This review was written by: B
Received: Borrowed from Library
Date of Publication: May 16, 2017
Page Count: 384
Stars: 4.25/5
Official Summary:
There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close with people destined for great power means obtaining valuable secrets.
Caden is a Nice: the boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: the brooding, dark-souled guy who is dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose the Nice or the Bad?
Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their game. They have to be -- whoever the girl doesn't choose will die.
What the boys don't expect are feelings that are outside their training. Feelings that could kill them both.
My Thoughts:
(The reason this review sounds like I wrote it right after the book's release date in 2017 instead of a year later is because this review was written a year ago but was just posted now. Please accept my apologies.)
I don't usually read recent releases right off the bat, even when they pique my interest. (And by "off the bat" I literally mean that I don't read new releases within 2-5 years of their publication date.) The reason, you may ask, is because I'm still tragically trying to catch up on old releases I never got to delve into from five centuries ago (ex: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe originally published in 2012--which I HIGHLY recommend by the way). I've been sucked up in a rather vicious cycle really, but it's one I'm thoroughly stuck in and must accept nonetheless... just like so many book readers before me. #agony
(You sing your little heart out Chris Pine -- one of my favorite Chrises of Hollywood, of course.)
So, you may be asking yourself two questions right now. One being: What the heck was with that leading intro, which features the terrible math skills that I so obviously possess? The second possibly being: Why read The Love Interest so soon when I have thousands of other books that I want to get to from earlier times? Well, that last one I can answer because it's really rather simple: I couldn't help myself. I WANTED this book as soon as I heard about it. No, I actually NEEDED this book as soon as I heard about it. IT CALLED TO ME. And it wasn't one of those, I need to buy this book as soon as it releases because it looks beyond amazeballs, and as soon as it arrives on my doorstep I think I'll set it on my bookshelf to motivate me to read it but in actuality I won't get to it until 2029 and cry internally each and every day until 2029 since I acknowledge that I will have no time until then to even think about it moments. No, this was more like one of those I'm going to thief snatch this book off the market (*cough* library shelf), lug it home in my eager arms, creepily sniff its pages with a glazed look in my eyes (because every book lover gets high off of that -- and if you don't, you're lying to yourself), crack it open on the day I check it out (*gasp* -- it's so unlike me), and lock my eyes on the printed black words stationed on the pages like they hold a secret map to El Dorado (which I'll never be able to actually use because Miguel and Tulio ruined it for everyone) moments.
It's bizarre but I felt deeply invested in the story before having read a single page. I don't actually have an excusable reason other than that. I couldn't help but put all other books aside that I had been planning to read. My self-control left me completely. To put it frankly, The Love Interest was a book I was more than eagerly dying for. It screamed individuality and called for my immediate attention despite personally knowing about my ever-growing stack of books that is surely going to fall on me and eventually kill me someday. But I digress (and sound a bit crazy)...
Just hearing about the premise alone got me over the moon excited: Two male spies (a.k.a. Love Interests) go after the same girl to try and win her heart while exhibiting the typically opposing "good boy" and "bad boy" tropes we book readers made into profitable publishing candy. So, we have a respectable and highly intelligent young lady who is being pursued by two extremely gorgeous teen guys, but which one will she choose? Will it be Caden, the boy next door type: thoughtful, good-natured, and easy to approach, or will it be Dyl, the fickle hunk of man meat: tortured, mysterious, and an occasional exhibitor of jerkface syndrome who is still able to be vulnerable? I know what you're thinking: This love triangle thing has been done a million trillion times before. That may make it a tad bit boring, right?
However, there is a new addition to the mix -- higher stakes. (The guy the girl doesn't choose is sentenced to death.)
So, what sets this book apart from the masses other than the higher stakes? Well, here comes the plot twist we fangirls have all been waiting for: The two boys fall for each other in the process!!!!!!
And, I'll be honest with you all: I ate this up like it was the last stash of junkfood on the planet. This year (2017 but also in 2018), I've been trying to read LGBTQ+ romances (particularly M/M romances), and this one was right up my alley. Based on the book's GoodReads rating, though, I know a great deal of people didn't like this story, but I strongly urge you to try and give The Love Interest a chance. It's a story about self discovery, budding romance, and standing up for who you are.
