This Is a Love Story

by Jessica Soffer

This Is a Love Story The instant New York Times bestseller ABISBOOK Serpents Tail.

Genres: Romance, Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

Published February 6, 2025

About the author

Jessica Soffer is the author of This Is a Love Story and Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots. She grew up in New York City and earned her MFA at Hunter College where she was a Hertog Fellow. Her work has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, Real Simple, Saveur, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, and on NPR’s Selected Shorts. She teaches creative writing to small groups and in the corporate space and lives in Sag Harbor, New York, with her family.

Reviews

[Kine Austerslått · Rating 2 out of 5]

e elska jo alt som har med nyc å gjøre og det va derfor e kjøpte dinna boka! men e lot me dessverre ikke fenge heilt av historia, e syns den va tynn og e blei ikke glad i karakterane, og den va bare veldig forutsigbar

e syns skildringene og historiene i central park va det beste, for dem føltes autentiske og tok me tilbake til favorittbyen min <333

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abe and Jane spend fifty years circling each other and their careers; her art and his writing in New York City, with Central Park playing a bigger part then their own child and quietly witnessing the rise of their careers and the strain on their family. this couple because their so self absorbed in their own ambitions, their child seems invisible.
revealing a love story that is, flawed, and ultimately more about the lives they built then the family.
I would venture to say they would have had a beautiful marriage minus Max. Maybe then there wouldn’t have been natural betrayal, child isolation, and illness.

[T. Rash · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author does a great job of using imagery to set the scene of the story. This is one of my least favorites, because I'd rather focus on the emotions and actions than the background. Much of the story is told as memories, which is interesting for a while. But like real memories they are not always in order and are often short bursts of information. They also often begin with "I remember." I found this repetitive and unnecessary.

Although the writing style is not for me, the plot is interesting. It deals well with showing how the acts of one person affect others. It also handles postpartum depression and dealing with death

[Stephanie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part of this book was the love story to Central Park. I found the love story between the two main characters to be annoying. I did not enjoy the sections of the book written in the “You remember” format. It was irritating. It wasn’t the content per se but the literary feature that bothered me. And I found the love story between mother and son to be heartbreaking. So many missed opportunities. It made me think but can’t say I loved it.

[Jessica O'Keefe · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good story, but I didn't really like the format it was written in.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I was the kind of person who could put a book on a DNF list.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not my preference on point of view to tell the story. Kinda felt all over. Took a bit to figure out who was even talking…
It does though help show the difference of views in the same moment.

[Pamela S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish it, didn’t care for the format at all.

[Angel]

This is not a love story, it’s awful. The main character is so selfish and when it comes to being a mother, she’s worse than selfish. Would not recommend. No stars.

[Emily Guth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this but the best I can give it is a like. The writing style was very confusing. The only chapters I liked were the ones narrated by Central Park. Go figure.

[Margaret Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet little read especially since I was visiting Central Park in NYC!

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not I expected. I guess a love letter to Central Park- I have never been. I did not like any of the characters and felt no sympathy for them. I did not enjoy this book

[Ryan Hanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was sweet but honestly nothing that really grabbed me into the story. I also don’t really have any character I liked and their individual stories were just kind of thrown in.