(4.5 but goodreads doesn’t allow for .5)

i’ll be so real i cannot STAND miscommunication as a trope however when it’s a teenage crush? god i ate it up

this is maybe the most accurate portrayal of being a teenager and having a crush i’ve ever seen in my life. the bit about liking going to carpet shops to touch all the samples? literally me when i was 15.

extremely bittersweet and real i really adored reading about ella and lowe. i just wish the slow burn didn’t take up the entire book & there was more at the end.

impeccable tho.

Wow this book is going to give me one hell of a book hangover. I keep thinking about Ella & Lowe!! Such a slow burner which beautifully weaves 90's nostalgia with the will they wont they love story. I found myself sat there thinking I'm gonna have to read a bit more to see if they get it on now, I was literally screaming at my screen - JUST GET IT ON ALREADY!! Infuriatingly fabulous love story for anyone who lived and loved in the 90's.

“ It’s wonderful being a kid like that. You think trauma is just sliding off your skin, when really it is the opposite; it’s sinking in deep, like the most painful tattoo ink of a word or picture that you absolutely hate, directly into your nervous system, that nobody will ever see unless you one day are loved or desperate enough to show it.”

I knew I’d enjoy this book from others reviews but I didn’t realise how emotional it would make me and how bloody hard some of the quotes would hit. This feels like reading a love letter from younger you to older you, heartbreakingly beautiful

Also how stunning is this book in general 🫶🏻

Official rating ~ 4.5
A massive nostalgia hit. I might not have been a teen (for long) in the noughties but this took me back. The references might be 2000’s but, my god, regardless of decade, the experiences & emotions are all the same.

It’s brilliantly written with a beautiful, funny & relatable main character. Told via Now & Then, we follow Ella as figures out life as a teen and adult, friends, family & boys. And does she really fancy Moe from The Simpsons lol Honestly, this is a great book with some of the funniest lines I’ve read, such as:

“I pretty much decide that, for the time being, it’s probably safest if I just forget I own a fanny at all.” lol I can’t tell you how much I laughed reading this!

There is also a moment in the book when Ella is having a chat with her Dad, believing at 15 she is old enough to hear the truth then instantly recognising that she isn’t. A simple scene but encapsulates being a teen. Wanting to be grown up but not yet ready to let go of your childhood innocence.

I have a love/hate with these kind of endings.
It’s got nothing to do with the story, it’s more to do with my feelings at the time of reading it.
And currently it’s not the ending I wanted.

On saying that, this is a gorgeous story giving an authentic representation of being a teenager and all that entails.

Thank you HQ & NetGalley, for this awesome arc.
Apologies for taking so long to read. So many things took their toll impacting upon my time & health (both mental & physical) that I hit a reading slump.

Look, I am not an avid romance reader. I don't have a particular trope I enjoy nor can I list tropes off by heart but every once in a while, a love story will come along and hold me tightly. So with that, my ex-stone cold heart and I, recommend that you read I Love You I Love You I Love You.


This one is for all the readers who:
Enjoy reading books slowly because otherwise they'll end too fast
Updates anyone within a 0.1 mile radius on the plot as they read
Gasp out loud
Refer to what's happening as they're reading out loud
Had a crush on someone in high school
Like me, love musical references in novels and let them guide you through the feelsiness of what you're reading

Oh and @HQStories have ever so kindly put together a Spotify playlist for you so you can listen whilst reading.

But there is no reason for a book to be this good!! This is like a convo of lit fic and your favorite romance. I loved it.

I thought I would relate to this book being the same age in 2000 as the main character but for some reason I just couldn't get into it. There was some nostalgic references that I liked but I just found it wasn't going anywhere. Not for me; sorry.

Oh I loved this book. So charming and funny and emotional. I loved present day Ella so much that I wasn’t sure about the flashbacks at first, but I ended up loving teen Ella too. Brilliant on all the tiny details of passionate teen friendships and first crushes and love.

I know the book was partly inspired by Laura Dockrill’s real life relationship. How lucky to have a love like that and be able to write about it like this.

I think I'm the wrong audience for this book. i only read it to the end as I'd been given a free copy for review and I'm sorry to say it's not for me.

I found the main characters annoying rather than interesting, Their "romance" disappointed me and too many times I was tempted to give up as I found little that interested me in this.

It was quite well written but just not my cup of tea, sorry

Remember those moments growing up with school friends when you would put glitter eyeshadow on and listen to Hit Me Baby One More Time and have house parties/chill in parks and gardens to socialise with schoolfriends during the weekends and then, you would reminisce/dish the dirt/spill the tea with the same friends during the school week and it turns out they like the same boy/girl you like? This book is all that and more. I was astounded with how accurately Laura Dockrill was able to capture teenage angst in this book, and the later angst/anxiety we have as adults remembering those same memories. We are *so* different to who we were back then...aren't we?

Ella has loved, effortlessly beautiful in his simple ways, Lowe, her schoolfriend since they were teenagers. Now in her 30s, Ella is dealing with adulthood, a relationship, a mortgage, her job, attending her partner's work events, trying to manage the hot mess that is her best friend from school...and all this with the fact that she continues to run into Lowe from time to time, having never gotten over those feelings she harbours for him since they first met. This book had me laughing and crying at how navigate life decisions as teenagers, and how we are affected by the ups and downs of life, what makes us happy and how we deal with grief and love.

