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Description
The Love InterestA thrilling YA debut about teen spies disguised as love interests whoever gets the girl lives; but the one she rejects, dies. There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets. Caden is a Nice: The boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: The brooding, dark souled guy, and dangerously handsome.
A thrilling YA debut about teen spies disguised as love interests--whoever gets the girl lives; but the one she rejects, dies.
There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets. Caden is a Nice: The boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection.Dylan is a Bad: The brooding, dark-souled guy, and dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose a Nice or the Bad? Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their games. They have to be - whoever the girl doesn't choose will die. What the boys don't expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both. From debut author Cale Dietrich comes a fast-paced adventure that is full of both action and romance and subverts common tropes. Praise for The Love Interest:
This sci-fi young adult novel is the answer to all of our clich love triangle woes. . . . If you're looking for something funny, action-packed, and romantic this summer, then this is your next read. --PBS Newshour There's a Hunger Games vibe here to be sure--a deadly teen-on-teen competition--and this is packed with similar questions of morality. High stakes, well-developed characters, and an LGBTQ slant on the classic spy story make it all the more intriguing. Stock up--this one has something for everyone. --Booklist, starred review In this subversive take on the quintessential YA love triangle, two guys--the clean-cut boy next door and the brooding bad boy--compete for a girl's affections. . . . Dietrich's debut is impressive, provocative, and a clever take on well-worn romantic tropes. . . . while the thriller elements add tension and numerous surprises. --Publishers Weekly Caden is a spy. . . . His competition is Dylan, a dark-souled Bad who's the dreamiest boy Caden's ever seen. . . . Caden doesn't intend to lose--but no one prepared him for the way Dyl makes him feel. . . . fans of spy fiction and LGBTQ titles will find the novel worth reading. --School Library Journal
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Square Fish
Published: 04/10/2018
ISBN: 9781250158642
Pages: 384
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.50w x 1.00d
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4.3 ★★★★★
Based on 1629 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Best LitRPG
Format: Kindle
This is absolutely the best litRPG I've ever read as well as the best self-published series. Between the character progression, the amazing sense of humor, and the relatability of the characters, this is my top recommendation for anyone interested in litRPGs. I fell in love so much that I had to sign up for the Patreon account so I could get my fix regularly (5 new chapters each week). I even managed to get my roommate hooked on the audiobooks.
If you're looking for a fun story with loveable characters, surprising insights, and epic fights, this is for you.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2022
★★★★★ 5
What the??!!!!??
Format: Kindle
This book"kills" it!!! It kept making me laugh out loud and waking up my wife... NOT COOL!! She needs her sleep...and I can't really tell her what is so darn funny because She Hasn't read any of this series and wont get the joke. It also brought tears to my eyes reminding me of actual life events I've lived through. Loss,honor, loyalty, friendship, dangerous situations... Amazing stuff! I can't stop laughing and reading. Awesome...
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Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2025
★★★★★ 4
A lot of useless skipping around...
Format: Kindle
So, I really enjoy the underlying story, but I really wish the writing was cleaned up. There were so many little sections, a few paragraphs to a few pages that were bouncing all over the place. And while some sort of moved the plot along, the vast majority were just filler.
It would have been significantly more fluid if events were portrayed through characters experiences, than just having narration about everything happening all over.
In addition, I know this is a web novel, and they tend to be written chapter by chapter. This, painfully, results in less cohesion from start to middle to end. The story ends up feeling choppy, and the overall arc throughout the book suffers. In fact, over >700 pages and we really didn't make a ton of headway until ~60% of the way through the book. That's when things really started. The majority before was fluff and filler. Useful, but only once distilled and refined.
I'm really hoping that for future books, Shirtaloon spends some time really thinking what is critical for the plot, and how to incorporate as much of that plot progression through the lenses of the characters in lieu of just narrating pages and pages of stuff. For example, instead of spending 100s of pages on mentioning all the places in the world crumbling from infighting and corruption, instead portray that through the character. It reads so much better, and ends up being more concise, and allows for opportunities for further character development all while building the world.
I love more story, but I'd prefer reading a 700 page story. Not a 400 page story in 700 pages. Let's make all the pages matter.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2022
★★★★★ 5
great series
Format: Kindle
I have really enjoyed these books. Highly recommend reading them. Plan to read all of the series. Keeps getting better.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Another Good One in the Bag
Format: Kindle
Love the change this adventure keeps taking. We go from our LitFantasy to a comic book adventure. One of the most interesting LIT tales I have read so far. The adventure continues to hold you captured and throws in a few twist. Didn’t see those 3 making an appearance in the Reapers Realm. But, no other spoilers, just read it; it’s definitely worth reading!!!
Cheers 🍻
Peace ✌🏾 & Love ❤️
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Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2025