Love Hurts - Malorie Blackman

WARNING: this is going to be a very, very long review...

I started reading this in March, and I’m ashamed that it has taken me this long to read it. I only read it when I had time to read a whole story, because I didn’t want to dip in and out of stories as they were all so different. 

Love Hurts is an anthology of YA short stories, or at least that was what I thought it would be. I expected something like My True Love Gave To Me, which I really enjoyed. But when it arrived, I realised a lot of the short stories were actually extracts from already-published books, which really disappointed me.

Out of twenty-four short stories, only seven were original short stories, which disappointed me and many other bloggers who I have seen reviewing the book. But so as not to taint the stories I did enjoy, I decided I would review each one separately, in the order they appear in the anthology.

Humming Through My Fingers by Malorie Blackman

Amber lost her sight due to diabetes, but knows her surroundings well. She can even tell when someone is lying. In this story, she meets Ethan, and teaches him how to see without his eyes, just like she has to. I've never read a book that mentions diabetes, and I'd love to find other books or short stories that do. It's a largely ignored illness in YA, as far as I can see, so if anyone has any recs please get in touch. I really enjoyed this story, as it was so original and heartwarming - 5 stars

More Than This (extract) by Patrick Ness

This was an extract from a book I hadn't read yet, so I didn't mind so much. Gudmund and Seth are in love, but life is about to get in the way of them being together. I'm not sure whether this extract was enough to make me buy the book, although I would like to find out what happens to their relationship, so I might pick it up in the future - 3 stars

The Infinite Moment of Us (extract) by Lauren Myracle

Charlie and Wren are so awkward, but that's what is so adorable about them. This extract contained one of the most romantic quotes I've ever read, and I loved it so much: 'She was the mystery and the explanation both.' This extract was really good, so I definitely think I'll be picking this book up in the future - 4 stars

If I Stay (extract) - Gayle Forman

This extract gives a really good overview of the book to entice people to read the whole thing. There's flashbacks of Mia and Adam's relationship in its early stages, which is really sweet, as well as telling you the key things that happen while she's in a coma. It's a really good love story, and this extract does it justice - 4 stars

Tumbling by Susie Day

I really, really enjoyed this new short story. It contains the best line in anything ever: 'there are breasticles under this shirt bro behold my brastrap', which is closely followed by 'a custard cream in human form' - the way I'm not going to describe myself. This story follows two girls who are meeting for the first time, after talking on tumblr for a while, at 221B Bake Street. They are both big fans of Sherlock, and I loved that I understood all the references. I love stories that include fandoms and tumblr, and this is one of my favourite stories of the book - 5 stars

Trouble (extract) by Non Pratt

Having already read and enjoyed Trouble, I didn't have to read this extract if I didn't want to - but I was curious as to what extract would be chosen. I think it perfectly sums up what the book is about - Hannah having the news of her pregnancy leaked to the whole school, and Aaron, the new boy at school, offering to be the father of the baby - and if I hadn't already read the book, then this extract definitely would have gotten me to read it - 4 stars

Rani and Sukh (extract) by Bali Rai

I haven't read this book yet, but I feel the extract would have been better with a bit more backstory. I love knowing how characters met, and all the secrets between the two families should have made me want to find out more, but it actually really confused me. It is told from both Rani and Sukh's perspective, and since I love dual narratives, I think this book could be really good. The extract was nice to read and I'm interested to find out if all of Bali's writing is like this - 3 stars

You Against Me (extract) by Jenny Downham

Ellie's brother, Tom, has been accused of raping Mikey's sister, Karyn. Ellie and Mikey have been pretending to like one another in order to investigate the matter for themselves. I'd never heard of this before, but the extract really got me interested in reading the book - especially for the cliffhanger it has! I think the story best showcases family love, the lengths that Ellie and Mikey will go to in order to protect their siblings - 4 stars

13 Little Blue Envelopes (extract) by Maureen Johnson

Ginny is an American visiting London, and meets Keith when she buys all the tickets to his show, Starbucks: The Musical. Sadly, I was more interested in the musical than the story. I have seen this book a few times in my local Waterstones, but now I've read this extract, I'm not sure whether I'll be buying it. I just didn't relate to the characters that well and I'm unsure if I will like it - 3 stars

Junk (extract) by Melvin Burgess

Again, this extract didn't really grab me either. I couldn't relate to the main character, fourteen-year-old runaway Gemma, and all I knew about the book before reading it was that is is about drugs, which don't interest me either. I don't think I'll be reading the full book, as I had no connection with the extract - 2 stars

Noughts and Crosses (extract) by Malorie Blackman

I've wanted to read this book since I was about sixteen, and I'm not sure why at twenty-one I still don't own a copy. I really enjoyed this extract, despite not knowing what a Nought or a Cross is, but for some reason, it just made me find out more! Sephy and Callum are so good together, even if they can't actually be together, for reasons I don't know yet. I really enjoyed the dual perspective and I thought it was a perfect extract to get me interested in the book, so I'm definitely going to be buying it soon - 5 stars

