I have so many things to say about this book. First of all, it took me wayyyy longer than it should have to finish this (between late nights and nonstop work, it’s been pretty hectic). Under normal circumstances, I probably would have devoured this book in a day (it was definitely that good). 

The first book I’ve ever read by Katherine Center was Hello Stranger, and it was then that I knew I’d have to read more novels by her. Her writing is filled with so much heart and humor, so many emotions, that you just can’t help but to smile and begin to believe in humanity again. Just for the record, I’ve always believed in love, but this novel sure did make me feel like I was learning to believe in it for the first time ever. 

So, let’s get to our main characters. Charlie is this adorable recluse of a writer who can’t seem to get past his nerdy, shy, traumatized exterior. Emma, on the other hand, mitigates her trauma by being loud, overly enthusiastic, and a hopeless romantic. I have to say that based on these two very opposite characters, I end up leaning towards being more of an Emma (I’m completely loud and overly enthusiastic at times). Both of these characters had desires, goals, traumatic pasts (although I have to admit, Charlie’s did seem a little lackluster), and something that completely shifted their character throughout the story. 

With the plot, I have to say that the middle got a little tedious when all you get is the writing, the romantic angst, and lots of cooking and swimming. I will also have to say, though, that it was all worth it for a literal applause ending moment. This is what rom-coms are all about. When I tell you, I legitimately wanted to hop out of bed and give a standing ovation for that kiss when they finally end up together. It was just… amazing. 

Onto the writing style. There were a few things that kind of bothered me throughout this novel. Emma often refers to moments as a, “when I look back at this moment now” kind of deal. It seriously took me out of the story every time she did that and bothered the heck out of me to no end. I would have enjoyed the story much more without that (and this is honestly where it probably lost half a star). 

Spoilers ahead.

Alright, I, of course, have to talk about spoilers because there’s a lot I want to say. There are some very specific things that irked me that I can’t say in the regular review. There are also a few moments that made me smile so big my jaw hurt. So, this is my safe space to talk about it. There are plenty of spoilers, so you’ve been warned!!! Twice!

Below are a few bullet points of things that seriously irked me:

• Literally so happy that the “kiss for research” part didn’t happen and Emma realized the predatory nature of her actions. Of course, Charlie was just pushing her away to “save her” and blah blah blah, but I would’ve beet so turned off by this book if she would’ve forced him to kiss her. 
• Okay, now onto Charlie. Why the hell would you come home after a mysterious phone call, hug Emma, and then proceed to yell at her???? Like dude, I get your traumatic past, but you’re acting like a baby. 
• WHY THE HELL DID EMMA NEVER APOLOGIZE TO SLYVIE????? Like excuse me ma’am, you’re supposed to be the older sister. The example. The nice one. How is it that Slyvie apologized for that awful thing she said at the end, but EMMA DOESN’T EVER APOLOGIZE FOR THE BAJILLION RUDE THINGS SHE SAID TO SLYVIE????? I’m really mad about this if you can’t tell. 
• Last thing. I was literally reading the scene where Emma is at the awards ceremony and Charlie sees her and their big epic kiss is about to be televised. But then they proceed to have a whole conversation for like ten minutes…. I honestly was just thinking about the audience the whole time and how they were probably wondering what the heck was going on before they finally kissed 😂. This was also one of my favorite scenes, to be fair, and it’s the one that I literally wanted to give a standing ovation for. I just couldn’t stop thinking about how long it took them to kiss hahaha. 

Overall, this was an adorable book that I really, truly enjoyed. Emma and Charlie were so cute and awkward together and the whole story was genuinely beautiful. There were a few things that bothered me, but all in all this is a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars for me (rounded up to 5 for all the platforms that won’t let you do half stars….). A quick thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book!!

Source: Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)