A high sci-fi fantasy new adult novel about a kickass black MC and political drama. Love it!! 

I just want to note, that I saw somewhere that this book was labeled as YA, I’m here to tell you it most definitely is not! I learned the hard way as I stomached through the Accursed scenes. Also, check your trigger warnings, there’s a lot of violence and gore, racism, misogyny, bigotry, cannibalism, death, and you know, all the fun stuff my therapist will hear about later. 

Can I just say, THANK YOU, Davenport. Thank you so much for writing a sci-fi fantasy that didn’t actively try to hurt my brain. The people have normal dialogue and the world building was explained is a beautiful way that still felt like I was reading about this fantastical world on another planet, without feeling like I wasn’t smart enough to understand and catch on fast enough. 

This is likely the first 5 star rating I’ve given to a book where I genuinely don’t care about any shortcomings in the book, that’s how good it was. 

The book follows Ikenna Amari, 19 year old recruit for a special warrior group called the Praetorians. The trials to becoming a Praetorian are gruesome and deadly, and Ikenna must overcome racism and misogyny (and attempts on her life) in addition to the shit tasks she and her fellow recruits are given. Ikenna is sort of a legacy Praetorian since her grandfather was one and he was essentially the general for The Republic of Mareen. Her grandfather was a war hero from the war against the Blood Empire (all of the people there are blood-gifted, and having blood-gifts in Mareen is punishable by death) and he eventually rose above the ranks despite the blatant racism and bigotry that was thrown at him for being half-Khanaian (a nation where the population is predominantly black). 

Before Ikenna graduates from cadet school and can be recruited for the trials, her Grandfather dies suddenly. For three months, she grieves by drinking and getting into fight, and almost not graduating. That is until her grandfather’s friend and Tribunal member, Brock, tells her that her grandfather was murdered, and it was likely an ordered assassination by one of the other Tribunal members. She enters the trials to get close to the murder suspects so she can exact her revenge. She’s does this, while combating adversity, and also hiding the fact that she is blood-gifted. No one knows who Ikenna’s father is (her mother never told anyone his identity), but it’s clear he’s from the Blood Empire. There’s a lot of action, a bunch of weird creatures and old, vengeful gods, lots of disturbing events, some mystery, a little bit of heat, and a healthy dose of twists and betrayals. 

There’s a good chunk of the book that’s just info dumping, but it’s spaced out between action scenes or dramatic ones in a way that you’re not totally bored or overwhelmed. It’s still a lot to take in, but it’s good shit and it is (mostly) relevant. I like that Ikenna is unapologetically herself and she’s not going to reel in her anger for the sake of decorum or “rising above it”. There were a few things that were just repeated too much (like the “I want my knife back…My knives” like the realization of two knives was mentioned too many times). But, it’s whatever in the end. 

Ikenna struggles with her identity as Mareenian and the fact the country outright hates her for the color of her skin. I think the book does well in diving into the issue of fighting for a country that doesn’t respect or fight for you. And a country that does a lot of messed up shit. As well as what it’s like to be biracial and be white passing. Then there’s the experience of being a woman and being a black woman that’s shown in this book. Where Ikenna’s friend, Selene, is expected to be a wife and give heirs to her House, Ikenna’s experience is much more violent. Especially since Selene has the added protection of being basically royalty to keep her from actually dying in the trials. I think the range of Ikenna’s experience as a black woman in this mostly white nation of bigots, from microagressions to full-on attempts on her life, was written well and didn’t hold anything back. It’s difficult not seeing the parallels between Mareen and the US. The fact that Mareenians are outright racist and are visibly disgusted by Ikenna, her grandfather, and all Khanaians, while also adopting Khanaian fighting styles, aircraft, and technology was just…I don’t know how to describe the feeling…but the irony of it in this book and it being a thing in real life…

And I’m sorry, but this is a debut? A DEBUT?! Davenport, I hope you fix some things and make some tweaks, but you did it. This is such a great book! Bless you for making it a duology. My heart and brain can only take so many 5+ book series. 

