Review of Not Looking for Love

[Aisha Yakub]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Not Looking for Love" by Lois Hooge.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Lola is a forty-eight-year-old single woman, who came from a senior government job in Lansing, Michigan to South Africa. Having lived in South Africa for seven years without an interesting relationship, she takes her friend's advice and goes seeking a romantic relationship through speed dating. Wondering if her age and body can get her a match, she gets matched to two cousins, who could not be more different from each other.

Justin is attractive, and she's immediately drawn to him. However, Justin also has another match, Sarah. Mark, who seems less desirable, is more available. Things get better with Mark, and they seem to have a connection. As a lady who has been single for a while, getting the attention of an attractive man like Justin is distracting for Lola. Even though she seemed to be bonding with Mark, things get complicated with Justin in the mix.

Not Looking for Love by Lois Hooge deserves nothing but a perfect rating. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. When I started reading this book, I was bothered that I may just be reading a book with a common telenovela storyline. I realized how erroneous that conclusion was as I turned more pages in this book. There were little twists that greatly spiced up this book. When I thought I knew what was going to happen next, I realized that I was wrong; gladly so. There were some predictable moments, but I found them pleasant.

The best stories are those, though simple, told in the most captivating manner. The author's attention to detail was very commendable. Descriptive words made the scenes vivid. I could imagine what the characters looked like, and I could imagine their actions. Very importantly, I felt that this was one of the most relatable stories I had come across. Many times, romance books just take us into a world of fantasy; a place we may never reach in reality. However, I could relate to so many instances in this book, as they felt real. I particularly enjoyed reading about Lola's confusion. Though she knew she would turn down sexual advances, she wanted to be asked. Getting angry over not being asked to do something you were not going to do in the first place was hilarious.

The romance aspect was quite captivating, but it was also moderately done. It was enough to keep this book in the romance category, but it could still be read by a lot of readers. I liked that other themes were explored in this book. Themes like language barrier, insecurity, apartheid, and friendship were interesting to read about. Also, the names of books, authors, and movies were mentioned in this book. This made it feel real. This book can't be faulted. There was nothing I disliked about it. I had a great time reading it. I barely came across errors in this book; it was professionally edited.

I recommend this book to lovers of romance. I think that readers of fiction should have a great time reading this book.

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Not Looking for Love
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[Salah bourouba]

I like to read book or watch movies that I can not predict what is going to happen next in it. Great review. I enjoyed reading it. Really Keep up the good work.

[Marquesha Dubose]

Amy Long, an avid reader since she was old enough to carry her own books in the library, is the author of romantic fiction and the much-anticipated children’s series Rosie Can Be Anything!

Not long after turning 40, she realized her constant daydreams were just stories waiting to get out and began working on her first book. A year later her first romance and children’s books were published and there was no looking back.

A native Texan, Amy now lives in Las Vegas with her husband and two kids. When she doesn’t have her nose in a book, she’s hiking or relaxing in the sun listening to music.

She believes you’re never too old to discover your dream and go for it. Anything is possible

[Mr Excellence]

From your review, this book will be very interesting to read and engaging as well.
Who knows what will become of Lola?

[Mr Excellence]

Thanks for this great review.
I will definitely add this book to my shelf to get the knowledge of Lola's choice.

[Summer Henrietta]

I loved the unpredictability of the book. It seemed like a telenovela when I started the review too buh now , I'm excited to read the book.

[Diana Lowery]

I love this sentence, "Though she knew she would turn down sexual advances, she wanted to be asked. Getting angry over not being asked to do something you were not going to do in the first place was hilarious." You do make this book feel sound very relatable.

[NGOCHO SAMUEL]

Even though i am not a lover of romantic novels, i would like to know how the story ends with lola. Thanks for your review

[Divina Cousin]

Thank you for the wonderful review.
I rarely find good African romance books to read, but I am definitely interested in this one. I would like to be thrown into Lola's world of romance. I specifically liked the bit where you mentioned that romance books throw us into a world of fantasy, unreal, but it seems this book has moments of fantasy and reality. Thanks again.

[MILLSA20]

This book is amazing. What stood out to me in this book is the last sentence which states that no matter your age, you are never told old to complete you dream. This is something that us humans need to take into consideration.

[lexi__kts]

This is a classic romantic story of a girl that she has to choose between 2 boys but one of them is in a relationship with another girl so she chooses the guy that really likes her but she likes the other guy more than him

[Valeria Rotaru]

Well, Lola is faced with a very decisive choice. I don't who I'd pick if I were to be in her place.

[queen anirah]

Sounds like a love triangle. My interest is piqued and I’m gonna have to read this book. I hope Lola gets things right.

[Kendal Low]

Being from South Africa, I absolutely love reading about my country from other peoples' perspectives, so I really hope this includes lots of that! I'd be very excited to give this book a try. Thanks for a really great review!