What I really liked about this book is how messy teens are and it's not afraid to show you that. It's also written as a diary which I found very interesting. The MC goes through a lot of growth throughout the book but she doesn't stop being flawed because it's not like a 15yo would magically be perfect. I really liked the side characters and how they weren't only in the background but an integral part of the story. Also seeing someone who swore off love getting a slow burn romance was kind of funny.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I wanted to love this but I think I found Amelia a little too miserable and cynical to be fun and relatable. I did appreciate that she was writing in a diary so was incredibly honest, but she was incredibly complaint-heavy and a bit ungrateful. I liked the story, and I loved all the other characters a lot. Her cluelessness was quite charming sometimes, and there was shades of Adrian Mole occassionally.

Phoebe is a character that you cannot help but like. The book is pleasing and heartbreaking 💔.
Thank you to the publishers for gifting me this book

I loved this book. The main character Phoebe is such a relatable character. I loved her relationships and how funny this was throughout.

So I was bit skeptical going into this, as between the time I requested it on Netgalley and the time I read it, I'd seen a few people my age and older say that it's quite juvenile, even for a YA book. So after seeing a few people say this I was a bit wary going into it, however when I was reading it I tried to imagine what fifteen year old me would have thought reading it and it made the reading experience so much better. I also thought that the diary format of the book helped with the reading experience aswell.

This book had me laughing at so many points, it is so relatable for the target age range especially when I look back on how I was at fifteen years old, honestly the nostalgia was real. This whole book explores so many different aspects; we have sexuality; Phoebe figuring out that maybe she isn't as repulsed by falling in love and maybe, just maybe, she likes girls. We have friendships; the book starts with Phoebe's best friend Polly, getting her first boyfriend and from Phoebe's point of view Polly no longer cares about her and just the boyfriend. We have family, although I absolutely despised Phoebe's mum, I think she's a terrible mum and so selfish and I feel so bad for Phoebe, I'm so glad she had a better adult in her life with her godmother. We also have grief; there is a couple of heart-wrenching moments that actually made me tear up.

This had a lot of sex-positivity and character development, I liked how Phoebe would try and research things on the topic of sex so that she could try and help give her friend advice, instead of just laughing and acting like a child (because honestly that's what my entre friend group at that age was like when the topic of sex was brought up). Also nearer the beginning, Phoebe makes a few comments about disabilities, but then she does some researching and you actually see the growth of her learning how not so great her views and comments were, and growing from them. I actually saw a few people say that it was the reason they dnf'd this book, and as much as I respect other opinions, I think people need to realise that we're brought up with the way society currently is and we have to unlearn a lot of prejudices, so I think Phoebe is a brilliant character for showing that.

Overall I think this is a great book for teens, and if adults go into it imagining how their teenage self would have views it then it would be such a nostalgic read for them aswell.

This was a cute but at the same time honest, beautiful and heartbreaking read.

I really liked the main character Phoebe as she was very unique and not the typical “outgoing” heroine.

To me this felt more like a read for a teenager than for a young adult/adult like myself but I still really really enjoyed it!

Also really enjoyed the fact that it was a light and quick read even though the book looked quite big and intimidating.

Would really like to read more of the author in the future!

Phoebe’s best friend Polly has fallen in love and Phoebe believes that her friend has completely lost her mind. With her mum in Syria doing fantastic humanitarian work, Phoebe feels abandoned and lonely. When she begins volunteering at a local charity shop, she meets some unlikely friends and finally learns what all the fuss about love is. This fantastic witty new YA voice celebrates the coming-of-age of a young lesbian with a cast of adorable, small town characters. I laughed out loud at several points, so strap in for an authentic, feel-good read with a VERY slow-burn romance.

Love is for Losers is the hilarious story of Phoebe Davis, a teen girl with zero plans to fall in love. Phoebe has watched her best friend fall in love and completely lose all of her brain cells in the process so Phoebe won't be doing that, at all. She's going to join NASA and fly to Mars and be totally independent and never fall in love because love is for losers. This book was such a refreshing look on teen life, Phoebe isn't at all perfect, she's struggling with exams, falling out with her best friend and failing at finding a job but she's also enjoying herself, making new friends and starting new ventures at the charity shop.
I adored Phoebe, her story is told in the format of what I can only describe as short diary entries. Each entry was short, two or three pages at most, it could be a paragraph of how her day has panned out, a short panicky sentence or bullet points of pros and cons. The author perfectly executes the chaotic mind of a teenager, she's witty, sarcastic and always self-deprecating, she's your very typical teen who lives in skinny jeans and stalks people on Instagram. I found Phoebe so relatable and I absolutely loved her journey of discovery as she figured out who she was crushing on and how that played out.
Love is for Losers includes a variety of drama from cats birthing kittens to friendship break ups, not including Phoebe's guardian's hook ups and the charity shop thievery! From exam stress to grieving the loss of a family member, Love is for Losers also touches on some very important and sobering real life occurrences, whilst exploring the hilarious outtakes of teenage years. I loved this life-affirming and laugh out loud book and would definitely recommend it.

Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann is a YA story of 15 year old Phoebe in her GCSE year, with her doctor mother off helping everyone else, and her best friend having fallen off the planet as she's gotten a boyfriend.