Caden and Dyl (huh, his name kinda sounds like the pickle) were brought up to be the best Love Interests (teen spies meant to steal secrets from those they make fall in love with them) possible, meaning that they were forced to be who the organization wanted them to be instead of their true selves. If they didn't do exactly as the LIC (Love Interest Co (don't quote me on what the C stands for -- I really don't remember)) wanted them to, they knew they would never be able to go out into the real world and live some semblance of a life other than the secluded, restricted, and oppressed ones they were forced into at a young age. As potential love interests, Caden and Dyl were forcibly kept at a secretive base where they memorized pop culture every day so they could blend in when they were finally released into society, worked out to obtain fit bodies that would attract their targets (a.k.a. Chosens), and learned that they were to steal their target's affections, learn their secrets, and then give their secrets back to the Love Interest organization to sell to a prospective bidder. As a Love Interest out in the real world, it's an unfulfilling life at best especially when you're betraying your supposed loved one time and time again behind his/her back, but it's better than staying at the LIC compound forever. As a result, Caden and Dyl (now I keep thinking of pickles, get out of my mind Rick)
are stripped of their individualities and free will, which essentially never gives them that much of a chance to figure out who they are . . . until they are both chosen to enter society after years of training and anticipation and compete for Juliet's love . . . and their lives.
The boys' time away from the LIC might be a bloody game that can only end in one winner, but they are willing to make the most of it and experience the world like it's the last thing they'll ever do. Now Caden takes time to figure out who he is since no one ever allowed him to do that while he was at the compound. The book is told entirely through Caden's perspective, and because of that, we get to see him go from perfect paper cutout boyfriend material to his own emotionally driven person. He slowly fights the process forced upon him and is trying to figure out love, what it actually means to him, and where love fits into his existence, all while battling what he was taught to believe.
"What do you think of her (Juliet)? Do you like her?" - Dyl
"What do you mean?" - Caden
"Didn't you listen at all at the LIC? Who someone likes isn't always easy to explain. There are some factors for attraction, like symmetry of faces and muscle definition, but most of the time the reason someone likes someone is a big fat mystery. Just because you're assigned to her doesn't mean you automatically like her. Love is more complicated than that."
I grip my bottle tightly. "I get that, but you asked me if I liked her like it matters. But it doesn't. Our Chosen has to fall for us but we don't have to fall for them. How we feel will never matter."
Caden may seem one dimensional at first but Dietrich hints at a real person underneath our main character's attractive exterior, whom we slowly see come to life layer by layer. As a result, we get to see Caden break away from what he was molded into. The author allowed his character to grow on his own. It's a beautiful process, and part of that process, though, reveals that Caden has feelings for Dyl -- the part that originally attracted me to this book.
I initially thought The Love Interest focused a great deal on the budding romance between Dyl and Caden, but I found that this wasn't actually the case. The story focused more on being your own person, gender stereotyping, and poking fun at YA tropes in its own way, which I thought was awesome! However, I was really looking forward to those special romantic moments between our two male Love Interests. So, while I unfortunately didn't get as many Dyl and Caden moments as I would have liked, I certainly gushed over the ones I did. I love these two so darn much!!!! The reason I adore this pair, though, isn't because they are two obviously delicious specimens. It's because, if you take away their good looks and strip them down to who they truly are, you can see that their personal and emotional characteristics are the qualities they love in each other instead of their physical attributes. It's their personalities and quirks they love. And that epilogue! It might be my favorite epilogue of all time. Oh, it made me so darn happy that I can't stop smiling about it! I look like a fool right now.
Plus, there are other smaller details about this book that I can rave about, too. For example, can we get some love up in here for Juliet (the boys' Chosen)?! She's such a great girl who's not only the new Einstein but she also has a heart of gold. She's loving, forgiving, and just one heck of a person. Also, this book touches slightly on male body image, which I don't often see, so I appreciated it.
