This was a very sweet story and at times very amusing (I was definitely smiling throughout).

The author’s note at the end (and epigraph) dedicates this to “every person who thought they had to be someone else to be loved… stop doing it because you are enough and the good people around you already know that”
What a very touching thing to say, and I like that the whole premise of the book is this. Most people go through this feeling at some point: that they are not good enough as themselves. It explains a lot of why this was written the way it was as both Ted and Abbey feel they have to reinvent themselves to be ideal for the other person: Ted thinks a baseball player is cooler than a programmer to be with an actress whereas Abbey believes being an actress is better than an auditor knowing Ted’s ex is a model and believes him to be a sporty guy. However, when they are their true selves, aka nerds, they are more alike than they think!

Indeed, I especially appreciated the tech nerd aspect of this book, being one myself. Therefore, Laura’s reference to programming here and there, merging it poetically with the narrative was nice.I like Abbey’s "what I want to say is" vs "what I actually say is" moments which, as she grows more confident, align and she says exactly what she wants to say (such as chapter 16 and chapter 48). Unfortunately, this is few and far between. I would have liked more of confident Abbey. She is my favourite character. And then there were very heartwarming moments which I must say did change my opinion on some characters.

There were a bit too many parallels for my liking and I also felt the pacing was off: I am a fan of the fake dating trope but it felt like there wasn’t actually enough of it. ( )

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Great for fans of the fake dating and mistaken identity tropes. Low steam book with two earnest and relatable main characters, and an HEA for those of us who like that. I think the characters worked well together, but towards the middle of the book I had to struggle a bit to maintain interest in whether or not Abbey and Mike/Ted eventually revealed their secrets to one another. The last part of the book picks up the pace, although I felt the ending was a bit abrupt with some loose ends I'd have liked to see tied up. Still a fun read, I would rate this at 3.75 stars. ( )