The Book of Love By Kelly Link Review

Title: The Book of Love

Author: Kelly Link

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: The Book of Love

Pages: 640

Release Date: 8 February 2024 (UK), 13 February 2024 (USA)

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Hello fellow booklovers! Today I'm sharing my review of The Book of Love by Kelly Link. Gorgeously tender and rich in magic and whimsy, Link’s long awaited fantasy debut was just as weird and wonderfully immersive as I hoped it would be!

Synopsis

 Laura, Daniel and Mo disappeared without trace a year ago. They have long been presumed dead. Which they were. But now they are not. And it is up to the resurrected teenagers to discover what happened to them.

Revived by Mr Anabin - the man they knew as their high school music teacher - they are offered a chance to return to the mortal realm if they can solve solve the mystery of their deaths, learn how to use the magic they now possess, and identify the mysterious fourth soul that crossed back over with them. But their return has upset a delicate balance that has held - just - for millennia.

Review

With incredible world-building and an emotional, character driven narrative that borders on the uncanny, Link has crafted a tale that even Lewis Carroll would be envious of.

This is actually the first of Link’s work I’ve ever read, but the glowing praise for her short stories made me eager to get my hands on her first full length novel—and unsurprisingly, it didn’t disappoint. The prose is fabulously lyrical and the intricately woven characters were an absolute joy to get to know.

With meticulously crafted backstories and messy, melodramatic relationships driving the narrative-Susannah, Laura, Mo and Daniel, and their experiences with life and love (in all its varied forms) was powerfully compelling. Though I admit the amount of POVs did take a bit of getting used to.

From the grief stricken pain of losing a family member, to strained sibling relationships, first loves and embittered rivalries— we really delve into the core of each of our flawed protagonists. Capturing such an emotionally detailed picture that, by the end I was emotionally invested in them all to some extent.

Even antagonist Bogomil, and (the Aziraphale to his Crowley) counterpart, Mr. Anabin (who I was prepared to dislike on sight) had some tender blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments that got me rooting for them too. But of all the characters we encounter, it was Carousel (Daniel’s precocious little sister) that I loved the most—her reactions and sass were sheer perfection and I’d love to see a short story (or two) centred around her.

I should probably also mention that it does clock in at just over 600 pages (626 in the UK arc), which I know seems daunting if you don’t read a lot of chunky books. However, the writing was soo beautifully done that the length didn’t really bother me, and I pretty much inhaled the first hundred or so pages without even realising.

Overall, an immersive and thoroughly enjoyable love letter to love—and all things strange and unusual, that fans of Buffy, Good Omens or Tim Burton are sure to enjoy.

Also a huge thank you to Head of Zeus for the wonderful proof

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

About The Author 

Kelly Link is the author of the collections Stranger Things Happen, Magic for Beginners, Pretty Monsters, Get in Trouble, and White Cat, Black Dog. Her short stories have been published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Best American Short Stories, and Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards.

She was a 2018 MacArthur Fellow and has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She and Gavin J. Grant have co-edited a number of anthologies, including multiple volumes of The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and, for young adults, Steampunk! and Monstrous Affections. She is the co-founder of Small Beer Press and co-edits the occasional zine Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet. She is the owner of Book Moon, an independent bookshop in Easthampton, MA.

Link was born in Miami, Florida. She currently lives with her family, dog, and chickens in Northampton, Massachusetts.

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