I'm really sorry, but I didn't get this book at all! I don't think I'm the right demographic that this book is aimed at. There are a lot of references to teen years in the 2000's, and whilst I wish I was younger, I'm not and I rolled my eyes at some of the scenes set in the 2000's just as much as I actually did the first time round.

It does seem I'm in the minority as there are a lot of great reviews for this book, so please don't take my word for it, it obviously just wasn't the book for me. I have to admit I found the storyline quite slow and struggled to maintain any kind of interest with it. I do however love the cover and that is probably which caught my attention for it in the first place.

This was such a good book. It felt very nostalgic to me and I highly recommend everyone to read it. There was angst and slow burn which is right up my alley.

This novel is a sweet, funny, coming-of-age story about the importance of being honest about your feelings. It perfectly encapsulates teenagehood for girls when each boy has the potential of being “the one”; and the dread of approaching thirty, not quite feeling like an adult yet and haunted by nostalgia.

The plot focuses on Ella, a woman in her early thirties. She has entered the era when all her friends are getting married, having children, and successful careers. There are so many parties, from weddings to birthdays, and constant reminders of missed and unreached milestones, which make her feel bored and inadequate. Despite having just bought an apartment in London with her loving boyfriend, she doesn’t have a career, and her unfinished novel is the only thing she feels worthy of mentioning. Then, one day, she catches the bouquet at a childhood friend’s wedding, sparking regret-tinged memories. In her grungy teenage years of the early 2000s, Ella went to parties with her best friends, listened to mixtapes whilst fantasising about having a boyfriend, and, most importantly, was secretly in love with a boy. She still thinks about him sometimes and the things she could never tell him. He has since become a famous musician, and she has sadly lost touch with him.
In a time-alternating narrative, Ella reminisces and reflects on her past and present relationships and makes decisions about her future.

One thing I really enjoyed in this book is how nostalgic it is for anyone who was young in the early 2000s. At times, it reminded me of the series “Girls in Love” I watched when I was young (based on the Jaqueline Wilson books) and also of a hilarious female “Inbetweeners”. It also made me think of the film “The Worst Person in the World” about decisions and paths taken and relationships that work and others that don’t, and of the book (film and series) “One Day”.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.


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Before we begin, is anyone else singing the title as if its the line from Natasha Bedingfield's song, These Words. I hope you are! This song fits in nicely into the 2000s nostalgia that runs through this book (writing this is very hard as I am finding it hard to accept that the 2000s are now considered retro).

If you were a teenager growing up in the 200s then you're going to love the references, the pain, the heartache and even the cringe of fashions, music and life back at the turn of the millennium.

At the start of the novel, Ella, now in her 30s, has beaten off others to catch the bride's bouquet at her friend's wedding. You would think that she's desperate to marry her boyfriend...

Bouncing back and forth between grown up Ella in the present with her boyfriend and her ever growing anxiety for her future, and her teenage self, also riddled with anxiety about the way people see her. She instantly falls in love with Lowe yet she friend-zones herself to escape any potential heart ache (and therefore giving herself heart ache).

The push and pull of love, decision fatigue, and growing up ripple across both time periods.

This is a lively, fun narrative and so very relatable on loving from afar, and the longing and heartbreak of teenage love. I Love You, I Love You, I Love You beautifully captures the fear of rejection, the chaos of growing up not only in your teens but also in your thirties.

This is the slow burn romance we all need to read this summer!

Thank you netgalley for the ebook copy of this book.

Happy release day to this debut novel by @lauraleedockrill, which I was lucky enough to access thanks to @netgalley

I was initially drawn to this book from its gorgeous cover design. It really caught my eye and the blurb only reinforced my desire to read it!

This book felt apt as I was growing up at a similar moment in time, albeit a few years out.

The book spans decades of friendships from the perspective of Ella, who meets Lowe as a teenager and falls in love at first sight. To protect herself and her friends, she claims she’s just his friend…

But as time goes on, she wonders whether Lowe might just feel the same.

I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, will have you asking can you really just be friends with the love of your life?

Set at the start of the 2000’s, this book is filled with nostalgia for growing up at that time and living in London.

Laura Dockrill's adult debut began life when The Guardian profiled herself & her husband several years ago for a love stories piece. Dockrill and her husband met as teenagers, never 'fessed up to their feelings, and were reuinuted years later when all the stars aligned. Now Dockrill has fictionalised their story in the charming (if awkwardly named) I Love You, I Love You, I Love You.

We first meet Ella Cole after she has caught the bouquet at a friend's wedding. She's just bought a flat with her lovely, steady boyfriend, Jackson, and all is going pretty well for her - until Lowe Archer comes calling. Lowe was Ella's first Big Love, and with his (re)introduction into Ella's life, Dockrill spins the tale of their relationship, from love at first sight in the 2000s to the last time they saw one another.

Ella and Lowe are teenagers when they first meet in summer 2000, I'm a good decade behind that, so much of the nostalgia-trip elements were lost on me. However,. Dockrill's depiction of a teenage girl is painfully accurate - the drama of it all! The anguish! The deep-rooted connection with friends and, when Lowe arrives on the scene, the blistering intensity of first love. She does an incredible job of putting it all down on the page, painting a picture of first love that is very hard to not be moved by.


