oh my fucking goodness this was an amazing read

it’s so rare to find a book with this type of topic, tropes, and reputation while hitting all my boxes of what i love and want to see, some variation i didn’t know i needed for some good new adult novels

i loved seeing a good single-mom-with-preteen-kid trying to navigate life, i loved all the sweet little pet names the characters called each other all the time (a sweetie, honey, etc being said with care and not in a condescending way), i loved the emotional constipation and the messy emotions and problems throughout the plot, the mess ups that weren’t tied together neatly and buffed and made to never be a problem - mistakes were acknowledged as mistakes and they were excused, but they were discussed and they worked at it and i fucking loved that sort of messy representation

i loved the spice throughout, the swapping pov of the chapters and the internal conflicting monologues, the somewhat miscommunication trope but not in a bad way (i normally can’t stand that but this had so many more layers to it)

in summary: i loved this book and i listed to it an evening, it is now four am and i binged it at high speeds and i need to recommend it to whoever i can