This is the most unflinching and affirming representation of OCD I've ever seen on page in fiction, and I am so grateful for a story where two neurospicy people can navigate a happily-ever-after with all of the appropriate accommodations. Our MMC, Jack, has OCD and is managing heightened symptoms during the narrative. He experiences (on page) obsessions about self-harm (sharp objects), losing bodily control (fear of shouting or writing things he doesn't mean), and harm toward others (fear he's hurt someone and doesn't realize it, etc.). His compulsions include rumination, "just right" repetition, mental scripts and magical thinking, and seeing his cyclical obsessions and compulsions - all of which are largely mental/invisible to others - on page feels significant in a space where OCD representation is typically narrowly focused on contamination obsessions/hygiene compulsions. Jack's loved ones consistently resist reinforcing his compulsions (specifically when he is seeking reassurance), and encourage him to continue his exposure therapy, and we LOVE seeing true OCD therapy repped on page! I am so appreciative of the research and sensitivity reviews that clearly went into this character. 

ENTER RAINE, adventure-seeking wanderer and med-school drop-out with ADHD, who is, most importantly, earnest and soft-hearted and curious. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the ADHD representation, but I so appreciated the author's openness about her own ADHD diagnosis and her desire to write a character through which she could show herself some grace. Raine's ADHD is never a superpower and it's never an obstacle to her love story, but it is something she manages and navigates in her day-to-day life to a degree she needs others to understand and accommodate (and they DO). 

I just loved how well these two saw one another, how insistent they were on supporting one another, and how committed they each were to their own wellbeing, first. And the author truly sticks the landing on the happily-ever-after, resisting a spiral into codependency and giving each character space to grow and heal independently before choosing partnership. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.