This is also probably the first time a 5-star book has taken me a week to complete. Because I needed to put this book down. Some scenes were too much (again, the Accursed scenes really disturbed me) and some had me so heated I needed a minute to cool down and just do something else or read a lighter book. Ikenna is 19 and she’s just had her entire world turned on its head, so she doesn’t make the best decisions, and she shouldn’t be expected to be perfect and avoid mistakes, she’s a human being and she’s NINETEEN!  

I was suspicious of everyone and like Ikenna, I was ready to kill these characters on the spot, she showed so much restraint, I don’t know if I could in her shoes. 

And can I just say, the friggin sexual tension in this book not only kind of came out of no where (in hindsight, it was like a sneaky, slow build), but it was friggin amazing. I loved it. Reed, my expectations for you were low and I had zero faith in you  in the end scene, but you surprised me, and I love you. If Ikenna won’t have your babies, I will. 

So yeah, go read the book. Learn some things and be entertained. Let me know when it’s April. 

Advertised as a YA contemporary coming-of-age and coming out story, but that’s not what I got from the book at all. 

Nandan is a junior in high school who hooks up with Dave on a whim one night. Eventually, they start dating. The entire time, Nandan struggles to maintain attraction for Dave and eventually is repulsed by him. He’s constantly questioning himself and his sexuality, while also thinking how great this queer situation is for him and his popularity at school. He believes he’ll get the attention of his ex-hook up, Avani, and she’ll want to be his friend, which is his goal. Nandan comes out to the school and him and Dave are official. Avani starts inviting him to things, until he breaks up with Dave, claiming to have “restraightened” since he’s repulsed by Dave during sex. That leads to Avani dropping Nandan. But then Dave and Nandan have a moment are are back together in the end? 

That’s it. That’s the book. 

I can tell you, this book was such a huge ass disappointment. I was really excited for South Asian and East Asian representation in a queer setting, too. And look, the South and East Asian rep is solid, I mean it’s just kind of there, but it’s decent. The cover is beautiful. But mostly this was a mediocre and problematic example of questioning rep. And here’s the thing, I’ve been in that questioning phase. Even when I final found a label that fit me, I still questioned myself when I found myself in sexual or intimate situations with partners. But Nandan does it to be manipulative. 

In addition to Nandan being manipulative and unlikable in every way, his friends were misogynistic assholes who made it their mission to belittle and bully everyone. And what even are these female characters? They’re all shallow, selfish, or huge gossipers. They didn’t serve any purpose other than to validate or belittle Nandan. 

The writing style was also so poor. Nothing made sense and there was no purpose to what was happening. It felt like I was missing so much information. Half of the time I couldn’t tell you who was talking or what they were talking about. It went on and on with no rhyme or reason. I honestly felt like hitting my head against the wall. It was hard to even fully dislike Nandan or anyone else because I couldn’t find a single f**k to give.  

Usually, I champion behind YA books and the reckless decisions and selfishness of the teenage characters, but this was just a genuinely horrible character. No personality, and I get wanting to fit in, but Jesus. And in the end, even Dave was pulling strings to manipulate Nandan into dating him and then admitting his feelings. 

It took a week to finish this book, simply because it was boring and didn’t make a lick of sense. I read it in 3 and a half hours, it was just really unbearable to read it at all at once. 

Just skip this book. I’d say it would be good for those who are questioning, but this ain’t the one. With it’s “I’m gay” and then “I’m straight again” or “restraightened” and Nandan’s lack of awareness, it just causes too many problems. He flat out refuses to actually explore what he is, but will constantly question his sexuality, while manipulating Dave (and really all of his friends), and also trying to get attention for being queer? It’s just SUPER harmful for those who were or are questioning, because I’m sure many of us thought that if we weren’t sure in our sexuality and we go “actually I think I might be this”, then people will accuse us of only “coming out” for attention. And here’s Nandan literally doing it for attention. 

Keep on searching for a book with questioning rep. This ain’t it. 

Just a short kind of erotic novella. Not a huge fan of the instalove and the abusive boyfriend plot. It was cringe considering the way the story went. Also, don’t like the “little bird” and emphasizing she’s this small, almost childlike woman. Only 3 sex scenes and they were okay but awkward. Noticeable grammar and spelling issues. 

This is a romantic dramedy for any book lover. It’s a short, but sweet clean romance about an editor and her favorite romance author. 

