I deeply appreciate the representation and gentleness of this book, but the lack of conflict between the heroines keeps it from being a favorite. Xan West writes with a lot of attention to detail, which results in some incredibly relatable moments for anyone who shares the asexual, lesbian, Jewish, autistic, disabled, and/or fat identities these characters hold. For example, I loved the way Leah and Jordan communicate through text sometimes when that's what suits their needs in the moment. The ace rep is more on the grey ace part of the spectrum, but still includes some times when Leah is not interested in sex. It also has a lot of great conversation around kink and how that interacts with the characters' identities, which I almost found more interesting than the story itself. A lot of the book is spent in Leah and Jordan's heads as they process trauma related to Leah's mom, Jordan's dad, and their previous long term romantic partners, but both characters communicate with each other clearly and consistently so there's never any major conflict between them. I personally prefer characters who really have to work for that level of communication, but Xan West at least managed to recognize that it took these characters a lot of previous personal work to get there. If you are someone who hates miscommunication and likes a romance where the conflict is more about the characters' personal growth than dealing with each other, this book might be for you. There are several scenes involving kink, some of which are explicitly sexual, others of which are not and the author includes detailed notes in the front of the book about where those are and what is included.

CW: Trauma from parents and past romantic relationships, past death of a parent, autistic characters experiencing meltdowns and shutdowns, panic attacks, and brief mentions of acephobia, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, and antisemitism.