Love May Fail: A Novel

I enjoyed this book, although Portia was annoying at times. The book had a good theme and real characters. I had to keep reading to see what would happen to them and was not disappointed. This book is definitely worth reading.

I really enjoyed the story especially since I am familiar with the area and loved knowing the local spots when mentioned. The book was an interesting read that held my attention. I look forward to reading more novels by Mr. Quick and his positive writings of southern New Jersey and it’s residents. It was a welcome, relaxing way to spend a weekend.

Characters truly reflected the expansiveness of emotion and durability of pain without being bloody or violent. Characters were true to life with their inconsistency and lack of balance between hope and sorrow.

The story is naïve and unbelievable and even sometimes a little inconsistent and it's writing, why then couldn't I put it down?I recommend it to anyone who likes 80s metal or anyone who's ever had a teacher that you still remember.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for review on my blog.

The overall premise of this story seems hokey, but I picked it up anyway after loving the writing in the first paragraph (shared by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea). The story is told in four parts, each one from a different character's perspective. Each part reads very differently, and not surprisingly, I felt differently about each one. Part One reminded me a bit of The Wife by Meg Wolitzer with a higher dose of crazy...the writing is fantastic and I loved it. Things went downhill in Part Two...it was a bit too maudlin. I couldn't stand Part Three, which was peppered with religious visions and "signs". And, I really liked Part Four, though the hokeyness reared its head in the ending. Though this book ultimately didn't work for me, I would still like to try Quick's debut novel, The Silver Linings Playbook, at some point.

Check out my blog, Sarah's Book Shelves, for more reviews.

This book is just ok for me. It alternates between being interesting and funny to slow and depressing. So much of the explicit language was unnecessary and made me dislike the characters more. Also many critical pieces of the characters' lives were left unexplained, like why Nate continued to hate his mother for so long. The quality of the writing also varied and the ending was a little quick and too sweet. I did enjoy Nate's mothers' letters.

I loved this book! Being from South Jersey, I found area references very comforting and relatable. The characters were well rounded and even in dark moments I felt their emotion. Loved all the twists and turns and the completeness of the ending.