This is written as a diary, which works so well as you get such an insight into Phoebe and her feelings.  I enjoyed this book, and wanted to see what would happen next.  I thought the situation was well created, and Phoebe's feelings of abandonment, uncertainty and stress was well written.

P.S  Love is for Losers  by Wibke Brueggemann was published on 21st January, and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

P.P.S You can follow Wibke Brueggemann on  Instagram .

P.P.P.S I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Pan Macmillan .

This is a teen book that has the usual teen angst about friends, exams not fitting in. But this is so much more. Phoebe has an unusual life because her mum works for an aid charity and she lives with her mum's best friend, Kate while Mum is away.
Written in diary form we follow her life during her GCSE year, all the ups and downs, and we follow her emotions and trying to make sense of the world.
I loved that Phoebe is not a girly girl, all lip gloss and nails and Kate, her surrogate mum, is the kind of mum all girls would want to have.
Definitely recommend.

I realised after I started that this was young adult, which I don't typically read now, but I finished in order to review.

This is a slice of life and coming of age story based around a teenage girl who doesn't understand why her best friend is so interested in love/boys/sex.

The main character is portrayed as quite awkward, intelligent and cynical, which gives the book some funny moments, but I felt it often missed the mark and became too unrealistic. She didn't seem like a teenager to me. The way the godmother and their relationship was portrayed also seemed off, particularly the total lack of boundaries and the amount of freedom the main character is given. The characterisation overall seemed poor.

The plot is driven by external events, predominantly around grief and dying - growing up with a parent who is dead, someone dying and a friend dealing with a loss. So much of this could have been explored much deeper but wasn't. It all just seemed like plot device, used then passed over.

In the past as a young adult I've read books with similar themes, some that are funnier and some much more impactful. Not badly written apart from the characterisation, but I don't think this book adds anything new or different.

Overall I don't think this compares to anything by e.g. Jaqueline Wilson/ Louise Rennison/ Meg Cabot.

Very relatable YA about the trials and tribulations of teenage angst, crushing and love. Stayed up all night reading this during lockdown as I couldn’t sleep. Read it in one go and loved it.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review

Love is for losers is a wonderful YA coming of age story, I think it is aimed at the mid to younger end of the market or at least it feels that way to me. It has a very open and honest dialogue about sexuality which I thought was wonderful . This is a book with real heart and it’s such an addictive page turner. Well written, great characters, overall a perfect YA read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

A wonderfully quirky look at a lot of the big questions we've all asked ourselves at one time or another. Love Is For Losers is so much more than a YA coming of age type story, it's hilariously honest and straight talking. Perfect for younger teen readers navigating their own journey into adulthood.

This was a funny and light YA novel. It is an easy diary-style format, whilst being lighthearted, covers a lot of the topics that some readers may find helpful for teenagers.

Loved this book! I felt this book was a very realistic look into life as a 16 year old and all the pressure and confusion that comes with it. I laughed out loud a number of times and have such a soft spot for all the characters! As this is a debut novel I can't wait to see what else she writes!
Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.

LOVE IS FOR LOSERS has a strong and powerful British narrative voice, that is told in a diary format. I loved this format and it accounts for why there are so many pages in the book, it isn’t necessarily a long book but spacing for the diary accounts for some of this.

Phoebe, the protagonist is the kind of character with a big chip on her shoulder, shes spikey, hard to like and I only just got to like by the end. Despite her character, there are many reasons to still enjoy the book because not every protagonist regurgitates hearts and rainbows. Phoebe is on a journey in this book, reconciliation with the state of her maternal relationship, finding first love and losing friends. I found it to be a compelling read.

I did have struggles however with Phoebe, some early attitude towards disability was annoying, even though it was corrected. She was pretty judgey with all of those around her and she didn’t really endear herself to the reader. She came across as immature, judgmental and in need of some familial love. I felt annoyed at her mum and found her to be selfish, so I got where some of that element came from.

Overall, this was a solid read with many enjoyable facets. The diary writing style made it very engaging and kept me invested. There was great open dialogue about sex and sexuality for this mid-teen age group. I would definitely read this author again.

Thank you to Macmillan Kids UK for the early review copy.

The book starts with Phoebe having the worst New Year's ever. She was dragged by her best friend, Polly and was subsequently abandoned when the boy they were with asked Polly to be his girlfriend. She then had to take the train to her godmother's house because her mother wouldn't be home due to her meeting about the situation in Syria (her mother is a missionary/war doctor). The first few pages we already are aware of Phoebe's situation - she doesn't understand why people want to be in love, and how they can change in a heartbeat. The rest of the book follows Phoebe in her day to day, and how things eventually change for her.

I absolutely adore this. It's in journal format so we are privy to Phoebe's thought process. I love her relationship with Kate, and her moments with Emma are so adorable. I love how descriptive she gets when she talks about Emma - she's an enigma in Phoebe's life. The novel started off as an information dump, but then it finds its pace and its voice. It's a delightful novel to read. It has friendships, first love, familial relationships - there's a lot going on, really. I like that the side characters weren't one dimensional, and that everyone in the novel had a different personality that made them stand out.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. This is not my usual genre, I’m more of a crime/thriller reader therefore am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