Book Review | How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Bourne

July 26th, 2022

Hi Readers!

I’ve been reading a lot less YA recently, but this one has reignited my trust in it. This was a fun, perfect for Summer, more than just a romance book that sent me on a rollercoaster of emotions.

| Published: 2016 by Usborne Press |
| Genre: Contemporary Romance |
| Age: Young Adult |
| Length: 480 Pages |
| My Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |

Amber, Evie and Lottie: three girls facing down tough issues with the combined powers of friendship, feminism and cheesy snacks. Both hilarious and heart-rending, this is Amber’s story of how painful – and exhilarating – love can be, following on from Evie’s story in Am I Normal Yet?

All Amber wants is a little bit of love. Her mum has never been the caring type, even before she moved to California, got remarried and had a personality transplant. But Amber’s hoping that spending the summer with her can change all that.

And then there’s prom king Kyle, the guy all the girls want. Can he really be interested in anti-cheerleader Amber? Even with best friends Evie and Lottie’s advice, there’s no escaping the fact: love is hard. 

I always love to pick up teen romances during the Summer. There’s just something about being young and Summertime that is the perfect combination. I remember enjoying the first book (although it’s been a couple of years since I read it now), and I knew I would eventually want to continue the series.

The Spinster Club is a feminist debate group that three friends have formed and each book follows each girls story. In this one we follow Amber who is spending the Summer across the pond to be with her Mum in America, so we don’t see a lot of their friendship, but there are snippets of debates and emotional support.

I felt every emotion under the sun when reading this book, because I felt all the pain, hurt, and anger Amber felt. I truly sympathised with her at every point. But it’s not all emotional turmoil. Amber is spending the Summer working at a Summer camp and there is a lot of fun classic Summer activities that will make you want to be there with her.

I did like the romance but I think the main thing I came away from this book thinking about was Amber’s relationship with her Mum. It discusses a really tricky subject in a way in which both characters are easy to sympathise with, which must have been a hard thing to balance.

The ending was painful. Torture. I have no closure (but I don’t mind). I just feel like this story isn’t over! I would honestly love an adult sequel, 10 years later, where we get an update on both the romance and the relationship with her mother.

This had everything I wanted and found it completely unputdownable, reading it in just one day. I will definitely be picking up the next one!

Thanks For Reading,
Jess X