Book Details
Title: The L.O.V.E. Club
Author: Lio Min
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: August 5, 2025
Genre(s): LGBT, YA, Fantasy, Contemporary
Pages: 368
Bookshop Affiliate Purchase Link: https://bookshop.org/a/67041/9781250359827
Title: The L.O.V.E. Club
Author: Lio Min
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: August 5, 2025
Genre(s): LGBT, YA, Fantasy, Contemporary
Pages: 368
Bookshop Affiliate Purchase Link: https://bookshop.org/a/67041/9781250359827
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Reading Details
Finish Date: June 4, 2025
Format: Physical
Representation: Transgender, Sapphic
Trigger/Content Warnings: Violence, injuries, death, mental health struggles, bullying
Finish Date: June 4, 2025
Format: Physical
Representation: Transgender, Sapphic
Trigger/Content Warnings: Violence, injuries, death, mental health struggles, bullying
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Rating: 4.375
Plot: 4
Writing Style: 4
Characters: 5
World Building: 4.5
Favorite Quote/Scene:
The reveal of what happened to Elle. (Being vague on purpose, because dang that is a spoiler spoiler!)
Review:
I was really excited about The L.O.V.E. Club even when I had very little information about it. The idea of three girls getting sucked into a mysterious video game that their 4th friend, who went missing, had made was just really appealing to me. I hadn’t expected the amount of emotion that this book was going to elicit in me. I hadn’t expected to feel fully drawn into not just one but two different worlds, one real and one fantasy. I never could have expected to love this as much as I did.
Our main character, the character whose perspective this book is told from, is O. She’s a good character to follow because, as the story goes along, you get to see some of the very complicated feelings she had towards their friend Elle. It was interesting to watch the layers of these characters, primarily O and Elle (because she is missing and O misses her), get peeled away as you get deeper into the story.
Liberty and Vera (the L and V of the L.O.V.E. Club) are also very interesting characters. I do think the book does a good job of exploring these characters from a periphery. O knows these characters, or thinks she does at least, and we get good insight into what they’ve gone through during certain scenes. Now, do I personally wish the book had been from the POVs of all 3 main characters so we could have gotten to know them more? Yes. I’m very interested in Liberty and Vera and everything going on in their lives. But do I think it might have worsened the book? Yes. I think part of the charm of this book is that O is our main character. That she doesn’t know everything about their lives, but she thinks she does. That she makes mistakes and snap judgements, that she misses things that are right there in front of her.
The video game world in this book had me obsessed, honestly. It was laid out like a video game, with different levels that the characters have to complete in order to move on. And it was done well. It seemed to capture a realistic yet fantastical vibe. It had elements of all the characters in it. There was just such depth and intrigue to the world and everything about its creation. The bosses and enemies were perfect as mirrors to the characters. There was just so much of this book that I absolutely loved.
This book had me on a roller coaster of emotions. There were a few moments of joy and peace, moments that felt so serene. But they were quickly ramped up with moments of sorrow and heartbreak. There was fury and anger. These characters are very emotional because of the lives that they have lived, and it resonates in the book. The author, Lio Min, manages to capture their feelings in the text in such a way that readers can feel it as well.
Now, I did have a couple of minor complaints about the book. The chapters in this book were sooooo long. I enjoy setting myself a limit or goal in my reading at times and I typically use chapters to do so. The problem with this book is that chapters are 50+ pages at time. You either have to end it early or wait out the entire section.
My other issue was relatively minor and it’s the writing style. It is not a bad writing style, not for me at least. It’s a very unique and distinctive writing style that does suit the book very well, but that also takes some getting used to.
I have not read Lio Min’s previous work, but if it even has a quarter of the heart and soul that this book does, I’m definitely adding it to my TBR pile. Lio Min manages to craft a world that seems to be both intricate and simple at times. The characters they crafted are each unique and realistic. They all have their own personal struggles and strengths; they all have unique interactions with each other that showcase the relationships and closeness of each duo. They are complex characters thrown into a world where they are forced to confront the problems that they try to hide. I genuinely want nothing more than more of this book. A movie, a TV show, something that can take me on this wild ride again.
My original review for this book can be found on YABooksCentral. Link here: https://yabookscentral.com/the-l-o-v-e-club/
Plot: 4
Writing Style: 4
Characters: 5
World Building: 4.5
Favorite Quote/Scene:
The reveal of what happened to Elle. (Being vague on purpose, because dang that is a spoiler spoiler!)
Review:
I was really excited about The L.O.V.E. Club even when I had very little information about it. The idea of three girls getting sucked into a mysterious video game that their 4th friend, who went missing, had made was just really appealing to me. I hadn’t expected the amount of emotion that this book was going to elicit in me. I hadn’t expected to feel fully drawn into not just one but two different worlds, one real and one fantasy. I never could have expected to love this as much as I did.
Our main character, the character whose perspective this book is told from, is O. She’s a good character to follow because, as the story goes along, you get to see some of the very complicated feelings she had towards their friend Elle. It was interesting to watch the layers of these characters, primarily O and Elle (because she is missing and O misses her), get peeled away as you get deeper into the story.
Liberty and Vera (the L and V of the L.O.V.E. Club) are also very interesting characters. I do think the book does a good job of exploring these characters from a periphery. O knows these characters, or thinks she does at least, and we get good insight into what they’ve gone through during certain scenes. Now, do I personally wish the book had been from the POVs of all 3 main characters so we could have gotten to know them more? Yes. I’m very interested in Liberty and Vera and everything going on in their lives. But do I think it might have worsened the book? Yes. I think part of the charm of this book is that O is our main character. That she doesn’t know everything about their lives, but she thinks she does. That she makes mistakes and snap judgements, that she misses things that are right there in front of her.
The video game world in this book had me obsessed, honestly. It was laid out like a video game, with different levels that the characters have to complete in order to move on. And it was done well. It seemed to capture a realistic yet fantastical vibe. It had elements of all the characters in it. There was just such depth and intrigue to the world and everything about its creation. The bosses and enemies were perfect as mirrors to the characters. There was just so much of this book that I absolutely loved.
This book had me on a roller coaster of emotions. There were a few moments of joy and peace, moments that felt so serene. But they were quickly ramped up with moments of sorrow and heartbreak. There was fury and anger. These characters are very emotional because of the lives that they have lived, and it resonates in the book. The author, Lio Min, manages to capture their feelings in the text in such a way that readers can feel it as well.
Now, I did have a couple of minor complaints about the book. The chapters in this book were sooooo long. I enjoy setting myself a limit or goal in my reading at times and I typically use chapters to do so. The problem with this book is that chapters are 50+ pages at time. You either have to end it early or wait out the entire section.
My other issue was relatively minor and it’s the writing style. It is not a bad writing style, not for me at least. It’s a very unique and distinctive writing style that does suit the book very well, but that also takes some getting used to.
I have not read Lio Min’s previous work, but if it even has a quarter of the heart and soul that this book does, I’m definitely adding it to my TBR pile. Lio Min manages to craft a world that seems to be both intricate and simple at times. The characters they crafted are each unique and realistic. They all have their own personal struggles and strengths; they all have unique interactions with each other that showcase the relationships and closeness of each duo. They are complex characters thrown into a world where they are forced to confront the problems that they try to hide. I genuinely want nothing more than more of this book. A movie, a TV show, something that can take me on this wild ride again.
My original review for this book can be found on YABooksCentral. Link here: https://yabookscentral.com/the-l-o-v-e-club/
Disclaimer: I am a bookshop.org affiliate and may earn a commision on books bought using the link on my page.
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