No Love Allowed (Dodge Cove Trilogy)

by Kate Evangelista

Caleb desperately needs a new fake girlfriend. Either he attends a series of parties for his father's law firm with a pretty girl on his arm, or he gets shipped off to Yale to start a future he's not ready for and isn't sure he wants. And sadly the last unattached girl in his social circle has just made the grievous mistake of falling in love with him. Fortunately, Didi, recently fired waitress and aspiring painter, is open to new experiences. It's the perfect setup for them both. Caleb has only one rule for the arrangement: Didi must not fall in love with him. The summer nights tick by in a whirl of lavish parties, and Didi is enjoying her foray into high society. But Caleb soon starts to worry that this time he's the one in danger of falling in love.

• ISBN10: 1250073901
• ISBN13: 9781250073907
• Publish Date: 19 April 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 4 April 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Swoon Reads
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: This was a fun and lighthearted read riddled with clichés while remaining absolutely believable. I was heartened to learn that the main character was living with bipolar disorder that had been diagnosed and she was being treated. It did mean that she and her mother struggled financially, which I'm glad No Love Allowed didn't gloss over either. Both Didi and Caleb could be so full of themselves, which made their interactions quite hilarious. I loved the supporting characters, so I was pleasantly surprised that there are sequels that revolve around them.

Oh, and before I forget, the author is Filipina! Another happy discovery that I made at the end while I read the acknowledgements and noticed that she referred to "ate" and "kuya." Obviously, that doesn't have a bearing on my rating but it's nice to see when publishers support diverse authors and diverse books.

[whisperingchapters]

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.


I was so excited to read this story, but someone told me they didn't like it and my excitement plummeted to the ground. Turns out, I ended up enjoying it a lot! It was a fast-paced contemporary with a bit of an insight to a specific mental illness.

Caleb wants to take a gap year and only travel with his cousin around Europe. His plans are cut short when his dad tells him he has to go to college because Caleb almost made his dad lose a client. Fortunately, his father tells him he could still take the gap year if he works as an intern at his father's office and attends all of the events from his job. But Caleb is eye-candy for every girl and in order to keep them away, he needs a girlfriend...or rather a fake girlfriend. 

I was surprised by Didi's disorder. It's rare to read about mental health in YA's and the reality is, they should be talked about. I think the disorder was down-played and didn't give that much information but enough to make the reader search for more. Being a Psychology major, I always pay attention to every detail that's mentioned of a disorder/syndrome in a book. I was happy to read that the author explained the episodes of Mania and Depression that occur in a person with Bipolar Disorder this mental illness.

Didi appears like such a normal person, it's not even funny. And that's a mistake we make a lot. We think, "Oh, a person with a disorder is recognizable." *buzzer sound* Incorrect, ladies and gents. Caleb spent a lot of time with Didi and he never knew she had a disorder and that's how it is in real life, unfortunately. To him, she was being a woman or he would blame himself for upsetting her. When he found out about her disorder, he was in shock to put it mildly. But I really think he handled the situation very well so kudos to Caleb!

Despite it all, I loved Didi so much. She would say what was on her mind without a second thought. She was so much fun! The whole story was very fun to read. Didi and Caleb were so cute together. Caleb was so smitten with Didi and he didn't even realize it! Reading about him wanting to spend with her and wanting to make her happy made me all kinds of giddy and I was so rooting for him to get the girl! A secondary character I absolutely loved was Nathan and guess what? He's getting his own story in No Holding Back!

Overall, I really enjoyed it this story! It went by so fast though and I wish I had more time with the characters to get more connected with them but it was still a very entertaining story.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.