{"id":18408,"date":"2021-10-27T18:55:37","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T22:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=18408"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:24:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:24:39","slug":"the-love-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18408","title":{"rendered":"The Love Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Love Study<\/a><\/em> (2020) Kris Ripper<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>To say that Declan has commitment issues is an understatement. <\/p>\n

He left his boyfriend (and best friend) at the altar, and refuses every offer of permanent employment he receives, preferring to remain with the temp agency. <\/p>\n

What I especially like about temping at offices: never feeling like I\u2019m trapped in the same desk with the same tasks seeing the same faces hearing the same voices forever. I love being able to move around and start new jobs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But it’s been six years, and he’s beginning to wonder if maybe he might consider starting to think about perhaps dating again.<\/p>\n

When Sidney joins Declan’s friend group, they offer to have him on their blog, to do a series of episodes about dating they would call the Love Study where Sidney would help set Declan up on a series of dates.<\/p>\n

Except that Declan seems to be falling for Sidney rather than any of the blind dates.<\/p>\n

I’m having a difficult time rating this story.<\/p>\n

First, it’s the first romance I’ve read with an NB main character, so I wanted to love it for that. Second, all the characters are queer and accept each others (even if perhaps their blood families are not as accepting). <\/p>\n

Problem one was that I had a difficult time getting past Declan’s having left Mason at the altar. That they were still friends I understood, but that’s just… such a big thing.<\/p>\n

I want, like, romance and flowers and shit. You aren\u2019t even a little interested in that stuff, which I thought was a compromise I could make, but in reality it would have hurt me too much.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, as much as Declan’s friends joked about it, is obviously really still bothered Declan, and gets worse as the story goes on.<\/p>\n

Which is far more difficult to read than you’d think.<\/p>\n

Then there is The Big Misunderstanding and I found it aggravating, because Declan seems to have learned nothing from his past with Mason, which is TALK ABOUT IT.<\/p>\n

I also wasn’t ever quite sure how I felt about Sidney. Declan seemingly idolizes them, so we don’t really see much in the way of flaws or mistakes, which made it hard for me to like them, since they never quite seemed real to me.<\/p>\n

Which I found disappointing.<\/p>\n

So, I wanted to love it, but I just…didn’t.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Carina Press
\nRating: 6.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Love Study (2020) Kris Ripper To say that Declan has commitment issues is an understatement. He left his boyfriend (and best friend) at the altar, and refuses every offer of permanent employment he receives, preferring to remain with the temp agency. What I especially like about temping at offices: never feeling like I\u2019m trapped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[292,204,207,510,148,26,56,934],"tags":[210,538,511],"class_list":["post-18408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ebook","category-good","category-mental-health-rep","category-own-voices","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","category-trigger-warnings","tag-anxiety","tag-nb","tag-panic-attacks"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-4MU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13414,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13414","url_meta":{"origin":18408,"position":0},"title":"Ice Cream Lover","author":"Michelle","date":"September 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ice Cream Lover (2019) Jackie Lau (Baldwin Village) Drew Lum has sworn off dating. His fiancee left him standing at the alter, and then wrote a book about \"your inner ice cream sandwich\" that accuses Drew (under a pseudonym) of stifling her, being a terrible boyfriend, and someone who would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "eBook"","block_context":{"text":"eBook","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/ebook"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ice Cream Lover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Ice-Cream-Lover.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20013,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20013","url_meta":{"origin":18408,"position":1},"title":"Wrong Number, Right Woman","author":"Michelle","date":"May 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Wrong Number, Right Woman (2020) Jae Denny is not good at flirting. Or talking to women. What she is good at is being a fantastic aunt and helping her sister raise her daughter. Eliza has had terrible luck dating, so her best friend and neighbor gives her a subscription to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wrong Number Right Woman","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Wrong-Number-Right-Woman.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11189,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11189","url_meta":{"origin":18408,"position":2},"title":"Paths Not Taken, Audio Edition","author":"Michelle","date":"October 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Paths Not Taken, Audio Edition (2005\/2008) Simon R. Green narrated by Marc Vietor The fifth Nightside book finds John looking to go back in time for a way to stop his mother--the Being Lilith--from destroying the Nightside and possibly the world. John takes with him Suzie Shooter and Tommy Oblivion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/Paths-Not-Taken-e1510884715482.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18876,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18876","url_meta":{"origin":18408,"position":3},"title":"Last Night at the Telegraph Club","author":"Michelle","date":"December 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Last Night at the Telegraph Club (2021) Malinda Lo Set in San Francisco, mostly in 1954-1955 I frequently try to start a book not knowing anything about it. It keeps me from having preconceived notions and all that. But once in awhile I start a book and realize it's not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Last Night at the Telegraph Club","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Last-Night-at-the-Telegraph-Club.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Last-Night-at-the-Telegraph-Club.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Last-Night-at-the-Telegraph-Club.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18895,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18895","url_meta":{"origin":18408,"position":4},"title":"Mango, Mambo, and Murder","author":"Michelle","date":"December 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Mango, Mambo, and Murder (2021) Raquel V. Reyes (A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery) Miriam Qui\u00f1ones-Smith has finished her PhD in food anthropology, but instead of becoming an author or education, she has moved back to Miami, where her husband was able to find a better paying job closer to support from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mango Mambo and Murder","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mango-Mambo-and-Murder.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mango-Mambo-and-Murder.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mango-Mambo-and-Murder.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mango-Mambo-and-Murder.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mango-Mambo-and-Murder.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23012,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23012","url_meta":{"origin":18408,"position":5},"title":"Stubbed Toes and Dating Woes","author":"Michelle","date":"January 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Stubbed Toes and Dating Woes (2023) Dahlia Donovan Niclas Ruiz loves his archeological work. He also has a huge crush on his brother's best friend. Falk \u201cGrizz\u201d Evensen is content with his life. He has his own business (which he runs with the help of his best friend) and is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ace"","block_context":{"text":"Ace","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/ace"},"img":{"alt_text":"Stubbed Toes and Dating Woes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Stubbed-Toes-and-Dating-Woes.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18408\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}