The Greatest Love Story Ever Told - Suzy K. Quinn - ★★★★.¾
AUTHOR: Suzy K Quinn
GENRE: Romantic Comedy-Drama.
RATING: 4.75 stars.
In a Nutshell: The greatest, sweetest, cutest, saddest, “awesome-est” love story ever told! I am in luvvvvvv! PSA –This isn't the kind of romcom you think it is.
Story Synopsis:
If you see the blurb on Goodreads and Amazon, you will notice that the plot has been kept absolutely vague. So if the author wants you to discover the story for yourself, who am I to spill the beans and spoil the fun? No synopsis this time. My lips are sealed.
Now, the problem is that without a synopsis, I am having a tough time writing my usual detailed Bookish Yays and Nays. So with such a hazy “synopsis”, all you will get is equally fuzzy reasons. Hopefully, they will be enough to convince you.
Bookish Yays:
😍 Callum. I can’t and won’t tell you who Callum is. But just know, he deserves one entire YAY!
😍 The plot. Guessable, and yet, so very original!
😍 The blurb says: ‘YOU WILL CRY WHEN YOU READ THIS!’ I hardly ever cry while reading, so I took this claim with a huge pinch of salt. Boy, was I wrong! I could have filled buckets with my tears. (Okay, not buckets. But at least half a cup for sure!)
😍 Not all the above tears were sad ones. If you had seen me while reading this book, you would have seen the big goofy grin on my face during every scene that wasn’t tear-inducing. So basically, I was either grinning or sobbing all the way. More grinning than sobbing – don’t worry!
😍 The blurb also says, “The funniest, happiest, most emotional romantic comedy you will ever read. With a small twist!” You are going to love the twist, my friends!
😍 Two first-person perspectives, both written brilliantly and with a distinct voice that doesn’t feel artificial or confusing. TBH, the younger of the two characters made me question a part of the writing choice (connected to the use of direct speech in his perspective.) Then I recollected a person I know who is of the same age and speaks in exactly the same roundabout, never-ending, loopy way. So yes, both povs sound authentic.
😍 Even beyond the two main characters, the secondary characters speak and act their age. Almost all of them are loveable. One seems a grumpy grinch, but even his feelings are justified rather than criticised by the plot.
😍 There’s emotional, and there’s soppy. While this book strays randomly on either side of the fence, it keeps things mostly balanced. I never felt like it was milking emotions on purpose. ‘Awwww’-inducing soppy is always welcome to me.
😍 The characters are not just diverse, but also smash stereotypes in myriad ways. Every single character shatters some or the other hackneyed cliché about their usual image in fictional depiction.
😍 Love the role books play in the story.
😍 There’s a small element of magical realism as well. Tiny enough as to not bother those readers who don’t like magical realism, but appealing enough for those who do.
😍 So many wonderful themes covered without going over the top: racism, bullying, gender discrimination, (minor) homophobia, wealth bias,… All handled well.
😍 The cover is simple yet amazing, and fits the book on many levels. (Except for the 'romantic comedy' line, which might lead you to assume that this is a typical chick lit work.) It also offers you a clue of what’s to come, but hopefully, you’ll be better prepared for it.
Bookish Nays:
Zilch!
Some of you might reject this book thinking that it is a typical romance or romcom novel. So let me just say: it is a story not of romance but of love. A love between a couple that you simply wouldn’t be able to imagine. In other words, this book isn’t just for romance fans.
Also, the ‘romantic comedy’ claim is somewhat incorrect. While the book has elements of romance as well as plenty of comedy, it is quite dramatic as well, and not a light, fluffy read like most romcoms are. Be prepared for an emotional experience interspersed with light-hearted moments.
The author had submitted this manuscript to many publishers last year, and all of them rejected it. She finally decided to self-publish this story (for which I thank her ardently.) This just goes to prove two things:
- Big publishers don’t necessarily know what works.
- There are many hidden indie gems if you are willing to give them a try (and can ignore teeny typos.)
I hope you have figured out my recommendation by now. If not, here it comes:
Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Just. Read. This. Book!
If you don’t read and like this book, you can’t be friends with me anymore.
Just kidding.
(Or am I? You can try and see what happens! 😉)
4.75 stars, which is the highest I go for contemporary adult fiction.
My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and author Suzy K Quinn for a complimentary copy of “The Greatest Love Story Ever Told”, and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
The book is available for free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
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Author Suzy K Quinn:
Suzy K Quinn writes edgy romantic comedy and has sold over 1 million books worldwide. She is a bestseller in the UK, US and Germany and has plans for total world domination with literary love bombs in the near future. So watch this space. Then go read one of her books.
Suzy lives in Wivenhoe, Essex, with her husband Demi and two daughters. She is a twin, an incompetent parent of two and now fully decaffeinated. Her twin sister, Cate Quinn, is also a bestseller author.
Suzy loves her readers and is ALWAYS happy to chat on social media. You can find her @suzykquinn on most social media channels. Throw her an emoji ball, she is friendly.
Connect with her on:
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Blurb:
YOU WILL CRY WHEN YOU READ THIS!
The funniest, happiest, saddest, happiest romantic comedy you will ever read. With a small twist!
What’s the 'small' twist? You’ll have to read it to find out. But let’s just say, you’ve never read anything like this before.
WARNING: Be prepared for many happy tears. And a lot of laughter.
READ THE REVIEWS to see why readers love this book.
For fans of: Jojo Moyes, Cecelia Ahern, Sophie Kinsella and Nick Spalding.
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Check out this book:
Goodreads:
Buy Links:
Amazon UK:
Amazon USA:
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This has been a pitstop on the #TheGreatestLoveStoryEverTold blog tour conducted by Rachel's Random Resources. (@rararesources on Twitter.) Thanks for stopping by!
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