Review: I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

From Goodreads: Desi Lee believes anything is possible if you have a plan. That’s how she became student body president. Varsity soccer star. And it’s how she’ll get into Stanford. But - she’s never had a boyfriend. In fact, she’s a disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation magnet whose botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life. She finds guidance in the Korean dramas her father has been obsessively watching for years - where the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. It’s a simple formula, and Desi is a quick study. Armed with her “K Drama Steps to True Love,” Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos - and boat rescues, love triangles, and staged car crashes ensue. But when the fun and games turn to true feels, Desi finds out that real love is about way more than just drama.

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: While I’m sure many people will be interested to read Maurene Goo’s I Believe in a Thing Called Love because the synopsis mentions K-dramas, I’ve never watched one. Instead, this book appealed to me because I liked that the cover had an Asian model and that it appeared to have the potential to make me laugh.

I Believe in a Thing Called Love does start off quite hilariously with poor, sick Desi coughing phlegm onto her crush’s shirt and then having her sweatpants fall off in front of the new student, Luca. However, I started sympathizing with Desi less and less over the course of the novel as she began to act more like a psycho, lying and injuring others in order to simply get a boyfriend. For example, Desi was willing to cause a car crash just so that Luca would realize how real their love was! I understand that in no way is I Believe in a Thing Called Love supposed to be realistic, but if a guy did what Desi did, I’d be running far, far away! So, I wasn’t completely thrilled by the ending, which basically rewards Desi for being a nut job. 

I Believe in a Thing Called Love was released in May 2017 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 

Comments About the Cover: What’s happening with the splashes of pink on the model's skirt?! They’re so oddly placed …

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Macmillan) for free via NetGalley.