The A-Z of Us is the story of Alice, our self confessed love cynic nicknamed “The Bolter” and Zach, our arty romantic who believes in “love love” and a happily ever after. Alice and Zach decide to embark on 26 dates each beginning with a letter of the alphabet despite Alice’s previous ‘3 date rule’. This is a concept I loved, I enjoyed discovering what they chose for each individual letter and reading about the date that followed. In some ways this felt much more “real life” and likely to happen than some of the whirlwind, fantastical and wholly unrealistic romances that you read in other novels. It was also quite refreshing that Alice was our sceptical of love, commitment-phobe character rather than a “bad boy” male lead. It was great that Zach was able to show his more emotive and sensitive side.
Despite enjoying the concept of the book and the role reversal from traditional boy/girl character types, I didn’t however feel that the A-Z of Us gripped me as much as I had hoped. In many aspects I found Alice to be quite frustrating and I generally didn’t connect with the characters. This was quite disappointing, especially as I found the opening and first chapter of the book to be hilarious. I particularly wish we had heard more of Natalie, from the first chapter Natalie felt like she could be a strong, amusing and relatable character however her role in the A-Z of Us felt sidelined and underdeveloped. Perhaps the snippets of Natalies love life and personal development have left us open to a second book in a potential series from Hannah Doyle?
If so, despite my qualms with Alice and Zach, I would continue to read about Natalies story.
In summary, the A-Z of Us is an easy-going and uplifting read that I would still recommend to friends and family who enjoy a no frills romance. I just sadly didn't get the depth and connection with the characters that I wanted on this occasion.
Reviewed via NetGalley. Currently 99p on Amazon Kindle (July 2021)
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