I thoroughly enjoyed Cress! It wasn't until the end, though, when it really solidified itself as a five-star read for me. It's such a great cliff-hanger that leaves you thirsty for what's going to happen in Winter. I like the introduction of the character Cress and I think the romance that develops between her and Thorne is so cute. Another thing that's really solid in this series so far is that all the couples and their relationships are so perfect, yet so different from one another, and I really appreciate that. I'm looking forward to picking up Winter and finishing the series!

The character of Simon is not only hilarious, but also super self-aware, which I really appreciated for a 16 year old character in a young adult contemporary novel. He definitely reads like a really mature teenager, which makes sense considering he spends a lot of time observing others. The humor in this book is spot-on (particularly the scene where Simon's a bit tipsy at the party), but I also appreciate how the humor doesn't overshadow important and socially relevant commentary that is made throughout the book. I also really appreciated all of the music references (even though I understood about 20% of them); I think they add a lot of character to the novel and Simon. The characters are well-crafted, memorably, and easy to love. It's because of them and the overall plot that I finished this book in a day - it's just so hard to put down! It's incredibly written, with all the awkward moments being extremely awkward and all the heartbreaking moments crushing, and etc. Not only is this book an important novel in terms of representation for LGBTQ+ youth, but the romance between Simon and his love interest is just AMAZING AND ADORABLE! I could not get enough of their interactions, and I loved seeing their relationship grow and change throughout the book!