Title: Love at Full Tilt
Author: Jenny L. Howe
Publish Date: July 2025
Genre: Romance, Young Adult
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Plot synopsis: Freshly graduated from high school, Lia has scored the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt at her favorite amusement park. She’s focused on the prize, a cash amount that would allow her freedom from her overbearing parents and let her envision her own future. But when she stumbles (quite literally) across Mason, a local who suggests an alliance for the contest, she might be getting more than she bargained for with her own fairy tale romance.
I LOVED this book!! Jenny L. Howe knocked it out of the (amusement) park with her first young adult title! It was absolutely adorable from start to finish, but with its share of doses of reality. Lia, the main character, was relatable in so many ways, from her experiences as a fat teenage girl to someone who struggles to express herself with the people she cares about the most. Every time she had to do “plus-size geometry” (something I didn’t have a term for until now but definitely did my whole life… badly. Listen, I’m a librarian, not a math girlie), I knew exactly what that experience was like. She was confident about who she was, but had the complicated acknowledgement that the world did not want her to be that way, which sometimes (but not often!) got in the way of her self-confidence. The love story was super cute, featuring a male love interest who immediately accepted and supported her for who she was, and with (very!) believable communication issues for 18 year olds. I generally don’t love miscommunication tropes (especially when the whole plot hinges on them, which this doesn’t), but these characters do try to express themselves and talk things out, but fumble a lot… as 18 year olds tend to do. Jenny L. Howe has always has a special touch in not making me hate when this trope comes up in her books.
The supporting characters were believable, lovable, and frustrating in their own ways. Lia’s mother’s anxiety gave me anxiety, and as a middle-aged adult I was sitting there screaming about how this wasn’t a healthy relationship and Lia should cut ties… but also knowing how hard that is for a teenager who truly does love their family to do. The complicated family dynamics are shown well through Lia’s actions and thoughts, and I appreciated this book showing “they mean well, BUT…” in another light. Additionally, Lia’s best friends aren’t 100% foolproof, the three of them all stumble as friends here and there, but I enjoyed seeing how they put in effort to fix things when it was needed (and communicated).
Queer representation: Jenny always includes queer characters in her books, and this was no exception, but I wanted to highlight the wonderful inclusion. Lia herself is bi, and others in the cast include a lesbian girl, a gay guy, an aromantic individual, and a nonbinary person. There might be others (there probably are), but those were significant supporting cast members. (I’m deliberately trying to be vague because one of these is a minor sub-plot that I don’t want to spoil.)
A very enjoyable and cute romance, perfect for summer vacations. Honestly, I don’t think I’d change a thing. I can’t wait for this to hit shelves in July for everyone else to experience! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me access an ARC of this book, and to Jenny herself for urging me to do so!
A few choice quotes:
“I hate that being plus-size means going unnoticed until you don’t want to be. Anything embarrassing becomes twice as funny to the rest of the world when you’re fat.”
“But I also know that I don’t fit the way the world wants me to. And that this is usually the first thing people see when they look at me.”
“But I don’t need his permission, or Tess’s and Issy’s, to love this place. I don’t need their support to win this contest. That I love it, that Fable Industry and its magic have saved me more times than I can count, is enough. I’m enough.”
“‘The other rides don’t feel like they’re seconds from falling apart.’ His watercolor eyes flick toward the gondola above us as it rocks back and forth. ‘Plus rollercoasters move. You’re not sitting still, forced to confront how squishy you really are and how far a fall it would be.'” (About Ferris wheels, this is a sentiment I share.)
