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Okay, the concept for this book? SO cool. The lore and worldbuilding is compelling and like nothing I've seen before. I was so excited to read this book. That's why I rated it three stars but no higher, because in terms of the execution, I was highly underwhelmed.

The inconsistency of narration really took away from the smoothness of the book as a whole. Randomly switching POVs in the middle of the chapter, along with an odd three or four spaced gap? Stilted. I couldn't get used to it no matter how many times it happened. I don't enjoy saying this, but it looked like a mistake every time. I'd see the weirdly long gap and go, "Oh gee, whose head are we going to be in now?" because there is no pattern to it or any indication as to who was going to be narrating before just going full throttle into whatever it is that character is doing. One time I thought I was in Aurora's POV but I was in Locke's and only really noticed when there was some comment about the suppleness of Aurora's waist.

And the writing itself. There were some lovely quotes and parts that were really nice, but then I'd hit something weird and be jolted out of the book. The inconsistency of epithets for the characters (especially the storm hunter team) messed me up on multiple occasions. And Aurora's name. I say this with the understanding that her changing her name is an integral part of the story, and I thought that was really cool. If it was done consistently. Aurora is referred to as Aurora, Rora, and Roar. However, through the beginning two thirds of the book, those names are all jumbled. Even after a specific line (that ended a chapter, no less!), that Aurora needed to "be Roar" from now on, she's STILL referred to as "Rora" in the next chapter during her narration. It ruined the effect of the whole name change / character growth thing for me.

So that's the writing. Now let me get to the romance. Because oh boy.

This book was published in 2017. It concerns me that a young adult novel so recent has such a questionable romance.

Aurora is 18. Eighteen. That's a high school senior or college freshman. Locke is, what, 30? Mid-twenties at least. His age is actually weirdly avoided at one point, as though Carmack knew him being this old was kinda gross and dodged it so as to not actually get in trouble. So Locke could technically be 20. But he's written like he's at least 30. Maybe if ages weren't mentioned (or carefully not mentioned) so much, it wouldn't have been so creepy, but it's a Big Thing that Aurora is 18, because of Stormling duties and whatnot. AND on multiple occasions, Locke refers to Aurora as "little girl." Yeah, that's a jab at her naivety, whatever, but when he says it, he means it. And Aurora is constantly in the position of "No!! I'm not a little girl!! I'm an adult!!" which is scarily similar to an older man manipulating a young girl into doing things via saying she's "not old enough."

And then!!! Oh God, and then. Locke training Aurora and making her "prove” herself. Ugh. Locke is mean to Aurora. Their banter is rarely actual banter, it's legit fighting where Aurora has to justify her existence. I'm not saying Locke should be her bestest bud, but the fact that it's set up that Locke is pissy with her because he likes her is very "boys will be boys, he pulls your hair because he LIKES you" and I thought we started leaving that stuff behind in 2016. Evidently not.

Their first "kiss" was awful. I hesitate to call it a kiss because it felt more like Locke was smashing his face against Aurora's because he couldn't handle all the sexy man-pain within him. And their second kiss, the big dramatic one in the rain? I felt like I was reading a harlequin romance, which is fine, I'm not judging, except for the part where this is a young adult novel. Don't get me wrong— I'm not saying YA can't possibly talk about sex or have kissing, I'm just saying that's not what YA is about. I don't know. The romance read like an adult paperback, except before publishing they went through and put "18" in for Aurora's age and slapped a YA label on it. And I felt like the romance with Locke was actually detrimental to Aurora's growth, not beneficial or freeing or whatever. Actually, I thought she and Bait would have been cute (but Bait is sixteen, AND pretty much there so he can flirt with Aurora in order to make Locke jealous. Joy.)

I actually really, really love the storm hunter characters. All of them except Locke. If Locke was cut out and the story was about Aurora finding a new family within the storm hunters, and they all got better character development that didn't revolve around Locke's relationship with them, then I'd be super duper happy. I adore Jinx and her dynamic with Aurora ad the team, and would love to see more of her. And again, I really, truly love the concept. It's clear Carmack put a lot of effort and love into the lore of this world and its magic. I respect that. That's why I kept reading. I thought the idea was awesome, so I slogged through the problems. I might check out Rage, just for the worldbuilding, but I have to say I'm not going to buy it like I did with Roar.

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Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep.

He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep. Who are the Sawkill Girls? Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find. Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is. Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies. Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight… until now.

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Dude. This book? My FAVORITE. Legrand's prose is so poetic in style, I tabbed almost every page. She described things in ways I never considered, but were so perfect. It was just. Beautiful.

