reminded him of his sister (not something you want a guy to tell you, right?). Besides the main characters, there were a few minor which contributed to the story, such as Sienna’s father who suffers from narcolepsy, which led to Sienna’s broken family, and also Pete, the homeless man who sleeps in the parking lot of Sienna and Nick’s office. Well, those were the characters I liked as they were very real which was really easy to relate to. Here comes the one I hate! Loathe! Chloe. The only girl besides Sienna who Nick fell in love with, well, not really, really in love. You see, the story spanned to 5 years, from the moment Sienna met Nick on the tube to their happy ever after. Chloe, ugh. I have to give Jessica credit for creating such a despicable character for readers to hate and I fell, hook, line and sinker into hating her. I felt so much hatred towards her throughout the book because she was against Nick’s friendship with Sienna, even though they weren’t romantically inclined. The book was really emotional for me, to read about love lost and so close to getting the one you love but coming up short.

The flow of the book was like a hell of a rollercoaster because one minute they are close to their happy ending, then BAM! out of the blue, the pin drops and something tragic happens or distrupts their relationship (eg. Chloe). I was really caught up with Sienna and Nick’s own backgrounds, I actually finished the book in 3 days! TIALS has got to be the best love story, ever! I loved every bit of it, from the moment Sienna met Nick to their trip to Florida for the gaming fair to bloody Chloe leaving the scene, FINALLY!, to the moment Sienna tells Nick that she loves him.
All in all, this book has been the most compelling, heartbreaking and oooh-inducing book I’ve ever read, seriously. I’m not joking. I enjoyed Jessica’s writing style, it was witty, funny and fresh. She manages to tackle the mindsets of the different sexes, how men thinks and women reacts, and vice versa. Wonderful book! Still no further news about Jessica’s next book, but all I know is; there is one! Joy! For more info, you can contact Jessica on Twitter (@Jthompsonauthor).

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