3.5 stars, rounded up because I really, really appreciated the time taken to explain why it can be so difficult for women of color (such as our Afro-Latinx MC, Lina) to allow themselves to fully express their feelings. I thought that was such an important topic and it's one I haven't seen addressed in many books.

This was cute! I definitely struggled with Lina from time to time, just for how petty she could be with her pranks, but all's well that ends well and I grew to love her and empathize with her more as the story progressed. I will admit that I spent a solid chunk of the story wanting to grab her and shake her until something clicked in her brain, though. I don't think I'll ever quite grasp the concept that she totally moved on from her ex-fiance leaving her at the altar, yet couldn't get over her hatred of his brother for supposedly talking the fiance out of the marriage. That just... doesn't compute. I also have one other little complaint, which I wasn't going to mention because it felt like maybe it was just me, but I have to: the sex scenes were a little weird to me? I felt so much chemistry between Lina and Max throughout the rest of the book, but not in the steamy scenes.

That said, I enjoyed this story a lot overall. I thought it was addictive and fast-paced, I loved the banter (when Lina wasn't busy pranking Max), and I thought it held so many important conversations, such as Lina's fear of disappointing her family after they immigrated to the US and worked so hard to help give her the life she has. While this wasn't a perfect read for me, I still really enjoyed it and recommend it! I'm happier for having read it and definitely want to check out more of the author's work.

Buddy read with my darling Bex ♥