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I Think I Love You
A sweet and funny debut novel about falling for someone when you least expect it . . . and finding out that real life romance is better than anything on screen.
Emma is a die-hard romantic. She loves a meet-cute Netflix movie, her pet, Lady Catulet, and dreaming up the Gay Rom Com of her heart for the film festival competition she and her friends are entering. If only they’d listen to her ideas. . .
Sophia is pragmatic. She’s big into boycotts, namely 1) relationships, 2) teen boys and their BO (reason #2347683 she’s a lesbian), and 3) Emma’s nauseating ideas. Forget starry-eyed romance, Sophia knows what will win: an artistic film with a message.
Cue the drama. The movie is doomed before they even start shooting . . . until a real-life plot twist unfolds behind the camera when Emma and Sophia start seeing each other through a different lens. Suddenly their rivalry is starting to feel like an actual rom-com.
Emma is a die-hard romantic. She loves a meet-cute Netflix movie, her pet, Lady Catulet, and dreaming up the Gay Rom Com of her heart for the film festival competition she and her friends are entering. If only they’d listen to her ideas. . .
Sophia is pragmatic. She’s big into boycotts, namely 1) relationships, 2) teen boys and their BO (reason #2347683 she’s a lesbian), and 3) Emma’s nauseating ideas. Forget starry-eyed romance, Sophia knows what will win: an artistic film with a message.
Cue the drama. The movie is doomed before they even start shooting . . . until a real-life plot twist unfolds behind the camera when Emma and Sophia start seeing each other through a different lens. Suddenly their rivalry is starting to feel like an actual rom-com.
320 pages, Paperback
First published March 2, 2021
About the author
Auriane Desombre
4 books141 followersAuriane Desombre is a children’s and YA author, middle school teacher, and embroidery enthusiast. She is the author of I Think I Love You and contributed to the anthology Together, Apart. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her badly behaved dog, Sammy, and an ever-growing collection of houseplants, most of which are pretty well behaved.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,173 reviews
Want to read
December 29, 2019i go where the gayness is.
Want to read
February 23, 2020Might print out a copy of this cover and sleep with it under my pillow, idk.
November 5, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
When it comes to romance, there are two types of people. You have your Emmas, your diehard romantics who believe in happily ever after and have fallen head-over-heels in love with love. And then you have your Sophias, who roll their eyes at rom-coms and take a more jaded approach to the whole concept of love and relationships.
I am a Sophia. I don’t hate all romance, but it does take a lot more for a fictional romance to impress me, and this one didn’t quite hit the mark. It was fun and light and entertaining, and I think the Emmas of the world will truly enjoy it, and that’s great. The world needs more lighthearted gay romance. But I have to be honest and say that I was hoping for more: more maturity, more complexity, more depth.
Maybe I’m just too old and cynical for teenage love stories. And this one was very teenager-y. Emma isn’t just a diehard romantic; she’s so preoccupied with love that it’s practically her only personality trait. She’s melodramatic and her actions are selfish and juvenile. Everything is about her: her feelings, her ideas, what she wants to do. I should have been able to relate to her subplot of not being out to her parents, having gone through exactly the same thing, but it didn’t get enough attention and development.
I liked Sophia more than I liked Emma, first, because I related to her a lot more. Her story combined many different threads, all of which I found interesting: the aftermath of her parents’ recent divorce, the failed relationship she left behind in Paris, her struggle to reintegrate with her friend group. But even Sophia had moments when she annoyed the heck out of me. It’s no wonder she has trouble fitting back in with her friends; she won’t shut up about Paris around them. And while I, too, have a cynical view of romance, Sophia took it to an extreme.
Also, this book had way too much heterosexuality for a book about two girls falling in love. I couldn’t have cared less about Kate and Tom or Myrah and Peter. Come to think of it, this book had way too much going on in general: friend drama, family drama, side relationships. I like complex and multilayered plots, but only if each subplot gets enough development to keep you invested, and there isn’t so much going on that it distracts from what should be the main focus of the story: in this case, Emma and Sophia falling in love and making movies.
As a result, the development of their relationship felt rushed and sloppy. The foundations of Emma and Sophia’s dislike for each other were about as petty as they could get. Their constant bickering wasn’t flirtatious, it wasn’t cute, it was immature and irritating. And the different schemes in this book to get people together by lying to them? Also not cute, completely cliché, and definitely not a solid foundation for a healthy relationship.
This book wasn’t all bad. Emma and Sophia had a few romantic scenes together that warmed even my cold heart. But the good moments were bogged down by all the unnecessary teenage drama and immaturity. I wish I could give this book a higher rating, but given how much time I spent rolling my eyes and skimming through subplots I didn’t care about, I just don’t think I can.
When it comes to romance, there are two types of people. You have your Emmas, your diehard romantics who believe in happily ever after and have fallen head-over-heels in love with love. And then you have your Sophias, who roll their eyes at rom-coms and take a more jaded approach to the whole concept of love and relationships.
I am a Sophia. I don’t hate all romance, but it does take a lot more for a fictional romance to impress me, and this one didn’t quite hit the mark. It was fun and light and entertaining, and I think the Emmas of the world will truly enjoy it, and that’s great. The world needs more lighthearted gay romance. But I have to be honest and say that I was hoping for more: more maturity, more complexity, more depth.