This book was genuinely beautiful. It only gets points off for the cringe factor and the use of some outdated terms. Diversity was a little forced and superficial. Otherwise the grammar, flow, and all that was just done amazingly. I liked the Jewish representation. 

The story follows editor, Lanie Bloom, who’s been conditionally promoted to editorial director. She gets to keep the position if she can get their star author, Noa Callaway, to deliver her much awaited manuscript that happens to be 3 months late. Callaway’s books are what changed Lanie’s career path and taught her everything she knows about love. When she starts at the publishing house, she starts an email friendship with Callaway. For the next 7 years, Lanie and her boss have published 8 of Callaway’s books. 

Now Callaway has writer’s block and it’s up to Lanie to fix it. But first she has to overcome meeting her friend and hero, who just so happens to be a 30 year old man named Noah Ross. Noah started writing romance at a young age, but was pushed to use a female pseudonym to sell his books. So alas, despite his glowing success, he’s never been able to bask in it and attend release parties or book signings. At first Lanie feels betrayed by Noah, but eventually focuses on getting him over his writer’s block. He believes he’s written all he can on a New York City setting which offends Lanie who loves New York with all her heart. So she plans to take him around her New York to get inspired. Despite their rocky start, they develop a rather beautiful friendship. 

I think Lanie’s reaction to finding out about Noah/Noa was a little extreme, I get being shocked and hurt, but she was calling him an asshole and he hadn’t really done anything. It was intense for no reason. 

I was tearing up over the book Noah wrote in the end, his last chapter, and then of course the ending of the actual book. So it got me. 

I think this book is heartwarming and just wholesome. There’s no sex or even overt flirting of any kind or any touching. It’s just two people falling in love and not admitting to themselves let alone each other. Just a nicely done romance. It’s not all that funny for something advertised as a romcom. It’s definitely leaning more towards drama with a comic relief element. 

Very nice set of poetry about dealing with mental illness. My favorite poem was Final Thoughts. It’s nice to feel seen and that you’re not alone and that’s what this book does. It’s raw and angry and hurt. It was hard to keep reading since you can feel and relate to the pain and frustration of constantly fighting your own mind. Just well written. Definitely give it a read. 

Hands down, a FANTASTIC romantic comedy. Dating Dr. Dil is a Shakespeare-inspired (The Taming of the Shrew)desi romcom filled with hilarity, secondhand embarrassment, generational trauma and, of course, love. 

Since it’s a (sort off) retelling, you can kind of already guess what this book’s about. But we have 30 year old, Kareena, a badass attorney that works for a start up that helps women start their own business. She lives with her dad, grandmother, and her younger sister. Her mother died years prior. Then we have Prem, a cardiologist trying to start a community health center in the South Asian community within Northern New Jersey (yay the New Brunswick/Edison area!). He’s originally from California where his parents still reside. Three years prior, Prem’s fiancé dies suddenly.  Kareena has put love on hold for the sake of her career, but now she’s ready for love, marriage, and family. However, her dad springs on her that he’s selling the house her mother built and she has 4 months to find her jeevansathi (life partner/soulmate) by her sister’s engagement party, otherwise, her dad won’t give her the money he’s set aside for her to either pay for her wedding or a down payment on a house with her future-husband. 

Prem, also has the same deadline to raise enough money to pay for a building for his community health center. His mother offers to pay him if he would just PLEASE get married. They meet one night at a bar and it’s an instant connection. Things are going well, when Prem leaves in the middle of making out with Kareena without explanation. The next day, they run into each other on the Dr. Dil Show (a local South Asian network show) where Prem hosts and he starts talking about how love is an illusion and the emotional aspect of relationships cause health problems. This results in a very public, very vital argument between Prem and Kareena that may or may not have ended with Kareena throwing a bottle of Pedialyte at Prem. 

And they HATE each other. Despite this, Kareena’s aunties try to match the two of them. This gives Prem the idea to fake a relationship that becomes a fake engagement so that Kareena can buy her mom’s house and Prem can get the funding for his clinic. Kareena is resistant because she wants love, and she’s not about to risk her reputation when their fake engagement ends (the South Asian community is still hella patriarchal and misogynistic when it comes to relationships). Eventually, she caves and they start “dating”, the only problem is Kareena is falling for Prem and he still doesn’t think love is real. 

