5 Reasons To Read How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Bourne

Publication Date: February 1st 2016
Publisher: Usbourne Publishing 
Source:  Purchased 
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Blurb: 

Amber, Evie and Lottie: three girls facing down tough issues with the combined powers of friendship, feminism and cheesy snacks. Both hilarious and heart-rending, this is Amber’s story of how painful – and exhilarating – love can be, following on from Evie’s story in Am I Normal Yet?

All Amber wants is a little bit of love. Her mum has never been the caring type, even before she moved to California, got remarried and had a personality transplant. But Amber's hoping that spending the summer with her can change all that.

And then there's prom king Kyle, the guy all the girls want. Can he really be interested in anti-cheerleader Amber? Even with best friends Evie and Lottie's advice, there's no escaping the fact: love is hard.

1)  Perfectly Swoon-worthy Romance

One thing I adore to read about is a slow building romance. I find it so much more satisfying to see two characters grow closer slowly than to read a book with "love at first sight".
Holly Bourne perfectly executes the slow burning, butterfly inducing romance in this novel.
The relationship between Amber and Kyle was so very friendly, caring and cute! I loved how well they complimented each other. If you want to read a realistic and well written romance, pick up this book!






2)    ALL THE FEMINISM  !
One of my favourite things about this series is the feminism and the way the girls are portrayed. Evie, Lottie, Amber are such great friends to each other and also have their own feminist club. They support and encourage each other while also having open discussions about feminist themes and topics. I love how empowered I feel after finishing a Holly Bourne novel and want nothing more than to join my own feminism club! 



3)  Harry Potter References 

How Hard Can Love Be? will appeal to all Harry Potter fans, not because it is in the same vein as the incredible books, but because of how much the characters adore Harry Potter. 
The camp Amber works at sorts the children into Harry Potter themed groups, Amber and her mother are huge HP fans and this is one of my all time favourite quotes I have ever read, which you can find in the novel : 

4)  Winnie!

*insert heart emoji* 

Winnie was my absolute favourite character in this entire novel, not only is she named after the legend that is Winnie The Pooh but she also does what she pleases and cares very little about those who do not like her. She was an amazing friend to Amber, kind, generous, warm and also introduced the philosophy of Pooh which was a delight. I would love to read a short story about Winnie! 

5)   Holly Bourne's Fantastic Writing 

It is something I am coming to learn as I read more and more of Holly Bourne's novels, that her writing and the way she captures the essence of teenagers being just as opinionated as adults without making it read as too much is utter perfection. Her writing style keeps me hooked, makes me feel things and genuinely makes me think hard about important issues. I can not recommend her novels highly enough and I am on a mission to read them all! 

In short, Holly Bourne's novels are exceptional, and How Hard Can Love Be? is no different. For an engaging, romantic and gripping read pick up this novel. Click the cover to see my review of Am I Normal Yet?