Look, everyone in this bar is dumb as hell (except Seiji who genuinely does not get social cues - I will not accept slander of him) and this was kind of written like a bad fanfic but I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a fun, silly, romp that helped lessen my anxiety over Covid-19. The rivals to lovers romance I wanted to see happen did not, though I’m still hopeful because the seeds are RIGHT THERE, just let them bloom! The romance we did get was best friends to lovers + pretend dating with so much mutual pining paired with obliviousness on both sides. Friendship is a strong plot point through the entire book, leading to many moments where I went ‘aww’ and others where I rolled my eyes at the boys’ shenanigans. It’s also a direct continuation of Fence Vol 4 of the comic series, so if you wanted more after that ended, be sure to get this.

 I do think something got lost a little in translation going from comic to novel. Some of the writing and dialogue is stilted or felt.. clumsy? Awkward? Way too many ‘bros’ for sure. I have never read this author before so I don’t know if this is just their style, but either way, this was an ARC provided by Edelweiss+ so I have hope some of this will get improved on before it publishes. BUT if they don’t, I mean, still read it. I’m sure we’ve all read worse fics on AO3! Does it really matter if it isn’t perfect if it makes you smile & makes your day better?