Book Review and GIVEAWAY: The Love Proof, by Madeleine Henry {ends 10/22}

Sophie tugged the dangling string of her desk lamp until daylight faded. She kept working until, finally, deep in the black belly of night, she succeeded in converting every description of motion into one independent of time. She reclined against the straight back of her chair. She'd felt Jake with her for years. She'd seen them together every day. But right then, as she stared at the last page forming incontrovertible proof of block theory, Sophie saw all of him. She saw not just one moment, but all of their time together suspended around her because all of it was happening now. 

I haven't been reading a lot this summer (mostly just been watching TV, actually), but a new Madeleine Henry book crossed my desk (Kindle), I knew I definitely wanted to read it ASAP. I reviewed her first novel Breathe In, Cash Out last year, and really liked it, so it was unsurprising that I really liked this one as well.

Official synopsis:

A brilliant physicist studying the nature of time embarks on a journey to prove that those we love are always connected to us, leading to surprising revelations in this fresh and unique love story.

Sophie Jones is a physics prodigy on track to unlock the secrets of the universe. But when she meets Jake Kristopher during their first week at Yale they instantly feel a deep connection, as if they’ve known each other before. Quickly, they become a couple. Slowly, their love lures Sophie away from school.

When a shocking development forces Sophie into a new reality, she returns to physics to make sense of her world. She grapples with life’s big questions, including how to cope with unexpected change and loss. Inspired by her connection with Jake, Sophie throws herself into her studies, determined to prove that true loves belong together in all realities.

Spanning decades, The Love Proof is an unusual love story about lasting connection, time, and intuition. It explores the course that perfect love can take between imperfect people, and urges us to listen to our hearts rather than our heads.

I literally whipped through this book in about 1 to 1.5 days, because I wanted to know what happened to the characters. Love stories that span decades are unusual; usually there is a meet-cute, happiness, then some sort of drama, and then the characters get back together again—this was not the exact case here.

Sophie meets Jake when they are both freshmen at Yale. Jake can tell that Sophie is unique, like him—they both have unique minds, and are able to fully concentrate on their studies. They date for four years, until graduation, and Sophie is thinking they will be together forever.

To say anymore would be to give spoilers, so I will leave my synopsis at that. Sophie now finds herself with a lot of time on her hands, and she delves back into her physics work, trying to prove something called "block theory" (basically that all time is relative, and things that happened in the past are happening concurrently as we speak). 

I really loved this book, except that I thought the ending could have been expanded a bit; otherwise, it would have been a 5 out of 5 star book for me, which I don't often give.

Movie version picks:

• young Sophie Jones: Saiorse Ronan - it's mentioned that she's blonde, I believe.
• young Jake Kristopher: Ansel Elgort, Daniel Radcliffe, Nicholas Hoult, or Logan Lerman. 
• middle-aged Jake Kristopher: Sam Page (from The Bold Type), although they might have to age him a bit.
• middle-aged Sophie Jones: Sandra Bullock or Marisa Tomei (but would have to dye their hair blonde).

4.5 stars out of 5.

{click here to pre-order - it will be out on February 9, 2021}

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of The Love Proof!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Thursday, October 22nd, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be emailed the next day and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

The Love Proof, by Madeleine Henry