Gentlewoman by Laura Dockrill

Dan has never felt like a boy, so over the summer holidays, he begins the long process of becoming Danni. As school creeps closer, she is scared of what her old male friends will think and, more importantly, what the girl she loves will think. This is a really lovely story, that reminds me of Cat Clarke's A Kiss in the Dark and Lisa Williamson's The Art Of Being Normal. I can't wait to read other things by Laura - 5 stars

Heroic (extract) by Phil Earle

I honestly hadn't heard of this book before I saw it included in this anthology. Sonny likes his best mate's sister, Cam, but he knows she's off limits. But her brother, Tommo, is away in the army, so they both need a little comfort. It appears that is is told from different perspectives, which I love, and even though themes of war usually put me off, I did enjoy reading this extract so I might pick it up in the future - 4 stars

Lucy Had A Steamboat by David Leviathan

This story was really interesting. It follows Lucy as she falls for the new girl at school, Ashley. However, Lucy is more serious about the relationship than Ashley is, and Lucy gets a little obsessed. It was really funny in places, but in others, it got slightly boring. But overall, it was a good story and it was nice to read - 4 stars

I Am The Messenger (extract) by Markus Zusak

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped to, as the love aspect isn't very prominent in the book as a whole. There isn't much mention of the actual plot of the book, which is a sort of quest that Ed is sent on, but instead focuses on the love Ed has for Audrey, which isn't really what the book is about, so I feel it will disappoint a lot of people who pick up the book expecting a love story - 4 stars

Grasshopper Jungle (extract) by Andrew Smith

I see this book all the time in my local Waterstones, but I still haven't read it yet. Reading this extract, I think I would enjoy this book, although I worry that Austin may start to get on my nerves after a while. Nevertheless, I've bought the book and I will be reading it in the future because of how much I enjoyed this extract - 4 stars

Echo Boy (extract) by Matt Haig

I'm not sure how I felt about this extract. The relationship between Audrey and Daniel was lovely, but I didn't understand what Echos were and what was happening, so I think I need to read the whole book in about to form a solid opinion - 3 stars

Forbidden (extract) by Tabitha Suzuma

I really enjoyed this extract, because I loved the way it was written. However, I am not a fan of bother and sister relationships in books, as it puts me off and I go a bit too British ('oh! oh no, that just won't do!') So now I am not sure whether to buy and read the book or not. Well written but a difficult topic - 4 stars

Endless Love: the Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda by Lauren Kate

After four extracts, it was nice to finally read a new, original story. However, I wasn't sure I liked this story. From what I could gather, Luce is cursed to live in many different bodies in many different time periods. But I didn't feel that any of the story was explained enough for my liking, and so it felt more like another extract than a short story. As a result, I just couldn't get into it - 2 stars

Midwinterblood (extract) by Marcus Sedgwick

I feel like I am being picky with my reviews of these stories, but these are my honest opinions. In this extract, I felt that nothing was explained to me, leaving me feeling practically guilty for not having read the book already. I was confused at what was going on, and therefore I just couldn't enjoy reading it. Also, there was a mistake in there, which usually I would ignore, but in a extract of an already-published book there shouldn't be any mistakes - 1 star

The Liar's Girl by Catherine Johnson

I didn't enjoy this story, perhaps because of the way it was written from the girl to the boy, so the 'you' didn't feel right as I couldn't get into that person's perspective. I didn't connect with any of the characters and I didn't feel the love between them - 2 stars

The Unicorn by James Dawson

Finally, we get to the story that I actually bought the book for, and it was definitely worth it. This story follows Reg Hastings in his time in the Navy, serving on the HMS Unicorn and falling in love with Frankie Cain. It is equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking. I really enjoyed this story, but I knew I would because James never disappoints me! Definitely one of my favourites of the book - 5 stars

Northern Lights (extract) by Phillip Pullman

I remember reading some of this book at school, but reading along with the class meant I couldn't go at my own pace and as a result, I didn't really get into it. I think I need to re-read it and see if I like it, as from this extract I'm undecided how I feel - 3 stars

We Were Liars (extract) by E. Lockhart

I did enjoy this book, and I thought this extract really did it justice, as it shows Cadence's love for Gat, a boy she only sees in the summer. The love between them is real, as well as  very complicated - 4 stars

Luckily, out of seventeen extracts, I had only read four, so I enjoyed it more than someone who had read all of those books before. The book acts as a good starting point for someone wanting to know what YA authors to check out, and it showcases some of the best. But to have very few original stories in there was a real disappointment, as so many people will have bought this only to realise they own most of the books included in there.

My favourite original short stories were The Unicorn by James Dawson, my fave, Tumbling by Susie Day, Humming Through My Fingers by Malorie Blackman, and Gentlewoman by Laura Dockrill.

The extracts that made me want to read more included The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle, Rani and Sukh by Bali Rai, Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, Heroic by Phil Earle and Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith.

I hoped you enjoyed this review, and I'm sorry it was so long, but I wanted to give every story it's own mention, and I gave the book 3 stars overall on goodreads, as there were some stories I loved and some I didn't. 

If you'd like to give me any recommendations of books you think I'd like based on these reviews, then please get in touch either on twitter (@t4ngled_) or instagram (@asdfghjklize). Thank you for reading!