Maybe I’m just too old and cynical for teenage love stories. And this one was very teenager-y. Emma isn’t just a diehard romantic; she’s so preoccupied with love that it’s practically her only personality trait. She’s melodramatic and her actions are selfish and juvenile. Everything is about her: her feelings, her ideas, what she wants to do. I should have been able to relate to her subplot of not being out to her parents, having gone through exactly the same thing, but it didn’t get enough attention and development.
I liked Sophia more than I liked Emma, first, because I related to her a lot more. Her story combined many different threads, all of which I found interesting: the aftermath of her parents’ recent divorce, the failed relationship she left behind in Paris, her struggle to reintegrate with her friend group. But even Sophia had moments when she annoyed the heck out of me. It’s no wonder she has trouble fitting back in with her friends; she won’t shut up about Paris around them. And while I, too, have a cynical view of romance, Sophia took it to an extreme.
Also, this book had way too much heterosexuality for a book about two girls falling in love. I couldn’t have cared less about Kate and Tom or Myrah and Peter. Come to think of it, this book had way too much going on in general: friend drama, family drama, side relationships. I like complex and multilayered plots, but only if each subplot gets enough development to keep you invested, and there isn’t so much going on that it distracts from what should be the main focus of the story: in this case, Emma and Sophia falling in love and making movies.
As a result, the development of their relationship felt rushed and sloppy. The foundations of Emma and Sophia’s dislike for each other were about as petty as they could get. Their constant bickering wasn’t flirtatious, it wasn’t cute, it was immature and irritating. And the different schemes in this book to get people together by lying to them? Also not cute, completely cliché, and definitely not a solid foundation for a healthy relationship.
This book wasn’t all bad. Emma and Sophia had a few romantic scenes together that warmed even my cold heart. But the good moments were bogged down by all the unnecessary teenage drama and immaturity. I wish I could give this book a higher rating, but given how much time I spent rolling my eyes and skimming through subplots I didn’t care about, I just don’t think I can.
November 20, 2021
it's crazy how i can read the filthiest smut like it's the morning paper, but blush like there's no tomorrow when i read the tiniest bit of fluff 🙄
anyway, i'm on my way to murder Matt, anyone wants to join ?
anyway, i'm on my way to murder Matt, anyone wants to join ?
Want to read
February 22, 2020I'm a simple person, I see something is both rivals to lovers and sapphic and I must read it.
March 13, 2021
2.5 Stars
Well I do enjoy a good enemies to lovers light hearted romance
This was a fun but at times frustrating story. I always get a bit miffed when the old miscommunication plot goes on for a few too many chapters as it did in this one. It's probably because it would never drag on for too long in my world before I had some kind of truth bomb showdown. I actually really liked the main characters and thought the personal challenges they faced were relatable and sensitively dealt with. I'm not sure about the volume of the peripheral friend drama as at times it over shadowed the main love story. A nice slightly quirky and predictable romance story.
Well I do enjoy a good enemies to lovers light hearted romance
This was a fun but at times frustrating story. I always get a bit miffed when the old miscommunication plot goes on for a few too many chapters as it did in this one. It's probably because it would never drag on for too long in my world before I had some kind of truth bomb showdown. I actually really liked the main characters and thought the personal challenges they faced were relatable and sensitively dealt with. I'm not sure about the volume of the peripheral friend drama as at times it over shadowed the main love story. A nice slightly quirky and predictable romance story.
October 31, 2022
Actual rating: 2,75
Review to come soon.
Review to come soon.
Shelved as 'release-2020'
February 25, 2020Sapphic rivals-to-lovers? I have been summoned
Read
July 4, 2021Dnf at 30% so no rating from me. I found both mains to be annoying and selfish and I don’t care enough about either to keep reading.
September 10, 2021
Auriane Desombre's debut novel,
I Think I Love You
, is sweet and poignant, a hate-to-love (sort-of) rom-com that definitely touched my heart.
“The best love is matter-of-fact. It doesn’t need those big gestures and those bug romantic moments. Real love comes in the everyday moments, the daily life you share.”
When Emma learns of a film festival competition which could lead to college scholarships and an internship in the film industry, she instantly convinces her best friends to help make a movie. As a bisexual teen and a huge romantic, she’s never found a rom-com that makes her feel seen, so that’s her idea for a film.
But when Sophia returns after some time living in Paris with her mother, she’s quick to throw a wrench in Emma’s plans. Not only doesn’t she believe in love or romance, but she thinks a cheesy idea like Emma’s won’t win the festival—they need something artsy, introspective, and pretentious. The differing opinions between the two create a great deal of tension in their friend group, so they split up to make both movies.
Of course, having friends in competition with one another is never a good idea and many feel caught in the middle. When something happens to cause Emma and Sophia to start seeing each other in a different light, they realize there are reasons each behaves the way they do and perhaps their dislike of one another is misguided.
Come on, rom-com fans, you know what will happen. But this is an emotional story, so there’s drama, misunderstandings, and tension afoot and there are secrets to be revealed. In a lot of ways the book feels like a rom-com, but it also resonated for me in a number of ways.
I love the abundance of LGBTQIA+ rom-coms out there these days!!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2020 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2020.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the last decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
“The best love is matter-of-fact. It doesn’t need those big gestures and those bug romantic moments. Real love comes in the everyday moments, the daily life you share.”
When Emma learns of a film festival competition which could lead to college scholarships and an internship in the film industry, she instantly convinces her best friends to help make a movie. As a bisexual teen and a huge romantic, she’s never found a rom-com that makes her feel seen, so that’s her idea for a film.
