Review: Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

When you're the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can't write it. Alice needs a story for her mother—and she needs one fast.

That's when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol's voice in her head and see things she can't explain, she must face the truth—that she's either inherited her mother's madness, or Errol is for real.

Review:

Mad Love was my first Suzanne Selfors novel and it definitely won't be my last. Filled with love, hope, and regret, Mad Love is the perfect romance novel to read around Valentine's Day. Alice was a fantastic main character who I loved from the start. She was a realistic sixteen year old and on top of dealing with normal teenage problems (like first love) she also is faced with covering up the fact that her mother, the once thriving Queen of Romance, is secretly struggling in a hospital, fighting a mental illness. Alice stayed strong for her mother and made sure the Queen of Romance's secret stayed hidden. Even to the point of lying to her editor and fans. I always wanted the best for Alice because life was never easy for her. She was dealing with much more than any sixteen year old should have to and she was constantly faced with some difficult decisions throughout the novel.

Things really take a turn for the worse when her mother's publisher starts demanding a new book, and Belinda Amorous is in no condition to pen another bestseller. When Alice meets Errol, a strange teenager who claims to be the famous lover, Cupid, Alice's life starts to change drastically. Especially when she starts to wonder whether she has inherited her mother's illness or if Errol really is what he claims to be- Cupid. Errol asks Alice to help him write his story. His tragic romance with the beautiful Psyche.

Mad Love was filled with a variety of twists and turns and I was constantly flipping the pages, eager to see what was going to happen next for Alice and her friends. There are a lot of great secondary characters introduced in Mad Love and each of them has a vital role in the story. Ms. Bobot, the Reverend, Realm, Tony, and more. Realm was a girl that Alice was constantly at odds with. As the novel progresses, Alice will learn some things about Realm that may make her question what she originally thought of the girl. I loved Tony. He was such a sweet and understanding guy and was always there for Alice when things got tough.

I loved how Suzanne introduced so much mythology into the story. I knew next to nothing about Cupid and Psyche so it was interesting to read about their history. Errol was an interesting character who helped Alice out a lot even though he was also hiding some terrible secrets.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to read Mad Love. It was a romantic, fun, and, at times, intense, new novel by author Suzanne Selfors and I am anxious to read her previous release, Coffeehouse Angel as soon as possible! I highly recommend this to everyone!

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

January 4, 2011/Walker BFYR/323 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Publisher (Hardcover)

Other books by this author: Coffeehouse Angel