NO LOVE ALLOWED by Kate Evangelista

Published April 19th 2016 by Swoon Reads
Read: July 2016
How I Got It: Paperback (approximately 256 pages) from Swoon Reads via Goodreads Giveaways 
(Note: I entered a Goodreads Giveaway for another book from Fiewel & Friends, but received this book instead. Swoon Reads publishes under Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan). 
Series: Doge Cove (subsequent book to be published October 2016).

Caleb has one rule: no falling in love. As a result, he breaks a lot of hearts. When he breaks up with the daughter of one his hot-shot lawyer father’s clients, it means a summer law internship and attendance at all of the corporate parties. And he can’t go alone, so in order to keep with his rule, he decides to hire a fake girlfriend for the summer.

Didi is a painter and completely opposite from Caleb’s rich-kid crowd. She has a few manic episodes, but they are well-taken care of by her meds. Caleb finds her interesting, and she agrees to his one rule. She decides to immerse herself into Caleb’s world, complete with a high society makeover, simply because she doesn’t have anything else to do with her summer. Will their fake relationship make it through the summer, or will they break the rules?

The novel is in third person switching between the perspectives of Caleb and Didi, but it begins rather bizarrely. The initial point of contact between the two main characters seems forced and inconsistent with how the characters are revealed through the rest of the story. Also, Didi’s mental illness plot line is clichéd as this storyline is popular in current YA releases: manic girls goes off her meds and chaos ensues. Awareness for mental illness is important, but, on that topic, a reader would be better off picking up Emery Lord’s When We Collided. However, readers looking for a quick romantic read will enjoy this novel, they just have to push through the first few chapters. 

*Thank you to Swoon Reads for providing me with  an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.