Good points, but sooooo dry.

As a nonbinary person who isn't fully out in public, it was really nice getting to see some of the things I've thought and felt over my life expressed on page. I think the narrative at times felt choppy which prevents this from being five full stars, but I also do recognize that probably wasn't the original intention. 

I truly wish I could rank this one higher. In the first half I was sure this was going to be 5 stars. But then the second half hit, and I felt a drop in quality that I just couldn't ignore.

The second half happens to be when the romance plot picks up. I really loved all the non-romance parts of this book - I loved the complicated family dynamics, the exploration of grief, the close-knit friend group. I think those were particularly strong in the first half, and Yasmen is really a well-built, complicated character and I truly enjoyed getting to be in her head as she waded through her losses and rebuilt her life. 

I think a lot of my problem is honestly with Josiah. I don't hate him completely, but he ended up getting on my nerves so much. It's that sort of complicated thing where you get where he's coming from, but he also completely exhausts you, and I found myself getting so frustrated by the way he treated and thought about Yasmen. 

By the time the book finished I honestly wasn't sure their problems felt wrapped up enough for them to get back together, and it's mostly because of Josiah. I also felt the ending was rather abrupt and their problems weren't adequately talked through. Mostly I just felt like there was going to be a problem again some point in this relationship and I think I know who's going to be at fault.

I still mostly enjoyed the book, don't get me wrong! I just think one half was distinctly stronger than the other. Am I talking about the chapters or the main couple?

Reread ??? (probably x5?), first read in 2021

everyone has their comfort fluff, and this is MINE. charmingly pathetic MMC, perfect balance of practical and fanciful FMC, forced proximity (my #1 trope), doll funerals. it just makes me happy.

fun sci-fi romp rich with cultural detail and surprising amounts of alien friendship! ultimately I can't rate it higher because I was left wanting more, and I felt like it lacked in things actually happening, but the characters were delightful and I can't really expect more out of something so short.  

Reread x3, first read in 2021

I could live in this banter forever. Tessa Dare is the absolute best at funny HR.

I was shocked by how much fun I had with this! Very easily could have been dry, but science is interspersed with the human stories of scientists, which made it easier to engage with and relate to the material as a decided non-scientist. I'm as interested in the stories of the paleontologists who made these discoveries as I am in the actual fossil history now

Really hard to get through because the subject matter is so relenting and it's presented so starkly. It's kind of incredible how well the author writes the voice of a child and that makes the book so much worse as you're reading these horrifyingly gutwrenching experiences through that lens of naivete. Half the time I didn't want to keep going but I just wanted to spend more time with Baby wishing something better would happen to her