4.5 stars. TW: anxiety.

This was a good book, but admittedly my least favorite of the three Kasie West books I've read so far. Although that's not saying a whole lot, because the other two were 5 star reads, so take that however you'd like.

The main problem I had with this book was that the plot was a bit lacking. By this I mean that the story described in the synopsis took up maybe half the book, while the other half was the aftermath. In a way I'm glad it was done like this, because having a roughly 350 page book take place over 3 days would've been boring. However, the plot seemed a lot less structured and more meandering after the library lockdown was over. That being said, there wasn't a lot that gripped me either. I kept reading for entertainment, not because anything had me attached.

I think Autumn is my favorite of Kasie's protagonists so far. I saw a lot of myself and my older sister in her - I love photography and my sister has anxiety. Even though I know that anxiety is different for different people and can't speak personally on the rep since I don't have it, I did think it was good. I also liked her logical mind and how, throughout the story, she started to think of her own mental health before her friends' emotions, without dismissing the latter.

Side note, I love Autumn's friends, although Dallin can go away. I understand he was grieving, in a sense, but he took it too far. That is all. 😊

The romance here is one of my favorites. In one scene, a boy asks Autumn if it's okay to kiss her and then when she backs out, he's 100% okay with it. As he should be. I won't say if that was with Dax or Jeff. If you want to know, read the book. It's worth it, I promise. The end relationship is really cute. 😉

One of my favorite things about Kasie's novels is that each protagonist has a loving family that's supportive and present. In PSILY and TFIB, I loved the respective families. This book was no different. Autumn's mom and dad worried for her while still letting her have her freedom, and in general they were just good parents. Her older brother Owen was good too.

Also, Dax lives in various foster homes throughout the story due to an absent father and an addict mother. I've only read one other book with foster parents, so this was a nice change.

My only other problem is that neither Autumn nor Dax took advantage of all the books while locked in the library. To me, that's a wasted opportunity. Just saying. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

All in all, I really enjoyed this. I found the plot lacking slightly after Autumn and Dax escaped the library, but otherwise it was a great fluffy read that also dealt with an important topic. I highly recommend this one.