I probably would have DNFed this if it hadn't been a buddy read with a few close friends (who pushed me to finish!) The only reason it's two stars is that I really liked Wesley, as both a representation of anxiety and as a love interest. I really would've loved him in a relationship (and learning to love himself and others) in literally any other book, but the MC of this one just ruined all the rest for me.

Before getting into the MC at all, I have to say that after reflecting a bit, the plot and story itself also felt very jumpy and disjointed. The point of this book is fixing up the house and dealing with grief and loneliness, but there were so many sub-plots going on that made the story feel erratic. I normally love sub-plots in romances, but here there were so many, and they felt ignored unless they were the current focus. It led to a lot of jumping around (from the cat-fishing background, random multi-day treasure hunts (with prize opening that felt delayed solely for the purpose of a bigger reveal later, not a realistic reason), being a doormat at the old job, random trip to find the Loch Ness monster (this is a whole other complaint tbh), to arguing over a hotel vs animal sanctuary). While individual scenes here and there were cute, I was never really able to get into it before the story dragged me off elsewhere.

One big thing of the MC is that she has these daydreams that often pull her away from reality for long stretches at a time. The way it's written almost makes it seem like a health condition, or that it would deal with the MC being unable to handle reality so she hides herself in this comfy shell, but it's just handled as some bonus quirky trait? It was so odd because she would actively get lost in the woods while dreaming, disappear for 15 minutes during conversations, and just plain lose hours with no control over it, but it was played up as this cool personality quirk. It also got really old fast, to the point that I sometimes zoned out when these scenes would happen. It also ruined one of the major 'kind acts' of the finale for me, because I just didn't get it at all. (And I get daydreaming, but this was just so weirdly phrased and written). It seemed like the MC should be handling this super seriously, because it was intense and all-consuming, but the entire book shrugs it off.

But honestly, what ruined this book for me was the MC. She's selfish and cruel, she has no consideration for Wesley, and even after months of being near him and knowing the shape of his anxiety, it takes her hours to realize, in a busy airport, that it is not her that annoyed Wesley, but that he's freaking the fuck out because of how many people are around him (she couldn't even stop thinking of herself as the cause for long enough to realize this for a long time). I understand there are layers to the grief and ownership both these characters have towards Maybell's great aunt, but it was almost callous the way Maybell sometimes forced her opinion through, and worked to annoy Wesley at every turn (even if she agreed with him). I also still find it ridiculous and horrible that the hotel idea went through even when Maybell began to learn the extent of Wesley's anxiety and his aversion towards people. Wesley gives up having a safe space, has resigned himself to constantly having to share a space with strangers, and not once does Maybell even consider having a different idea or purpose in life (which is funny because she never had this hotel idea before coming to the property). I also found her reaction to

Spoiler

Wesley leaving her on the plane very odd, I could never just, keep going with my trip if my boyfriend had ran off the plane. I would have flown back immediately, even if it was 'his own fault'

. I was just endlessly frustrated with almost every aspect of Maybell, when I could have liked this book otherwise.

I'm not sure if I'll try another book of this author's, since there's so many other romances out there I still need to try, but I feel like there's potential in some aspects of this story. Maybe with a better MC...