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02/22/24 Edit:

Despite my better judgement, I picked this one back up��

Look, I’m gonna be honest here, this book is a basic bitch.

Typically I don’t rate DNFs, but, I mean, 5hrs into the audiobook, and I’m telling you that I’ve seen what I needed to see and the answer is no.

This reads like it was written by a really strong B student in a sophomore high school English class. And I’m not one of those assholes on LitTok judging books bc they are not “well-written�� as decided by the people who run the Booker Prize or w/e. I can read a basic book. But there’s no magic here. I am not captivated. This thing is dull as dirt and I’m bored to tears.

5 hours in and we haven’t even made it through two complete days of these people’s lives. ffs it took a few hours for the MMC to even explain what tethering is despite the FMC repeatedly asking. There was even a flashback at one point just to avoid even revealing the basis of this book. But the real kiss of death?

"…she said excitedly, practically vibrating with excitement.��

She was excitedly excited? Pls. This is what I mean by a strong B high school student. English Lit 101 - you cannot use the same word twice in a sentence. Thesuarus.com is free.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
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Um��.I was not expecting the instalust.

Putting this on pause not even 4 chapters into the audiobook. Idk yet if it's a DNF or not right now.

You know those usual beats you get in an arranged marriage romance? Fear or even hate, followed by a tentative peace, growing into lust that clears a path straight to love. The author ran all the way past those usual beats and just 4 chapters in we’ve arrived already at instalust and I can see love just around the corner. And so I feel like I’ve arrived at the end of the story. Is there any mystery left here?

I paid for the audiobook so I'm likely to give it another chance at a later time. Maybe it'll surprise me.