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.

I really wanted to like this book but something about it just didn’t quite click with me.

I found it a bit too full of pop culture references to really make sure that you know that it’s set in the 2000s and the story all got a bit bogged down by it. Also, I didn’t really feel like there was much different between present and past Ella which meant that there didn’t seem to be any character growth and that was frustrating at times.

It was billed as ‘for fans of One Day’ but it didn’t really have the same vibe at all as it was filled with a lot of unnecessary details and was very stream of consciousness that just wasn’t for me.

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.

Thank you HQ and NetGalley for this E-ARC of I love you, I love you by Laura Dockrill,

Just everything about this book, from the angst and pining feeling that is young, first love, to the growth of the MC’s in this beautifully written story is just chef’s kiss.

I wish I could find anything to critique, but I was magically captivated and felt every emotion of Ella In this funny, poignant and beautiful tale told in dual timelines. Laura, the author captured the angst of unrequited love and first love beautifully and this book will live with me for a long time.

Thank you for allowing me to review this ARC. This is a wonderful book which took me back to my time as an awkward ginger teenager. Having friends of the opposite sex can often be uncertain and this story delightfully explored that. Can't wait to read the next book.

What a beautifully written, elegant and compassionate story I love you, I love you, I love you is. Tenderness and vulnerability prevail. Humour flows through the pages. Irresistible it is, I could not put it down. Will they, won ‘t they? You are left guessing to the end. Laura Dockrill’s romantic book sprinkles hope and love in a world that needs to embrace it. Ella and Lowe, teenagers in 2000 have a special connection. For Ella it’s love at first sight, but the safety zone of friendship is a safety net. Is it enough to just be friends?

this book feels like a warm hug! after watching so many rom-coms i can comfortably say that this is feels like an amazing ode to one. it’s charming & relentlessly funny, grabbing you by the hand on the first page & guiding you through ella’s uncertain but intoxicating life. it reminds me a lot of one day & love rosie in the best ways & i’m sure i’m not the only one with these comparisons! the characters (who you will fall in love with) are well thought out & presented to the reader with such care by the author. ella may not be the perfect protagonist but her flaws are the most understandable & you will truly feel like her friend. along with the romantic interest…he can speak for himself, & i really don’t want to reveal too much. as someone who doesn’t read many romance novels, i love the ultimate slow burn & will hold this up there as one of my favourite of the genre. you can really tell this story came from the heart.

This book made me chuckle and yet at the same time cringe for my younger self. This book works with a dual time line, Ella now with her fiance Jackson and in the past with her pals, aged 14, where she meets a boy called Lowe. She is desperately in love with him and her heart breaks every time she even sees him talking to another girl but they remain best friends. This book is the story of then until now and all of the enjoyment and heartbreak of life in-between.