I want to start my thoughts off with saying how much I enjoyed the cultural aspect of this book. It was clearly written for a desi audience in that there wasn’t an over explanation of the food or traditional clothing or rituals. There were a few translations, which felt natural given not every desi speaks Punjabi and Hindi (the two languages the Mann family speaks other than English). It just felt natural and like a romance novel, not a book working hard to explain a non-Western culture to a white audience. If you’re a white person (or just a non-desi) expecting the author to take the time spell out their entire culture in this book to make you understand, this ain’t the book. Better yet, read the book, and use Google ya fool. It’s a great book and you’re gonna miss out on it because you can’t take three seconds to Google what a Patiala salwar is? *rolls eyes* sorry that’s my rant after seeing some toxic, bigoted remarks about the book. Okay off my soapbox and on with the review. 

Okay so at first, Prem REALLY irritated, I mean Kareena was a little intense in the beginning, but she was hangover and the man left her in a compromising position without explanation. So I get it. He’s clearly a fuckboi (and not just cause he named his Johnson) since he pursued Kareena knowing she wanted a love match, regardless of the benefits of a fake engagement, it was a dick move. But all was forgiven when I found out he was a Swiftie like Kareena and his go-to album is Reputation? A man after my own heart. 

Quick critique: A few grammar issues and repetition (one happened within a few sentences where Prem says “Here goes nothing” twice. Which that was a genuine repeat, but there were other things repeated).  

The naming of his penis (why Charlie?) was a little weird, and I HATE awkward euphemisms (I will barf over “velvet steel” or “meat”). But then I noticed that it was just Prem, like Kareena was straight up calling it a penis, I thought something had to be up. The fact he was a fuckboi was like an “ah ha that’s why” moment. Then I watched a video of Sharma explaining the choice and I was like AH that makes soooo much sense. It wasn’t until 5th grade health class I was told my parts were not called “a flower”. So I get it. 

It’s amazing how much I related with Kareena given our different backgrounds. She’s a first gen WOC, I’m a fourth gen white woman, but we’re both older daughters, and have these impossibly high expectations placed upon us. Hers is more about proving that her parents’ sacrifice in uprooting their lives in India to move to the US was worth it, whereas mine is trying to make my education worth the money my grandmother has put into it. Luckily, I’m not pressured into getting married, but I definitely receive plenty of passive aggressive comments about how all my younger brothers are in relationships and I’m not. And I definitely had to try much harder than my younger siblings to just get a scrap of recognition and praise, whereas they try less hard, and get all the attention. I’ll never truly understand what it’s like to be Indian-American, trying to navigate the South Asian community and their expectations as well as the discrimination that comes with being a POC in the States, but there’s pieces in this story, something inherently human, that I feel anyone can connect to, whether you understand the culture or not. And THATS just good writing, my friends. 

Okay, so, this book definitely taught me something about myself I was completely aware was a thing. I needed to take a break from reading because I was genuinely upset and crying. I’m at least 87% sure that it wasn’t the intended emotional response when Sharma was writing these chapters. One of my favorite 90s romcoms (and Shakespeare adaptation) is 10 Things I Hate About You (peep the book cover and movie poster) and it elicits a pretty emotional reactions from me, but not like when I read this book. It probably has something to do with being inside the characters’ heads and seeing it play out longer than a 2 hour film. But reading Kareena being in love and Prem not loving her, then her willing to settle with a man she loved who wouldn’t love her in return was hurting me. Literally, from chapter 25 until chapter 33, I was trying so hard not to cry. And clearly, that says what I think about loving someone who can’t love you back or thinking that’s all you deserve. Just so gut wrenching. Also, tell people you love them. Your friends, family, partners. Tell them! Actions are important but so are words! 

But this book was HILARIOUS. Seriously, I was cackling. It wasn’t attractive. But I was sharing snippets with my friend and we were just dying over them. And oh my god, the spice? Girl, chef’s kiss. Like I’m used to covert  cartoon cover romance novels, but Jesus H Christ, this was a whole other level. It was HAWT, like I’m still not over it. 

I imagine desi readers will find this book pretty therapeutic (or hella stressful) and non-desi readers will actually learn about a small piece of desi culture. It’s not the books intention, but it’s a side effect of reading it, and, regardless, you’re gonna read a funny and hot ass romance novel. 

