A little behind but here are Lindsey and my Five star reviews of F*ck Love by: Tarryn Fisher

Lindsey's Review:
5 stars!

Oh my goodness, I am going to have a book hangover for months with this one.  So, I am going to admit something...this is my first Tarryn Fisher book. Please refrain from throwing things at me (peaks out from under table.) 

Okay, now that that is out of the way, let's see if I can do this book justice. 

Tricia was who suggested we read this book together, and since I had been gifted a copy for my birthday (Thank you Elf, I can't wait to find out who you are and thank you officially) I figured I'd try an author I had yet to read, have been wanting to, but kept putting off.

Like I did with November 9, I walked into this book blind. I had been seeing the cover all over Facebook but hadn't read the synopsis, any reviews or teasers, so I really didn't have a clue what this book was going to be about. (But honestly, who could resist a book with a title like F*ck Love?)

"When people resolve themselves to something, it becomes very difficult to feel anything but that resolve."

I won't lie, the first chapter hooked me (and boy was it a total mind-f*ck at that.) As I dove deeper in Helena's life, the more I wanted to be her best friend. She was kind, but a little nerdy and a whole lot of awkward, but in the best way possible. I connected deeply with Helena, mostly because I saw so much of myself in her. 

"Let people feel the weight of who you are, and let them fucking deal with it."

Helena's story is more about her journey to find who she is without the comfortable confinements of childhood and teenage years.  Her story is about breaking free of who people expect you to be, realizing who they need you to be and acknowledging when you can no longer fill those roles. 

"No one tells you that it hurts this much to be a grown-up. That people are so complicated they end up hurting each other to self preserve."

By no means is Helena's journey a smooth one, her road is filled with bumps and falls, tears and heartache and some of the happiest moments in her life. Throughout the book, I found myself texting Tricia (who has finished before me) how thrilled and happy I was and then suddenly devastated and destroyed by how events unfolded. 

"But isn't that what love is supposed to do? Make you feel, make you brave; make you look at yourself more carefully?"

For me, I connected to Helena and her journey on a personal level, but in the end I think her strength was what stuck most with me. I won't lie, I had to re-read the book after I had finished it, not because I was looking for more meaning or because I felt I missed something in the story, but because I wasn't ready to leave a character I not only connected to, but one I wanted to be best friends with. 

Tarryn has created such a beautiful and gut-wrenching story, characters that are easy to love and a girl with a journey to find out just how brave she really is. I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not walking away a little better than they were before.

My review:
5 stars!


Well it's taken me some time to write this, (I read it when it was released) and as Lindsey said I needed to reread or at least a recap, which led to pretty much a reread. Tarryn Fisher amazes me with her words, Every. Single. Time. She just has this knack, this way that she writes and it flows and is beautiful, sometimes gritty and always real. I mean how many of us have had crushes on our friend's boyfriend growing up? I mean maybe not to the extent Helena did but most of us have been there, (the guy I married dated my friend first). I love how flawed her characters are. I love the mistakes they make, their insecurities and everything that makes a person REAL. 

Helena was a selfless person she helps everyone and gets walked all over because of it. Her best friend Della has been doing it for years. She takes advantage of her so many times and Helena lets her. Well what happens when Helena falls for Della's boyfriend and lets a dream crash with her reality?

Kit, Della's boyfriend and Helena's secret crush is crush worthy but not in your typical "book boyfriend" way. I'll let you read it to understand what I mean, but he wasn't perfect.

I've read that people have compared this book to The Opportunist. I guess I can see that a little but this isn't the same book, not by a long shot, Helena is no Olivia and Kit is no Caleb.

The way this book starts off immediately draws you in. It was a book I devoured and read within twenty four hours.  

Another five stars for Tarryn!