3.75 stars


I ended up enjoying this book but, man, was it a slow start. There isn’t much of an active driving force in this novel. It relies on the characters to keep you invested and…honestly? The characters were nothing special. Nothing about this book was particularly special or unique, really. Every aspect, from the romantic tropes to the themes explored and the character archetypes have been done many times before, and quite frankly, they’ve been done better. It was a good book, but it was hard to become invested.
By about the 60% mark, I’d grown to care about Eloise, so I finally had some investment. I enjoyed her relationship with Marianne and her friendship with Austin. I wish it had stayed on the friendship level, because I never felt a chemistry between them. The characters and the plot grew on me slowly, and I really loved the Seattle setting, as someone from the Seattle area. I don’t regret reading this, but admittedly, if it hadn’t been an ARC, or if it hadn’t had the fun little interest of taking place where I live, I likely would have DNFed.