J.P. Sims presents readers with a journey through adolescence, high school, college, and love. A walking contradiction, Declan O’Malley is both hard and soft: a backyard boxer who also isn’t afraid to cry openly in the face of heartbreak. Set in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, THREE LOVES is a fun reminder of AOL chats and movie runs to Blockbuster Video. Declan is highly relatable for male audiences, who will empathize with his burning desire to find true love. However, some readers may get frustrated by his continuous fixation on small missteps and minor personal flaws.
The author effectively sets the novel's tone early on with a quote from Declan’s favorite professor, who once said “we fall for three people in our lives—three soulmates, each with a purpose.” Declan meets his first love at 15, overwhelmed by her beauty and personality. A kiss at a party ignites his infatuation, but small issues continue to pull the young lovers apart. Declan’s second love comes into his life in college, but, once again, distance and mixed signals make a strong start more difficult.
Highly descriptive, Sims paints a picture for the reader without being flowery. For example, the phrase “December was disaster wrapped in tinsel” perfectly encompasses the main character’s mood and creates a sense of foreboding. His most descriptive passages are reserved for the women Declan loves, where such words as "ethereal" and “magnetic” convey the depth of the character’s infatuation.
While this story is told in retrospect, the narrative's pace sometimes slows from the use of too many mundane details. However, the author expertly brings the reader’s attention back with interjections from Future Declan: “Future Declan is very disappointed in Past Declan for continuously cockblocking over trivial things.” This style is a fun and entertaining way to effectively reengage readers.
Sims presents a carefully written novel that reminds the audience of the excitement, hope, and anguish that comes with young love. Though THREE LOVES is a good first book, additional editing of the day-to-day content would help amuse readers while still hitting the high points of Declan’s life and the valuable lessons he learns along the way.
J.P. Sims writes an encouraging story that will resonate most with young male readers who have suffered heartbreak and those longing for the acceptance that comes from their one true love. THREE LOVES is a beautifully written story, but it suffers from uneven pacing and, in the author’s words, a bit of “utter balderdash just for the sake of entertainment.”
—Elin White for IndieReader