Ella holds on tight to her love for Lowe as the years go by, often to her detriment. The novel leans into a bit of missed-communication tropiness, which I don't love: there were periods where I wanted to shake the two MCs, or,, to borrow from something Ella says in the novel: "Just kiss her, you idiot!". But the two never get it together, and drift apart when Lowe becomes an extremely successful musician in the 2010s.

It pulls the reader from the past to the present, so we can see how Ella's long-burning love for Lowe shapes her as a person as the years go by. There's no doubt that he had an impact on her self-esteem - I wanted more of this in the narrative, it felt dropped in once or twice and not fully explored. I would have loved to havce seen this girl in therapy, basically, lol.


Stylistically, it was bananas. Dockrill makes full use of CAPS LOCK, underlining things for emphasis, and some of the dialogue was wild - at times, it felt like reading a teenager's diary. Which, to be fair, makes perfect sense when the POV character is a teenager! It took a bit of getting used to but I did enjoy the sheer drama of it all.

Emotional, hopeful and sweetly charming, I would love to see this novel take off now that it's published - it would make a fantastic series, I think. If you loved Talking at Night by Claire Daverly last year but want something a little frothier and more fun, this is the read for you!

Ella and Lowe are teenagers when they first meet. For her, it’s love at first sight. But, afraid of getting hurt, Ella is happy to accept Lowe as a friend without dare risking for more. As they grow up, their friendship evolves and changes. But there’s one thing Ella can never ask: whether he feels the same way about her.

Although a simple premise, execution is everything. And this book is beautifully written and has personality in spades!

The story is told from Ella’s point of view – flipping back and forth between her present day and younger years. As a result, we get a well-rounded picture of Ella: she’s messy but lovable, and seems to be plagued by all the things she thinks she should have done but hasn’t.

My favourite parts were her younger years because they are written with such clear affection for the time period: Britain in the 00s. Dockrill gives us constant references to pop culture, music – all the things that are important to young Ella – and because of this, the book shines with humour and character.

I enjoyed finding out afterwards that the novel, while fictional, is based on Dockrill’s own experiences of love and friendship. It makes the emotional turmoil that Ella experiences even more realistic: the story bubbles with teenage anxiety and the self-doubt of youth, without it ever feeling exhausting to read as an adult. And while some dislike the miscommunication trope (me included), it is cleverly handled here – at every point, you can understand why Ella feels immobilised.

I don’t often give books 5 stars, but I was really charmed by this. It is part romantic fiction, part literary fiction, and does both well. If you are a fan of One Day by David Nicholls, this should be right up your street!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Today is publication day for this title and I find myself genuinely hoping it does well! Stylistically, it was very inconsistent and it took me a long time to get into it. My feeling in the first half is that I had been sold a YA book packaged up as general fiction. Then, suddenly something switched in the tone and it became quite poetic. The constant all-caps, italicised inner monologues could have probably been avoided to make this into a more mature story (they do not decrease as the MC ages - which I'd have understood) and the secondary characters aren't too well fleshed out and they seem a bit interchangeable, but at its heart, it is a very relatable story about the chances you don't take. Compared to my previous read which also followed a similar theme, overall this one felt more genuine, the London setting probably added to that.

Well, this book has been an absolute whirlwind and I have loved every single bit of it. I devoured this in the space of 24 hours simply because I could not put it down. Laura Dockrill had me at the 2000s nostalgia and I was head over heels from there. Reading about Ella and her friends at 14 years old was like reading through journals I could have written myself at that time; the good, the bad and the ugly. I was grinning my head off imagining my own heavy jeans, soaked from puddles and my face covered in Barry M sparkle dust.

Ella was such a loveable character. It took her years to accept herself for who she was and there were hiccups along the way. But that can be said for many of us when in our late teens and twenties and I think it was that which made her so relatable and made me want to give her a massive hug; lots of them. Of course Ella's story couldn't have been her story without Lowe and I'm certain that so many of us have had a Lowe in our life at one time or another, but maybe not quite to this extreme. I adored their friendship to the point where there were moments that I didn't want it to be anything more. The ups and downs of their relationship from their teenage years through to their thirties was a joy to read.

This was a fast and brilliant read. Filled with witty, hilarious writing, dripping with early 2000s nostalgia (one of my favourite parts) and lump in the throat, emotional moments. I love that this was fiction, but came from Laura Dockrill's life. The love and energy burst from the pages and I adored every bit of it.

I feel like everyone can relate to this read in how loving someone from afar and the heartbreak this can cause. That's the thing i loved about this book that it was so relatable and easily made me laugh and cry all in one. It really was spot on and captured those very feelings perfectly.
A truly gorgeous slow burn

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I can see why people would enjoy this. If you’re born in the 90s you will understand all the fun pop culture references, and the way life as a young teen was back in the early 2000s. I just found the writing style hard to read and nothing was very interesting plot wise. But I would still recommend you give it a try.

