kaz ruby 𐙚 ‧₊˚ �� has read The Dead Romantics

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“You are in all of my happiest places.
You are where my mind goes when it needs to be soothed.��

everybody shut the fuck up i am unwell.
this book alternated between tucking me in at night with a kiss and then waking me up with a bucket of ice water. and i loved every single second. from the first words written, my eyes were gorilla glued to the pages.

my first emily henry 5-star, and it’s ironic that it’s for a book most people call “not her best.�� yes, reading is subjective, but you’re wrong.

ˏˋ°��*⁀�� plot

harriet and wyn broke up six months ago but haven’t told their best friends, so now they’re stuck pretending to still be together during one last week at their annual summer getaway. i saw that synopsis and literally said out loud: why the fuck would i read that?? if you’re thinking the same, stop it right now. this book is worth every page.

let me be clear: this isn’t a little romcom with silly fake dating. this is a book about longing. a what-went-wrong-and-how-do-we-fix-it book. and it’s painfully beautiful.

ˏˋ°��*⁀�� writing

emily henry is so good at writing, it actually pisses me off. the setting and the atmosphere at the cottage made me nostalgic for a place I’ve never even been to. the writing made me feel like i was there with them. i swear i could feel the sun on my skin and hear the floorboards creaking under bare feet.

she can make me laugh and cry on the same page. she threads grief, heartbreak, humor, and hope together like she’s stitching a wound closed.

“This is how I used to think of love. As something so delicate it couldn’t be caught without being snuffed out. Now I know better. I know the flame may gutter and flare with the wind, but it will always be there.��

ˏˋ°��*⁀�� harriet

my sweet girl. i saw so much of myself in her it was actually offensive. her fear of being a burden, her constant need to be perfect, her instinct to shrink herself so everyone else can be happy—it all hit way too close. i love how she became this character that most of us see ourselves in. it's hard not to.

her arc, learning to release shame and expectations that were never hers to carry, was beautifully done.

also her talking about fucking pottery made me so emotional.

“You’re good at it,�� he says.
“Not really,�� I say. “But that’s the thing. Nothing’s riding on it. If I mess it up, it doesn’t matter. I can start over, and honestly, I don’t even mind. Because when I’m working on it, I feel good. (...) I like doing it. I don’t have to stay hyperfocused. (..) I zone out and let my mind wander.��

i never highlighted something faster. it made me realize not everything i do has to be perfect. i’m allowed to enjoy something just because it feels good in the moment. i’m allowed to just be.

ˏˋ°��*⁀�� wyn

my softest boy. i would give him a thousand chances and he’d still deserve more.
he was so warm and careful and gentle. i adore him omg.

wyn is what happens when someone has the biggest heart but still doesn’t believe they’re enough. i wanted to jump into this book and tell him he’s already everything.
every scene he was in felt like a love letter.

“In every universe, it’s you for me. Even if it’s not me for you.��

in every universe, i'll grieve that he's not a real person.
i cried.
i don’t even have anything smart to say. i just cried.

ˏˋ°��*⁀�� romance

whiplash. i kept going from heart-eyes to heartbreak in 0.3 seconds.
this is second-chance romance done right. there’s no unnecessary drama, no making one person the villain. just two people who were so deeply in love and still lost their way, because of grief and fear. and because life happens and it's hard and messy.

“He spreads his thumb and finger over the image to zoom in on my face. I watch him in profile, his face lit up, his dimples shadowing. “So fucking cute,�� he repeats quietly.

i missed getting butterflies from a book. i missed smiling like an idiot. i missed love stories that felt adorable and safe. this book gave it all back to me.

ˏˋ°��*⁀�� friendship

the most emotional part for me. the friendship in this story is its heartbeat.
i miss my best friends so much after reading this i almost texted them “pls never leave me�� at 2 a.m.

there's quiet tension between them, they fight, they grow apart without meaning to, and it's all so real and painful. i love how emily henry portrayed female friendship in this.

“My best friends taught me a new kind of quiet, the peaceful stillness of knowing one another so well you don’t need to fill the space. And a new kind of loud: noise as a celebration, as the overflow of joy at being alive, here, now.��

ˏˋ°��*⁀�� final thoughts

this book didn’t just meet my expectations. it understood me. it gave me characters i saw myself in. it delivered a romance that reminded me of how good love can be, even when it’s hard. and a friend group that made me nostalgic for moments that aren’t even mine.

this book hurt, but i also found it to be healing. it reminded me that i can choose a different life, that I can mess up and still be loved.

read itttt (or else).

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐


pre-read

buddy reading with the sweetest girl, camille 💗. this book has scared me for so long, but that time is over. also, the cover is pink, so it has to be good."