Elise Bryant

I felt sad for Lenore with her love troubles, being in her siblings' shadow, and always having to be "on," but she had NO chemistry with Alex. She came off unreasonably rude in the beginning. And Alex was boring. Their banter was strained with Alex walking on eggshells not to detonate Lenore who had a lot going on. I just never felt it for those two.

But I really love this normalization of gentle boys, therapy, and not having it all together before college. I, like so many others, didn’t know what I wanted to major in college. And the system is set up to drain you of all your money and time if you don’t already have an idea. So, you got people sticking it out in a major that makes them unhappy or afraid to try something else in case it’s worse. Stop punishing people for not having their whole life planned out. Mini rant over.… (altro)

First, what a lovely cover! Writers often make their MC love books or writing and usually it falls flat, but Tessa was fine. It’s fun seeing how her romanticized daydreams turn into story ideas. Tessa’s a hopeful romantic with a mind filled with fluffy thoughts (and she’s an overthinker too).

Her mind is also filled with worries as she lives with anxiety and imposter syndrome. Tessa feels, sometimes, her life and what’s important to her has to take a back seat because of her brother, Miles. I enjoyed Tessa and Miles relationship and the overall family dynamics a lot. I thought the author did a great job showing Tessa’s feelings of frustration but love as well.

At times, Tessa’s narrative feels like “teaching” moments, but I’m sure that’s so a wider audience can understand. It just feels obvious if you already know. Poppy felt a little one note. I mean granted Tessa is trying to move in on Nico and Poppy gotta bad attitude, but it’s up to Nico and Poppy to define their situationship. She’s just nasty though this does get acknowledged at the end.

Overall, cute and light-hearted and familial love plays as big a role as teen romance. I liked the long-distance best friends so much. The ending is fitting.… (altro)