But when Sophia returns after some time living in Paris with her mother, she’s quick to throw a wrench in Emma’s plans. Not only doesn’t she believe in love or romance, but she thinks a cheesy idea like Emma’s won’t win the festival—they need something artsy, introspective, and pretentious. The differing opinions between the two create a great deal of tension in their friend group, so they split up to make both movies.
Of course, having friends in competition with one another is never a good idea and many feel caught in the middle. When something happens to cause Emma and Sophia to start seeing each other in a different light, they realize there are reasons each behaves the way they do and perhaps their dislike of one another is misguided.
Come on, rom-com fans, you know what will happen. But this is an emotional story, so there’s drama, misunderstandings, and tension afoot and there are secrets to be revealed. In a lot of ways the book feels like a rom-com, but it also resonated for me in a number of ways.
I love the abundance of LGBTQIA+ rom-coms out there these days!!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2020 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2020.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the last decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
March 6, 2021
(2.5)
hi i really wanted to like this and i didn’t and i am now Sad
i never had like High High expectations for this but i was like !! nice a cute sapphic contemporary which i will enjoy !! and instead ended up feeling annoyed the whole way through
i found both of the main characters super annoying and whiny?? kinda self centred aswell i guess??? and hating both of the main characters in a romance is ,,,, not the greatest time because it meant there was No part of me really rooting for the romance??? like it WAS cute when they were together but i also didn’t really care
the conflict towards the end also felt SO forced like !! i know that’s super common in ya but it just felt so pointless here
also a very me thing to why i didn’t LOVE this - and this is very much a me problem and if this sort of thing never bothers you then just ignore this !! - but while this was sapphic and cute and both the mc’s were sapphic identifying they were the only queer characters and there were multiple straight romances in the background and ?? i don’t know that is fine and i understand in a lot of books why there’s only going to be maybe two queer characters because of the context but this was about artsy film nerds in new york ??
and idk, again a me thing, but when i’m going into a queer romance book it’s because i want,,,the queer characters and their romance but i’m pretty sure there were many points where the straight side characters and their romances got WAY more focus
again that is a very me complaint so take it with a massive handful of salt !!!!
and definitely check out this book if you don’t necessarily feel the same about these points because it WAS cute and i loved the film festival stuff and there were some important elements such as one of the main characters throughout the book trying to come out and it explores that sort of ~grey area~ of supportive parents
(one thing i liked were the much ado about nothing vibes which is one of my favourite shakespeare plays so i’m kinda sad that didn’t save the book for me)
(why must books with the MOST gorgeous covers be so mediocre)
hi i really wanted to like this and i didn’t and i am now Sad
i never had like High High expectations for this but i was like !! nice a cute sapphic contemporary which i will enjoy !! and instead ended up feeling annoyed the whole way through
i found both of the main characters super annoying and whiny?? kinda self centred aswell i guess??? and hating both of the main characters in a romance is ,,,, not the greatest time because it meant there was No part of me really rooting for the romance??? like it WAS cute when they were together but i also didn’t really care
the conflict towards the end also felt SO forced like !! i know that’s super common in ya but it just felt so pointless here
also a very me thing to why i didn’t LOVE this - and this is very much a me problem and if this sort of thing never bothers you then just ignore this !! - but while this was sapphic and cute and both the mc’s were sapphic identifying they were the only queer characters and there were multiple straight romances in the background and ?? i don’t know that is fine and i understand in a lot of books why there’s only going to be maybe two queer characters because of the context but this was about artsy film nerds in new york ??
and idk, again a me thing, but when i’m going into a queer romance book it’s because i want,,,the queer characters and their romance but i’m pretty sure there were many points where the straight side characters and their romances got WAY more focus
again that is a very me complaint so take it with a massive handful of salt !!!!
and definitely check out this book if you don’t necessarily feel the same about these points because it WAS cute and i loved the film festival stuff and there were some important elements such as one of the main characters throughout the book trying to come out and it explores that sort of ~grey area~ of supportive parents
(one thing i liked were the much ado about nothing vibes which is one of my favourite shakespeare plays so i’m kinda sad that didn’t save the book for me)
(why must books with the MOST gorgeous covers be so mediocre)
March 2, 2021
☆ advanced reader copy from netgalley ☆
How do you write a review about a book that means the world to you?
When I finished this book, I was hyperventilating. I've never had a book hit me so close to home. It's like Desombre reached into my soul and wrote it out on paper. From Sophia's parental situation to Emma's bisexuality, the book just spoke to me on a level no other book has.
Sophia is just --- she's me. That's all I can say. Emma is perfect... Goodness, everything about this book was perfect. I can't even make coherent sentences.
I loved reading Sophia and Emma transform in this book. Their character development and their relationship development was perfect. They are both flawed but that's what makes them great characters.
Not to mention, this book was ADORABLE. I was practically smiling the entire novel. Sophie and Emma's development from rivals to friends to lovers was... ugh, I loved it.
In conclusion, this is a new favorite, please buy it, bye!
How do you write a review about a book that means the world to you?
When I finished this book, I was hyperventilating. I've never had a book hit me so close to home. It's like Desombre reached into my soul and wrote it out on paper. From Sophia's parental situation to Emma's bisexuality, the book just spoke to me on a level no other book has.
Sophia is just --- she's me. That's all I can say. Emma is perfect... Goodness, everything about this book was perfect. I can't even make coherent sentences.
I loved reading Sophia and Emma transform in this book. Their character development and their relationship development was perfect. They are both flawed but that's what makes them great characters.
