Review: So, This is Love by Tracy Andreen

So, This is Love is the sequel to So, This is Christmas, our book club pick from November 2022.

So, This is Love picks up about three weeks after the events of So, This is Christmas. Finley Brown is back for her next semester at Barrington Academy in Connecticut. After an amazing holiday season, Finley can’t wait to reconnect with Arthur Chakrabarti Watercress, her classmate who she spent time with in her hometown of Christmas, Oklahoma during the holidays.

After Christmas, Arthur and his aunt went back to London, so Finley is eager (and nervous) to see him for the first time since their romantic kiss.

But when Finely first sees Arthur, he acts aloof. Devastated, Finely seeks comfort from her new friend Ayisha. She wants nothing more than to move on from her brief fling with Arthur and enjoy the new semester.

Finley and Ayisha decide to go on the school’s annual ski trip. What promised to be fun, turned into a lot of drama. 1. Finley learns that Arthur can’t date her because his dad is forcing him to move back to England soon. 2. Finely gets into a fight with Queen Bee Bronwyn Campbell, who promised to get revenge. At least Finley has Ayisha and her roommate Petra to spend time with and to help her avoid Bronwyn.

But when Arthur asks Finley to talk things out, he tells her he wants them to be friends. He’s tired of them ignoring each other and wants Finley in his life. While Finley says yes, it’s getting harder and harder to be just friends with her dream guy, all while planning for an epic Valentine’s Day dance.

Does Finley have the guts to tell Arthur how she feels and can Arthur finally stand up to his stuck up status-obsessed father?

After spending time with Arthur and Finley in Oklahoma, it was interesting how things changed when they returned to Barrington Academy, one of the most elite prep schools on the east coast. Already, Finely is having a better second semester, considering she has friends and started to get involved. We loved seeing her confidence grow and for her to start thinking of her future.

However, Arthur frustrated us. When he came back to school, he wasn’t the nicest person. Sure, Finley made some mistakes too and didn’t let him fully explain. However, he acted immature and should have been honest with Finley from the start, especially about how is father controlled his life.

Obviously, one of the best parts of the book was Arthur’s character development. He grew up a lot and learned to ask for what he wants. It just took him a while.

As for the side characters, they really made this book shine. We loved how different they all were from each other. Ayisha was sassy, confident and not afraid to be herself, while Petra, the shy bookworm, learned how to trust people again.

Then we have Aunt Esha and Grandma Jo, Arthur’s aunt and Finley’s grandmother, who make an amazing couple. They were the voices of reason in the book and gave Finley and Arthur the courage to go after what they truly wanted. While they weren’t as big of a part of So, This is Love as they were in So, This is Christmas, they managed to be the most influential characters.

So, This is Love is basically a slow-burn second chance romance. Even though Finley and Arthur weren’t apart for long, they still had a lot to work out. Basically, Andreen wrote about their picture perfect Christmas world and then had them work out their personal issues once they reentered the real world.

While we wanted a little more romance, we do like Finley and Arthur together. Arthur helps Finley see her potential, while Finley helps Arthur be brave and go after what he truly wants. They also had some very cute scenes near the end of the book.

Thankfully, Andreen didn’t try to create a love triangle for the sake of drama. While both of them felt jealousy at the beginning of the story, there were no other love interests. We worried about it for the first few chapters and we’re so happy to see we were mistaken.

As for the other aspect of the plot, we were happy to see Bronwyn Campbell get what she deserved. She was a stuck up bully and finally people chose to stand up to her. While she did cause some big problems for the characters, they rallied together to pull off the Valentine’s Day dance to create a night to remember.

Overall, So, This is Love is a fun sequel that challenges the characters to be themselves and be honest about what they want, both personally and romantically. If you’re ever searching for a cute Valentine’s Day romance, pick up Andreen’s latest YA novel.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