Love and Other Man-Made Disasters by Nicola Doherty

Love and Other Man-Made Disasters by Nicola Doherty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Juno is scared of a lot of things. Climate change, urban foxes, zombies - the usual. So when she goes on a skiing holiday with her mum's adrenaline-mad new husband and his tearaway twins, she doesn't hold much hope of surviving. Then she meets Boy. Gruff, hairy and thrill-seeking, he's everything Juno doesn't like. Or is he? Juno's about to discover there's nothing more scary than falling in love.


I have read many Nicola Doherty novels before and I have loved them all, so when I knew she was going to be writing a young adult novel I couldn't wait to get into it.

First of all I was a little disappointed as I sat down to read this in the height of summer (I know not much of one in Britain) but it was set in Austria on the slopes. This was something not mentioned in the blurb or anything, had I of known I would have saved this to read over the winter as I think I may have enjoyed it more.

This is a very easy to read book, and I read it just as quick as Doherty's adult novels, there was a little bit of humour. Juno is forced to go on a skiing holiday with her mum, stepdad and his two boys. This is the last thing she wants to do and has a mountain of studying to do before her exams and isn't thrilled that she has to spend more time with her stepfather and his two kids. Over the course of the book Juno changes her mind about the skiing.

The story covers a short period of time, I am not exactly how long either 2 or 3 weeks I think and the romance in the story felt like it happened quite quickly and the turn around of events - I am trying to explain without actually giving any spoilers! Saying that, it was a while ago I was Juno's age and perhaps romances happen that quickly and younger readers will relate to it more. I didn't really let the love story part affect my opinion of the story as I enjoyed it regardless of the time span.

This is a really cute, fun book that older readers would enjoy. The characters are very down to earth and Juno is likable. Juno experiences the beginning of growing up, having a little freedom but also realising life is not all a bed of roses and that sometimes there is heartache along the way. This is a book I would recommend, however I would suggest over the winter period to really get you into the mood for that time of year. I can just imagine being snuggled up in front of the fire with a hot coco and fluffy slippers on reading this.

I would like to thank Nicola for sending me this in exchange for an honest review.