Excellent characterization in a unique plot format. This story made me want to meet the characters. ( )

I really liked this book! It was sweet and angsty with a touch of humor. I love how its is written in both Gray and Dylan's POV, with Dylan being carefree spirit and Gray being kind of stiff, but when they came together it was sweet. I also love how they both had a great love of music and the playlists in the back of the book. I like both covers for this book and loved Kacvinsky's writing style. The book and story was very realistic with the characters and the love story being normal. Dylan with her quirky-oddness and Gray with his numb make the cutest odd couple.

Swoonworthy Points: 7.5
There were multiple layers of swoonworthiness in First Comes Love. In the beginning Dylan was swooning Gray and by the end the roles were reversed. It was very sweet (gave me butterflies) and steamy at times.

Summary
Girl on the sidewalk watching ants; Boy hiding in the shadows alone. Their paths cross literally, and thus begins their friendship... but not by Gray's choice. Dylan is voracious in her attempts to make him smile, to figure out the enigma of Gray. Eventually they come together and form a strong bond. But when the summer ends, Dylan and her free spirit take off for a new destination. Is their love strong enough to pull them back together?

If you are in the mood for a great Contemporary Romance.. I would strongly recommend this book!!! ( )

Title : First Comes Love
Series : -
Author : Katie Kacvinsky
Pages : 198
Release Date : May 8th 2012
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / Thomas Allen & Son
Format : Hardcover
Source :
*An hardcover copy was provided by TM & Son in exchange of an honest review. Thank you!*



My Opinion :

I was curious about this book because, for one, I had read the author's debut novel, Awaken, and it definitely was a great read. Second... well, don't you just love the cover? I find it... so pretty, and romantic; which represents the book.

First Comes Love wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it would be a fun and light, but still great and romantic kind of book. But boy, it was NOT. It was sad, even a bit dark at times, and it was not the kind of funny and light romance I was expecting. It was a punch-you-in-the-gut kind of romance.

In the book, there's Gray and Dylan. Gray... he's dark, almost in depression since his twin sister, Amanda, got killed by a serious car crash accident. And Dylan; she'S as bright as the sun and fun to be around. Now... why would they like each other? I guess opposites attract...

First comes love is a really short book, which makes it a really fast-paced read. Some authors can pull it off. Others... not. Fortunately, this one was the former! The writing was just fast-paced enough.

Although I found the book quite enjoyable, it just wasn't a big hit for me. It was between a 'Okay' and a 'Good'... although I'm leaning towards the good for a few reasons (the first one being GRAY :D Love him A LOT)

The romance was definitely the best aspect of the book (well, that'S good, Cathee, because it was one of the ONLY aspects! *sarcastic*)

The character building was really strong; the two main characters' personalities were well developped and didn't waver or become something else (well, Gray's did change a little, but it had something to do with the book :D)
( )

No. Just... no. This book serves one purpose and that is to irritate the hell out of me.

Maybe it's because I don't generally read books that are centered solely on a romance, but this book bored me nearly to tears. I literally could not read more than maybe three pages at a time before I just wanted to fall asleep in the middle of the day, jump off a cliff, and then have a root canal. Seriously.

I really wanted to read First Comes Love because it seemed like there was something darker lingering under the surface, and that the characters would be strongly defined. I'm sorry, but 'putting up walls' and wearing a baseball cap, and being tall and thinking only in metaphors does not a strong character make. Gray is everything we've seen before; he is every stereotype rolled into one. He's the hot guy who doesn't know he's hot, he's the awkward virgin who doesn't know how to talk to girls, he's the slacker who takes 'easy-A' courses, he's the popular jock, he's the broody mysterious guy who doesn't let anyone in. Puke.

Dylan is no better. She's got a strange name, she's pretty but doesn't realize it, she dresses 'weird' and asks 'weird questions.' Every time we're stuck reading from her point of view, I want to strangle a kitten. She only speaks, acts, and thinks in cliches. Of course, as cool and pretty and wild and different as she is, she's a virgin too, because if she wasn't chaste that would be baaaaad. Just like every other YA book, I'm tired of the slut-shaming that's going on here.

Another thing that really affected my reading experience was the alternating points of view. Mid chapter, we would switch up the POV. I'm talking mid-freaking-conversation. Because of this I felt wholly disconnected from the characters, and anything I might have found in common with them was lost in translation.

The book's saving grace was definitely the ending. While the entire budding relationship and the whole dead family member thing was slow and honestly pointless, the end brought it back to reality. I never really understood why the characters fell in love in the first place (probably because I couldn't connect with or identify any of their motivations -- seriously, if you hate someone you're not going to be spending time with them) but the last maybe 40 pages of the book rang true and really seemed how two real people who loved each other would act. Especially if they were separated.

All in all, I just felt like the entire plot itself was a plot device. If that makes any sense. The characters were obvious cliches, and I couldn't connect with them at all. Dylan made no sense -- no one thinks in metaphors 100% of the time -- and Gray was just plain boring. Maybe if Kacvinsky didn't try so hard to make her girl 'different' and her boy 'wounded' then I would have enjoyed the book a lot more. ( )

No. Just... no. This book serves one purpose and that is to irritate the hell out of me.

Maybe it's because I don't generally read books that are centered solely on a romance, but this book bored me nearly to tears. I literally could not read more than maybe three pages at a time before I just wanted to fall asleep in the middle of the day, jump off a cliff, and then have a root canal. Seriously.

I really wanted to read First Comes Love because it seemed like there was something darker lingering under the surface, and that the characters would be strongly defined. I'm sorry, but 'putting up walls' and wearing a baseball cap, and being tall and thinking only in metaphors does not a strong character make. Gray is everything we've seen before; he is every stereotype rolled into one. He's the hot guy who doesn't know he's hot, he's the awkward virgin who doesn't know how to talk to girls, he's the slacker who takes 'easy-A' courses, he's the popular jock, he's the broody mysterious guy who doesn't let anyone in. Puke.

Dylan is no better. She's got a strange name, she's pretty but doesn't realize it, she dresses 'weird' and asks 'weird questions.' Every time we're stuck reading from her point of view, I want to strangle a kitten. She only speaks, acts, and thinks in cliches. Of course, as cool and pretty and wild and different as she is, she's a virgin too, because if she wasn't chaste that would be baaaaad. Just like every other YA book, I'm tired of the slut-shaming that's going on here.

Another thing that really affected my reading experience was the alternating points of view. Mid chapter, we would switch up the POV. I'm talking mid-freaking-conversation. Because of this I felt wholly disconnected from the characters, and anything I might have found in common with them was lost in translation.

The book's saving grace was definitely the ending. While the entire budding relationship and the whole dead family member thing was slow and honestly pointless, the end brought it back to reality. I never really understood why the characters fell in love in the first place (probably because I couldn't connect with or identify any of their motivations -- seriously, if you hate someone you're not going to be spending time with them) but the last maybe 40 pages of the book rang true and really seemed how two real people who loved each other would act. Especially if they were separated.

All in all, I just felt like the entire plot itself was a plot device. If that makes any sense. The characters were obvious cliches, and I couldn't connect with them at all. Dylan made no sense -- no one thinks in metaphors 100% of the time -- and Gray was just plain boring. Maybe if Kacvinsky didn't try so hard to make her girl 'different' and her boy 'wounded' then I would have enjoyed the book a lot more. ( )