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1.5 stars (this review will contain spoilers bc i need to rant)

i started this book with an optimistic feeling. however, it quickly let me down from there. from 'check and mate' and this, i feel like me and ali's writing just don't mesh which is a shame because i'm trying so hard to get the hype around her books 🫠🫠. there were just so many issues in this book that it made it hard to enjoy the actual good parts.

tropes:
�� sports romance (swimming + diving)
�� best friend's ex (😬😬)
�� college romance
�� marketed as slow burn, but it's really insta love

- my biggest gripe with this book was the unnecessary drama, especially coming from the ow trope. i was neutral/liked pen (lukas' ex) at first, but she became so clingy and weird after the 60 or 70% mark 🤺🤺. please tell me why she suddenly started becoming all posessive of lukas and trying to one up herself against scarlett for him???? like girl 😭😭... also i hated her for stealing scarlett's GOLD MEDAL moment that she literally worked so hard for after her huge injury. she was also so condescending towards scarlett and lukas' relationship, and for what. he's not gonna get back together with you bestie.

- scarlett and lukas were... cute(?) together..!! idk. i don't think they had any real chemistry, just sexual chemistry. i'd say 75% of their relationship consisted of them doing it and no real getting to know each other and emotional bonding 👎👎. their relationship was also superrrr insta lovey/lusty which i hate in books 🫡🫡. i liked them both separately as characters, but them together is just ehhh... tbh i feel like they both could do better 😭😭

- the writing. oh my goshhhhhh. it was just so boring and repetitive and i seriously considered dnf'ing it 70% through because everytime i would finish a chapter i would take a 30 minute break and reconsider if i wanted to continue 😀🔫 (this is the reason it took me almost 2 weeks to get through).if this book was shortened, it would've been much better.

overall..... i don't recommend. not only was this tedious to get through, but the characters were dry and forgettable. something that i did like about this book is the swimming + diving representation!! (we barely get anything 😔💔) i can happily say that ms. ali did do her research on this, at least the swimming aspect of it, which was the best part of this book.