Not to mention, this book was ADORABLE. I was practically smiling the entire novel. Sophie and Emma's development from rivals to friends to lovers was... ugh, I loved it.
In conclusion, this is a new favorite, please buy it, bye!
March 3, 2021
This super funny and QUEER AF book is as cute as its cover! It's a great take on MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, set in the present-day NYC high school scene with driven and talented lady leads!
July 9, 2022
I don't like any of these characters and I don't think even teenagers are this stupid. The immaturity level is ramped with everybody talking nonsense, about life, about each other, about their plans and expectations. And particularly about relationships.
I'll give one example that was driving me nuts. It's a big one but only one. Sophia, one of the leads, is running around seriously claiming that "love doesn't exist". She doubles down on that sentiment when challenged. Even a teenager, in all their ignorant hubris, isn't going to give that obvious idiocy headspace. People hold lots of weird ideas about love and I'm generally willing to go with a character's various excuses for an author to explore them. But "it doesn't exist" is just dumb.
I finally got cranky enough to quit when the whole peer group blows up, subverting the very activity they're supposedly very serious about. It was already a stupid conceit that six people could create a film that could stand up to national competition. Anyone thinking they could do it with three is beyond delusional. And that's before you have Sophia running around saying "artsy films do better in competitions". Which is true, probably, but define "artsy" (hint: anyone who can create an "artsy film" doesn't call it that and anyone who calls it that can't create one).
Ugh. I'm frustrating myself by going on about this. It's a one-star dnf and I regret wasting time on it.
I'll give one example that was driving me nuts. It's a big one but only one. Sophia, one of the leads, is running around seriously claiming that "love doesn't exist". She doubles down on that sentiment when challenged. Even a teenager, in all their ignorant hubris, isn't going to give that obvious idiocy headspace. People hold lots of weird ideas about love and I'm generally willing to go with a character's various excuses for an author to explore them. But "it doesn't exist" is just dumb.
I finally got cranky enough to quit when the whole peer group blows up, subverting the very activity they're supposedly very serious about. It was already a stupid conceit that six people could create a film that could stand up to national competition. Anyone thinking they could do it with three is beyond delusional. And that's before you have Sophia running around saying "artsy films do better in competitions". Which is true, probably, but define "artsy" (hint: anyone who can create an "artsy film" doesn't call it that and anyone who calls it that can't create one).
Ugh. I'm frustrating myself by going on about this. It's a one-star dnf and I regret wasting time on it.
January 3, 2023
“When I come out to them, I want them to know that bisexuality is valid, and I want them to know that bisexual love stories are as possible and beautiful and lovely as any other.”
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit down and enjoy a good sapphic romance so I decided to pick this up since it’s been in my tbr for so long.
I loved the idea and setting behind this. The fact that the two main characters give such wonderful representation fills me up with so much comfort and joy.
I wish there would’ve been less focus on the straight relationships of this book because I wanted it to centre more around the development of Sophia and Emma’s relationship. I loved the conflict surrounding Sophia and Emma with their parents. That’s also what I wanted the focus on.
Being afraid of your parents reaction to you coming out is such a large issue and fear that people apart of the community face and I loved that aspect of this book and would’ve loved more of it.
Overall, this was a cute story and I enjoyed it.
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit down and enjoy a good sapphic romance so I decided to pick this up since it’s been in my tbr for so long.
I loved the idea and setting behind this. The fact that the two main characters give such wonderful representation fills me up with so much comfort and joy.
I wish there would’ve been less focus on the straight relationships of this book because I wanted it to centre more around the development of Sophia and Emma’s relationship. I loved the conflict surrounding Sophia and Emma with their parents. That’s also what I wanted the focus on.
Being afraid of your parents reaction to you coming out is such a large issue and fear that people apart of the community face and I loved that aspect of this book and would’ve loved more of it.
Overall, this was a cute story and I enjoyed it.
March 19, 2022
if you think i could resist reading a sapphic book with 1) a hate-to-love romance and 2) a film festival...you clearly think of me too highly. i am weak, okay? i see the cutest cover ever and hear it's sapphic and i am craving the book. that's about 80% of my personality at this point.
i used to never read light-hearted books, especially not romcoms, so i'm trying to get into them more and this definitely was one that made me so incredibly happy! i found myself actually loving just reading without thinking too much, you know?
i loved the setting of this book so much! as an absolute movie-freak it was so much fun to see the characters be so passionate about the film festival and how their own love story developed while, well, developing their own movies! there's also something about sophia and emma. their chemistry was so cute and wholesome.
i 100% believe they are real. i refuse to believe anything else.
there's also a pretty good balance between the more serious stuff (like sophia's parents their divorce and emma not being out to her parents). about emma: being bisexual myself, I definitely related to her and the representation made me so incredibly happy! especially this quote:
and that's exactly why i'm so happy i picked this up: we got to see that. and that's so, so important.
the thing just is: romcoms are something i'm gonna need some time to get used to. while i usually read books with lots of descriptions and build-up, this one was more straightforward? like i said, i really enjoyed not having to crack my brain over things, but it also felt really...ill at ease, to be honest? so i guess this is a typical case of it's-not-you-it's-me.
that being said, this is a very positive three-stars for me though! i read it in one sitting and enjoyed my time with it a lot! highly recommend if anyone's looking for some sapphic cuteness!
thank you to the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review! this did not affect my opinions in any way.
