This Love Story Will Self-Destruct
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4.0 • 29 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
This is the classic tale of boy meets girl: Girl…goes home with someone else.
Meet Eve. She’s a dreamer, a feeler, a careening well of sensitivities who can’t quite keep her feet on the ground, or steer clear of trouble. She’s a laugher, a crier, a quirky and quick-witted bleeding-heart-worrier.
Meet Ben. He’s an engineer, an expert at leveling floors who likes order, structure, and straight lines. He doesn’t opine, he doesn’t ruminate, he doesn’t simmer until he boils over.
So naturally, when the two first cross paths, sparks don’t exactly fly. But then they meet again. And again. And then, finally, they find themselves with a deep yet fragile connection that will change the course of their relationship—possibly forever.
Follow Eve and Ben as they navigate their twenties on a winding journey through first jobs, first dates, and first breakups; through first reunions, first betrayals and, maybe, first love. This is When Harry Met Sally reimagined; a charming tale told from two unapologetically original points of view. With an acerbic edge and heartwarming humor, debut novelist Leslie Cohen takes us on a tour of what life looks like when it doesn’t go according to plan, and explores the complexity, chaos, and comedy in finding a relationship built to last.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Every page of Leslie Cohen’s sparkling debut novel is a profound pleasure. We fell hard for her layered, witty depiction of post-college life in New York City and for her cast of gratifyingly complex characters: wounded, endearing Eve; thoughtful, romantic Ben; and their finely drawn cadre of friends and family. Emotionally resonant and endlessly surprising, This Love Story Will Self-Destruct is a whip-smart romantic romp.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cohen's charming, if uneven, debut finishes strong after a slow start, and will appeal to fans of boy-meets-girl comedic stories in the When Harry Met Sally tradition. As in Ephron's screenplay, New York is a character in this witty and romantic story, which opens in 2005 and features Eve Porter, a music writer with psychological struggles. She's in her 20s and never recovered from her father's abandonment and her mother's death on 9/11; she overanalyzes everything and constantly waits for the other shoe to drop. Her love interest, Ben, a structural engineer working on the Freedom Tower, may be a bit of an overgrown college boy, but he exudes logical calm. Their paths cross more than once over the years before they finally hook up, and Ben gently nudges them toward becoming a couple, a label Eve wants to avoid. All is adorable until Ben reveals disturbing information he shouldn't have kept from Eve. Cohen overdoes the zaniness in the early chapters, but the characters come into their own as the story progresses and Eve and Ben get closer. After that, the narrative becomes a living thing, and once a little of Eve's quirkiness rubs off on Ben, readers will know they can expect a satisfying ending.
Customer Reviews
Meandering and self important
Characters were not like able, stream of conscious/inner monologue was just too much, ended up skipping over paragraphs that never went anywhere. Written like it wanted to be a love letter to New York, but fell so very short. Being very specific about subway stops and street names is not interesting. Kept reading and finished because I had hoped it would get better, but it didn’t.