Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

(Goodreads)

Summary from Goodreads - "When you're the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can't write it. Alice needs a story for her mother-and she needs one fast.
That's when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol's voice in her head and see things she can't explain, she must face the truth-that she's either inherited her mother's madness, or Errol is for real."


My Rating - 4.5/5 love arrows
POV - First
Liked - I loved learning about a little mythology since I've never heard the story of Cupid before, the ending is so amazing.
Favorite Quotes - "What is more terrifying-the things we imagine or the things that are real?" (Pg. 72)
"'If it makes you feel better, only sane people worry about losing their sanity.'" (Pg. 128)


Possible spoilers ahead-tread carefully.

         This book made me cry! It really did. This story is so freaking sad. I have never read or heard anything like this about Cupid, and I knew nothing about Psyche, so this story was very interesting and also very heartbreaking :(. There is no way to tell which version is true - there's like a hundred different tales - but I really liked Errol's version, since it actually did end "happily ever after"-like. 
         Reading about Alice's mom's bipolar disorder really made me sympathetic toward Alice. I can't imagine not having any parents around, having to pay bills for them, doing my own shopping, etc. I thought it was a little strange that her mom suddenly became well again. She was taking medication every day, I guess, but to go from being in such a rut to feeling all better in a short amount of time? Maybe I'm not so familiar and educated with the illness and treatments. That is very possible.
         One of my favorite parts was Reverend Ruttles sermon, when Mrs. Bobot, Alice, and Realm made a really big scene and then left all badass-like. I was laughing and simultaneously trying not to cry, mostly because Mrs. Bobot pointed out that Archibald was never invited to church by the Reverend. My other favorite part was when Alice, her mom, Tony, and Errol were in the cave. This was the part where I started crying. I loved how Alice's mom rationalised the ending of Errol's story. It was heartbreaking but so sweet.
         I really hated how Alice never even thought about using Errol's story. I know, I know. Plagiarising. But she was so desperate and defeated, and when a story was put right in front of her, basically written, she was short of running the notes through a garbage disposal. She didn't even think about asking to use it! It was so frustrating to read about Alice refusing to write a story most likely because I love writing, and if I had a chance to write a story so captivating and fantastical (and sad), I wouldn't sleep until the first draft was done. Even if he wasn't Cupid and the story wasn't true, people would read the hell out of that book (read: money). Yeah, I might be a little jealous. Hello, Cupid, I'm right here! Ready to write your story!

          I loved nearly everything about this book. I didn't think it was five-stars worthy, because if I had to read it again I would skip most of the middle of the book. But I couldn't give it four stars because it made me cry. That's kind of a five-star-worthy thing. But I comprimised. Up until the middle part it was a fast read, but then I had to stop because Alice was infuriating. But after that whole issue this book became EXCELLENT. I thought it had a good balance of fantasy/myth and romance and teen issues/serious stuff. If you are not at least a little bummed about Errol's ending to the story, I worry for you. I highly recommend this book to you, even if you're not familiar with Cupid or bipolar disorder.

(Writing on her father's suspected bipolar disorder/drinking)

"Knowing what I know now, I wish I could go back in time and help him. Like Alice, I wish I could fix things." - Author's Note, Suzanne Selfors