i used to never read light-hearted books, especially not romcoms, so i'm trying to get into them more and this definitely was one that made me so incredibly happy! i found myself actually loving just reading without thinking too much, you know?
i loved the setting of this book so much! as an absolute movie-freak it was so much fun to see the characters be so passionate about the film festival and how their own love story developed while, well, developing their own movies! there's also something about sophia and emma. their chemistry was so cute and wholesome.
i 100% believe they are real. i refuse to believe anything else.
there's also a pretty good balance between the more serious stuff (like sophia's parents their divorce and emma not being out to her parents). about emma: being bisexual myself, I definitely related to her and the representation made me so incredibly happy! especially this quote:
"When I come out to them, I want them to know that bisexuality is valid, and I want them to know that bisexual love stories are as possible and beautiful and lovely as any other."
and that's exactly why i'm so happy i picked this up: we got to see that. and that's so, so important.
the thing just is: romcoms are something i'm gonna need some time to get used to. while i usually read books with lots of descriptions and build-up, this one was more straightforward? like i said, i really enjoyed not having to crack my brain over things, but it also felt really...ill at ease, to be honest? so i guess this is a typical case of it's-not-you-it's-me.
that being said, this is a very positive three-stars for me though! i read it in one sitting and enjoyed my time with it a lot! highly recommend if anyone's looking for some sapphic cuteness!
thank you to the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review! this did not affect my opinions in any way.
Read
March 8, 2021As part of F/F February 2021, over at Beyond A Bookshelf we talked to author Auriane Desombre about debuting with a LGBTQIAP+ novel and the hate-to-love romance trope! You can read it here.
*
I Think I Love You is a light and easy sapphic rom-com that's quintessential YA. It's also a loose retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, which is fun. I enjoyed the hate-to-love dynamic between Emma and Sophia, and by extension their respective characterisation. There did seem to be a lot of deception about various things by various characters and it did make me wonder whether it was all necessary, but by the end the characters did seem to learn that it wasn't the way to go about things.
The quick pacing was excellent and I breezed through it! It was refreshing to have something shorter, especially as I've been reading longer YA novels as of late. I also enjoyed how clear Desombre made Emma and Sophia's identities.
All in all, a light and easy YA debut with a fun sapphic romance at its heart.
*
I Think I Love You is a light and easy sapphic rom-com that's quintessential YA. It's also a loose retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, which is fun. I enjoyed the hate-to-love dynamic between Emma and Sophia, and by extension their respective characterisation. There did seem to be a lot of deception about various things by various characters and it did make me wonder whether it was all necessary, but by the end the characters did seem to learn that it wasn't the way to go about things.
The quick pacing was excellent and I breezed through it! It was refreshing to have something shorter, especially as I've been reading longer YA novels as of late. I also enjoyed how clear Desombre made Emma and Sophia's identities.
All in all, a light and easy YA debut with a fun sapphic romance at its heart.
May 5, 2021
Rep: lesbian mc, bi mc
(2.5)
— i cared way more about sophia and a lot of emma's problems with sophia at the start were...so childish but they are teens so i guess that was whatever
— i loved how sophia twice said "i love being a lesbian" that's why i've gone 2.5 rounded up tbh
— there's so much het drama for a book about sapphic omd, and i'm not at all sure i'd have forgiven tom for pulling that shit
— if i was friends with anyone who meddled in my life to the extent that these friends meddle, i can't say i'd be particularly forgiving, or look too kindly on them, not gonna lie, but i guess that's just me
(2.5)
— i cared way more about sophia and a lot of emma's problems with sophia at the start were...so childish but they are teens so i guess that was whatever
— i loved how sophia twice said "i love being a lesbian" that's why i've gone 2.5 rounded up tbh
— there's so much het drama for a book about sapphic omd, and i'm not at all sure i'd have forgiven tom for pulling that shit
— if i was friends with anyone who meddled in my life to the extent that these friends meddle, i can't say i'd be particularly forgiving, or look too kindly on them, not gonna lie, but i guess that's just me
January 5, 2020
Ever wonder what would happen if you took Much Ado About Nothing, introduced it to Emma, and then plopped it in modern day NY? Then this stunning f/f romcom is definitely for you! Filled with heart, humor, and impressive amounts of wit, this book follows Emma and Sophia and their complicated (turned swoony!) relationship during a film competition.
I was able to read an early version of this story and am more than excited to read it again. And again. And again.
I don't just think I love this book... I love it with absolute certainty!
I was able to read an early version of this story and am more than excited to read it again. And again. And again.
I don't just think I love this book... I love it with absolute certainty!
December 29, 2019
This is the f/f romcom you've been waiting for!!
I loved everything about the enemies-to-lovers romcom set in fabulous NY! Desombre perfectly captures the feel of being a student in New York, and the chemistry between Emma and Sophia manages to be both swoony and sweet.
This is one of my fav reads of 2019 and 2020 can't get here soon enough!!!
I loved everything about the enemies-to-lovers romcom set in fabulous NY! Desombre perfectly captures the feel of being a student in New York, and the chemistry between Emma and Sophia manages to be both swoony and sweet.
This is one of my fav reads of 2019 and 2020 can't get here soon enough!!!
