More of a 3.75/5 stars

I actually really liked this one. It was cute and funny, with the perfect amount of tension that comes with a plot like this. I actually didn't mind the romance. It sort of goes from Jack annoying Pepper constantly in class, to them being enemies, to frenemies, to friends, to dating. And I really liked it. It was nice to see them getting to know each other slowly, watching them mess everything up multiple times, and finally get a satisfying conclusion.

I was worried that I wasn't going to be a fan of the end. I sort of thought I knew what was going to happen, but I was actually really surprised when we finally got told both sides of the story. Everything seemed to make a lot more sense then and I wasn't as angry as I thought I would be with Pepper's mom. It made her actions more understandable, thought not excusable. However, I like how things ended off. Seeing Pepper and her mom sitting down and talking through things, and that mirrored with Jack and his dad was really sweet and made my heart hurt. I related a lot to some of the things Jack and Pepper were both going through, especially the whole "working so hard to try and not be a disappointment" thing.

The epilogue was a bit too mushy and cringey for me, but it was nice to see where the characters are and what they're up to one year later. Made for a nice ending to the book.