"2.25

should've listened to my intuition and not read this book. and yet

.

� generic, cardboard, blah

� the abrupt change in josh's demeanor from casual to possessive caveman at the half way mark was so jarring

� (view spoiler)[ i'm sorry but every time i get reminded of josh and ava's dad trying to kill her in book 1 i die laughing. wtf was that scooby doo villain ass plot

(hide spoiler)]

� i was more than willing to sacrifice the one bed trope to josh doting on her period cramps. call me private ryan

â†� listen i wanna love stella (hot af multicultural queen), but personality wise the girl is giving us ✨nothing.âœ� hopefully she does some soul searching between books 3 and 4 and scrounges up ✨s´Ç³¾±ð³Ù³ó¾±²Ô²µâœ�

� i hate reading about ava and alex cause they're happy and i'd like them to not be

� (view spoiler)[i was gonna rate this a flat 2 stars but then i got to the whole painting fiasco and y'all..... how could you not warn me. i was not prepared for the comedic masterpiece that came my way in the final quarter of this book 🤣🤣 why did resident doctor joshua chen happen to have the priceless art piece that jules' ex wanted to steal hanging up in his house



byeeeeeee i was deceased. +.25 stars for jules destroying her boyfriends apartment in an art heist, that was the completely bonkers irrational perplexing absUrd twist i needed to make this entire book worth it (hide spoiler)]"

" “He really is something luminous when he shows his happiness…�

I loved this reread even more. 🥹

You have grown folks acting like imbeciles and I was here for every moment of pettiness and immaturity. It was hilarious. It reminded me of ‘The Hating Game� in a way.

Of course, the pettiness and the humour is a coverup, an avoidance technique that they’re using to avoid communicating about really ugly aspects of their relationship that have build up over time.

It’s sad seeing them go from being in love to somewhat resenting each other and themselves, because they don’t like who they became in the process.

“All of the golden, feel-good, light-as-air memories have been going dark, which has allowed the bitter poison ones to dominate the spotlight.�

It’s a blame game for a while. They try and push the other person out of the relationship without actually having to say they want out, because communication has become almost impossible. Neither feel safe to do so.

And whilst this didn’t get as toxic as it could’ve, because the author chose to explore their dynamic through the lens of comedy, I think their relationship highlighted how unreliable your thoughts become in an environment where you don’t feel safe enough to be and express yourself.

Your views about the other person becomes so skewed. And whilst there was some truth mixed in between all those thoughts, insecurity was also present. And that spiralled tenfold.

“Relearning you has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.�

It was beautiful seeing them get back on the same page again. 🥰



—â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä�



ORIGINAL REVIEW
I woke up thinking about this book this morning and already wanting to reread and that alone warrants it a 5 star. It’s safe to say I am obsessed with it.

But if you need reasons to pick it up then I have some, I guess. This is generally a trope that works for me. I enjoy second-chance love stories. I enjoy seeing what makes a couple fall in love again, or in this case, save their relationship as well.
There are always a whole load of factors that come into play when a relationship almost breaks down. And whilst this story covered that up with humour, sarcasm and pettiness which I highly enjoyed, the dislike between them was still palpable. To the point where I had doubts these two characters would make their relationship work. I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But then it gets to a point where they’ve had enough and fighting becomes exhausting and we get exposed to these glimpses of vulnerability and tenderness - which made me choke up a bit - and makes them remember why they fell for one another. And had they communicated from the beginning and boundaries been set, it could’ve all been avoided.

However choosing to be open with someone isn’t always that easy. I always dislike it when characters get questioned about why they couldn’t communicate their feelings. It doesn’t come naturally to most people. Being vulnerable isn’t something that is taught and frankly, is tough as fuck. Especially when you’ve already feel like you’ve been dismissed several times. But they chose to make it work.

All in all, every part of this story clicked for me. They formed and defined their own family, they chose to work hard at their relationship again and through all of that, it made their relationship all the more better than when they initially got together. They became a team.

—â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä�

GIVE. ME. THIS. BOOK!!!!"

"

"Your heart is mine."

this is the best romance book ever written and i will die on this hill


reading count: 7

"reviews" from reads one to six in descending order:

I now own this book (that I've read six times) as an e-book, a physical copy and an audiobook.
I think Sarah Hogle should just send me the original manuscript to complete my collection.

I love this book so much. I love Nicholas and Naomi. I love how how soft, loving and tender this story is.
I just finished it and I already want to go back and read it again.

---
So, Jay...

:)

You've read this five times in 12 months.

:)

Are you... okay?

:)ðŸ·ß

---
after reading this for the fourth time i can still confidently say that this is my favourite book of all time

---
GUESS WHO'S READING THEIR FAVOURITE BOOK AGAIN
---
did i read this for the third time in three months?
maybe
who are you, the re-reading police?
---
did i buy a physical copy just to reread this again and mark my favourite passages?

maybe

i take no criticism

---
the NEED to reread this again is just very STRONG

---
i am very much aware that i cry very easily when it comes to anything in life but the emotions i feel when reading this are unreal even for me

if i could give this book more than five stars i would. it has my heart.

---
rereading this as a TREAT
---

"We should mark today on the calendar and memorialize it by eating this travesty every year," he remarks
"I'll copy down the recipe. Cinnamon, bread crumbs with egg in them. God, did we really use coffee creamer?"
"We're artists. No one understands."

Is it possible to find your soulmate in a book? If it is, I'm pretty sure I've just found mine.

With only three months to go until their beautiful wedding Naomi and Nicholas could not be happier. At least that's what they want everyone to think. In reality, the spark is long gone. If it was ever there at all. Naomi dreads the fateful day when she is going to be Mrs. Rose, a day entirely orchestrated by her mother-in-law, and she's not even sure she still loves Nicholas. Maybe she does, but only like 40%, a number growing smaller with every passing day.
But she can't break up now, can she? If she does she would lose the flat to Nicholas, have to go through all the paperwork to get her own bank account and pay her in-laws back for the wedding. And she can't really afford all that.
There's only one way, really. Nicholas has to break up with HER! And so Naomi drops the act of the perfect wife-to-be and shows her true colors.

What she doesn't realize: Nicholas, too, is fed up with their current situation. But while Naomi will do anything in her power to get him to break up with her, Nicholas is not as willing to let her go so easily.

What follows is a lot of pranking, fighting and never-seen-before honesty. And the realization that there is no percentage for love: it's all or nothing.

This book actually made me laugh. And I'm not talking about the blowing-air-through-your-nose-haha-that-was-funny kind of laugh. I'm talking about full on laughter. Rolling in my bed. Falling of my bed (okay maybe not that extreme, but you get my point).
And then, it also made me cry. Sometimes even in the same sentence.

It was a roller coaster of emotions. It made me fall in love with the characters, more and more with every single word. I loved their ups and downs, their good sides and the bad. I loved their bickering, their teasing, their goofiness; them finding themselves, finding their love language and most importantly: finding each other, again and again. In the little things in life. The small gestures. In the late night drives to get fries. In little notes left in lunchboxes. It made me realize that you should not settle for less than you deserve. It made me want to be like Naomi when I grow up (so what that I'm already 22 and technically grown-up, let me have this).

This was hands down the best enemies-to-lovers I've ever read. The Hating Game, who? Jk, I still love The Hating Game, pls don't hate me Joshua And I will probably not talk about anything else for the next ten years.

TL;DR: Me, while reading this book: AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"