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Leah Konen

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The Romantics Kindle Edition

by Leah Konen (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 108 ratings

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Perfect for fans of Lauren Myracle and Rainbow Rowell, The Romantics will charm readers of all ages. Gael Brennan is about to have his heart broken when his first big relationship crumbles on the heels of his parents’ painful separation. Love intervenes with the intention of setting things right—but she doesn’t anticipate the intrusion of her dreaded nemesis: the Rebound. Love’s plans for Gael are sidetracked by Cara, Gael’s hot-sauce-wielding “dream girl.” The more Love meddles, the further Gael drifts from the one girl who can help him mend his heart. Soon Love starts breaking all her own rules—and in order to set Gael’s fate back on course, she has to make some tough decisions about what it means to truly care.

Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Amulet Books
Publication date

November 1, 2016
Reading age

13 years and up
Grade level

8 and up
File size

1759 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Not Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up—Gael Brennan is a 17-year-old high school senior in Chapel Hill, NC. He plays the sax in marching band, loves Alfred Hitchcock and Wes Anderson films, and is a smart, well-behaved kid. So why do bad things keep happening to him? The summer before his senior year, his parents separate. Almost two months into the school year, his girlfriend breaks up with him (in a horrible way). This novel follows Gael (a romantic at heart) and his quest to find love as he lives through this trying time. Or, more aptly, this is Love's quest to lead Gael into brighter times ahead. Konen cleverly personifies Love as a lighthearted and empathetic narrator. The remaining characters—Gael, his friends, his sister, and his parents—are all perfectly imperfect, creating relatable and enjoyable scenes in this slice-of-life novel. VERDICT A jaunty, entertaining work that will reach a broad range of readers, with a feel-good cast of characters teens can root for. A general purchase for most YA collections.—Stephanie DeVincentis, Downers Grove North High School, IL

Review

"A jaunty, entertaining work that will reach a broad range of readers, with a feel-good cast of characters teens can root for." ― School Library Journal

"Love delivers this sweet little bonbon of a story in a voice that's always chipper, sometimes funny, and pretty darn smart. For romantics and skeptics alike, this fresh dose of optimism will warm the cockles of the heart." ― Kirkus

“The Romantics is practically perfect in every way, just like love—and Love. My heart is bursting at the seams.” ― Lauren Myracle, New York Times bestselling author of TTYL and The Infinite Moment of Us

Yup. That’s what teenage love feels like. From meet cutes and slow burns to heartbreak and divorce, Leah Konen takes a look at love in all its forms and gives it a voice.”

― Adi Alsaid, author of Let’s Get Lost and Never Always Sometimes

"Yes, yes, love is patient, love is kind, blah, blah, but Love also happens to be delightfully saucy, and it narrates this rom-com with a tongue-in-cheek wit that still holds all the warmth and affection you’d expect from, well, Love." ― Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Altogether practical, clever, yet hopelessly romantic, this book will make you question whether many of life’s small, seemingly insignificant moments might in fact have one very important, very wonderful purpose. ― Lucy Keating, author of Dreamology

Konen makes good use of numerous tropes of romantic comedy films, incorporating them into this light and utterly sweet read. Impressively, Konen treats her subject matter seriously while maintaining a playfulness that will keep readers engaged and rooting for Gael. ― Publishers Weekly

" This playful, entertaining take on love by Leah Konen (The Last Time We Were Us; The After Girls) should find plenty of ardent fans." ― Shelf Awareness

"A smart, snappy look at romance tropes and a feel-good love story all in one." ― Booklist

"This book is fresh and an amazingly funny look at romance when it is least expected, and Love is one of the best book narrators of all time. This one is not to be missed." ― VOYA

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01IDGS3FQ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amulet Books (November 1, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1759 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 336 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,414,970 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #493 in Teen & Young Adult Humorous eBooks
- #628 in Teen & Young Adult Romantic Comedy eBooks
- #2,047 in Teen & Young Adult Humorous Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.1 108 ratings

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Leah Konen

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Leah Konen is the author of Keep Your Friends Close, You Should Have Told Me, The Perfect Escape, All the Broken People, and several young adult novels, including Love and Other Train Wrecks and The Romantics. Her books have been featured in Vogue, Rolling Stone, Marie Claire, Reader’s Digest and The NY Post, among others. She lives in Brooklyn and Saugerties, New York, with her husband; their daughters, Eleanor and Mary Joyce; and their dog, Farley.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

108 global ratings

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Racheal Donnelly

Cutie book

Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2023

Verified Purchase

I just started it but I got it because Hailey pham (did i spell it right?) Recommended it lol because I wanted more books but did not know which ones to get so I was watching her video lol GO WATCH HER YT!!! I love her sm. Anywayssss it's pretty good so far
Edit: it was literally like the best book everrr buy it rn!!!!

