2.5 stars

Love, Life and the List was the kind of cutesy contemporary I knew I could expect of West. The premise was enticing; the promise of a best-friends-to-more romance too good to turn away. The execution, however, left a bit to be desired. The tone was quite young so its attempt to explore important topics like mental health and family fell a little flat. The characterisation was also quite shallow and there were some subplots that took too much attention away from the main storyline. It needed more heart.

Our protagonist, Abby, was a big thorn in my side. I loved how she was so passionate, and her sarcasm did make me smile, but I struggled to connect to her on any deeper level. The way she treated the people in her life - particularly her mother - was not all that great, and it bothered me a lot. Her mother is suffering from an untreated anxiety disorder, most likely agoraphobia. I completely understand how hard it would be to see your parent succumb to such a debilitating mental illness. I have no doubt that the situation would be scary, uncomfortable and put a lot of pressure on her family unit. If Abby had been dismissive out of sheer ignorance, I could have understood. There is room for growth there. However, she rejected her grandfather’s plea to get her into some sort of therapy multiple times, and there was no good reason for it. She made her mum and her grandfather feel like shit over it but refused to help. That - among many other smaller things, including how juvenile her voice was - made it really hard for me to warm to Abby.

The romance bothered me for a couple of reasons but Abby’s treatment of Cooper was icing on the cake. Abby has a crush on her best friend, Cooper. She had revealed her feelings to him a year earlier in the spur of the moment but quickly dismissed it as a joke. At this point then, Cooper does not know the true extent of her feelings. He has not said anything about his own feelings. They are no way obligated to one another or in a romantic relationship. When Cooper starts dating Iris at the beginning of the book, I can understand that Abby would be envious of their growing relationship. I can even understand genuinely disliking Iris or not getting along with her. People are people. A lot of the time personalities clash. All of this is fine. Cliched and not the best female characterisation but nonetheless, understandable.

Here is where my problem lies: Abby eventually has a falling out with Cooper largely because she cannot ‘put up’ with him not reciprocating her feelings anymore. I just. If Abby had been a male protagonist and Cooper his female LI, this book would have been shut down in an instant. This is blatant ‘friendzoning’ bullshit! People are not obligated to return your feelings! You cannot say that someone is a poor friend for not falling in love with you. I just, this is ridiculous. Cooper did nothing wrong by dating someone else. I know there is more to the story in the end, which I will leave you to read on your own, but I have to say the whole situation made me uncomfortable. Abby was completely out of line. I felt sorry for Cooper, and also Ethan because Abby went on a few dates with him to ‘get over Cooper’. This is not emotional cheating since she is not in a relationship with this other character, but it definitely did not sit entirely right with me. As a whole, I felt that Abby’s treatment of Cooper spoiled the romance for me. I loved their friendship. It was realistic and sweet, and their banter genuinely puts a smile on my face. But in the end, I wanted more for Cooper.

The fact that this romance took over so much of the plot was also quite disappointing. West introduced a lot of elements that could have made this story more of a standout if they had been developed. I loved the focus on family (more of that would have been so welcome). Yet it was the fact that she did so little with the original premise that let this down most of all. Like I said earlier, Abby’s passion for art was well-written. I enjoyed that added element. However, the entire Heart List arc - the idea that she needed to find her metaphorical heart to make her art truly shine - was rushed. It was anticlimactic. I wanted more time to be devoted to it. Abby improved her art incredibly quickly. It could have been a much grittier and character-driven process if the author had devoted more time to it. I think that was what I was hoping for.

Extra thoughts:

• West’s writing is simple and flows well. It is easy to fly through, driving the story forward easily.
• The pacing was genuinely well executed. I was never bored.
• I wanted more from their friends, particularly Justin and Ethan.
• Lacey was horrendous. I actually despised her.
• Abby says at one point that being an artist defined her. I have to agree. I wanted a little more from her.

Overall? Not my favourite contemporary. I liked the sweet friendship between Abby and Cooper. The banter made me smile, and there were lots of little elements that worked well. Her relationship with her grandfather being one of them. I just needed more emotion, more grit from it. The entire art plotline was shallow and rushed. I was not a massive of our protagonist either. She treated her mother and Cooper so poorly. It rubbed me the wrong way. Will I read more West in the future? Yes. I hope it is a little better, though.

Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.