Review for For the Love of Lily by Olivia Lockhart

Reading a novel from someone you’ve met through social media always hits a bit different, and I very much appreciate being able to get my hands on a copy of For the Love of Lily from the author herself. The main premise is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, a love triangle but specifically one between both new to their lives and someone who has been around for a while. Does the center of the triangle look forward to all the possibilities with someone new, or do they respect all the history shared with someone who already fits into their life?

At first, some of the colloquialisms threw me because I didn’t realize the setting of the novel. Once I was reading with the right lens though, I found the overall tone charming and quirky, just like the main love interest at the center of the triangle. I liked the character herself, even if sometimes her actions (or lack of action) annoyed me. Like many romances, I also think I liked her best friend just a tad bit more and found her a scene stealer.

On paper, the two suitors for the titular Lily appear almost to possess equal potential as romantic partners. Incredibly high potential to the point realism does cave to romantic fiction a bit, a trope of the genre. However, both suitors aren’t perfect, and even show traits that border on some hallmarks of toxic masculinity. On one hand, we have manipulation and the seed of an idea that nice guys who put in the time as a friend earn the upgrade to more than friend by default. On the other, we have someone for the propensity to destroy or break objects when they are angry. The protagonist does call out some of those traits with the first but seems to just sweep the other under the rug (in both this novel and the sequel). Considering why Lily wasn’t wanting to date for so long, I found her lack of acknowledgement regarding the latter behavior even more problematic. It’s my own personal bias showing through, but it was hard to respect the difficulty of Lily’s decision because of how much a dealbreaker one suitor’s actions would have been for me.

I teetered between this rating and a lower one largely because of two things. Love triangles inherently come with a choice, made by the main love interest. Stay with one, end things with the other, or even just all three getting together in some form or fashion are how things usually play out. I don’t want to spoil anything, but that doesn’t really come into play here, and it cements some of the issues I had with Lily. Indecisive almost to the point of flighty, she swings almost constantly between crying or euphoric. The other thing that impacted rating the most is ease of reading. British and American standards of English differ substantially on the use of commas, and for readers venturing beyond their borders, it can take some getting used to. However, it was the sometimes frequent missing words that detracted from the reading experience a bit, especially since it seemed to occur more in linchpin or highly emotional scenes.

Romance fans that enjoy love triangles that see-saw to the very end should take a chance on For the Love of Lily, especially those with a soft spot for golden retriever personalities in their men.

For the Love of Lily is available to buy on Amazon.