READ IT, FOO!

Without question this is a solid 4 star smutty college football romance. It has fake dating and miscommunication, which is always a fun combination. 

For someone who hates football, I sure read an awful lot of football romances. Like this has to be the fifth or sixth one at this point. And no signs of stopping. 

This is part of an interconnected series, something I suspected halfway through when it felt like I missed a story and it seemed like there was a set up for another one. Turns out this is the second book of three. They’re all standalones, but Fair Catch (about Zeke and Riley) is before this one and the Quarterback Sneak (about Holden and Julep) comes out October 2022. Since they are standalones, you don’t have to read them all or in any order, but I prefer to read them in order to avoid even a hint of what happens in the other stories. 

Clay is a star football player for some New England college team, and Giana is a PR assistant tasked to make the team look good. She organizes all the media stuff and interviews and despite being short, quiet, and shy, she’s able to wrangle football players two to three times her size. Clay’s long-time high school sweetheart has broken up with him and he comes up with a plan with Giana to win her back. The plan is to fake date. Clay will get back his ex and Giana will not only win her crush’s affections, Clay will also teach her the ways of the bedroom (*wink wink*). What could possibly go wrong? 

There’s instant attraction that slowly builds into feelings as they both try to make their respective persons jealous. Then the fake dating turns into real dating. There’s conflict and miscommunication. Then there’s the grand gesture and the HEA (kind of). We’ve seen it a million times, but it doesn’t cease to captivate. 

Let me just say, even though there was basically instalove, the build up to the spice was done soooo nicely. Just each scene was done so well. It’s hot y’all. Trust. 

However, this gets points off for the use of “kitten” as a nickname for a woman, especially during sex, and also for the use of “crown” for the head of a penis. I know I shouldn’t because it’s not something that’s technically wrong or poorly written, one person’s ick is another person’s yum (the worst saying ever) or whatever, but it’s just too cringe not to lose some points for it. Also, the grand gesture gave me soooo much secondhand embarrassment that I almost covered my eyes and wanted to scream. Just no, it was in no way cute or endearing. The declaration of love was the only thing that even remotely saved it. So, sorry, but points are gone for that.  

Also, the whole “I owe my mom for sticking around to raise me” thing was just soooo toxic and it hurt my soul. I get at 19 how one could think this, hell, I thought it, but it’s just so toxic and bad. Especially, since his mom guilts him on the regular and is an addict that guilts money from her only child. He forgave her (and his toxic, manipulative ex) too quickly for my liking. And I’m so over the trope of the FMC not having any friends and/or the only friends she makes are the love interest’s friends. Can we kill this trope please? Let women be their own person? 

Overall, a very good smutty read. I just might have to buy this one! Can’t wait to read the other two in the series! 

What can I say? This book really had me full on sobbing. A contemporary YA filled with love, grief, and magical realism. 

I honestly don’t know how I read reviews that made Julie out to be this terrible person, because she really wasn’t. I mean, she’s not a saint or going out of her way to do good. She’s mostly just content being in her own world and doing her own thing, which there’s nothing wrong with. Even if she was, the “before” scenes, she’s 15-17 years old, she’s allowed to be a self-absorbed and moody teenager if she wants to be, and she isn’t. 

This is character driven, and has no real plot. Just a girl and the people around her dealing with loss and grief. 

Brace yourself, for there be spoilers in this review. You’ve been warned. 

Julie meets Sam their sophomore year when her family moves to small town Ellensburg from Seattle after her mother is fired from her tenure position. Shortly after they move, her parents divorce and her dad moves back to Seattle. Julie also hates the small town and spends her days dreaming about the day she’ll leave for Portland to start the life she so carefully planned out. Then she meets Sam and they slowly fall in love. 

Now, where we begin, it’s their senior year, and they only have a couple months before graduation when Sam dies in a car accident. The grief Julie experiences is so raw and painful, I couldn’t help crying over it. She first attempts to just forget Sam by throwing out his things and deleting his texts and calls. A few hours later, she’s filled with regret and she’s frantic trying to get these pieces of Sam back but she’s too late. As a desperate act to hear his voice, she calls his number in the hope his recorded voicemail greeting is still there. That’s when Sam picks up and changes everything. 

