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A review by torilovesheas
Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
What. A. Delight. The Scully + Mulder inspired romance of my dreams with a sprinkling of a Buzzfeed Unsolved-esque web show AND two sweethearts falling in love. Mallory Marlowe, the woman you are.
LAOC was just…FUN. Like Hayden and Hallie are running around chasing Bigfoot and looking for ghosts while having to oops share the single hotel bed while trying to keep hands and mouths off each other (unsuccessfully to my delight). BUT THEN Mallory hit me with a one two punch and threw in a toxic ex that verbally and emotionally abused Hallie and Hayden’s grief and difficult relationship with his mom following the death of his father to ALS. Which sounds so heavy but Mallory wrote about it in such a touching way that it doesn’t make the story feel *heavy*. It just grounds our MCs and makes this feel real and wonderfully relatable without taking away the fun of them chasing down the paranormal. I teared up reading about Hallie’s experience with her ex boyfriend because…been there, done that, bought the low self esteem and need for therapy t-shirt. (Also thanks Mallory for not making Hallie be the bigger person LOL I too would want my ex to suffer).
And like let’s kudos Hayden for being like “yeah some of these conspiracies are just super racist and harmful and I do my best to debunk them and stick to the fun cryptid stuff”. Man of my podcast listening dreams. He’s so sweet and a consent KING. If enthusiastic consent is your cup of reading tea, Hayden is your man. And if you wanted Scully and Mulder to kiss but didn’t want to read about FBI agents, these two ding dongs are perfect for your True Believer and Real Skeptic loving heart.
It’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s real and so lovely. 5/5 stars.
Thanks to Berkeley for an advanced reader copy!
LAOC was just…FUN. Like Hayden and Hallie are running around chasing Bigfoot and looking for ghosts while having to oops share the single hotel bed while trying to keep hands and mouths off each other (unsuccessfully to my delight). BUT THEN Mallory hit me with a one two punch and threw in a toxic ex that verbally and emotionally abused Hallie and Hayden’s grief and difficult relationship with his mom following the death of his father to ALS. Which sounds so heavy but Mallory wrote about it in such a touching way that it doesn’t make the story feel *heavy*. It just grounds our MCs and makes this feel real and wonderfully relatable without taking away the fun of them chasing down the paranormal. I teared up reading about Hallie’s experience with her ex boyfriend because…been there, done that, bought the low self esteem and need for therapy t-shirt. (Also thanks Mallory for not making Hallie be the bigger person LOL I too would want my ex to suffer).
And like let’s kudos Hayden for being like “yeah some of these conspiracies are just super racist and harmful and I do my best to debunk them and stick to the fun cryptid stuff”. Man of my podcast listening dreams. He’s so sweet and a consent KING. If enthusiastic consent is your cup of reading tea, Hayden is your man. And if you wanted Scully and Mulder to kiss but didn’t want to read about FBI agents, these two ding dongs are perfect for your True Believer and Real Skeptic loving heart.
It’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s real and so lovely. 5/5 stars.
Thanks to Berkeley for an advanced reader copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol