The character work was so gorgeous and realistic. I sincerely love the gritty elements of each character and how much agency the character has *despite* the many times she felt passive due to the uncontrollable nature of the tragedy. I think I picked it up a book thinking it was a crime fiction thriller - heavy focus on the  thriller aspect because to be honest, the appeal of the book isn't the grand reveal of the murderer. What made the book fantastically poignant was just how much we got to see the effects of a spouse/father who was brutally murdered; how families have to keep together to support each other and overcome grief. To me - the themes of grief and recovery are genuinely well written.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves character study; loves to read about how trauma tears or bonds the family together/apart; complicated daughter-mother relationships can be.

However, I cannot rate it any higher than 4 because honestly -- it missed the mark when it comes to solidifying motivations. While I understood the implications of a child being questioned by the police, I still felt like it was flimsy because the writing did not reflect the actual stakes

(it felt like the author assumed that the audience would just agree that it was more important to protect a child from confessing what she knew about the father's murder! which is absurd because first and foremost, the "confession" did not implicate the actual family in any way which caused Saffron's motivation to be flimsy).

I think Komsoon should have spent more time honing in on the character's motivations to do things.

I do not agree with a lot of the reviews here about how Saffron spent most of the novel waiting for things to happen. I genuinely liked seeing on paper how much patience a mother has for her teenage daughter over things that Saffron has multiple addressed that it would have been easier to just lash out and hurt her daughter - to control her actions but yet we get to witness a mother who is supportive of her daughter in every way she could be. That made the book an amazing reading experience and therefore would recommend it! 

I love a good QUEER cheesy romantic story set in a reality tv show! I think this is well worth the read for all the important conversations, all the sincerely sweet and tender moments that Dahlia and London shares with each other! It certainly made me hungry at times that I ended up making myself a fish taco mid-reading the book! It's always so fun to see nonbinary representation that is joyful and confident, with an amazing support system! I like that Dahlia was given tons of agency to act out her own desires and needs, even when it's met with undesired consequences on her end. 

I have two reasons why this was not a 5 star read for me BUT still made it a damned good book: 

1. A lot of their whirlwind romance happened off-the reality tv show which is both good and both to me. I liked that we got to see themselves outside the "competition" but yet the writer continuously reminds us that this was still not "reality" - it was still very much a paradise naive view of what their romance is which leaves us wondering will it survive after the show? As a reality tv show hate-watcher, I've always loved when contestants talk about their experience around the show and how much it altered their sense of time/perception on life. For example: how terrifying it was to be recorded for everything you say and do! All of this was so well written by the author that upped the stakes of their romance - the pay off was satisfying at the end.

2. Honestly? Maybe I'm the biggest bitch ever but Lizzie didn't *just* deserve losing? Maybe it's my HEA ideal where Lizzie just burst into tears and admit that she was being a bigot or something along the lines of her being massively cancelled/boo-ed off during the live audience taping but damn I was sure hoping some karmic stuff happened to her at the end.  (This is on me reading the book at 8am after being angry at the TERFS in my own damned life!)

Anyway, seriously cannot wait for anything Anita Kelly writes in the future! Hopefully there will be more lovely queer romances because I will definitely pick it up!

Honestly, I was going to put the book down the first time I heard Jude say "Carbs are evil" to a five-year-old child. That alone would have made me place this friend of mine far away from my child, or at least have a proper adult conversation about what can be said versus what cannot be said to an impressionable kid. The fact that this book seems to talk about feminist teachings a lot, I was shocked to see how Jude's constant unhealthy talk about the food was never addressed. Yes, characters get to be annoying and say the wrong things but every time Lauren puts her aside to talk properly, she never seems to address the way Jude is talking about food in front of her child. 

I do not recommend this book if you are sensitive (like me, and that's ok!) to fatphobic language and unhealthy eating habits/verbiage. 

I was not into the book at the beginning because of some cringe-y dialogues. "Yeah, I have to be woke since you invited me to the cookout!" (and have that joke exchange repeated twice in the first half of the novel). But anyway, by the end of the novel - I found myself enjoying it. I think the subject of codependency should have been tackled more in-depth. I think that there were a lot of potential storylines but it was not fully fleshed out. Unlike the others who think the scenes with Jessa are unnecessary, I disagree. I think that would have been a fantastic opportunity to discuss interracial relationships - why do people assume inherently that it's the Black woman that *needs* to be amazing to deserve a White man? Like as if the White Man is a prize to be won by any black or people of color. To me, this would have bumped into four stars if their past friendships were explored instead of it being an exposition dump through a conflict at the end. Still, the commentary on how Black Women have to perform being calm and composed all the time to not be portrayed wrongly felt so real and was written very well. The way her parents *resolved* their ultimatum also felt shorthanded - like I felt like the writer wanted to expand but her publishers probably said they had to cut down on the length of the novel. However, if I wanted social commentary that are more fleshed out and at the forefront - I would have picked up a literary book or something else not this. Things don't have to be the most written out because then, it would not leave room for us (the readers) to interpret the text to our understanding! 

What actually made me feel like it was not a 5 star, was because (and this is what most of the romance books I've read have in common) the love interest is not developed. His life was mentioned as an exposition dump or in passing but it doesn't seem real (more distant!). I understand that romance is a fantasy but simply labeling him as a love interest don't actually convince me that he is a *good* love interest to pine/lust over. 

Definitely interested to read any other books by the author! Also can I just say, I am definitely okay with the realistic spice level. Of course they're not going to fuck every now and then when she's on a tight deadline with her competition! Stress fucking ain't romantic but "I masturbated in the shower for a full week and now I get to eat you out?" sex is very 10/10. 

Very cute fluffy romance with moments of being relatable! 

Just a note - listen I don't know who designed the cosplay costume for the cover but why did yall give our girl a Shein dress when the costume designs were written in such an amazing way?! 

I think my biggest gripe about this novella is how short it is because I wanted to explore the world MORE but that's me coming into this as a fantasy and literary fiction reader. This prequel hits close to home and I am sure that a lot of readers would relate to the moral dilemma that Bitter went through. This definitely resonated with me in a meaningful way. Because I read their memoir (Dear Seruthan), I am still shocked that this series was written within a few days! It holds such huge abstract ideas that left the reader (me) thinking about the book for a long time. Definitely will do a reread with Pet (a book I've read four times already)! 

Note: I am biased as hell when it comes to this author. Their works are an are auto-buy for me but it's for a damn good reason.

Honestly, this book was a lot of fun to read! It did get tough at times reading the fatphobic shit that the MC went through as a fat cosplayer and a woman who is dating a celebrity known for his "looks" and it definitely was tough reading about how ableist the love interest's parents were. Im definitely reading more books by this author because they're fantastic at writing an actually intriguing love interest. I did love the "smart himbo" vibes in this!