Publication Date: October 1, 2019 (previously published on Wattpad)
Publisher: Wattpad Books
Genre: YA Fantasy/Romance
Pages: 384
Dates Read: September 27, 2019
Format: eARC provided by NetGalley & Publisher
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My Goodreads Review
SYNOPSIS:
“Lila Black doesn’t believe in matchmaking, let alone soul mates. So then why is she constantly being hassled by the Cupids Matchmaking Service? But this gilded, cherub-bedecked dating agency isn’t exactly what it seems . . . and it’s about to turn Lila’s entire world upside down.
It turns out that Cupids Matchmaking is the real deal. As in, it’s run by actual cupids—who don’t look at all like they do in the paintings—and they have a serious problem with Lila’s “match.” Because this guy shouldn’t be in the system. He shouldn’t have a match. And while he’s irresistibly hot, he’s also incredibly dangerous. Because Lila’s true love match is Cupid. The original bad boy of love. And he wants her.
Now Lila’s once-normal teenaged world has exploded into a mythological nightmare overrun by crime-lord sirens, wrathful cupid hit men, magic arrows that cause no end of trouble, and a mischievous, not-so-angelic love god she can’t seem to stop herself from falling for . . .”
Adored by 50 million readers on Wattpad, Lauren Palphreyman’s smash-hit book is now in print for the first time.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 STARS
I highly enjoyed this book! I was immediately hooked, and it held me hostage from my family for a few hours until I finished it. I loved that it started off as a YA Romance but quickly turns into more of a fantasy adventure. It also incorporated mythology which was fun.
The premise was great! We start off with Lila, a seventeen-year-old girl being hounded with emails and letters from the Cupid Matchmaking Corporation. Lila being so young, and already having a boyfriend wants them to stop bothering her, so she hunts down their office to confront them and tell them to take her off their lists. When she gets there, she meets Cal, the management agent and lets her know that they are real cupids and that she was matched with THE Cupid. They don’t tell humans about themselves, but it is a rare exception because she could be in danger. Cupid is a banned ex-employee of the company and trouble. The most important thing he tells her though, is that cupids cannot be matched (a big no-no in the rules) and Cupid happens to know that he was matched and has enrolled himself in Lila’s High School to try and find her. Lila isn’t too worried about Cupid, because she has a boyfriend, James, and doesn’t really believe in soulmates and matches. On the first day of her senior year, not only does Cupid show up, but so does Cal to watch and help her out. Pretty soon, she is roped into an adventure that she did not expect.
The writing flowed very nicely for me, and you are immediately thrown into the story. I was never bored and I always appreciate that in a book. I will say, however, especially as we got closer to the end, I felt like things switched from fast-paced to rushed. Everything fell into place a little too easily and felt a bit too perfect. I also had a little bit of a hard time with the character of Cupid. He started off as this ‘bad boy’ vibe and somewhere in the middle of the book becomes a completely different character. He just felt off, like the author didn’t want to put in more time to develop his character.
The story as a whole, even though I enjoyed it, was also just very predictable for me, which is sad because I loved the premise. If there is going to be a follow-up novel I am definitely interested in picking it up. I’d love to see if the author fills in gaps that were missing, or develops some of the characters more.
Overall I thought it was a good read, and would recommend to others.
*Special thanks to NetGalley, Wattpad Books, and Lauren Palphreyman for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.*
Alicia Reads It 