romancereadinglist's Reviews (417)

The Hating Game… but make it archeology? This was so close to a home run for me - I loved the first 90% and was predicting a 4.5 star rating. But the closing chapters suddenly shifted into action movie cliches and over-the-top plot points. A shame, but I still had fun! 

I liked this book a lot; Rosie Danan is such a good writer. I loved the two MCs and their relationship, but the book wasn’t quite as great as The Roommate. There were some pacing issues and in particular the third act felt very rushed. But definitely worth reading! 

I loved so much about this book. The reflections on how you show up in the fullness of your identity to fight for what you believe in were exquisite. The reality of what it might have been like to be a

trans man in this time period was portrayed really beautifully and sensitively. 

It wasn’t quite a 5 star read for me; I felt it was a little too padded and could have done with more editing. There were some side plots and side characters that felt a bit superfluous and distracted me from the central love story. Although that might have bothered me less had I been reading on page - the audiobook narrator was great, but audio isn’t my preferred medium as I find it more difficult to get immersed in the world and characters of the book. 

Also I ADORED James (the MC’s BFF) - I would love to read a whole book about him.