Ienjoyed this story very much. But in the last third of the book seemed to me that Zane's cluelessness about his feelings was a little exaggerated and hard to believe.

I still believe that Anyta selects the best quotes. ( )

3,6 stars

It's strange not to be giving an Anyta Sunday book a rating above four stars, but this simply didn't rise to my expectations. This was above average within the genre, but that's not enough when you've come to expect greatness from one of your favorite authors.

What I liked about this book were the lightness, the sweetness, and the relationships between different characters. Even the asshole of the story wasn't irredeemable.

However, while the romance was slowburn within the bounds of the book, to me a story reads instalovely when one or more of the characters "falls in love" in a week or two. I'm sorry, I don't care what kind of soul connection you form - calling what you feel at that point "love" simply cheapens the whole concept. Also, when the relationship moved from platonic to physical, I didn't really feel the chemistry and would have preferred if the author went with one well constructed sex scene instead of... this.

In addition to that, I had a difficult time relating to the characters, particularly Zane. I get that he was supposed to be a bit of an air head, but I rarely have the patience for people who don't take responsibility for their own lives. You call it being a dreamer, I call it being irresponsible and careless.

To top it all off, I felt like the setup bordered too much on that of Theo and Jamie's story. A gay professor and a gay-for-him younger man living as flatmates? Considering Sunday's talent, I feel like she could have come up with something a little different.

Writing this review feels like I'm being a lot harsher than warranted, but it's only because I had such high expectations. Had I never read anything else from Sunday, I'm sure I would have loved this. As it is, I merely liked it. ( )

I really love the first book in the series but this one comes close. It’s just so charming and cute and I can’t stop laughing at the obliviousness of our MC Zane. He is such a hopeless romantic and I totally dig that coz I am the same. He has a lot of issues but being a great friend is not one of them. The development of his friendship with Becky is so beautiful and organic and I adored their dynamic - they are just so perfect together.

Amidst all the fun and puns and alliterations, I also cried because that’s what I do. I loved the slow burn romance and just couldn’t wait for them to get together. Anyta Sunday writes some of the best friends to lovers romances and I can’t wait to read more of her books.

PS: I have to mention that this is the second Anyta’s book where there has been a nod to my favorite series Fence by C.S. Pacat and I love it when authors give such shoutouts to their contemporaries. ( )

DELICIOUS SLOW BURN DISGUISED AS BROMANCE BROVING ( )