Name: Lovestruck
ISBN: 9781635830309

Kate Watson

When sixteen-year-old cupid-in-training Kali sticks herself with an arrow and falls for her own target, there'll be Hades to pay. To reclaim her heart and destiny, Kali will have to disobey the Gods, defy the Fates, and hope she doesn't lose her best friend in the process.

Lovestruck

Bria

-1 bc (view spoiler)[ Ben kinda sucked? I saw more than one review say he was great???????????? (hide spoiler)]

Maria

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 
Overall, this book was somewhat entertaining, albeit pretty forgettable. I did not connect with any of the characters at all, and I found Kali, the main character, pretty unlikeable. None of the other characters stood out in any way at all, either. As a result, I did not care in any way for the romance in this novel. I found both Kali and Ben irritable and their relationship extremely predictable. I think the overall predictability of the plot wouldn’t have been a huge problem if the characters had been more likeable, at least to me. 
Another issue I’ve had with this book was the Greek mythology aspect: I would not recommend this to people who are not familiar with Greek mythology at all. A lot of names and locations are thrown at you, and while some are very briefly explained, overall the book assumes the reader to already have some prior knowledge. I was drawn to this book because of the Greek mythology aspect - I found the idea of following the story of a cupid-in-training very interesting. Personally, I think this had a lot of great potential, but it did not entirely satisfy me.
The writing was quick and easy, but I think that also added a level of shallowness to the story, because most of the time I was confused about what was really going on, and I had a hard time envisioning the scenes I was reading about. 
I think, overall, if you’re looking for a fast, easy read this is an enjoyable book. But I think this would be better suited for a younger audience.

Kelci

Will be posted on my Instagram and goodreads by February 14, 2019. 

Growing up I was fascinated by anything and everything having to do with the gods. Lovestruck definitely gave me that outlet! Kali is a character you fall in love with from the very beginning. From her first mistake you are constantly left wondering what next?? The entirety of Lovestruck is phenomenal and is a must read for anyone.

Alexis 

*I was given an E-ARC from NetGalley in Exchange for my Honest Review*

I Unfortunately have to give this book 2 stars. I'm not sure where it went wrong. I wasn't a major fan of the writing, and the story it's self was just meh. The plot just didn't pull me in and I couldn't for the life of me connect with the characters. I was really intrigued when I the whole greek mythology we mention, however it just didn't feel right whenever the author would mention one of the greek gods. I always pulled me out of the story, and it could very well be that maybe this book wasn't for me. It's honestly a shame I didn't like it because I really wanted to.

Alexia Cambaling

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Flux and NetGalley!

I can describe Lovestruck as a celebration of love. It has a unique take on Greek mythology and features aspects of everyday life as departments in Olympus for gods and goddesses to handle. It’s light-hearted and funny and if you don’t take it too seriously, pretty okay all things considered. I found it to be a good, fast-paced book for a lazy afternoon type read.

Our main character, Kali is a Cupid-in-training and a daughter of Eros and Psyche. Unfortunately, she might not be cut out for the job after several mismatches and accidentally pricking herself with an arrow and falling in love with her target. In other words, Kali is pretty much an unlucky Cupid and has to turn around her luck soon and reclaim her heart. Otherwise, she might have to spend a few decades in love with a mortal.

The plot follows Kali and her friends as she tries to break the spell. In the process, Kali discovers a few things about herself and she has a rather strong character arc. Although, I do have to say that I wasn’t a fan of the slut-shaming and girl hate that we see for a few chapters. I didn’t find it funny and I thought the book would be stronger without it although the character was essential for Kali to see how jealous she was for some reason? Kali isn’t exactly the most likeable of characters. Fortunately, the side characters are a lot of fun. They alternate between comic relief and providing significant plot and character development.

I’m not really a big fan of the twist in the end. I admit I felt kind of blindsided and I thought it was kind of a cop-out how things turned to be. I appreciated that it differentiates between being in love with someone and having crushes but I still don’t know if I liked it. It’s a decent twist, yes, but I wished it was something more than that.

Overall, Lovestruck is pretty okay as long as you don’t take it too seriously. It’s a light-hearted read that’s perfect for a slow day. It’s pretty fast-paced too so you can finish it in an afternoon or so.

Becca Futrell

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of Lovestruck by Kate Watson in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes used in this review were taken from an advanced copy & may not match up with the final copy.

I won’t have a choice. I’ve been lovestruck.

I am a sucker for Mythology; it's actually one of my favorite subjects, and I love exploring it in media such as God of War, American Gods, etc. etc. I truly thought that with this subject matter being a main part of Lovestruck, I would absolutely fall in love. Unfortunately, that is not what happened. 

