This has been one of the more popular books out in the world this year. A friend gifted this to me, saying that she was on her third read of the book. Knowing that this was originally written as Reylo fanfiction, I dove in.
I wasn't sure what to think of this one going into it. I'd seen some people who loved it and others who absolutely hated it. I reserved judgement until I got further into it.
It was difficult for me to put aside the Reylo aspect at first. Not necessarily that I couldn't separate it, but I was curious to know how it was translated from the fanfiction to its final form.
Once I got past that, I was able to enjoy the romance. Some of it was cringey, as I'd been warned, but I tried to keep in mind that this is a story set between scientists in academia. It had a very common trope I see in contemporary romance: fake dating. Initially, I thought the reasoning behind the fake dating was a little... forced. I'm not sure that it was solid enough to be a believable plot, but I went with it.
As is the case in a lot of romance that I read, I felt like the love interest wasn't fully formed. He was intriguing, sure, but I felt like we didn't get enough about him for me to completely buy into her falling in love with him. I did enjoy the cringey moments where she had to rub sunscreen all over him, but I didn't feel like I was totally invested in the romance between them.
Some of the overall plot was a little predictable, but I didn't hate it.
Overall, I did like it, but it wasn't one that I would rave about. If you're looking for a formulaic contemporary romance, you might enjoy this one!
Thanks, Abbie
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