Crazy Cupid Love

This is my book club’s February pick.*

This book is much wackier than I ever thought it could be.

I never bat an eye at an author taking our world and changing things up just a little. Those are always a fun premise. And this one is no different to start. Descendents of the gods exist and those who originate from Eros (Cupids) are known in the world, but none of the others are. This basic fact is the base layer of the crazy cake that is this book.

Another layer is the main character, Eliza. She’s the klutziest klutz to ever walk the earth. AND she also just happens to be an uber-powerful cupid whose power is triggered through all these little and not so little accidents. As an accident-prone individual, I always read klutzy characters carefully. This one is taken a bit further than is reasonable to me, but it’s done for the story, so I tried to let it go.

The next layers were the story, or should I say stories. It felt like two in one. The first was the relationship, building from reintroduction to crescendo. The second was when the real problem/bad guy finally got introduced and the relationship goes through its trial. It just didn’t feel cohesive. It really felt like taking a bite of confetti cake and going for the next bite and unexpectedly getting lemon. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some lemon, but that is an unexpected pairing, if you get what I mean.

The icing on this crazy cake was some super awkward scenes involving a robot. My inability to tolerate awkwardness** was definitely tested and even caused me to skip a couple paragraphs. Twice. The set-up was beautifully executed, but I just could not follow it through. If you like movies or tv shows with awkward scenes, then this might not bother you.

The sweetest part of the whole thing was Eliza’s relationship with her dad. It was adorable and could be labeled #goals. It was like a gooey surprise center.

Now on to the sexy bits. It really felt like all talk and then use your imagination. Now the talk was yummy and definitely written to wind up the reader, but then, that’s pretty much all you get. So if that’s your cup of tea, enjoy!

*I read enough other stuff on my own, that a few years ago I joined a book club that focuses solely on romance. Literally, any kind of romance you can think of exists and it’s always a fun ride to talk about all the sexybits and slow burns and find the joy in the light-hearted stories.
** I have a strong physical aversion to awkwardness. I can’t watch movies or tv that use someone in an awkward situation as a source of comedy and I can’t read it in books either.

Book summary (per Goodreads):

Eliza Herman has spent years avoiding her calling as a Descendant of Eros. After all, happily-ever-afters are a myth. But when a family crisis requires her to fill in at her family’s Cupid-for-hire shop, Eliza finds herself enchanting couples under the watchful eye of her mentor, Jake Sanders.

After Eliza accidentally enchants Jake instead, they set rules to keep his arrow-struck desire at bay. But some rules are meant to be broken, and before long Eliza is rethinking her stance on true love…until they discover a conspiracy that could destroy thousands of relationships–including their own.