Now, I realize that the last bit of the book might be a bit far fetched for some readers, but I thought it fit quite well for its genre despite having a prominent contemporary feel during a great deal of it. Sure, it suddenly turned a whole lot more science fiction / dystopian all of a sudden, but I felt like it worked for the story the author was trying to tell. The only problem I had with the ending was a character's death that I felt was a little unnecessary. It made me feel as if their end only occurred to show the danger of the current situation, which it definitely did (quite successfully I might add!), but I was deeply upset.
Other than that, though, this book was the bomb diggity!
Before I leave you (after a probably very confusing review), I would like to address some of the concerns I've seen that resulted in the book's lower ratings and explain my own thoughts on them. (My goal is not to criticize anyone or discredit their critiques. These are simply my own take on specific issues that have come about since the book's release.):
1.) The characters were too flat.
I agree that Caden and Dyl originally come off as cliche characters with no substance but instead fall into the molds we've seen so many other characters take on even to the point of being cringy in both action and dialogue (which I personally think was the point in order to address YA tropes). Additionally, I think their original overdone dispositions made sense considering that they were trained to act in this cliche way (remember how I mentioned the loser would be murdered???) and be these people in order to please the organization. It was both a survival tactic and perhaps a way to blatantly focus on how ridiculous the "good" and "bad boy" tropes can actually be - meaning the Love Interest characters did not believably feel like people, especially average teenagers. However, I believe that Caden was finally able to look inwards and contemplate who he was and wanted to be once he was outside the walls of the LIC compound, giving himself a chance to actually figure out the Caden buried underneath all the ridiculous things he had to be or rather embody so as to stay relevant and useful to his superiors. Admittedly, perhaps there could have been more self-exploration than what we were given, and some may find the characters to still come off as stunted or ridiculous, but I loved them and appreciated their journey. As for the characters who were not Love Interests, I might have enjoyed getting into Juliet's head a bit more, but I suppose that might have been a bit difficult with only writing from Caden's perspective.
2.) The ending sequences felt like they came out of nowhere.
I can completely understand where this critique is coming from. Like I mentioned previously, a large portion of the book has more of a contemporary vibe to it, so when this changes towards the last portion of the book, it might be a bit frustrating, odd, or unbelievable for different readers. Personally, I was also a bit thrown off by it myself, but then I realized that this confusion resulted from me forgetting that Caden and Dyl were basically super spies. Thus, when a more epic side to the story arose, I was not prepared. I welcomed the change of pace, though, and was excited for more of a Sci-Fi atmosphere (if Sci-Fi means highly technological gadgets).
3.) The ending was too easy.
Did it seem like things happened too swiftly? Maybe not. Did they happen too easily? I'm sorry to say yes, at least just a bit too easily. I won't get into how or why, but to be honest, I still really enjoyed the ride. I'm one of those people who like to suspend disbelief when it comes to movies and books (unless they're marketed as contemporary), which I was able to apply in this case. However, I can definitely see how the ending might affect others.
4.) Cheating
There is a huge instance of cheating in this book, which was extremely frustrating. I know it unfortunately happens, and a book should not be penalized for including it - it's realistic (no matter how sad that is). However, I can't honestly remember how this got resolved, which is probably because I'm adding this in a year later (2018 update). At first, I didn't dwell on it too much, but what this character did and my foggy memory thinking it wasn't resolved as well as it could have been, is unfortunate. This (how the cheating was handled and why it occurred) is one of my few complaints about the book.
At the end of the day, I want to express that this book is pure fun and may make you want to puke rainbows due to your happiness. But it can also get heavy -- which is one of its main appeals. The concept is ridiculously unique and refreshing, and the way it played with YA tropes was spectacular. The romance made me want to gush and go singing in the rain at times, and the main characters are pure gold. They're precious and deserve all of the happiness in the world (even the one that got killed off - sob). Dietrich made me addicted to his stories with this one book, and I'm definitely going to read his next one as soon as it comes out! You can bet on that! While so many didn't enjoy The Love Interest and it does have its flaws, I unapologetically love it and will recommend it until I die. I think it has value, and does an amazing job of looking at gender, stereotypes, and the journey of loving, accepting, and finding one's self. Also, Dietrich's message to the LGBTQ+ community in his acknowledgements was so beautiful. I love this man!
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