Love, Life, and the List (Love, Life, and the List, #1) in Read-A-Thin

May 15, 2018 Sydney (sydneysshelves) West rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-romance, 2018-reads, ya-contemporary

Another super cute read for the books. Written in classic Kasie West writing style (which is easy and delectable) we get the story of Abby & Cooper. They are best friends but Abby has been in love with Cooper for a year. Abby decided in order to gain experience so her art can be in this art show at the local museum she is going make a list of experiences and go out and do them. Plot wise this story flowed well and made sense. there were a few times items were told and not shown which irked me. B ...more

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Sep 23, 2019 Brittany rated it really liked it · review of another edition

*4.5*

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Jan 05, 2018 Colleen Scidmore rated it really liked it

Shelves: currently-on-my-computer, romance, contemporary-fiction, contemporary-romance, drama, young-adult, unrequited-love, cfyab-book-pool, overcoming-obstacles, mental-health

Kasie West is a new author to me. I've seen several of books, contemplated reading them, and then decided on another because her books looked kind of cutesy with not much substance.
So when I started reading Love Life and the List I was pleasantly surprised. Yes there is definitely romance but there is so much more to the book. The thing that touched me the most about the book was the friendship between Abby and Cooper and how he truly cared about her even if it was in a platonic way and not the Kasie West is a new author to me. I've seen several of books, contemplated reading them, and then decided on another because her books looked kind of cutesy with not much substance.
So when I started reading Love Life and the List I was pleasantly surprised. Yes there is definitely romance but there is so much more to the book. The thing that touched me the most about the book was the friendship between Abby and Cooper and how he truly cared about her even if it was in a platonic way and not the way Abby wanted.

Abby and Cooper are best friends. They have a close foursome with 2 other friends but they have a stronger with each other. The problem is Abby is head over heels for Cooper but he doesn't feel the same way. So they are in the friendship zone, which is better than nothing for Abby. Cooper is there for her when she needs help navigating her frazzled mom. She is there to support his dune buggy races even when his parents don't exactly approve. And now he is there when she decides to try a list of life changing events that will help "mature" her art so she can have it shown at the gallery she works for at an upcoming show. Cooper even decides to try the list with her. One of the items is to fall in love but with Cooper not a candidate she needs to find another potential love interest. What starts out as trying new experiences turns into a life altering event for both Abby and Cooper that has them both dealing with a roller coaster full of emotions.

Love Life and the List turned out so much better than I anticipated. I loved Abby and Coopers relationship. There were certain moments where I did feel like kicking Cooper in the head though, I felt like he led Abby on a bit at times. But I just think it was a guy thing and he was generally a pretty decent person. And he really does are about Abby. I really wanted to kick Iris (Cooper's newest love interest) in the head, she didn't have too much of a presence in the book but she was extremely unpleasant (a.k.a. a huge bitch).
I really liked Abby's friendship with Lacey as well. She was really good for her especially when she needed someone other than Cooper. But for some reason I kept waiting for Lacey to set her up. I guess she felt a little too good to be true. I kept thinking why would she take such an interest in Abby who she had barely known at first.
I will definitely check out more of Kasie West's books. I'm looking forward to reading more by this talented author. ...more

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May 13, 2018 Crystal rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 25, 2018 Gabby rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobooks

Format - Audiobook

Possible spoilers in this review! Read at your own risk.

From the beginning I quite enjoyed this novel, but as I got further through it- I found more and more problems with it. I started to find so many problems with it, in fact, that I’m really not sure what rating to give it.

I’m kind of sick of side character love interests been thrown to the side so the main couple can get together. (Iris & Elliot)

Kasie West writes like her audience is dumb. She over-clarifies even the simple Format - Audiobook

Possible spoilers in this review! Read at your own risk.

From the beginning I quite enjoyed this novel, but as I got further through it- I found more and more problems with it. I started to find so many problems with it, in fact, that I’m really not sure what rating to give it.

I’m kind of sick of side character love interests been thrown to the side so the main couple can get together. (Iris & Elliot)

Kasie West writes like her audience is dumb. She over-clarifies even the simplest things and drags on conversations much longer than needed.

Also, this is clearly written by someone who knows the bare minimum about art. “But is it Abstract? Or Realism?” - Quoted (Like, no “professional” says that...). They were probably the only two terms used to describe art in this book that were mildly artistic. C’mon! Do some damn research on art terms when writing a book based around art ... it’s not that hard!

I also didn’t 100% like Abby, I’m not surprised Iris had a problem with her, she was always pushy and disrespectful towards her and Coopers relationship. To be fair, he wasn’t much better, either.

MASSIVE RANT UPCOMING (disclaimer: I don’t mean to cause offence to anyone, however I feel as though Kasie West could have approached the subject of Mental Illness much better and not just use it as a plot point).
What? My mum won’t leave the house? Oh THatS PerFEcTLy NorMal. I wanted to slap Abby, and for a fact, her mother. I’ve dealt with a family member who went through the exact same thing, and I didn’t just ignore the behaviour. I didn’t just pretend everything was “fine, perfectly fine”. Her mother needed a professional, and while I’m glad by the end she understood that, I still feel like it didn’t excuse either of them. And her mother for Christ sake! Wouldn’t let anyone help, deny, deny, deny. Put her family under so much stress. And I know, I’ve been there. I’ve been through the seeping anxiety that her mother clearly experienced during this novel. But there’s no damn way that I would let that get in the way of someone I loves’ biggest night. And where was Abby’s father? Rhetorical question, we know where he was. Another denyer. And wouldn’t come home to protect his own family when they clearly needed it. Abby as well as her family was a huge disappointment. Again, I’m glad this was mostly resolved by the end of the book, but was annoyed at how the subject was approached in form of a plot point.
I must say, in terms of family characters, I freaking loved Grandpa! I loved his relationship with his granddaughter and he was a ray of sunshine in this shitstorm of a book. Everyone deserves a Grandpa like him.

Team Elliot all the way, he wasn’t a massive jerk. He even went to pick up Abby’s family when Cooper didn’t, without even being asked!! What a gentleman. To be fair, he probably deserves someone better than Abby.

I don’t think I’ve ever given a Kasie West book above a 3.5 star rating. They’re all very quick reads and that’s what makes me keep picking them up. Even if they do have a lot of problems. ...more

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Mar 16, 2018 Randi Harris rated it liked it

while I love the family aspect of this book, I feel that the minor characters were only fodder for the relationship in this book. I'm not 100% sure if this is how it is in most ya contemporary romances but it's irksome to me ...more

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