The book goes back and forth between the past, skimming through relevant relationship highlights and in the present, where Julie is trying to process her grief. She calls Sam a few times and they talk. Slowly, they both go through their own grief for the loss of one another and the future they planned. 

The vagueness of Sam’s explanations were extremely irritating, but it makes sense. We don’t know what happens after death (some of us think they know for sure, but there’s no real certainty) and the fact Sam is able to call without an explanation as to how or why or where he is, just keeps that mystery alive even through this magical event that allows these two people to talk when one of them is dead. 

I do wish that Julie had more depth and a developed personality. I know she’s dealing with Sam and her grief, but that’s all that’s presented in this book. In the flashbacks, it’s all how she feels about Sam. Even her friends are all Sam’s friends and cousin. There’s no piece of Ellensburg that’s hers. 

I’ll admit, when Sam answers the phone for the first time, it seemed silly and hard to accept it was happening and not a figment of Julie’s imagination. I’ve always struggled with reading or watching stories that take place in a totally normal reality and just this small random act of magic happens. But it definitely grew on me and I accepted the magic completely. 

I do wish that more of their memories weren’t all good ones. I mean they have arguments in the “now” times, but the book doesn’t show any past memories that are less than happy. And that makes sense, too, in a way, we try to latch on the good memories of the ones we lose and we forget the bad that came with it. But as a reader, it makes it hard to see Julie and Sam as real people. I think the remark that Sam never keeps his promises tries to remedy this for him, but it’s more of an afterthought and not strong enough. 

I also think there was a missed opportunity to explore Sam’s Japanese heritage. He seems to be very in touch with his roots since he visits his grandparents in Japan every summer. Mika’s family has a shrine for their ancestors. But it’s all just brushed over. And normally it would be fine, but Julie is white and different culture mourn in different ways, these would be things she would notice. Yet it’s not mentioned? It just seems odd to me. It didn’t affect how I rated the book just a thought. 

I like the idea that Sam’s calls keep out the texts and calls from her friends and mom. This is a great way to show how holding onto something that’s gone can really affect our relationships that are still around and our lives in general. She even struggles with schoolwork in the beginning of their reconnection. And once she shares her grief (the calls with Sam) with Mika, the connection with Sam weakens. Because as humans, we can’t process our grief and pain all by ourselves. And even Mika gets better when she and Julie talk about their feelings and Sam. 

I saw so much of myself in Julie and who I was as a seventeen year old. The way she grieves is a lot like how I grieve loss (whether a death of a loved one or the death of a dream). I latch onto denial and anger way more then bargaining or depression. And it takes a lot to get to acceptance and letting go. And Julie is like that in the beginning. Then we see the other stages, and it’s incredibly accurate in how she’ll go from anger to denial to bargaining then back to denial. Some days she’ll laugh with her friends and other days she withdraws and lashes out. Grief isn’t linear and doesn’t have any particular order, and I think this book does a beautiful job of depicting that. And grief isn’t pretty, and it doesn’t look the same for everyone. 

Julie feels regret for missing Sam’s funeral and many of her peers think she doesn’t care because she missed the funeral and the memorials that followed. She skips school for a week and students think it’s guilt not grief that keeps her away. Many students, including Julie, blame her for Sam’s death. And I think this is important to show how grief and shock looks on different people. Not everyone keens over a pine coffin. Too often death, grief, and loss are romanticized in media. That there’s life lessons and constant crying over a lover going on, and it’s just not how grief works. And people will make others feel guilty for not “grieving the right way”, just as Julie’s peers do to her. 

Don’t expect things for Julie to have this amazing revelation and where these great and perfect things happen to her after experiencing this tragedy. She doesn’t go on some epic journey, the box of things she gets rid of doesn’t magically reappear, she doesn’t get any of her future plans to happen, and the pain of losing Sam stays with her always. 

I’m not sure what it is that’s keeping me from giving that last half star to make it a 5 star rating, but the book is missing something or just not quite at the 5 star leve. But want an amazing debut novel.  I loved it. I couldn’t just speed through it like I do with most books simply because it’s so emotional. Definitely worth the read, just check your trigger warnings. 