This book is partly based on Dockrill's relationship with her husband so that was fun to know before I started reading, otherwise this is a work of fiction, with the writing style being choppy and contents is more quirky and lighthearted and yet which shocked me so many times with how relatable it felt.

There was descriptive writing which I felt longed the book out, and felt unnecessary but otherwise I did enjoy this read alot.

Thank you @HQ and @Netgalley for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest unedited review.

I understand that this author has previously written for children. This book was supposedly aimed at adults. For me, it is better aimed at love sick teenagers....endless descriptions of unexpressed emotions by the girl seemingly unable to express herself even when given the opportunity to achieve her goal of snaring her love object. However the ending was predictable if far too long in coming

Effective 'hidden/repressed love' story.

Who can't identify with Ella? Too shy/awkward/repressed to tell the boy she meets at 14 she's undeniably head over heels for him - we've all been there. Too scared in case he doesn't feel the same way, or holding back because a friend fancies him too. Ella has all of this to contend with, when she meets Lowe. And yet them become best friends, in the eyes of their confused friends, completely platonic.

The reader may read more into it than Ella allows herself to. But the story wends its way to adulthood (and back again, as the narrative vacillates between the now-engaged adult Ella and teenage Ella) and Lowe becomes the front man of one of the biggest music acts in the world. How can Ella suddenly tell Lowe how she really feels, when half the planet wants him too?

Realistic-feeling portrayal of yearning/longing, and trying to move on, but never quite managing. I loved teenage Ella and her adoration of her friend, and their sweet friendship as well, changing over the years as one of the other has partners, jealousies, as life takes them away from each other, as they lose contact and regain it.

A lovely heart-warming read.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

I laughed, I cried, I loved! This book has everything I didn’t realise I needed. The characters are relatable and realistic. The perfect story of the ups and downs to falling in love.

If you're like me and lived off movies and books like Angus, Thongs & Perfect Snogging as a teen, I think this book will be for you. The 2000s nostalgia is real in ILYX3 and this is just a small part of why I loved it so much.
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The narration all throughout was so fun to read; it was exactly like reading a diary of the main character which when you find out the story is based on the author's real life, makes this even more effective. There were plenty of cringeworthy parts that melded so well with the lovely bits. I was constantly flitting between feeling frustrated on behalf of Ella to also feeling the same on behalf of Lowe— I kept begging for them to just tell each other how they feel!
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I loved that we got to follow Ella and Lowe through their teenagehood up to their late twenties/early thirties. I also really enjoyed the highlight on friendships and how special they can be; plus the scenes involving Ella's friends were some of my favourites. I loved the sense of humour in this book and all the nostalgic reminders of growing up in the 00s— I never once thought this was overdone, it just suited the general story so well and made everything even more believable.
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I won't say anything about the ending because I refuse to spoil too much for those wanting to pick this up. But I highly recommend this one, it's a great little summer read and is targeted for fans of One Day (which I haven't actually seen myself yet 😶) so if this sounds up your street, definitely get this on your tbr!

Lovely story spanning 15 or so years, I enjoyed it, and loved the characters of Ella and Lowe. Laura Dockrill's writing is brilliant and can really capture a time, a place and people, I really enjoyed that part of it and the storytelling.

But maybe a little out of the target age range for it.

Elle is the very epitome of teenage anguish- in love but too unsure of herself to allow anything beyond her carefully constructed friendship zone she falls hard for Lowe and a beautiful friendship of letter writing and mix tape editing ensues. However Elle soon feels left behind as Lowe finds fame with his band and disappears out of her orbit into the world of stardom, his name linked with woman after woman.
Jumping between teen Elle and her now in her 30's, Lowe swings in and out of her life, sometime unwelcome but never far from her mind.
Not your average boy meets girl- the feelings leap of the page through out the 15 or so years the story spans

I rarely choose to read romantic novels and admit I was only drawn to this book by the beautiful cover and unusual title but, oh boy, I am so very pleased I was chosen to receive an ARC of this wonderfully nostalgic and touching book.
Ella’s story is told over two time frames which works brilliantly. It’s a slow burn but page turning ‘one more chapter’ read. The amazingly detailed description of teenage love and angst were so well written, and I loved all of Ella’s family and lifelong friendships. Even though this coming of age was a few decades after mine, I could totally relate to it and amongst the unrequited love there were many laugh out loud moments.

I really enjoyed this book. I’m still thinking about it a few days on and I know this beautifully written and memorable story will stay with me for a very long time.

Ella and Lowe are 14 when they meet. Ella is quick to friendzone herself even though she has never beem more attracted to anyone. She doesn't imagine she has a chance with attractive, talented Lowe. Over the years they develop a close friendship which lasts through Lowe and his band becoming famous. 30 year old Ella is engaged to Jackson and has lost touch with Lowe. Can she get back in touch? Will she find the same sensitive kind boy she once knew? And will the time ever be right for romance to blossom. A reminder of the angst of young love and teenage uncertainty. #netgalley #IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou

Oh how this book made my heart happy and sad and laugh and cry and feel all the things. A really witty quick smart lead and a hopeless bloke who can’t get his act together 😂 l love love loved the combo of them both and was willing them to make it happen at sooo many points. I felt fully involved throughout their story and the ending was just perfect. Thank you Laura HQ for access to the eARC, I thoroughly enjoyed it! 💜✨

Reading this book is a delight, with a very carefree writing voice, easy to read, also brings back lots of memories of the 2000s, so many nostalgic references. On first love, this book capture the story and the emotions so well, one of my most enjoyable romance I have read.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!