A digital love letter of instagram likes, reality bites and leaps of loves

This year was time to celebrate galentines and Valentine’s Day, whether you’re taking time for self care, seeing the friends you love as a family or you finally found the Nick to your Charlie (Heartstopper).

I’m revisiting my review of We Just Clicked by Anna Bell during this lover fest season. What makes me love the book,m even more, is the fact that one of my best friends, who’s more like a sister, brought this book for me. Books read different when someone saw it, and got it for you because they were thinking about you.

This digital love story stars a equally optimistic and pessimistic protagonist attempts to keep a fake virtual relationship and a slow burning romance alive. Readers are in for one hell of a ride with Izzy.

Izzy Brown has dreamed of becoming a full time instagrammer and living the celebrity life. So, when Izzys co-worker Luke suggests they fake a romance, to get more followers, she feels she has nothing to lose. It’s only a matter of time, before her followers start shooting up by the thousands.

Then, Izzy bumps into the man she’s been wanting to thank, who saved the day when her whole world fell apart after her brothers death, two years ago. 

The mysterious stranger is revealed as the loveable Adrian, and it’s no long before sparks start flying, and Izzy begins to fall head over heels. Except there’s one catch, Adrian has a dislike for Instagram due to his ex girlfriend loving the gram more than him.

But Izzy is sure she can’t have it all – live the lifestyle of an Instagram darling whilst falling in love. After all, Adrian doesn’t use social media, what could possibly go wrong?

This sweet, intimate and emotional fairytale for a millennial social media inclined generation, is filled with comedy, drama and how love always prevails, despite the bad times. Readers will love a female romantic heroine who isn’t the damsel in distress or the temptress typically seen in romantic novels. 

The novel explores other emotional themes too, in between the virtual and real life romances of Izzy. It explores her grief and doubts as she grieves the loss of her brother, and wonders if she will ever get out of the rut she’s in, both in her work and personal life. The journey she goes through from who and where she is at the beginning of the novel to the end, is realistic with its struggles and betrayal but also provides assurance, hope and a light at the end of the tunnel for anyone going through similar emotions and situations to Izzy.

‘We Just Clicked’ deserves slot more recognition, for providing the laughter, drama and emotions of a real relationship, whilst showing characters who begin to be more open with their feelings after hiding or ignoring them for so long. This novel will certainly keep you in the Valentines mood this month, and provide you with a unique romance novel to add to your reading list.