I am no fan of romance. I’m the girl who’s allergic to the cheesy world of love. So it would be unbelievably hypocritical to say that I really did like “Because of Low.” But because such a beautiful book leaves no space for an alternative reaction, I just have to declare my unending admiration for this book unabashedly. Written beautifully, from the perspective of both the main characters Marcus and Willow, the tale is one of the simpler love stories. Boy meets girl, they fall in love kind of thing. But I love how the author has strayed her characters away from cliché plots and descriptions. Marcus and Willow’s love is not described excruciatingly with relation to the sun or the stars or the heavens for that matter, but is instead a sweet, cute, easygoing with its own respective rough patches from the start, relationship. Marcus Hardy is the son of the owner of Mercedes, a charming, fun, and caring guy, who gave up on his father the moment he realized he was cheating on his mom with his 20 something secretary. Willow Montgomery is shunned by her sister, temporarily homeless and childhood and best friend Marcus’ roommate, playboy Cage York. Against Cage’s wishes, Marcus’ and Willow’s relationship grows, with each completely smitten by the other. However, I wasn’t a fan of Marcus, unlike other readers, since after reading the prequel, his too-cocky-for-his-own-good attitude came off as disalluring. Thus my favourite character was surprisingly Cage. Good ol’ faithful Cage that has stood by Willow since always, and been the brother she has dearly loved. Cage is in all kinds of love with Willow, but Willow is not in love with Cage. Initially, Cage irked me a lot, as he was trying to stop Willow from getting involved with Marcus, but as I read further, I was touched by his love for Willow, which has been hinted at beautifully in his actions all throughout the book. I love how the author revolved Willow’s life around a reasonable fear of abandonment, and not some stupid meaningless situation. I appreciate how Marcus feels so fiercely protective of his family, and ready to give up on everything for his suffering mom and sister. But what if love for family conflicts with losing the only girl you’ve ever loved? The story traces this very sentiment, with all emotions and situations like a breath of fresh air from your regular YA romance novels. This is one book every sound reader is bound to appreciate, for its honest if not very likeable characters and a fresh approach to the story-next-door factor.