This one took me a few months to finish. I had a hard time getting into it, even though it had so much potential. I really appreciated the mental health representation, which was one of the book’s strongest aspects. Jo, who is a public figure in the fitness world, seems to have it all together, but struggles with crippling anxiety. The conversations around therapy, depression, and coping mechanisms were handled really well.

Where I struggled most was with the romance. Jo and Silas had such a unique romance setup. She’s this wellness celebrity, and he’s a skeptical journalist assigned to cover her. It felt like a fresh dynamic, but unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite work for me. Silas was sneaky in a way that made it hard for me to root for him, and I never truly felt the romantic chemistry between them. Their connection read more like friendship for most of this book.

Silas, in particular, was a big part of the problem. He felt flat and underdeveloped as a character. We learn a lot about Jo the whole time! We learn her backstory, her struggles, but we hardly get the same depth from Silas. He remained one-note. The tension created with his secret went on for far too long. I was frustrated with how long it was drawn out.

I wish I had loved this more. It tackled such important topics, but the lack of a compelling romance and the imbalance in character development, made it hard for me to connect. There is so much potential and this is a debut novel! There is a lot that could be improved on, and I would still pick up what she writes in the future.

Thank you, Forever and Netgalley, for the e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own!