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Kindle Customer

Lighthearted, Feel-Good Read

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2017

Verified Purchase

Solid 4.5 ~ I usually dislike books narrated by dogs or Death or other gimmicky things... but have to admit that I found Love to be a delightful narrator. I full-out giggled reading Love's side comments and enjoyed losing myself for a few hours in this fun, sweet, and quirky tale.

My bucket list now includes eating nachos with Leah Konen.

2 people found this helpful

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Kat Coffin

What a sweet story!

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2018

I've been reading books with rather heavy themes, so it was a lovely break to read something light and fun. As an avid lover of rom coms, this book was perfect for me. Told from the viewpoint of Love--(whether the metaphysical embodiment, Eros, or Aphrodite--who's to say!) as Love interferes and guides various characters to the partners they need in their life, this book is frothy sweetness. What I especially like about Konen, is she is very aware of the common (and sometimes problematic) tropes in rom coms--and Wes Anderson films for that matter! She does her best to subvert them while still maintaining a fun, light-hearted style.

If you're looking for a cute love story and a quick read, I recommend this book whole-heartedly.

One person found this helpful

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Bellevue Reader Mom

Just finished reading The Romantics and thoroughly enjoyed it! Konen lends an authentic voice to Love ...

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2016

Verified Purchase

Just finished reading The Romantics and thoroughly enjoyed it! Konen lends an authentic voice to Love in its many forms and places in our lives – not only in romance but in family and friendship as well, and reminds us of the value of each. Young adult readers will relate very well to Gael and other central characters and not-so-young adults will enjoy the trip down memory lane to their own true love stories, college experiences and sometimes messy but ultimately strong family bonds. Fun concept and great read!

2 people found this helpful

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anonymous

Wow

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book was so good!! I loved the POV, aka love as the narrator. It was so interesting and rom-com ish but I enjoyed every second of it.

One person found this helpful

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Miss Print

a sweet romance filled with witty asides

Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2016

Gael Brennan is a textbook Romantic; he believes in love and he loves the idea of being in love. Unfortunately, life seems intent on squashing his Romantic tendencies first with his parents' painful separation and a painful breakup with his first girlfriend.

Love has big plans for Gael and can see big things in his future. But only if Gael's youthful relationships go a certain way--and do not include a dreaded Rebound. When Romantic Gael meets a Serial Monogamist, it seems like Love's plans for Gael are doomed to failure.

Fortunately, Love has more than a few tricks ready to use to set Gael straight. In trying to redirect Gael's path to the right romance, Love (and Gael) will realize that sometimes even the best relationships aren't meant to last forever in The Romantics (2016) by Leah Konen.

The Romantics is narrated by Love who is an omniscient presence throughout the novel. Although Love does not interact with any characters directly, Love does play a hand in near-misses, coincidences, and other interventions to try and move things in the right direction with Gael.

Gael is a fun protagonist and his journey both with romantic love and his other relationships is authentic and entertaining. Gael has a lot of knocks between a painful breakup and his parents' separation which is painful both in its reality and because it comes as such a shock to Gael and his younger sister.He is realistically angry and frustrated but also remains optimistic as he tries to move forward.

Although the story understandably spends a lot of time on Gael's romantic travails, The Romantics also underscores that love comes in all forms--both romantic and not--including a really lovely friendship arc between Gael and his best friend Mason. (Though it is worth noting that the novel is generally hetero-normative as the main relationships remain male-female.)

Because Love spends time with all of the major characters, The Romantics also has a thoroughly developed cast and a plot that develops from multiple angles with some surprising results. The Romantics is a breezy and fun story and a sweet romance filled with witty asides from Love along with footnotes and illustrations. Recommended.

Possible Pairings: My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows; Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan, The Truth Commission by Susan Juby, The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, In Real Life by Jessica Love, Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson, My Unscripted Life by Lauren Morrill, Dumplin' by Julie Murphy, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales, Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, P. S. I Like You by Kasie West

2 people found this helpful

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Kathy Konen

A must read!

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2017

Verified Purchase

Great book! The author Leah Konen writes amazing books! Read the whole book in two days. Couldn't put it down! Great book for teens but still really enjoyable for adults as well! Definitely recommend it!

2 people found this helpful

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Kate Unger

Interesting writing style, so-so story

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2017

Underneath a unique writing style, The Romantics is really just a fairly predictable slow-burn contemporary romance. The story is narrated by Love, in rather the same way that The Book Thief is narrated by Death. The main character is Gael who’s been rather unlucky in love. In the opening scene he catches his girlfriend cheating on him with his best friend. From there Love discusses his mistakes, ranging from Gael’s parents’ divorce to an accidental rebound girl for Gael, and his plan to unite Gael with his true love.

I enjoyed the definitions of the different types of people: romantics, serial monogamist, etc. and the relationship advice scattered throughout Love’s tale. The characters in this story were all fine, and the plot was cute. It just wasn’t anything spectacular.

Blog: Opinionated Book Lover

One person found this helpful

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