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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
A LITTLE book that will brighten your outlook and replenish your spirit
Love Notes is a small book with a big heart. Dr Andy Cope has teamed up with first-time author Hannah Knowles and award-winning illustrator Amy Bradley to create an uplifting book for anyone seeking more joy, meaning and love in their lives.
With warmth, wisdom and humour, Love Notes offers a refreshing antidote to a world that often feels overwhelming and disconnected. The message is simple but profound: love is the key to flourishing, and sharing it make the world brighter for everyone.
Packed with inspiring quotes, thoughtful reflections, light-hearted stories and vibrant illustrations, Love Notes is a treasure trove designed to make you pause, smile, and reconnect with what matters most.
You’ll love it, but you can’t keep it! Love Notes is designed to be passed on, and on, and on … creating a ripple of warmth across families and communities.
Whether you’re seeking fresh motivation, a spark of joy, or simply a reminder that love is still the most powerful force in the world, Love Notes will help you rediscover your best self and share it with those you cherish.
Andy Cope is a professional trainer, teacher and author. Amy Bradley is an experienced illustrator. Hannah Knowles is an author and motivational speaker. This well-intentioned but ultimately insipid and smug homily about love has a great layout but recycles a lot from Cope’s other books, seems uncertain of the target readership and makes no concession to those whose family lives are not conducive to its adopting its message.
I picked this up because I’d previously read and rated Cope’s THE ART OF BEING A BRILLIANT TEENAGER and DIARY OF A BRILLIANT KID: TOP SECRET GUIDE TO AWESOMNESS. I think part of the reason why I found this book such a massive disappointment is that it does recycle a lot of material from both of those books (as well as quotes from other people’s books). That’s a particular problem because while those other books were squarely aimed at children and teenagers, this book seems to be aimed at a mixed audience, which means that tonally it’s all over the place and ultimately will be too babyish for adults and in some places a little inappropriate for younger readers (and I say that as someone who is not a prude when it comes to children and adult content).
The message of the book is fairly simple - it’s all about focusing your life on love and relationships because of the limited amount of time that you have open to you. There are therefore the sort of advice you’d expect like spending time engaging with loved ones rather than on your phone, turning down work if it infringes on family time, loving yourself and your imperfects etc etc. It’s not that any of this is bad - it isn’t - but it is all very simplistic and it doesn’t acknowledge that some people’s lives don’t allow them to follow the advice. For example, if you’re on a low income or there are serious issues within your family then not spending time with them may not be a choice or even something that you want to do.
I enjoyed Bradley’s illustrations and the page layout, although there are too many pages with just a couple of lines of text on them to justify the £14.99 cover price.
Ultimately, this was a book that left me feeling very cynical about love rather than reminding me of its power and importance and I have to say that I would hesitate to check out any book co-written by Cope in future.
The Verdict:
Andy Cope is a professional trainer, teacher and author. Amy Bradley is an experienced illustrator. Hannah Knowles is an author and motivational speaker. This well-intentioned but ultimately insipid and smug homily about love has a great layout but recycles a lot from Cope’s other books, seems uncertain of the target readership and makes no concession to those whose family lives are not conducive to its adopting its message.
LOVE NOTES was released in the United Kingdom on 22 January 2026. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Love Notes is a small book with a big heart. Dr Andy Cope has teamed up with first-time author Hannah Knowles and award-winning illustrator Amy Bradley to create an uplifting book for anyone seeking more joy, meaning and love in their lives.
With warmth, wisdom and humour, Love Notes offers a refreshing antidote to a world that often feels overwhelming and disconnected. The message is simple but profound: love is the key to flourishing, and sharing it make the world brighter for everyone.
Packed with inspiring quotes, thoughtful reflections, light-hearted stories and vibrant illustrations, Love Notes is a treasure trove designed to make you pause, smile, and reconnect with what matters most.
You’ll love it, but you can’t keep it! Love Notes is designed to be passed on, and on, and on … creating a ripple of warmth across families and communities.
Whether you’re seeking fresh motivation, a spark of joy, or simply a reminder that love is still the most powerful force in the world, Love Notes will help you rediscover your best self and share it with those you cherish.
Andy Cope is a professional trainer, teacher and author. Amy Bradley is an experienced illustrator. Hannah Knowles is an author and motivational speaker. This well-intentioned but ultimately insipid and smug homily about love has a great layout but recycles a lot from Cope’s other books, seems uncertain of the target readership and makes no concession to those whose family lives are not conducive to its adopting its message.
I picked this up because I’d previously read and rated Cope’s THE ART OF BEING A BRILLIANT TEENAGER and DIARY OF A BRILLIANT KID: TOP SECRET GUIDE TO AWESOMNESS. I think part of the reason why I found this book such a massive disappointment is that it does recycle a lot of material from both of those books (as well as quotes from other people’s books). That’s a particular problem because while those other books were squarely aimed at children and teenagers, this book seems to be aimed at a mixed audience, which means that tonally it’s all over the place and ultimately will be too babyish for adults and in some places a little inappropriate for younger readers (and I say that as someone who is not a prude when it comes to children and adult content).
The message of the book is fairly simple - it’s all about focusing your life on love and relationships because of the limited amount of time that you have open to you. There are therefore the sort of advice you’d expect like spending time engaging with loved ones rather than on your phone, turning down work if it infringes on family time, loving yourself and your imperfects etc etc. It’s not that any of this is bad - it isn’t - but it is all very simplistic and it doesn’t acknowledge that some people’s lives don’t allow them to follow the advice. For example, if you’re on a low income or there are serious issues within your family then not spending time with them may not be a choice or even something that you want to do.
I enjoyed Bradley’s illustrations and the page layout, although there are too many pages with just a couple of lines of text on them to justify the £14.99 cover price.
Ultimately, this was a book that left me feeling very cynical about love rather than reminding me of its power and importance and I have to say that I would hesitate to check out any book co-written by Cope in future.
The Verdict:
Andy Cope is a professional trainer, teacher and author. Amy Bradley is an experienced illustrator. Hannah Knowles is an author and motivational speaker. This well-intentioned but ultimately insipid and smug homily about love has a great layout but recycles a lot from Cope’s other books, seems uncertain of the target readership and makes no concession to those whose family lives are not conducive to its adopting its message.
LOVE NOTES was released in the United Kingdom on 22 January 2026. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
