I'm torn on how to rate this — I found the first half of this book compelling, but unfortunately did not resonate with the way it concluded. That's more of a personal feeling than anything else.

Fariha's writing is beautiful and evocative, following Taliyah, a complex and oftentimes unlikable early 20s girl. I enjoyed the reflection on family and belonging and mental health, and I found myself pausing while reading to engage with and dissect my own reactions to what was happening.

That said, I feel like many of the questions I took away from this novel aren't necessarily ones that were intended by the author? 

Anyway, I can understand how many found this a meaningful story to follow. It personally didn't quite hit the mark for me. 

Avoid if you hate the miscommunication trope. I genuinely enjoyed the struggles that both characters were dealing with, but it was ruined by their complete lack of communication. 

loved the premise but found the execution dull. characters with little personality and little chemistry.

This was the first book I read in this series, so I feel as if my expectations were completely different for these characters than if I had been introduced to them previously. 

As a second chance romance, I really enjoyed how the characters reflected and grew from their mistakes as youth. Slow burn for sure, but I'll definitely be picking up the others. :) 

I usually take my time with poetry collections, but I devoured this in one sitting. Warm, evocative, exquisite. I look forward to savouring this more on a re-read.