March 18, 2021
I Think I Love You is a fun, sapphic, enemies-to-lovers/rivals-to-lovers YA contemporary romance that follows Emma, who absolutely adores rom-coms, and Sophia, who after her parents’ divorce no longer believes in love. After the two butt heads while their group of friends tries to come up with a concept for a prestigious film festival, the two end up competing against each other. But after some friendly interference, perhaps there’s more to their snarky remarks and cutting insults. As I’m sure you’ll already no, I’m not a huge fan of enemies-to-lovers romances, and rivals-to-lovers is on thin ice too, but I was sold by the film making competition plotline and the gorgeous cover, so I had to pick it up. Immediately I was so, so happy to see that the characters refer to their sexualities by name on page – Emma frequently talks about how important her identity is as a bisexual, and it was great to see that she talked about how it is still an important part of her, no matter what gender her future partner is, and Sophia is an out and proud lesbian who mentions several times that she loves being a lesbian!
Despite this, I did think that the book got off to a pretty shaky start, hence the four star rating, and I found Sophia and Emma’s dynamic to be too much on the enemies side. It is explained that there is no real reason why they hate each other but they don’t just trade snarky comments, instead making really quite hurtful remarks and pushing the other away for literally no reason. I also picked up on a a line at the start of chapter six that felt really off to me as a lesbian – for some context, Emma is asked out by one of her male friends, Matt, and she rejects him several times but he keeps persevering, only to stop when Sophia interjects. At the start of chapter six, which is from Sophia’s POV, she thinks: “No one deserves to be on the receiving end of a man’s romantic attentions for so long after making it clear that she isn’t interested. At some point, it’s disrespectful of boundaries. Reason 4,948,127 why I love being a lesbian”. The first part of this about boundaries, I have no problem with, but the part where she insinuates that she doesn’t have to put up with this because she is a lesbian is questionable at best. I know that I, and many other lesbians, have experienced being hit on by a man who doesn’t seem to want to give up and even some who suggest they can ‘change us’, so to suggest that this doesn’t happen made me a bit uncomfortable.
However, aside from this, once the plot got going I found myself really sucked into the story and read the majority of the book in one evening! I think that the interference of their mutual friends into Emma and Sophia’s relationship was a plot device that I particularly enjoyed and I loved seeing their dynamic evolve from that point onwards. The drama of the film competition was also a lot of fun, and the setting of New York City in the midst of a heatwave makes this book the perfect read for summer!
As for the characters, I was definitely team Sophia, but I loved them both regardless! Emma is your classic hopeless romantic who adores rom-coms and just wants to see herself, as a bisexual girl, represented, and so decides to film her own sapphic rom-com. She is also still closeted to her parents and this part of the story meant a lot to me, though I don’t want to talk too much about it for fear of spoiling something! Sophia is dealing with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce and having just returned from Paris, and has decided to create a French-inspired, moody artistic film. There’s a part in the book that really resonated with me when she says that she “…was miserable when I was in France. I spent the whole time lying around in my room and eating my feelings. And France is a good place to do that”. Those lines really made me laugh because when I moved to France I spent a lot of my time crying in the Intermarché and devouring freshly baked baguettes and mustard crisps (I miss those crisps so much)! Her discussions of loneliness were so relatable and I really loved her character a lot!
Overall, despite my initial hesitations, I really did enjoy reading this book for the most part and even if, like me, you’re not a fan of enemies-to-lovers, once you power through the first third of the book or so, you’ll find that this is a really sweet sapphic romance with an engaging plot and a really hopeful outlook!
Despite this, I did think that the book got off to a pretty shaky start, hence the four star rating, and I found Sophia and Emma’s dynamic to be too much on the enemies side. It is explained that there is no real reason why they hate each other but they don’t just trade snarky comments, instead making really quite hurtful remarks and pushing the other away for literally no reason. I also picked up on a a line at the start of chapter six that felt really off to me as a lesbian – for some context, Emma is asked out by one of her male friends, Matt, and she rejects him several times but he keeps persevering, only to stop when Sophia interjects. At the start of chapter six, which is from Sophia’s POV, she thinks: “No one deserves to be on the receiving end of a man’s romantic attentions for so long after making it clear that she isn’t interested. At some point, it’s disrespectful of boundaries. Reason 4,948,127 why I love being a lesbian”. The first part of this about boundaries, I have no problem with, but the part where she insinuates that she doesn’t have to put up with this because she is a lesbian is questionable at best. I know that I, and many other lesbians, have experienced being hit on by a man who doesn’t seem to want to give up and even some who suggest they can ‘change us’, so to suggest that this doesn’t happen made me a bit uncomfortable.
However, aside from this, once the plot got going I found myself really sucked into the story and read the majority of the book in one evening! I think that the interference of their mutual friends into Emma and Sophia’s relationship was a plot device that I particularly enjoyed and I loved seeing their dynamic evolve from that point onwards. The drama of the film competition was also a lot of fun, and the setting of New York City in the midst of a heatwave makes this book the perfect read for summer!
As for the characters, I was definitely team Sophia, but I loved them both regardless! Emma is your classic hopeless romantic who adores rom-coms and just wants to see herself, as a bisexual girl, represented, and so decides to film her own sapphic rom-com. She is also still closeted to her parents and this part of the story meant a lot to me, though I don’t want to talk too much about it for fear of spoiling something! Sophia is dealing with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce and having just returned from Paris, and has decided to create a French-inspired, moody artistic film. There’s a part in the book that really resonated with me when she says that she “…was miserable when I was in France. I spent the whole time lying around in my room and eating my feelings. And France is a good place to do that”. Those lines really made me laugh because when I moved to France I spent a lot of my time crying in the Intermarché and devouring freshly baked baguettes and mustard crisps (I miss those crisps so much)! Her discussions of loneliness were so relatable and I really loved her character a lot!
