Good morning my blog family! I hope you are all well and excited to start a new month! I am chuffed that I get to kick off the month with a review of the fabulous Love and Other Sins by Emilia Ares as part of the blog tour hosted by Lovebookstours. Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of this tour, it was certainly a book worth reading!
𝐵𝓁𝓊𝓇𝒷
Mina's life is going according to plan; she's acing AP Calc and is perfectly content with her nonexistent social life. Though only a high school junior, Mina knows time is an investment, and she's putting all her capital into academics. Oliver, a child abuse survivor who grew up in the foster care system, is ready to burn down his old life and start from scratch-complete with a new name and emancipation papers-in L.A. When the two are thrown together through circumstance and develop an unexpected connection, they discover how hard it is to keep the past in the past.
Love and Other Sins is an emotional coming-of-age YA drama about family, love, violence, and the residue of abuse set against the backdrop of contemporary Los Angeles. When Mina meets Oliver, you'll remember your own first love and just how fast it swept you under.
What were the bonds that bound us?
Was it purely physical attraction?
Circumstance?
Or perhaps it was a mutual gravitation toward inevitable pain.
𝑀𝓎 𝒯𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈
I had no idea what to expect with this book, it is a YA book however it has much more adult themes within than usual YA books I have read. There are many triggers that may upset some, so be aware of those before entering the story. Emilia discusses sexual abuse, child abuse, self harm, suicidal thoughts and violence, but she does it with sensitivity and it has a strong part to play in the storylines of our two main characters.
The story is told via the viewpoint of two characters, Mina and Oliver. I love stories that tell tales from different viewpoints and this one was no exception! Emilia told their stories so well and I believed I was with them both all the way through. They are both teenagers who are navigating their way through school and life, Oliver however seemed so much older than his character suggested. Whether this was because of his history and all he had been through I'm not sure but he seemed older than Mina in the way he spoke and looked at life. Mina was witty and sarcastic as most teens tend to be in YA books, a lot of smart talk and chat however there were moments where her character really began to grate on me as she was just so selfish! I think her actions irritated me so much because Oliver seemed so much more mature I couldn't understand why she did some of the things she did, but she was just acting as many typical teenagers would.
I loved the character of Minas mom, she was such a comical character and I would love to be as strong and witty as she was throughout the story. Her relationship with Mina was gorgeous and even at the lowest points they still had an incredible bond.
It started as a bit of a slow burner as the characters were slowly developed. I liked this as it was such a character driven story this really built the picture. There were some great moments of action throughout and I kept expecting more to unfold around Minas father and his debts. I assume that will be brought more into the story in book two.
Wow that ending! It was completely unexpected! I hadn't realised this was going to be a series when I read it so I had to pick my jaw off the floor at the end as I desperately flicked through my ebook pages thinking surely this isn't how its going to end??! I cannot wait to get hold of the next book and find out what happens next for Oliver and Mina.
If this sounds like a story you may be interested in adding to your TBR you can urchins a copy using this link:
𝒜𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇
Emilia Ares is an American film and television actress and author.
Love and Other
Sins is her debut novel.
She graduated from UCLA with a BA in Economics.
Literature and storytelling have always been her true passion.