Reviews

It's cute, and did it's job (to be entertained while reading). Its nothing special, but was also a decent read. It is an extremely quick read with funny and sarcastic banter. There are several things that feel very forced in the book, and that often took me out of the story.....The book has a whole conversation about the bisexuality and the pansexuality of several characters that felt so out of place and very forced. It detracted from the book instead of adding to it. There are times where MFC does/makes immature decisions/statements and the MMC (an educated man with an impressive profession who makes extremely mature decisions 99% of the time) tells her she is right and apologizes to her. It seemed wrong. And then there is the most forced and most out of place part of the book (without spoilers): at (about)the 90,%mark there is a sudden conflict that MUST be dealt with that makes NO MATURE LOGICAL sense even while including neurodivergence, anxiety, people's sexuality, and the entire story leading up to that moment into the WHOLE PICTURE! I literally rewrote the book in my brain to remove these forced scenes and the book instantly got better!!

No reread value for me....but it was fine.

emma_jade91's review against another edition

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inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

exquisite_tragedy's review against another edition

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2.0

Tropes/Themes:
-MF contemporary romance
-Hate to love
-Fake dating for revenge
-LGBTQI+ rep (heroine - pan, multiple queer side characters)
-Mental health/neurodivergent rep (hero - anxiety/compulsions, heroine - autism)
-Reimagining of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
-Dual POV
-Book #1 in an interconnected standalone series

I haven’t liked many of the previous books I’ve read from Chloe Liese, and unfortunately I think this book just solidifies that she’s not an author for me. This cover is absolutely stunning but the story was just…not good. One of the best things about this book was all of the amazing representation, especially knowing that Liese writes from an own voices perspective. I really liked the hero Jamie, but didn’t always love the way he was written if that makes sense. There were times where his character felt a little over the top and like a caricature of what he should of been. Regardless, he was so adorably awkward and I was obsessed with the way he cared for her and supported her through her sensory issues.

To be honest though, everything else about this book was a huge miss for me. I really didn’t like the heroine Bea (or her twin sister) whatsoever. I didn’t like the way she treated Jamie at times, and there were several moments where she was clearly the one in the wrong but Jamie had to grovel for some reason. While I did find parts of her character relatable (especially in regards to certain traits related to her ASD), I found her frustrating enough for me to mentally check out of the story and their romance.

AND THEN THE 3RD ACT CONFLICT HAPPENED AND THE BOOK LOST ME FOR GOOD. It happened 92% of the way in and it was absolutely contrived and totally unnecessary. I won’t go into detail to avoid spoilers, but it was so rushed and ridiculous that I couldn’t take it seriously. Despite how much I loved Jamie and the representation, I can’t in good conscience rate this higher than 2 stars after that ending.

CWs for ableism, abusive relationships

Story: 2/5
Audiobook: 5/5 (narrated by Charlotte North & Stephen Dexter)
Length 11h30min

enticingtitles's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

rachelskyereads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

moonpiereads56's review against another edition

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5.0

TLDR; I loved it.

I can not handle how perfect this book is. How relatable it is, how fucking romantic! As a neurodivergent person married to a woman on the spectrum - this is so fucking perfect. Can not wait for the next book! First time reading anything from this author and I’m gonna try the other series they offer. Simply perfect.

rachellarson2019's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars but rounding up. Quick read with some decently written banter and not as tropey (real word) as some other books that have a fake dating scenario but o my goodness, the last bit of the book with the third act breakup was terrible and completely ridiculous.

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