In my opinion, there were so many scenes where it was just a drag & it felt like an actual chore to get through. Plus, it would have helped if I enjoyed the concept of insta-love, since that is basically what we see in Lovestruck. Kali, a cupid-in-training, accidentally sticks herself with an arrow, making her & Ben instantly fall in love. Originally, I thought the synopsis was cute, but actually reading it play out, I was more annoyed by the ship than anything.

Gosh, Ben was the absolute worst. He constantly felt threatened by Kali, due to her being successful and more knowledgeable about subjects than him. I just??? No thanks, Ben. & I want to keep this spoiler-free, but when it comes down to it, Ben had no reason to be as jealous of a person as he was. & Kali should have never had to lie about how much she knew about music, just to make him feel as if he was superior at something. When it comes down to it, their relationship just felt abusive.


  


There were also too many characters & it took me awhile to actually keep track of who's who. Even though I enjoy Mythology, the beginning felt like informational overload. 

There were some aspects that I enjoyed, such as the relationship between Artemis & Tony. & AN ACTUAL VERONICA MARS REFERENCE??!#!

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Kate Watson, this novel follows Eros in training Kal as she mistakenly shoots the wrong people with love arrows. Only this time, she may have done it to herself.

I completely loved this book! This is a great fantasy young adult book that just hit all of those sweet spots. Well written and with compelling characters - I will take my own Hector, please - it was a joy to read.

Great for anyone who enjoys fantasy YA with sweet romance, or just anyone who enjoys a sweet romance.

Jessica Nottingham

Where to start with this book? I should start with the fact that I do love stories about Gods and Goddesses. Their personalities, their whims, the fact that they're all powerful, it all wraps up into something that has me firmly invested in books revolving around them. So when Lovestruck appeared on my reading list, I was pretty darn excited. As a Cupid in training, and a reluctant one at that, I hoped that Kali and I would get along swimmingly. After all, who doesn't love a story about star crossed love?

I'm going to start with the honest fact that Kali and I didn't get along as well as I'd hoped. While I absolutely understood that this is a YA story, Kali's character felt really young to me. The fact that Kate Watson set Kali on a path that she wasn't 100% sold on, really touched my heart. I felt hopeful and anxious right along with her, as she tried to figure out how to get around her supposedly inevitable fate. However I also felt frustrated with her, a lot. Her attitude towards her friends, and her inability to see how selfish she was being, made me want to smack her more than a few times. I did feel like she ultimately learned and grew up by the ending, but Kali isn't an easy character to love. That might be rough for some readers.

Still, the story that Watson weaves around Kali's fate fueled dilemma is an excellent one. She perfectly weaves backstories for each of the Gods and Goddesses who are featured, without it ever feeling like something overwhelming. I loved watching Kali interact with all of them, and giggled quite a bit at the parent/child relationships in this book. It should be noted that there are also really excellent messages woven into the tapestry of this book. Watson touches on familial relationships, one-sided friendships, and (best of all, in my opinion) on what a real romance looks like. I can't count the number of times that I found myself nodding my head along with Kali's realizations that the relationship she was in might be toxic. Oh, to have read this book as a teenager.

Lovestruck also has its fair share of laugh out loud moments! The interactions between godly brothers and sisters had me cracking up. I love that these ethereal beings are just as silly and petty as all of us here on Earth. This book moves so quickly, and 300 pages all but flew by. Overall, I had a really good time with this book. It might read a little younger than I'm used to for YA, but it has a ton of heart. For that, I happily award it 3 stars.

Joleen

This arc was provided to me for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

2 stars

Kali, a cupid in training has just made a terrible mistake. She has just broken the number one rule, don’t stick yourself. Now she is head over heels in love with indie rocker, Ben. Now Kali has to risk it all it fix her wrongs even if she has to tempt the fates and defy love.

The whole idea of cupid in training is one of my favorite tropes. I love the idea of working for Cupid, the love master himself. It's always such a cute story! And I won’t deny that this was also a cute story, but it was just not for me.

The main character Kali was so unlikeable. From the moment I was introduced to her, her attitude just put me off. It’s hard to connect to a story when you don’t like the characters especially the MC. The plot lines were okay but very predictable for a story like this. The one thing I liked the most was all the Greek Mythology. It’s always fun to get little modern tales about some of my favorite Greek Gods. 

Personally, I don’t think I am the appropriate audience for this book. Everything seemed so juvenile to me. ( I get that it is YA, but this feels like it’s more of on the younger side of things ) With that said, I do recommend this to the younger generation as it does have a nice message at the end of it.