Overall, despite my initial hesitations, I really did enjoy reading this book for the most part and even if, like me, you’re not a fan of enemies-to-lovers, once you power through the first third of the book or so, you’ll find that this is a really sweet sapphic romance with an engaging plot and a really hopeful outlook!
April 7, 2021
i hate this book and i’m so unbelievably upset about it.
let’s get into it shall we ? going into this book obviously the cover is gorgeous and i mean the plot sounded fairly interesting enough, sapphic enemies to lovers who are rivals in a film competition yes please ! however, i have yet to be more disappointed than i was with this book.
i’ll start with all the things i despise about this book.
- THE WRITING STYLE. the characters aren’t written like real teenagers, it’s written like a 47 year old woman trying to figure out what teenagers sound like and failing absolutely miserably.
- almost all of the characters, emma has the personality of a glorified fifth grader who stans the kissing booth. seriously. tom is a narcissist asshole, myrah and kate were alright but overall irrelevant, sophia i liked more than others but i’ll talk about her later and you know, matt was, well matt.
- emma going on and on about her perfect romance and love and ugh. listen, i’m a hopeless romantic myself so going in, i thought i would relate to her but instead i loathed her. similarly, how sophia went on and on about how she hates love and yak.
- everything in this book was either predictable or i’ve seen it done a thousand times. the “my parents are divorced and i’m scared of love so i just hate it wahwah”, the godforsaken coming out storyline (listen, i get it, i’m gay i relate trust me, BUT IT DOESNT NEED TO BE IN EVERY LGBTQ+ BOOK DAMNIT), not to mention the fact that i knew kate, myrah and tom had set sophia & emma up from the beginning so that story wasn’t interesting whatsoever.
-the whole of the enemies to lovers storyline. so in my experience, enemies to lovers can work one of two ways 1. diehard, stone cold hatred or 2. strong dislike usually with petty arguments and fun banter. i believe this book was supposed to be the latter but it just fell flat (like everything else in this book). they talk about how mean they are to each other but tbh they’re just annoying and petty.
- all the “plans” and “sabotages” were childish and unnecessary.
- THE ENEMIES PART WASN’T LONG ENOUGH AT ALL AND THERE WAS NO TRANSITION. this drove me crazy. its like one day they hate each other and the next they’re all giggly and “in love”. (thats another issue, the other doesn’t describe the feeling of being in love well at all)
- i’m all for tropes but it feels like this writer said “you know what would be fan-fucking-tastic, if we took all of the overused tropes and just turned them up to MAX”
things i liked (hint: there’s not much)
- sophia. “liked” would be a strong word, much like emma i found her annoying and whiney but compared to that god awful excuse for a main character, i found her to be the best part of the book.
so to conclude this book was a shitshow and absolutely awful and had it been any longer i would have gouged my eyes out with a pencil. but in all seriousness i was really disappointed when i didn’t like it because i was really looking forward to reading it:(
also- i feel like it should be noted that i read a book a couple weeks ago that totaled to about 340k words and i read that in sixteen hours and this book is 300-ish pages, probably not over 75k and IT TOOK ME THREE FUCKING DAYS. i hate this book with every fiber of my being.
let’s get into it shall we ? going into this book obviously the cover is gorgeous and i mean the plot sounded fairly interesting enough, sapphic enemies to lovers who are rivals in a film competition yes please ! however, i have yet to be more disappointed than i was with this book.
i’ll start with all the things i despise about this book.
- THE WRITING STYLE. the characters aren’t written like real teenagers, it’s written like a 47 year old woman trying to figure out what teenagers sound like and failing absolutely miserably.
- almost all of the characters, emma has the personality of a glorified fifth grader who stans the kissing booth. seriously. tom is a narcissist asshole, myrah and kate were alright but overall irrelevant, sophia i liked more than others but i’ll talk about her later and you know, matt was, well matt.
- emma going on and on about her perfect romance and love and ugh. listen, i’m a hopeless romantic myself so going in, i thought i would relate to her but instead i loathed her. similarly, how sophia went on and on about how she hates love and yak.
- everything in this book was either predictable or i’ve seen it done a thousand times. the “my parents are divorced and i’m scared of love so i just hate it wahwah”, the godforsaken coming out storyline (listen, i get it, i’m gay i relate trust me, BUT IT DOESNT NEED TO BE IN EVERY LGBTQ+ BOOK DAMNIT), not to mention the fact that i knew kate, myrah and tom had set sophia & emma up from the beginning so that story wasn’t interesting whatsoever.
-the whole of the enemies to lovers storyline. so in my experience, enemies to lovers can work one of two ways 1. diehard, stone cold hatred or 2. strong dislike usually with petty arguments and fun banter. i believe this book was supposed to be the latter but it just fell flat (like everything else in this book). they talk about how mean they are to each other but tbh they’re just annoying and petty.
- all the “plans” and “sabotages” were childish and unnecessary.
