So I hugged the book after finishing it... For 1 minute straight while lying on my bed... I just can't form the words to express how much I loved this book <3 Katie Cotugno, I love you 
 Review: 
 I really really don't know where to begin with this review or how to express how I felt about this book. If you already scrolled down, you would have noticed that my rating for How to Love is an "All time favorite" and if you are a frequent visitor on our blog, you'd also know that we rarely ever bring that rating out. To give you an example, the last time I gave this rating was to The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay all the way back in June (almost 4 months ago). I had a hard time writing a review of that book, and I'm facing the same problem now. I want to do this book justice through this review and the only way to do that is to tell you what I wrote above. Clearly, How to Love isn't just amazing, but it is BEAUTIFUL, EMOTIONAL, REAL, and BREATHTAKING. Definitely a solid reason of why contemporary fiction is my favorite genre. 
 How to Love doesn't only center around romantic love, but also family love, the love between a mother and daughter, as well as broken love between the people who are the closest to you. All these forms of love show up and are implicated in the plot line. What is unique about How to Love is that it is told in two different time periods, one is when Reena was 16, and another is during her late 18. The POV flip between the past and present is done in such a way that the present and past work parallel together to enhance the plot, the drama, as well as your own emotions. 16 year old Reena never experienced first love while 18 year old Reena already has a daughter, a broken heart, and a disconnected family life. 16 and 18 year old Reena feel like they're on the opposite end of the life spectrum. You can't help but need to find out how this happened. Yes we know the end result, the actual reason, but Cotugno writes in such a way that makes you want to know every detail that happened in that 2 year span. 
 Also, even though both POVs are connected, they also work alone and have their somewhat distinct plot line. I loved that even though I know Sawyer ended up with 16 year old Reena and then left her, I still loved their progressive relationship. It was just so beautiful and Sawyer was funny, protective, caring, and beautiful. Reena was such a naive girl but I couldn't blame her for that because she is only 16. On some level she knew of the impeding outcome but she loved Sawyer too much to let go and that is her decision. However, 18 year old Reena is not only 2 years older, but definitely a hardened version of her younger self. Since she had her heart broken, she isn't willing to risk it. Her relationship with her daughter just brought tears to my eyes. As well as the emotional implication of Sawyer coming back. I am speaking of these characters as if they are real... they at least felt real while I was reading their story and that doesn't happen all that much in books these days. The plot isn't something unique, but the way it was handled, the way the characters came to life, and how their problems felt so real, and their feelings so raw had my heart breaking for them. 
 How to Love is not a fluffy contemporary, that is for sure. It is a story about broken love, second chances, and new beginnings. Ever since I finished reading How to Love, I've been itching to read it again. This shows you how much I love it. I can't wait for more work by Katie Cotugno, if they are anything close to how well written How to Love was, I'll be adding more of her books to my "All Time Favorites" list.