This is the second book I've read by this author...and I have a feeling it will be the last, at least for awhile. There were just so many things that rubbed me the wrong way with this one that the few bright spots just don't stand out.

Things I didn't like:
1. Way too many characters. There are so many characters introduced in this little book (less than 230 pages) that it was impossible to keep them straight. None of them were fleshed out at all, and most of them were mentioned in passing and then never heard from throughout the rest of the story until the very end.
2. Using mental illness and grief as a plot device. This was really poorly done with all the characters, but especially the Grandmother. In the early part of the book, she is shown in two or three scenes being completely unhinged, paranoid that her family and the government is trying to poison her, kill her, etc. Each time this happens we are told about how her grandma has had a rough time since her grandfather passed and that she stopped taking her meds. Then, about half way through the book, she miraculously has no more manic episodes. She's still quirky and says inappropriate things, but she appears perfectly lucid. I was thinking we would get a scene or even just a line saying that she's back on her meds...but nope.
Also, what are the odds that Lucas and Natalie would be in the same psych hospital and then end up running in the same circles in Savannah? I mean, it's not a HUGE city, but there are well over 100,000 people living there...just saying...not very realistic.
3. Nat was unsympathetic. I'm sorry, but the synopsis of this book makes it sound like the big reveal is going to be that Caleb assaulted her in some way. Now, I'm not saying he is just a great guy who doesn't deserve any blame, she is responsible for her own actions. She made the decision that led to her breakdown. Also, the way she just ignored the risks of the side effect of her meds really annoyed me. If it'd been once, maybe...but over and over again? What an idiot.
4. The pacing. This story flew by, but not in a good way. It felt like the author was unable of taking her time with anything, letting moments breathe or have weight. As I said previously, the sheer volume of characters made it impossible to keep anyone straight. I needed more. More description, more backstory. More agency.
5. The romance. I actually didn't hate Lucas. I liked that he was just this young guy working his butt off to take care of his baby sister and grieving father. I liked the IDEA of Lucas and Natalie. But I don't feel like we really got to know him all THAT well. I also feel like their infatuation with each other kind of came out of nowhere. They had what...maybe two meaningful conversations before they started rubbing all over each other?
6. The friendships. Actually, the inauthentic friendships and romance circle right on back to the breakneck pacing in this book. There was no development of the characters. She literally meets them and two pages later they're buddies, hanging out getting drunk together...I just didn't buy the friendship.
7. Writing inconsistencies. There were several instances where Natalie would assert something that she'd previously denied.
One example: earlier in the book, grandma wants David to fix up her old car so Natalie will have something to drive and Natalie thinks, "As much as I want a car of my own, I dread the idea of driving grandma's Jetta. I know she'll be expecting me to take her to Lord knows where."
Then at the end of the book, she says, "I've been lusting after this car all summer. Even if it is a beat up four-door hatchback."
There are other instances as well. It kind of felt like the author forgot what she wrote...should've been caught in editing.
8. Homosexuality used as plot device/character depth. The only thing...literally, the only thing, we know about David is that he's gay and he hasn't told his parents. At the end, when grandma outs him (wacky grandma alert!) the parents are just like, "Yeah, no biggie, we already knew that." When earlier in the book Natalie's mother made a huge deal out of the possibility that he may be gay. Which is another instance of inconsistent writing.
9. The ending. Again...comes back to the pacing. The ending is very abrupt. So many different things are going on that are just tied up in a matter of a couple pages. It felt like one of those 80s or 90s sitcoms where no matter how crazy things got, everything worked itself out at the end of 22 minutes.

Things I liked:

1. Midsummer Night's Dream references

2. Lucas, although I needed to know more about him.

Man, I guess I really disliked this. When I look back on this book and the companion book, Dreaming of Antigone, I really had most of the same issues with that book that I do with this one, but this one just took it to the next level.