- THE ENEMIES PART WASN’T LONG ENOUGH AT ALL AND THERE WAS NO TRANSITION. this drove me crazy. its like one day they hate each other and the next they’re all giggly and “in love”. (thats another issue, the other doesn’t describe the feeling of being in love well at all)
- i’m all for tropes but it feels like this writer said “you know what would be fan-fucking-tastic, if we took all of the overused tropes and just turned them up to MAX”
things i liked (hint: there’s not much)
- sophia. “liked” would be a strong word, much like emma i found her annoying and whiney but compared to that god awful excuse for a main character, i found her to be the best part of the book.
so to conclude this book was a shitshow and absolutely awful and had it been any longer i would have gouged my eyes out with a pencil. but in all seriousness i was really disappointed when i didn’t like it because i was really looking forward to reading it:(
also- i feel like it should be noted that i read a book a couple weeks ago that totaled to about 340k words and i read that in sixteen hours and this book is 300-ish pages, probably not over 75k and IT TOOK ME THREE FUCKING DAYS. i hate this book with every fiber of my being.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2021
lowkey was really disappointed by this one. i think it just wasn't for me? the characters seemed ... very self-absorbed/whiny (sophia reminded me of anna and the french kiss) but it was cute!
July 31, 2022
honestly as far as gay contemporary books go these days this one isn’t half bad. i liked the trope in this book a lot. sort of enemies to lovers but with a twist of them both thinking that the other is in love with them. the only flaws i can think of are how unrealistic the movie aspect of this book is and how annoying sophia was about french things. other than that the book was pretty solid. and i absolutely loveeee the cover art
March 13, 2023
I found an audio copy of I THINK I LOVE YOU by Auriane Desombre on the Libby app. Check for your local library on the app and read great books for free!📚
Emma and Sophia are in high school, navigating the challenges of academics and relationships. Emma struggles with the challenges of competing against Sophia in a student film competition, while also wrestling with romantic feelings for her. Sophia is the first girl Emma has ever liked in that way, and now she worries about things like coming out to her parents as bisexual along with potentially dating her competition. Emma is stressed! Sophia meanwhile is perfectly composed, of course. Is she even taking any of this seriously?
This is a sweet story, but a little boring and predictable. Considering how little bisexual representation there is in fiction, I'm pretty happy with that aspect, but I even found this element a little watered down.
Honestly, I really struggled to connect to this one because I despised the narrator that read for Emma for the audiobook. Her intensity level was like a 9 for the whole book, which was not necessary when voicing a romcom. I kept waiting for someone to jump out with an ax. I understand that the character she read for is an anxious character, but there should still be some nuance to the reading.
Rating 🎥🎥 / 5 film students
Recommend? Sure, it's not terrible
Finished: March 12 2023
Read this if you like:
👩🏻🤝👩🏽 Sapphic romcoms
👩❤️💋👩 Bisexual rep
🙎♀️ YA romcom
🌈 Diverse stories
Emma and Sophia are in high school, navigating the challenges of academics and relationships. Emma struggles with the challenges of competing against Sophia in a student film competition, while also wrestling with romantic feelings for her. Sophia is the first girl Emma has ever liked in that way, and now she worries about things like coming out to her parents as bisexual along with potentially dating her competition. Emma is stressed! Sophia meanwhile is perfectly composed, of course. Is she even taking any of this seriously?
This is a sweet story, but a little boring and predictable. Considering how little bisexual representation there is in fiction, I'm pretty happy with that aspect, but I even found this element a little watered down.
Honestly, I really struggled to connect to this one because I despised the narrator that read for Emma for the audiobook. Her intensity level was like a 9 for the whole book, which was not necessary when voicing a romcom. I kept waiting for someone to jump out with an ax. I understand that the character she read for is an anxious character, but there should still be some nuance to the reading.
Rating 🎥🎥 / 5 film students
Recommend? Sure, it's not terrible
Finished: March 12 2023
Read this if you like:
👩🏻🤝👩🏽 Sapphic romcoms
👩❤️💋👩 Bisexual rep
🙎♀️ YA romcom
🌈 Diverse stories
March 3, 2020
I THINK I LOVE YOU is an absolute DELIGHT!! Auriane Desombre's voice is so fresh and modern, and I adored both Emma and Sophia, along with their (hilariously) scheming groups of friends. This contemporary f/f Much Ado About Nothing retelling stole my heart.
January 4, 2022
هر ضعف و کلیشه ای که داشت برام مهم نیست فقط دوستش داشتم :)
لذت خوندن همچین کتابی به دنیا می ارزه..
واقعا می ارزید برای من که با مرددی خوندمش چون به زبانم اعتماد نداشتم تجربه شیرینی بود
لذت خوندن همچین کتابی به دنیا می ارزه..
واقعا می ارزید برای من که با مرددی خوندمش چون به زبانم اعتماد نداشتم تجربه شیرینی بود
Shelved as 'dnf'
May 15, 2021DNF at 18%, sadly just wasn't for me! I found the beginning interesting enough but after putting the audiobook down for a couple of days I had no urge to pick it back up!
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February 24, 2022
2.5 up to 3 for a first effort.
But it was a real dog's breakfast. Six friends join together to make a video for a contest where the winners all get sholarships to Hollywood or something or other. Split narrative in alternating chapters between Sophie and Emma, who are natural competitors and clash. Five of the six are always manipulating things to get people together romantically without their knowledge. They are all pretty horrible actually.
There were elements that worked and it could have been a good story without all the background game playing. Very disappointing, but as I finished it, it got the 3.
But it was a real dog's breakfast. Six friends join together to make a video for a contest where the winners all get sholarships to Hollywood or something or other. Split narrative in alternating chapters between Sophie and Emma, who are natural competitors and clash. Five of the six are always manipulating things to get people together romantically without their knowledge. They are all pretty horrible actually.
There were elements that worked and it could have been a good story without all the background game playing. Very disappointing, but as I finished it, it got the 3.
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