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2nd read.
5⭐️
“Then maybe we should enjoy our happy-for-now.��

One of the best books I’ve ever read. I said what I said.

This book makes me want to be an author, but then I’m actually very lazy so it would probably not work out. Instead, I'll let other people do all that work while I read and criticize the books with my excellent analysis skills.

The romance in the book was amazing, but that does not even comprise 50% of the reason I consider this book one of my top reads. I FELT something, and I hope people actually know that that is really important for books. The individual characters, mainly talking about January and Gus, were so interesting on their own, and together, they were phenomenal.

“He got so perfectly into the love story I’d imagine for myself that I mistook him for the love of my life.�� I actually forgot how sad this book was. In fact, the first time I read this book, I was looking for more of a romance so that was what I was focusing more on. The best part about redreading is that my mind somehow nonconsciously focuses on something else. This time I was focusing more on the characters.

January just moved to a beach house in a town in Michigan. Her father died and her writing wasn’t going well. She finds out later that she is neighbors with Gus, who she used to know in College. They soon realize that they are polar opposites, but are they really? They end up having a bet because they both want to show each other how hard it is to write in their respective genres. This makes them spend more time with each other than they thought they would. How do they learn that they are actually more alike than they think?

“I had set myself up for heartbreak and now I suspected there was nothing I could do but brace myself and wait for it to hit.�� January and Gus’s relationship was perfectly imperfect! They really learned a lot from each other, and the banter got me cracking up way too many times. And Lord, THE SEXUAL TENSION! I know I said that they possibly learn that they are more alike than they think, but I don’t know... I also kinda feel that they also learn to love how different they are due to what they were exposed to in their childhood. I could see great arguments for both perspectives.

“I was the same me I’d always been. I’d just stopped trying to glow in the dark for him, or anyone else.�� A majority of this book was literally January hurting, and my heart was hurting for her. January’s parents went through a lot and throughout the story, we learn more about them. They really affected her view on love, but is it the perfect picture she was always shown? How do this influence her relationships and her writing?

I love how the writing process was illustrated by January and Gus. Henry does a great job in revealing the importance writing has a lot for authors. Probably not the same way for every author, but I could see this being representative of Henry. I loved the bit about how women’s books are not taken seriously as their male counterparts. It’s always good to throw in issues like these in a book even if it’s not harped on for much in the book.

Of course, I can’t end the review without giving Shadi a shout-out. She is really best friend goals, and I love that authors include such characters because friendship is just as great as a romance.


1st read.
5⭐️