Reviewed by Anabela.m
TITLE: Stupid Love
SERIES: Stumbling into Love Book 1
AUTHOR: Riley Hart
PUBLISHER: Self published
RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2020
LENGTH: 227 Pages
BLURB:
Elijah
Out of all the apartments in Atlanta, I ended up with the worst neighbor. Shaw Hastings is a headache. He’s so full of himself it makes me crazy. Our official language is snarky banter–which I don’t enjoy, I swear. I’ve got eyes for my bestie Danny, anyway. I need to figure out if he feels the same, so I email an advice column written by a serial dater, who’s just as annoying as Shaw. Now, I’m asking myself why am I thinking less about Danny and having a blast virtually flirting with Anonymous?
Shaw
I don’t know why I like my adorable neighbor, Elijah Coleman. We’ve got nothing in common, yet somehow he’s both boring and kinda fun. He reminds me of this guy who emailed my advice column, so it shouldn’t be surprising that–oops–they’re the same person. Imagine me then offering to help Elijah get Danny in real life just because it means spending time with him. We go from angry neighbors, to frenemies taking dancing lessons together, to a flirtatious friendship where I enjoy making him happy.
No matter how much we fight it, Elijah and I are stumbling toward the L word. It’s messy and scary, but then he smiles, strikes a beautiful dance pose, or kisses me, and suddenly it’s not so bad. He’s ruining me, and I sort of like it. Stupid love. Unfortunately, with my track record of running scared, I just might wreck the only real relationship I’ve ever had.
Stupid Love is a low angst, frenemies to lovers story, with an anonymous advice column, flirty emails, banter and other fun shenanigans. There’s no love triangle or cheating in this book.
REVIEW:
Shaw was a self proclaimed love-phobe. Nothing against that darn feeling, mind you, but it was something just not in the cards for him. He did, though, have a lot of experience dating and having sex, so why not share it with anyone needing pointers? Hence- Charades & Sexcapades.
Elijah could have pinpointed the precise moment he realized he was in love with his best friend Danny. Could he confess his feelings? If he did, would it ruin the wonderful relationship they had? In doubt, Elijah wrote to Anonymous, on Charades & Sexcapades, asking for advice. But the initial message soon became an ongoing back and forth of emails, full of teasing and laughter. Elijah found himself feeling for Anonymous an incredible mix of annoyance and excitement…exactly what he felt for his next door neighbor.
As you can probably imagine, they eventually found out who was who. After the reveal, Shaw wanted to help Elijah make Danny jealous. Only, soon Elijah gave up on the farce, the lying and scheming not something he felt right doing…or maybe he wasn’t that in love with Danny after all? But Shaw and Elijah didn’t stop seeing each other, “just hanging out”, as they tried to sell it.
The way they acted around each other was the best kind of fun. They pretended they didn’t like one another, their interactions full of sarcasm and dry humor. They challenged each other, calling the other out on their flaws, but at the same time so, so sweet. Sizzling hot, too, when they gave up all pretenses. Surprised to see they had a lot in common, that they connected deeply than they’d expected or were ready to admit. Both increasingly more and more infatuated, more and more attracted to each other, yet reluctant to acknowledge it.
Shaw eventually confessed his reasons to steer clear of “misery (a.k.a. love)”. The moment he admitted to himself that he was completely, hopelessly in love with Elijah didn’t magically wipe away years of protecting his heart. I understood his struggles, as did Elijah. That was the angst filled part of the book, watching Shaw fight his deeply ingrained need to fight strong emotions rather than embrace them.
There’s no way to classify Stupid Love as simple as a “guy learns to believe in true love” story because the way it was told turned out to be utterly charming and entertaining. Slightly angsty until Shaw got over his hangups and fears, but that didn’t impact the overall tone of lightness and fun. I loved Shaw and Elijah, their flirty banter, their affection and chemistry. It was exciting to watch them realize they made each other happier than they ever were before. Also, I really liked all the other characters introduced during the book. Yes, I liked a bit even Shaw’s parents, even if they were toxic and they damaged their son. As for the others, best friends and family, they were all charming and I would love to see them again in the future installments of the Stumbling into Love series.
RATING: 
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