Thank you to the author for letting me read this book early, via e-arc!

TW: grief, mention of parental death in the past, mention of cheating, chronic illness (of a parent), microaggressions in the workplace

I really enjoyed this! The two main leads here felt like real people with real hang-ups, working on themselves to be better and so that they could work on a relationship with each other. I also really liked how the book talked about how hard it can be to go after what makes you, happy vs. what makes your parents happy, even as an adult. That balancing act becomes even more complicated when you are a POC who is part of the lgbtq+ community and living in a society that does not allow you be open about that part of your identity. One thing I would have liked to see is Elias's perspective of the events happening in the story, as the whole story was from Desta's point of view. 

In the Author's Note, Herrera talks about how this book was basically a love letter to Ethiopia, and this can definitely be felt when reading the beautiful descriptions of the scenery, as well as different aspects of the culture in Ethiopia. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a romance that shows a hopeful and realistic portrayal of a relationship between two people navigating what their identities mean to themselves, the outside world, and each other.