I wasn't sure where this extract was going to take me as I read the first couple of sentences but I quickly became emerged and gripped by the fractured and tortured mind of the character. The narrative pulled me right in and I was devastated to come to the end of the extract. I wanted to keep reading to find out what had happened to Laura and where this story was going to take me. It is a book I will definitely be keeping an eye out for because I want to know what happens. The tension, the confusion, the apparent loss is very palpable on the page and on reading the extract alone, I anticipate this is going to be a huge hit with readers.

What an intriguing snapshot! I cannot wait to get my hands on the full ARC of this, because it looks very promising, and so on brand for Kelly Link, who has completely won my loyalty and blown my minds with her short stories. Count me in first row of those eager to read the full novel!

I can’t wait to read the whole book. A fuller review will come once I’ve read the whole book. The first chapter that I read was so intriguing and poignant and supernatural happenings. Envy of a sister or grief from her death? And what’s with the mug? Questions, questions, questions. I really want to know the answers!! Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the extract ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I know Kelly Link for her excellent short stories, so it seems fitting that my first taste of her novel The Book of Love was an extract. She's true to form, and though this is a very short extract, she's packed a great deal of story into that space; I had an excellent sense of the characters, felt the emotions pouring from the page, and am now completely intrigued to see what comes next.

A very promising start - I can't wait to see more.

WHAT HAPPENED TO LAURA!??? Really enjoyed the writing style, the story was definitely intriguing the extract was a little short could have done with a bit more to really get a taste of it. But from what I read I’d be reading on for sure

This excerpt has quite a jumpy style and was challenging to get into to begin with. Once I got used to it, it flowed better and I started to get invested.

I enjoyed the reference to a Fitbit for sadness and though that was a clever idea that made me laugh despite the themes. It took me a moment to gather what had happened but then I could see the main theme of loss. I thought it was an interesting segway into the mind of someone who is dealing with grief and the way this can fracture relationships and families and how expectations change, and how specifically a sibling might deal with that loss and their feelings around it. There were feelings of anger but also sadness and the descriptions of some inane things really described the ways that loss can hit you in everyday life at any time. I liked that this was a jumbled inner monologue at times but not necessarily obviously portrayed like that.

It was a short extract but I found myself intrigued enough to be disappointed that there wasn’t more, the authors writing style was quite choppy but once I’d got used that I’d be happy to continue the story.

Sorry - there was nothing in the extract that interest me at all. I read her book of short stories, "White Cat, Black Dog" and enjoyed some of them, but this didn't attract me.

My thanks to Head of Zeus AdAstra Book for a sneak peek of ‘The Book of Love’ by Kelly Link.

It’s listed as a combination of mystery/thriller and science fiction/fantasy and is due to be published in February 2024.

At only six pages this was quite a short extract. Yet combined with the publishers intriguing description and advance praise declaring it a “modern day The Master and Margarita” it definitely wetted my appetite for the full book.

I enjoyed reading the first chapter in The Book of Love and I can't wait to read more of this book! The blurb seems very interesting and this opening chapter is filled with intense amounts of anxiety, grief and longing for normality.

Very excited to see how this story unfolds!

Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the extract!

An interesting idea, seemed well written and caught my attention. Would be happy to continue reading this unusual book!

This short extract has already drawn me in and I can't wait to read the full story. Susannah has already captured my interest and has positive and negative traits in such a few pages that she feels real.

This seems cute I just wish it was the full book already!!! Romance books always take me a little to get into so the sampler didn’t give me quite enough to know if I’ll love it or not

The Book of Love opens with anger, with loneliness, with grief, with confusion.

I mostly felt the latter.

It’s hard to rate this given that it’s only a singular chapter excerpt of a novel. The things I take issue with may very well be solved within the next chapter, or three, for example.

I’m not too fond of the writing, all the brackets, italics, exclamation marks and the jumping around of time all within one small chapter was too much. It was very hard to keep up with. While I can understand the format is to represent the characters irrationality and erratic behaviour, for me it felt hard to get invested in. But, again, this could be something I could get used to — and enjoy — several chapters in.

I am intrigued by the premise (more so from the blurb than the chapter) so I would be interested in reading the full length novel.

This is torture! I was so absorbed, completely lost in Susannah's world and then it ended! I honestly can't wait for the full book, it's going to be amazing.

What can I say? It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. That's what you get with a single chapter. I'm somewhat intrigued but somewhat confused. Not completely put out. Don't know if I'd recommend the entire book or not. Again, you can't glean a ton from one short chapter.

I’m intrigued by the chapter I read. It gave me a flavour of the emotion a sibling feels at the loss of another. I’d like to find out more about the missing trio and then solving their own deaths.

The Book of Love is a lyrical, beautiful story full of delicate, dreamlike prose. I loved the start of the world-building, the subtle metaphors and the growing atmosphere of something magical and mysterious. I’d definitely read the full manuscript.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this extract and felt like it captured Susannah’s emotions really vividly.

I would be intrigued to read the rest of this book as the overall premise sounds really interesting and the fast paced, slightly chaotic writing style has me hooked.