I feel like I’ve read lots of books that follow this narrative, but it’s a long time since I’ve read one that pulled it off so well. And that summarises the book, it’s someone ordinary and spectacular at the same time.

We follow Lily throughout her life which can be read as a privileged one full of love but also one struck by tragedy and guilt and regret. There are several important relationships but the one with her sister Jane was very special and felt real.

There is a lot of science peppered throughout the book such as ornithology and quantum mechanics but she wears her research so lightly that it feels like she’s discussing something you already know rather than being lectured at and they resonate so strongly with the overall themes. There is a lot of religion which is also treated in the same way.

The gender politics and philosophy throughout was also deeply understood and went beyond what most fiction writers can do.

5 stars. I'm already recommending to a few friends so they can it to their TBR! After a quick search, I discovered that Debra Curtis is an up-and-coming author and I think she deserves all the hype she can get.

Laws of Love and Logic was a sweet surprise. I was intrigued by the description of the book, but it's much more than that, between coming out of age, sexuality, feminism, abortion, black people's matters, the lgbt community, politics, religion and love.

We follow Lily throughout her life, from childhood to adulthood, and we get a glimpse of what other people are doing, like her sister, her father, some of her friends and the boy. When I picked up this book, I wasn't expecting to read it so quickly, but I have to admit that Lily's life gripped me from the first second and I was so involved that I felt emotional several times.

Lily goes through so much in her life, different ups and downs, while trying to understand her love for the boy and her husband. I think the author did an excellent job of balancing these emotions and I didn't feel frustrated by ‘a love triangle’, even though it wasn't quite it. The more of 'open' ending was perfect, I really liked how it ended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

“She stood looking at the Atlantic. She just wanted to know how to be good.”

This book was an emotional rollercoaster, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. It delves into themes of grief, religion, politics, sisterhood, and love, and how these influences shape the characters’ lives.

The writing is incredibly emotional and beautiful, allowing readers to empathise deeply with our characters’ feelings. Lily’s religious beliefs play a significant role in her life, constantly influencing her decisions, pushing her, shaming her, and providing her with a sense of peace. Readers who grew up in religious households will likely find resonance and connection in her and her rationale.

The love story between Lily and her two love interests, the boy and Marshall, is captivating. It feels as if Lily’s heart made space for both men. And while it’s challenging to root for the second male lead, Marshall’s unwavering love and desire to give Lily everything are endearing. He “could not get enough of her […] Wherever she was, he wanted her”. While I wasn’t disappointed with the resolution of the triangle, I would have loved for everyone to find another that only belonged to them.
With The Boy, despite enjoying his character, I felt as if he was being kept at a distance. Firstly, we never learn his name. Instead, we learn about his attributes, such as his quick temper and how he lives his entire life making up for his mistakes. We also know that he loves our Lily, but there was something about him that made me feel like I hardly knew him. However, when he says things like, “Being without you is killing me”, it’s hard not to be Team Boy!

Readers who enjoy the tension, secrecy, and emotional turmoil of love triangles should definitely consider picking up this book.

At the heart of the story lies the relationship between Lily and Jane. Two sisters, seemingly different in every way, navigating grief and life, both separately and together. The love they share is palpable, radiating from the pages. Despite their close relationship, they hold secrets, which ultimately lead to their downfall. Familial relationships are always intriguing to explore, as they offer depth and complexity that make for compelling stories. Laws of Love and Logic truly captures the essence of these relationships.

I highly recommend this book and would definitely read it again.

A special thank you to NetGalley for providing this arc!

4.5 🌟
This is why I'm so glad I got back into reading LitFic because I get to read brilliant books like this.

Beautifully written, with emotional depth, Law of Love and Logic took a piece of my heart with it by the end.

Whilst I really enjoyed the romantic element to this book, it was the relationship between Lily and her sister Jane that really captured my attention. It hit very close to home for me, which made it both difficult and relatable to read. I cried for them both. But sisterhood is a powerful thing, that Debra has highlighted perfectly throughout.

The only reason I knocked half a star off was because I found the beginning a little hard to get into. But once I did, best believe I didn't want to put this down!

A profound book about love, loss and healing. I'm so glad I got the chance to read this.

Spanning three decades beginning in the 1976, Debra Curtis’s debut follows Lily, the elder of two sisters, who lose their mother when they’re barely into their teens, each of them coping, or not coping, in very different ways.