Slightly cute, steamy romcom novella. It’s okay. I’m really hesitant to give it the three stars since it really wasn’t that great but I’ll let it slide this time. 

Alex is a romance writer writing under the pen name, Lexi, so his readers don’t know he’s a man. Mia is an anonymous book reviewer/blogger. She’s a klutz and he’s this self assured chiseled divorcée. They *literally* run into each other at a bookstore and he offers to buy her books (a million book nerds scream into the void that is their romance fantasy). They click instantly and start dating and fall in love rather quickly. This is all fine except Mia doesn’t know that Alex is Lexi. And that’s a problem since they’re friends via their anonymous online personalities. Mia, as the blogger, has befriended “Lexi” online months ago. And neither Mia or Alex are aware they already know each other, until after their second date when Mia (as the blogger) gushes to “Lexi” about their date and Alex realizes that Mia is the blogger. 

Instead of coming clean , Alex just tries to avoid talking to Mia about him as Lexi. But of course it bites him in the ass and they have their classic romance crisis moment then their HEA. Boom all done. 

This book is just classic, sickly sweet instalove. I like a meet cute and that instant connection, but this was just too much. Too serious and dramatic too quickly. And what the hell is Mia’s sister’s problem? Mia makes excuses for how her sister talks to her but her sister is a straight up bitch. I grew up with a mom and grandmother who used those “passive slights” and now I have body image issues. So no thanks. 

And it REALLY bothered me that Alex kept their online friendship a secret. It would’ve been waaaay better is Mia the Blogger was not friends with Lexi the Author. And that maybe she was just a fan or even a tough critic of the books. It’s the added element that Mia confided in Alex thinking she was a friend and a woman. It’s basically cat fishing no matter the intention. And she was confiding in her girlfriend about Alex. Granted he didn’t use what she said against her or to manipulate her, but it’s still so gross. 

Then the ending was just so complicated and annoying with the whole “book within a book” situation. Just bleh. No thanks. 

And I’ve yet to read a book that has kids in it and it doesn’t irritate the hell out of me. Just the writing of young children is so cringe and annoying. 

Regardless, it had its moments. The spice is decent, use of condom throughout (practice safe sex y’all), and it a bit PG-13 compared to how BookTok described the spice. It also had its funny and entertaining moments. But by the end, I was just skimming. 

Honestly what even is this shit? Y’all really had me believing Kennedy was some kind of smutty romance god, but this was straight up garbage. 

Just a heads up, this is all spoilers. I don’t care, and trust me, save your time and your eyes from having to read this trash. 

We’ve got Mac who is a borderline “pick me girl” who doesn’t wear girlie clothes or have any girlfriends. Like can we kill this type of character already? Seriously, women have more depth then this. Anyway, 20-year-old Mac is coming from a gap year where she built a successful website and is making good money from (we’re talking $1 million good) and she comes from a VERY wealthy family. Her parents just want her to be this perfect housewife for their perfect, blue-blooded future son-in-law, who they’ve already picked out: Preston. This is Mac’s boyfriend of 4 years. Her parents are forcing her to go to the prestigious university, Garnet College. Where all the wealthy legacies and their future wives go (because that’s all the women at this university are, just future brides). Mac sees college as a waste of time as she’s already successful and wants to tackle another project. 

Mac thinks she loves Preston, and says “he’s not like those other rich assholes” then proceeds to say how nicely he treats “the help” then a chapter later she’s sitting their listening to him snap his fingers at his maid and talking about how “giving these people respect makes them forget their place and we have to remind them of it”. Like what the actual fuck Mac?

Then we have Cooper, a “townie” from Avalon Bay, where Garnet is located. Copper and his friends HATE the students and they call them “clones”. Until one day Preston assaults one of his friends and he hits Preston then Preston promptly gets Cooper fired. This sets off Cooper in a vengeful rage, resulting in him and his friends concocting this ridiculous plan to seduce Mac, get her to break up with Preston, then shove it into Preston’s face in front of his friends. 

