No Experience Required by Kimberly Cooper Griffin is a contemporary romance. Izzy Treadway has a reputation as a love guru. She knows exactly what ignites the spark for others, but she has no desire to find love herself. You see, Izzy’s bipolar and not only fears being seen as damaged goods but is terrified that if anything goes wrong, it might just send her back to the hospital. Nevertheless, her best friend decides Izzy’s the perfect person to write The Idiot’s Guide to Love. While researching and writing the book, Izzy finds herself falling for Jane Mendoza, the new intern at work. Everything’s perfect until Izzy tells her she’s bipolar and Jane leaves her, claiming the dreaded “It’s not you, it’s me." Izzy’s devastated, but heartbreak teaches her she’s stronger than she gives herself credit for. As Izzy and Jane learn their pasts don’t define their future, they’ll need to get out of their own way to discover love can overcome any obstacle.
No Experience Required is full of realistic, multidimensional characters. Izzy is dealing with her disorder the best way she knows how, which includes keeping herself at least partly walled off from others. Jane has her own issues, and I found their connection and path towards each other to be very organic and believable. I found both characters to be likable and relatable in their own way. I liked the honest and straightforward way that bipolar disorder was discussed, and I feel like I understand how those with the disorder feel a little bit more than I had before. I think that so much of this book is relatable to readers in different ways, and can help us all stop and think about others and the bigger picture a bit more. Even if readers do not know anyone with bipolar disorder, or are not in a same sex relationship, the matters at the heart of the story are universal. I liked the framing of the story between sections if the book Izzy was writing, and found that it brought everything together, and had me anticipating some of the upcoming issues that they would need to address. I also thought that the advice she was writing was on point, and what I would try to encourage others to take to heart. It was also nice to see slightly older main characters, which I could relate to more on the life experience level.
No Experience Required is a well written and engaging book. I thought the issues of dating advice and mental health were very well handled, and I honestly would love to see more from all the characters in the book. I will be reading more from the author.
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