Lily and Jane live with their parents in the grounds of the Rhode Island Catholic school where their father teaches science. Their mother blends her faith with a feminism and political awareness that raises a few hackles, determined her daughters will grow into confident women able to hold their own against the patriarchy. When she dies, Jane’s rebelliousness gains full throttle while Lily finds solace with a boy whose own mother left when he was only six. Lily and the boy’s understanding of each other is profound, both sure of a bright future together. One night, the summer they graduate high school, they row about Lily’s decision to go to a party the boy can’t attend, Lily’s concern about Jane’s predilection for drink and drugs outweighing her desire to stay at home. The events of that night overturns plans she’d long assumed to be set in stone.

Told from Lily’s point of view, Curtis’s novel is an immersive piece of old-fashioned storytelling whose overarching themes are morality, faith and redemption within which she explores a multitude of ideas encompassing social anthropology, science, religion, feminism and politics to mention but a few. She writes with acuity and compassion, a difficult combination to pull off, but she does it with apparent ease. The raw ache of mother loss and its scars are depicted with an empathetic sensitivity through Lily, Jane and the boy, who is never named, while Lily’s decades-long guilt about the party and its fallout is portrayed with a clear-eyed observation. Hard to do it justice without giving too much of the story away but I found this novel both gripping and deeply moving

A full circle story of grief, love, and the laws of time, woven over decades and changing landscapes. Laws of Love and Logic has a sense of nostalgia throughout, written in such a way it invokes your own childhood and teen memories, even though Lily and Jane's experiences can hardly be called typical or relatable to most.

While the theme centres on Lily's life, the love she lost and the love she accepted, this isn't the true love story to focus on - it's the love between Lily and Jane, an unbreakable connection between sisters, the deepest friendship, a bond forged from trauma and stargazing. Whether you have a sibling or a friend who may as well be one, the love between Lily and Jane will resonate with you.

As the story progresses back and forth over the years, it does become draining to see how much Lily must endure, to the point you may wonder how she can possibly stay so resilient. But the flashbacks to her mother's teachings of independence, feminism, and looking beyond expectations is definitely the character's driving force.

Its realistic in its approach to feminism - there are many female characters of different backgrounds and no two are the same in their beliefs; they also all respond differently to their internalised misogyny and the patriarchy, whether it's Jane's rebellion against societal norms, or Lily's independence warring against her need to keep the peace for everyone.

Laws of Love and Magic was an emotional rollercoaster and a classic 'what if?' love story, tandem to its theme of family love and finding one's sense of purpose in the world.

I absolutely loved this book. From the very first chapter, I was drawn into Lily Webb’s world—a beautifully written story of love, loss, and the complexity of the human heart. Debra Curtis captures the pain and beauty of growing up, falling in love, and facing the past with honesty and grace.

What really stood out to me was how deeply emotional the story felt. The love triangle—between Lily’s high school sweetheart and her husband—wasn't clichéd at all. It was real, raw, and thought-provoking. I found myself genuinely torn right alongside her.

The relationship between Lily and her twin sister Jane added another powerful layer. Jane’s battles with addiction and her retreat into mathematics gave the story unexpected depth, making this more than just a romance—it’s a novel about healing and identity.

Curtis’s writing is clear, moving, and quietly profound. I couldn’t put it down—and when I did, I kept thinking about it. If you enjoy stories that mix heartache with hope, this is a must-read.

This was a slow burn story.

It felt a bit dull to start with, too much detail before the story got going for me.

However, once it did get going I loved the detail and the compassionate way the story was told.

We make so many decisions in life based on what we believe to be true. This book uncovers the heartache, the dilemmas, the psychological impact of our societal beliefs.

This book gives a profound insight into the human condition, and love, it says a lot about the relationship we have with love.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. I loved the way the story was told and the insights imparted by the author. Beautiful.

Thank you NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was just beautiful honestly. I loved the story, the characters and the whole story were all so elegant and nicely written. Elegant I think is the perfect word for this book. As well as heartbreaking. I loved the way Lily’s parents spoke about both religion and science, and had this attitude of openness and understanding. It was refreshing to read, really. I loved the relationship between Lily and Jane, and between Lily and Marshal (which constantly made me think of Lily and Marshall in How I Met Your Mother). I practically devoured this book, entirely unexpected story despite having read the blurb before, and I mean that in a great way.