Rachel Lynn Solomon

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review here and on my blog Samwise Reviews. Oh. My. God. I’ll be honest, the first 10% of this book didn’t really grab me, but I was sucked into the rest of it and couldn’t put it down. I even snuck in some reading while I was at work, cause I just had to finish it. The characters are delightfully sweet and perfectly awkward, and their rivalry/romance was very well done. I felt every emotion they did, and loved the whole roller coaster ride of them. I loved how honest and open Rowan and Neil are, and I shipped them hard. I was not disappointed. I haven’t read Rachel Lynn Solomon’s other books, but I’ll be definitely picking them up after this.
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3.75 stars

What didn't work for me was the whole pretend-ex's. It was difficult for me to believe that Dominic would forgo his journalistic standards (that he formed whilst in grad school lol) for a relationship podcast. Also, I question how Shay could have been so game for lying to her listeners almost immediately upon being offered the chance to host her own show. Or maybe Shay is such a veteran at public radio this kind of lie is common? The lie just felt so icky and cringey it was hard for me to trust the main characters. I would rather have had none of the faux-ex storyline and just have them host a show about relationships and then they organically fall for each other.… (mehr)

1. Rowan is a relatable female main character for anyone who felt the need to be a perfectionist in high school (or in general)
2. This book includes a lot of diversity - LGBTQA+ rep (Kirby and Maya's relationship), Jewish rep (Rowan and Neil's religious beliefs), and cultural rep (Rowan's mother's Spanish heritage)
3. Fast-paced storytelling with the entire book taking the course over 24 hours
4. Similar plot to The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther, seeing as though they both have an "assassin" plot line
5. Heartwarming quote: "You are never too anything for books" ... when Neil told Rowan that he was "too old" to be reading children's books… (mehr)