And the characters!!!! I loved every single one of them. Marion, Zoey, Val. Grayson too, but ZOEY!!! MARION!!! VAL!!!! The relationships between them and their families were so beautiful and complex and lovely. Between them, Legrand showed multiple faces of the different struggles girls face growing up, the pressures and assumptions put on them simply because of what they look like.

AND!!! An ASEXUAL CHARACTER!!!! Oh my lord. With a healthy, wonderful relationship that shows how romance doesn't mean sex. I'm so grateful to Legrand for representing asexuals in a way that didn't make me want to bash my head against a wall. Lesbians too!!! And not just the romantic relationships— the dynamic between the girls was so rich and honest. Hatred and distrust and love and forgiveness. Real and true, human emotions.

I just. Wow. This book was gorgeous. And creepy, though I wouldn't say it was super frightening. Unsettling, yes. Probably going to check the trees twice when I walk my dog at night. But not like unable to sleep scary. Which is good for me, I like that.

Anyway. 11/10. This will be on my shelf forever. I highly recommend

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There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets.

Caden is a Nice: The boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection.

Dylan is a Bad: The brooding, dark-souled guy, and dangerously handsome.

The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose a 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 games. They have to be - whoever the girl doesn't choose will die.

What the boys don't expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both.

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I’m not ashamed to say that I was ecstatic to read this book. I picked it up from the shelf at Barnes and Noble to text my friend about the tiredness of YA love triangles, only to find a book dedicated to doing that for me. Spies, subverting tropes, and a stand alone. Instant sell for me.

The Love Interest obviously flips the classic YA love triangle on its head, and that’s the main hook. But it topples so many other tropes along the way that I was not expecting. After reading, the most compelling thing to me is Caden as the main character.

The usual thing we see is a protagonist forced to be a bad person and experience them learning how to be “good” and differentiate right from wrong. I found Dietrich’s exploration of this path to morality fascinating because he took the opposite side with Caden.

Caden is a boy forced to be a Nice Guy, told to support and and agree to everything his target does. But just because he’s being Nice doesn’t mean he’s being good. Sometimes agreeing with people unconditionally hurts them more, or hurts other people. Caden was put in a position where he couldn’t argue, he couldn’t take his own side, and his narrative of finally choosing himself is something that stuck with me (and made me want to give him a hug).

A second thing to note: I admired the way Dietrich brought to attention the fact that YA can often objectify male characters a little bit. Love Interests are supposed to be the perfect YA boy, and because of that Caden describes his experiences as feeling like a piece of meat. He has to be in perfect shape, he has to have the perfect smile and the perfect eyes. Yes, it was calling out the cliche YA boy with sandy blonde hair and sky blue eyes, but it also showed how that can negatively affect boys. Body image is a problem for men too, and I appreciate The Love Interest for bringing that to light.

More things I liked that include spoilers:

In the finale scene, Caden took the third option. I love him so much. When the big evil guy said “you won’t kill me because you’re a good person,” Caden said “you’re right” and shot him in the knee-cap, which is the most amazing thing ever. I was cheering y’all.

Caden and Juliet’s relationship is so important to me. Caden does care for Juliet, and when he’s carrying her out of the facility, he says he loves her and that’s so true, almost heart-breakingly true, and it’s perfectly platonic. Rather than separating and ignoring each other because of the Love Interest reveal, they keep in contact and continue to care for each other. That platonic male / female friendship is something the YA genre sorely lacks.

Space dress. Enough said. 

Also: the set up of the three parts. Love Interest, Antagonist, Protagonist. Poetic. Ironic. Foreshadowing. Not going to lie, I almost swooned.

I won’t say I didn’t have problems with this book. Some of the writing was a little repetitive, and personally, the flip between censored swearing and real swearing sometimes felt stilted. I prefer books to pick one or at least be a little more consistent, but obviously that wasn’t a deal breaker for me. The Love Interest organization was a little underdeveloped, but honestly I feel as though explaining it would have taken away from the book, made it longer and focused on the wrong things. My perception of the book’s point was not to have everything laid out perfectly, it was to subvert tropes and call attention to cliches in a genuine and thoughtful manner.

The Love Interest is a worthy debut novel― not perfect, but enjoyable, fun, and new. It made me think and reconsider YA as a genre, and for that I think it deserves more recognition. It certainly earned its place on my (small, oh so small) bookshelf, beating out some other books that were in the running for the last open space. I look forward to rereading Caden’s story, and seeing what Cale Dietrich has in store.