I rated this book 3 stars I wanted to love this one but unfortunately it just missed the mark for me as I feel like I didn’t believe the love story between our 2 main characters. I felt as if it was almost to dragged out and also didn’t give enough romance to make me want to route for the relationship so by the end I just wasn’t invested in their story. However I will say I absolutely loved the nostalgic 2000 feel and loved the fact that I knew all the references within this book. This book was hilarious in places and what really pulled the book up for me was the friendship group and the way this book portrayed coming of age. In summary I would say if you are looking for a funny feel good coming of age story this would be perfect but in terms of the romance department I was let down.

Ella and Lowe are teenagers when they first meet in summer 2000. For her, it’s love at first sight. But it’s safest to love from afar, where the friendship zone is her safety net and she can’t get hurt.

Ella holds on tight to her love for Lowe as the years go by. Dockrill really captures the essence of teen infatuation and I really enjoyed how she also portrays Ella and her friends when they are in their 30s as well. By this stage Ella has been in a 5 year relationship with Jackson. But it is clear that she still holds a torch for Lowe.

Meanwhile Lowe has had an extremely successful music career and unfortunately Ella doesn't think she is good enough for him. Her self worth is wound up in paranoia of her first love.

A bittersweet love story.

I loved this book - it gave me all the feels, it even had me crying on the train to work! It took me a while to get into, but once I was in, I was hooked. I think it took me a little time to get back into the consciousness of a teenager, but once I was there I felt like I was back in my South London home, wondering about friends, boyfriends and the depth of feelings that envelope you when you're really into someone. I ended up racing through this book to find out whether Ella and Lowe ever make it work.

I really enjoyed this! Ella is a relatable and likeable main character and I was invested in her journey. Although this is a romance, it is also about Ella accepting herself and growing as a person and I found this lovely to read. I liked the mix of past and present scenes and feel like they helped develop the characters, although I did find Lowe and Bianca a little annoying and unrealistic at times. Overall this is well worth a read, it's a great story about growth and love, told with humour and poignancy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I simply adored this story!
What stands out the most is the nostalgia and how it wraps you up in a comfort blanket of things from the past that you know and love, that are familiar, make you cringe and say been there done that!
The love between Ella and Lowe is so organic and watching their journey was emotion filled; you were rooting for them all the way.

I particularly loved Ella, everything she was going through, thoughts and feelings from teen to adulthood were so relatable.

A definite must read.

I adored this book, it was so well written and truly captivated me, a gorgeous slow burn, will they won’t they, friends to lovers read. Splashed with 00s energy that will make you laugh, cry and also cringe if you’re a millennial like me.

This book follows the journey of Ella and her best friend Lowe, from their teenage years all the way to their early 30s. It’s a split between them from 14 years old in the early 00s to now in their early 30s.

The feelings of being a teenager in the 00s, the memories it unlocked for me, the throwback references and teenage angst was so perfect, I was fully enraged and taken back to my awkward teenage years, sitting in a park with friends, laughing.

The only negative thing I have to say is that I’d have liked a little less slow burn, build up and more of them together at the end, I wanted to know what happened, where are they now.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

From the first page I fell in love with this book! It was everything I needed right now. I smiled, I cringed, I cried, I laughed - I loved it!

I deeply related to Ella’s character and her feelings for Lowe so much - it almost mirrors my own life experiences. The story took me on such a nostalgic trip back to being a teenager in the 2000s and had me reminiscing back those days of first love, awkwardness, figuring out your place in the world and finding out who you are. The cultural references were spot on too! I really enjoyed the combination of flashbacks and scenes in the present day. This book managed to switch perfectly between the uncertainty of unrequited teenage love and the feelings of not being happy with life in your 30s, with writing that was beautiful, funny and almost poetic at times - I highlighted so many quotes! I’d definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. Oh my goodness, my heart!! A brilliantly written sort of love story with plenty of humour, truth and nostalgia. I felt as though I could have been a part of this friendship group as it was so realistically written and absolutely spot on for teenage girls at that time. Who didn’t love a Bacardi Breezer and body glitter! Tissue’s at the ready for the tears I’m sure you will shed albeit happy or sad. Highly recommended. 5 stars.

What a heart-wrenching, gorgeously nostalgic read!!

From shag bands to Clinton's cards, all the way to Barry M dazzle dust - this book was a total love letter to growing up in London in the 2000s. what a masterpiece! The way Dockrill captures all the pushes and pulls of being a teenage girl / the adolescent experience is intoxicating and so evocative, and was tugging on my heart every step of the way.

The almost 20 year trajectory of Ella and Lowe's love story was also so deeply bittersweet. Anyone who has also fallen in love with a teenage best friend will resonate so very much with this love story - and I found my heart squeezed repeatedly by this beautiful storytelling.

The only thing holding it back from a 5 star review was the ending felt slightly too swiftly tied up, and I would've loved it to have been slightly more drawn out and developed. However - all in all, it was such a touching and beautiful love story and I will definitely be recommending it!

A very special thank you to HQ, Laura Dockrill and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my review.