I buddy read this with July @OneBookMore.<–I have linked her review, check it out! It was our first buddy read together and I hope it wasn’t our last! 🙂

I will admit that I have not read the second book in this series. I will definitely go back and do so though. There were so many people hyping up this book and I gave in. For the most part, this was a great read but I was left a little disappointed.

This isn’t really a romance novel but more of a story about Anna learning to face her mental illness and learning to love herself. A lot of this story focuses on her and her struggle. It was a much more intense and deeper read than I thought it would be. I know this was a bit more personal for Hoang and you can definitely see that. Some of the harder parts of this story are when Anna is with her family. It’s hard to digest and it’s also sad to think it happens to people every day. Anna isn’t really living life but just hiding behind a mask. I would also like to know what books she was reading.. haha… Julie and I were both wondering that several times. haha

Quan was amazing. I love how he was just there for Anna. Although, it starts off as a romance book it kind of turns into something else. Their relationship takes a back seat to Anna and that was okay. I just felt like there were times that Quan did things that didn’t quite fit his character. It was rather strange and didn’t make sense at all. I’m not really going to go into it but if you read this then you will understand. Quan is definitely a favorite of mine! Their romance definitely was spicy at times!!

The biggest issue I had with this book was the last 5-6 chapters. So many things happen and years are told in pages. Julie mentioned that it felt like summaries and that’s exactly it. I wanted so much more. I wanted to delve into her mental health, her recovery, her relationship with Quan, and her family. It was all just rushed and left me unsatisfied.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book. It was a very important read when it comes to the topic of mental health. Her struggle is very detailed and helps you feel it. I loved the relationship between Quan and Anna. It was a bit predictable (besides a few chapters with Quan) but it didn’t take away from the story. I will be picking up whatever comes next!