Light and humorous, but predictable. Minimal plot but just a series of scenes strung together with numerous references to rom-com movies. ( )

4.5 Stars. First things first…. this debut novel must be adapted for cinematic or television release. I need to watch the fabulous banter and visual comedy in Kimberley Allsopp’s Love and Other Puzzles performed on screen.

Sure, some of Rory’s responses to problems verge on the ridiculous – when she steps in a pothole she tends to opt for the spade rather than the ladder – but her foibles just make her so damn endearing. And the hopes of the wonderfully warm-hearted and eclectic bunch of characters that support her quickly rubbed off on this reader.

Love and Other Puzzles is bubbling over (like a popped champagne bottle, not boiling milk) with nostalgic pop-culture references. Classic literature, music, TV and movie (particularly romantic comedy) references are so cleverly, and frequently, woven into this novel’s fabric that even the most observant reader will find themselves thinking, ‘Wait a moment, was that just a reference to …?’

Allsopp has a real knack for writing snappy and amusing character dialogue (inner and outer). Continue reading: https://www.bookloverbookreviews.com/2022/02/love-and-other-puzzles-kimberley-al... ( )

In the delightful romcom, Love and Other Puzzles from debut Australian novelist Kimberley Allsopp, Rory Byrnes impulsively turns to the New York Times crossword puzzle for inspiration to change her life.

7A A bovine Baskin treat = icecream

With her career stalled and her relationship failing, Rory, who has always relied on order and routine, decides that three times a day for the next week she’ll let the answers to The New York Times crossword puzzle guide her decisions.

34A What do you do before you speak in class = raise your hand

To revitalise her journalistic career at ‘The Connect’ Rory, raises her hand, and volunteers to arrange an interview with elusive newsreader, Elle Chambers, who is rumoured to be launching a bid for a political seat. The only problem is Rory has no idea how to deliver on it.

12D A 2010 Steve Martin novel = An Object of Beauty

The first step Rory takes to reconnect with her live in boyfriend, artist Lucas, is to agree to attend a gallery opening, despite generally avoiding such events, where she ends up spending most of her time talking with the bartender, Harry, and goes home alone.

As the week progresses, the crossword inspires a little more chaos than Rory expects but she’s determined to follow through.

Allsopp’s protagonist is easy to like. Rory is sweet and warm-hearted, just a little lost amid her quarter-life crisis. Her need for order is mostly a form of self defence, the result of a somewhat chaotic upbringing with her free spirited single mother, which her grandparents did their best to ameliorate.

I was also a fan of Rory’s loyal and funny best friend, Kitt, and charmed by several of the other characters, including Rory’s mentor Dave, and bus driver, Ted. Rory’s boyfriend, on the other hand, is a jerk, but this is a romcom so there is a worthy man waiting in the wings.

The writing is witty and sharp. I loved the many pop culture references, most of which relate to Hollywood romcoms.

Love and Other Puzzles is a captivating uplifting read, sure to satisfy any hopeless romantic. ( )