The fault in the plan is a) Mac is a person and b) Cooper falls for her. Yes, Mac emotionally cheats of Preston which is wrong and just because she ends up with Cooper and Preston is a piece of shit, doesn’t make it right. Authors always have to write the boyfriend as a POS so we don’t feel sympathy for them and root for the new couple, but it’s just so gross and wrong. Preston is the worst as he infantilizes her and is so fucking condescending. But oh look! Cooper does the same thing when she does something like help fix a leaky roof during a storm. But Mac is fine with this as she’s lived her life as a doormat. 

Cooper isn’t a “bad boy”, he’s just an all around shitty guy. And all this happens and Preston doesn’t even get his comeuppance. And Mac is like “as long as Preston and his new girlfriend are happy”. As if the women at this school aren’t groomed their whole lives to just be housewives without ambitions or expectations for love and fidelity. Which is another reason I’m so pressed about how Cooper and his friend talk about the female student body at this school. 

The fact that Mac doesn’t want this life that her parents planned out with Preston, yet still obeys their wishes is beyond me. She’s so financially independent, she doesn’t even TOUCH her dad’s money or her trust fund, so why the hell is she doing what they ask? They don’t respect or love her, and she’s never been under any misgivings about that or that those things will ever change. So I ask again: WHY? 

I just love how Cooper gets all bent out of shape when some rich kids treats the local women like sex objects and then he goes around and treats Mac as if she’s not a person. But it’s all okay because she’s “different” and “not like the other clones” and he actually starts liking her. Like give me a BREAK. 

I don’t mind bickering, a little condescending quips, dark romances, or even degradation, but this? This was absolutely toxic ass trash that was in NO WAY okay. He calls her “princess” which is already cringe but I’ve seen it used in a way that’s hot before. However, when Cooper says it, it’s 100% meant as an insult the first few times, but it’s okay because it becomes a term of endearment. He’s just a walking, talking embodiment of toxic masculinity in like the worse way (if you read mafia romance and dark romances and like them, then you know there’s a right way to write toxic men). He literally throws a fit anytime Max offers money for his product or offers to help replace money stolen from him. He bitches about how “emasculating” it is for his girlfriend to have money and offer to pay for things. Your girlfriend is RICH, fam, that’s never going to change. 

Cooper and his friends have a right to hate the students that literally harass them and treat them like shit, but they paint all of them with the same brush. They’re truly shitty people. They act as if they’re piss poor and morally above these rich kids. And they JUSTIFY their actions and cruelty against Mac (an innocent, albeit naive, party) in their vendetta. The fact that Cooper lied and had all of them lie to Mac was disgusting. And the girls in his “gang” had the audacity to befriend this girl and look her in the eye and LIE! Then act as if they’re not culpable in anyway when the truth comes out?! And Mac, with no character development (aka still a doormat) just forgives them and Cooper! And she also reconciles with her parents. And Cooper forgiving Heidi? Like she made a point with him being an absolute fuckboi but she’s still a goddamn shitty person and not a good friend at all. 

The bet trope has ALWAYS been a problem with me, and I’ll admit I love She’s All That, Can’t Buy Me Love, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but the bet trope is DONE. Goodbye, let’s bury it. One too many of us have been asked out as a joke or on a dare and this shit is not funny. And it’s not romantic. 

While we’re getting rid of tropes, can we please get over this idea that only the “emotionally damaged from having neglectful/abusive parents” sleep around casually? Like people can sleep around and not be damaged in anyway. 

And can I say the dialogue and inner monologues were so cringe! Like the author was trying WAY too hard to sound “cool” and “in with the kids”. It just felt way too forced with the “Hella”s and shit. Not to mention the story was INCREDIBLY boring and predictable. And that’s saying something, since romance often is predictable. I didn’t read After, but I did watch that unfortunate movie, and this was pretty much that movie. This is basically a “can I copy your homework? Sure but change some of it so it’s not obvious”. The ONE spice scene was cringey as hell and laughable. There was no hot tension or buildup either so it wasn’t like them hooking up finally was satisfying in anyway. The ending was completely and totally rushed. Their entire relationship was rushed. There’s literally no romance just them shacking up and arguing all the damn time. 0% chemistry between them. And throwing in the fact their uncle is gay as if to be like “here’s time diversity” is such bullshit. This is some gross, toxic, white heteronormative shit. 

One star because it made me laugh like twice and it isn’t the worst garbage I’ve ever read.