I am an Emily Henry stan. She is one of my very few auto-buy authors. ...this one disappointed me. Hear me out though, I have my reasons.

One of my favorite things about Emily Henry books is that, while they're romances at heart, there is so much life in them outside of just the core relationship. There are always complicated family dynamics intersecting with career dynamics, and stakes that feel real and lifelike. There's always a moment before the book ends where the thought is "wait, is this actually going to be a happily ever after?" And then she brings it home.

This book, for the most part was no exception. I genuinely loved the mystery aspect, the dynamics between Margaret, her secrets, the island, etc. The romance felt a little more secondary than it usually does -it had less banter and, while it wasn't insta-love, the growth didn't feel as natural as in some of her other books, but it wasn't unnatural.

Where this book went from riding the middle of my EH rankings to the bottom was the ending.

miscommunication trope Emily? Are you kidding me?

We were in our sweet spot of, man this is tough how is this going to get resolved in a way that is both realistic and satisfying? Turns out, neither.

when I say miscommunication, I do NOT mean the NDA. I mean the part where she's upset and he's asking why and she refuses to tell him that she can't tell him because of the NDA. Girl. This boy is thinking he fucked up and Alice is just letting him. That's such a bitch move.

While I really loved the resolution with Alice and her mom, I think the ending between Hayden and Alice felt rushed and just suddenly was resolved with little to no effort.

How did a letter suddenly make Margaret change her mind about the NDA?

It felt so random and like...okay I guess that works.

That being said, my least favorite Emily Henry book still beats out my most favorite other romance book and always will. I'm gonna go re-read Book Lovers.