Review: The Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonald

The Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonald

Clever and elegant, this novel forces you to think about how far you'd go to find the truth, and how many lies you'd tell to uncover it. Alice Love keeps her life (and boss, and family) running in perfect order, so when her bank card is declined, she thinks it's just a simple mistake. Sadly, someone has emptied her bank account, spending her savings on glamorous holidays, sexy lingerie, and a to-die-for wardrobe, and leaving Alice with lots of debt. But she soon wonders if perhaps her alter-ego's reckless, extravagant lifestyle is the one Alice should have been leading all along...

Review:

Abby McDonald's adult debut was sexy, romantic, fun, and original. From the minute I started reading I was sucked into the life of the fantastic Alice Love. The summary left a little to be desired so I wasn't entirely sure what the novel would entail when I started reading. The Liberation of Alice Lovewas more than I ever imagined and it was one book I will be recommending again and again- to both teens and adults. After reading and enjoying Abby's previous release (a YA novel called Boys, Bears, and A Serious Pair of Hiking Boots) I was eager to get started on more of her novels and this did not disappoint.

Alice Love- such a simple, but very pretty name. It suited our main character perfectly. When the book opens, Alice is living an organized, but nice life. She has a good job, even though she aspires for a better position, a small apartment, but she longs to purchase her own flat, and a great group of friends... When Alice's credit card is declined she is shocked. Suddenly, Alice's life isn't simple and perfectly arranged. Her identity has been stolen and someone has emptied Alice's bank accounts and purchased all sorts of entirely un-Alice-like things. From there, the book really takes off and both the reader and Alice are in for a wild ride.

Abby McDonald has a great writing style- fluid and smooth, with little witticisms that make me laugh at the most random of times. The premise of The Liberation of Alice Love may not seem very original, I mean there are quite a few books out there about identity theft, but Alice's story is far from ordinary. There is a mystery aspect to the story and a lot of twists in the plot as Alice discovers more about both the criminal who stole her savings, and, more importantly, about herself.

There were so many aspects of this story that I adored- Alice's job, her family and friends, the romance, and Alice's journey of self-discovery. The secondary characters also had a prominent role in the story and made it that much more enjoyable. The setting (England) also made me love it that much more. Who doesn't enjoy reading about London and characters with accents? ;)

I'm so glad I branched out from my usual YA focused reading group and took a chance on The Liberation of Alice Love. I highly recommend it and am eager to begin Abby's next YA release, The Anti-Prom which is releasing soon!

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

March 1, 2011/Sourcebooks Landmark/417 Pages/Adult

Source: Publisher (ARC)

Other books by this author: Boys, Bears, and A Serious Pair of Hiking Boots, The Anti-Prom