Review: Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

I'm going to go ahead and quote Alice as an introduction to this review.

Mad Love revolves around three stories. One that has happened a long long time ago, when Gods were busy ruling and ruining people's lives. Another was happening at that very moment. The last one was still waiting to happen.

Title: Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors
Pages: 336
Release Date: January 4th 2011
Published by: Walker Books
Source: Won
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

When you're the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can't write it. Alice needs a story for her mother-and she needs one fast.

That's when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol's voice in her head and see things she can't explain, she must face the truth-that she's either inherited her mother's madness, or Errol is for real.

Who can say Love isn't madness? This book is a perfect example of the kinds of love we all experience in our lifetime. The love of a husband to a wife, even when all the odds are against them. The love of a daughter to her mother even when she's already being taken from her by an illness she can barely fight. And first love. That pure, happy feeling of falling in love for the first time and the complications of figuring out what to do with those feelings.

Alice is a kid I easily sympathized with. You can't really blame her for spinning a tale of lies for her mother. When you only have one parent left you will do anything to protect her. She's a child who's just struggling to just put the pieces back together, but how easy can that be when you feel unloved half your life by the one person who complete you? Alice lost her faith in love early on her life and that's really one of the biggest tragedies in this book.

Errol just broke my heart. His character is quite an intriguing portrayal of Cupid. No playful, chubby winged angel who makes people fall in love for fun. He's just a boy who got greedy and was tricked by the Gods and suffered with the mistake he committed. When you can make people fall in love with you, living can be quite difficult because you never know if your partner's feelings for you were genuine or not. Errol has lived the last days of his life in an unhappy way that I can't help but feel sad for him. I liked him better than Tony. A love that can't be always had a greater appeal to me than that of a budding relationship.

Mad Love is a healthy blend of family, friendship all combined with books and writing. People want happy endings, plain and simple. That's what Alice couldn't understand. People would rather feel happy than see that sometimes, love ends the way we don't wait it to. Even I have to agree with it. Truth be told, not everyone gets their happy endings.

Mrs. Bobot and Archie and the Reverend were interesting characters. I even loved Realm, even with her dark aura and snarky ways. I always love reading about characters that support the main lead's personality and allows her to develop in a good way. They contributed bits and pieces that made Alice who she is. Alice had made quite a loving but unique family with these unlikely people, and it's one of the heart warming side of the story. Knowing you have people there for you no matter what happens.

I have been a fan of Suzanne Selfors' writing after reading Coffeehouse Angel, and I just love the fact that she was able to put an interesting spin on the tale of Cupid and Psyche. Tragic love stories are always the best ones, as what was said in the book and I couldn't agree more. Love isn't sunshine and butterflies and putting it out in the open is what makes Cupid and Psyche love story somewhat real. It's that kind of love spanning a great deal of time, but it's still as painful and as tragic as it was before.

This might not be the best book to read if you're looking for something easy and light to read, because even if deals with love, Mad Love shows every facade of this particular emotion, and they're not all happy or beautiful. The good and the bad. It can be dark and twisted, painful and sometimes hurts people more than anything, but it also gives hope and warm feelings for those who know how to seize it and treasure it. Truthful and touching, Mad Love is a nice read if you're looking for something worthwhile to pass your time.

My rating

Content (plot, story flow, character):

.5
Okay: Liked, but The Goddess demands more!

Book Cover: