Book Review: Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: January 2011
Pages: 336
Series: no
Acquisition: received an ARC for review

Summary:

When you're the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can't write it. Alice needs a story for her mother—and she needs one fast.

That's when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol's voice in her head and see things she can't explain, she must face the truth—that she's either inherited her mother's madness, or Errol is for real. (from Goodreads)

My thoughts:
Really not what I thought it was going to be - in a good way! With it's slightly tragic paranormal twist and characters that were very well developed, Mad Love was a fast, enjoyable read.

Have to say, at first, Errol, aka Cupid, really got on my nerves. He was kind of annoying. It wasn't until after I read more about his life and his backstory that I really started to understand and like him.

My favorite thing about Mad Love is the fact that it takes Alice a really long time to believe what Errol is telling her. It's so frustration sometimes in YA paranormal books to read about the normal, innocent girl meeting the vampire or werewolf or ghost or whatever and going "You're a what? Are you crazy? Get away from me? Oh wait! Come back! It all makes sense! You're my destiny! I believe you!" -- yeah -- kind of hate that a little.

Mad Love didn't have that. The point where Alice accepts what Errol is, is the point that I would have accepted what Errol is. I didn't believe him until Alice did. It was very realistic to me. It almost didn’t seem like a paranormal book most of the time.

Final verdict:
I really loved the characters. Alice's Mom who is struggling with a very real, very scary disease. Mrs Bobot, Reverend Ruttles and Archibald, the tenants in Alice's building who know her secrets and take care of her, and each other, in really fabulous ways. Oh, and Tony! I loved Tony! He was so cute and endearing and it wasn't hard to imagine him and Alice together. They were so sweet as a couple.

I really enjoyed the story and I really enjoyed the feeling behind the words. A total package for me really. Mad Love is the first book by Suzanne Selfors I've read but it's made me eager to pick up her other novels.

If you like love stories, if you like paranormal elements that actual make sense and work with the story - you'll like Mad Love as much as I did.

Overall Rating:

4.5 / 5 Stars

Linkage Love:
Bloomsbury
Author's Website
Goodreads