Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: 26th December 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 
Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings Abby isn’t going to take any chances.
Which is where the list comes in.
Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being. But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems… and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.
I was a bit hesitant to read Love, Life, and the List because I was really disappointed by the last book I read by Kasie West (By Your Side). She’s an auto-buy author for me, but I was so let down by that book that I almost reconsidered. I haven’t read Lucky in Love yet, but I heard mixed things about that one, so by the time Love, Life, and the List came around, I was very much on the fence. (Ha!)
I was actually pleasantly surprised by this one! It wasn’t up to her previous standards. I think her earlier contemporary books are her strongest. But I did enjoy Love, Life, and the List for the most part. It was cute.
I really liked the ship, right up until the end. The best friends to bf/gf thing was really sweet, and seeing the main character realise her feelings was kind of adorable. That said, I wish West had left the romance how it was about two thirds of the way through. She switched things up and backtracked and I was a bit disappointed because I thought this book was going to have a unique ending. Oh well.
I’d definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a fast contemporary read. It’s probably good for the summer.
Kasie West is an author I loved but who I’ve become hesitant to buy of late simply because her books are so hit and miss. Her earlier ones are better than her more recent releases I think. This was one I didn’t think I’d try as I’ve heard a few people were left a little disappointed by the romance. I’m sure I’ll give her another shot, an author who has written some of my favourite YA romances for a sunny afternoon can’t fail me can they?