I thought this book was very sweet, the romance was well developed, the characters were diverse, and the language used felt authentic and accurate to current Gen Z culture. 

I particularly enjoyed Audre’s character. She was very well written and relatable, and was very easy to root for. I thought it was impressive how real the author made her feel. As for Bash, he wasn’t my favourite. I thought the “bad boy boyfriend who isn’t actually bad” aesthetic was a bit overplayed, but he was still sweet nonetheless. 

I do have some criticisms- I didn’t like Reshma. Her personality felt just a little too stuck up, and we didn’t get to know her enough for me to really understand her. Also, as much as I love how she was queer and had a relationship with Clio, there just didn’t feel like much buildup or development in their romance. One second they bump into each other on the streets, and the next they were dating. 

I also thought the book relied a bit too heavily on pop culture references and that they were a bit unnecessary. 

Overall, my biggest issue with the book was the amount of drug use. Mind you, these are 15, 16, 17 year olds we’re reading about, and they were vaping, smoking, drinking, and doing drugs/mushrooms like it was nobody’s business. Bash’s mother even offers to smoke pot with him at a point in the book. I wish this was left out or at least downplayed in the book because it made me uncomfortable how normalized it was to the characters. 

Still, this book was amazing! A cute, contemporary, urban take on romance, with a believable storyline and characters. I hope to read more by Tia, and I was honoured to receive this eARC from NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.