Dear Adam

by Kelsey Whitney

Aly and Adam Bloomington have been best friends since birth. They are twins after all. When Adam travels to California for work and to visit an old friend, he leaves his beloved–and ill-behaved–dachshund, Pretzel, behind with Aly.

When Adam FaceTimes Aly, his childhood best friend Levi hovering over his shoulder, Aly can’t believe this tall, broad-shouldered, chiseled stranger is the same scrawny, floppy-haired boy they grew up with. Could this be the same boy she secretly used to crush on? Aly finds herself wanting to get to know the mysterious man he’s grown into after not seeing or hearing from him in nearly ten years.

But Aly’s life changes in an instant when Adam gets in a terrible car crash that leaves him in a coma.

Forced to cope without her built-in best friend, she does the only thing she can think she begins texting Adam about all the things he’s missing, giving him an easy way to catch up when he eventually wakes.

There’s just one Adam’s phone isn’t where it’s supposed to be…

Genres: Romance, Clean Romance, Contemporary, Friends To Lovers, Forced Proximity, Contemporary Romance, Rom Com

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 20, 2023

About the author

Kelsey Whitney is a West Virginian with a heart for the coast. In her debut novel, Whitney joins the ranks of authors who know for certain, the Carolinas are a place to call home.

Reviews

[Canan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeni bir yazar sanırım. Kurguda olmamışlıklar vardı. Gerek işleyişte, gerek olay-karakter derinliğinde eksik bir şeyler olduğu duygusunu üstümden atamadım.

Aly ve Levi lisede bir birinden hoşlanırlar. Ama iki tarafta adım atmaz, atamaz. En yakın arkadaşın kız kardeşi kuralı sağolsun 🙄 Yıllar sonra, trajedik bir kaza sonucu yolları yeniden kesişir ve duygular gün yüzüne çıkar.


Aslında sevdiğim kurgular bunlar ama, yazar hangi olayın üstünde durup hangisini yüzeysel yazsam diye bir karmaşa içinde gibiydi. Sıkıntılı ebeveynler(!), belirsiz durumda ki ikizi, iki karakterin de pasif kişiliklere sahip olduğu için adım atamama durumu... Pek içime sinmedi hikaye. Ama okudum işte 🤣


Bu puanı da kitaptaki müthiş ikili köpüşlerimiz Hank ve Pretzel için veriyorum. Birde Levi'nin ara ara kızaran yanakları ve utandığı sahneler sevimliydi. Bunun dışında bence çok da etkili bir şey değildi.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up!

Dear Adam is a cute story about Aly who's twin brother Adam who goes to California on a work trip and reunited with their childhood friend Levi. On facetime with Adam, Levi is in the background and all the romantic feelings Aly had for Levi in high school comes back. But after Adam gets in a car wreck, causing him to go into a coma, Aly starts sending "dear adam" texts to her twin brother for when he wakes up. What Aly doesn't know is that the person who has Adam's phone is Levi.

This was a super cute story, although a bit cheesy and silly at times, it is a nice, fluffy read if you are looking for a good palate cleanser. It is 100% clean if you are looking for that which i know many people will appreciate!

Also the book is taken place is Charleston and includes a small business flower shop, lots of dogs, and cute contractors.

This book is released May 20th, 2023!

Thank you to Kelsey Whitney and NetGalley for the arc!!

[Ally Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Adam was a quick & cute brother’s best friend rom-com. I loved that there were parts that were personally relatable to my own life in regards to Aly & her family. I especially admired that she was able to eventually stand up for herself when her parents disagreed with her decision to date Levi, as I too have experienced my own parents disagreeing with who I decided to marry.

Thank you to Kelsey Whitney & Net Galley for providing an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jill (readinginpjs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m such a sucker for a brother’s best friend trope!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🧼

Aly hasn’t seen her childhood crush Levi in 10 years. Her twin, Adam, goes to California for work, and visits Levi while there. They FaceTime with Aly, and she can’t believe how he looks and seems now - and she’s intrigued to get to know him again.

Levi secretly crushed on Aly since, forever, but Adam made it clear that his sister was off-limits, constantly getting in between them.
After a car accident leaves Adam in a coma, Aly and Levi find comfort and get to know each other better, who they are now.

“Now, things feel much the same yet completely different.”

There were a few things that I didn’t fully understand - for example, why Levi never came back in 10 years (his parents still lived near Aly/Adam). HOWEVER. I LOVED this book anyway.
It was just super cute and sweet, and I love when 2 people who secretly crush on one another for years finally get together.

Read if you enjoy:
⭐️ Brother’s best friend
⭐️ Flower shop owner
⭐️ Friends to lovers
⭐️ Adorable dogs!
⭐️ Second chance
⭐️ Clean romance
⭐️ Dual POV/first person

Thank you to NetGalley and author Kelsey Whitney for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own!

[Kelsey Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope you all love reading Dear Adam as much as I enjoyed writing it! Glenda and Pretzel are my favorite characters, but don’t tell the others. 🤣

Read if you love:
Brothers best friend
Dual POV
Charleston, SC
Summer vibes
Dogs

Thanks for reading this book that means so much to me! 💗

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When some people look back on high school, they remember their sports teams or late night shenanigans with friends. I remember those too but mostly, I remember Aly. I remember my all time consuming crush on my best friend’s sister.”

thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

tbh, I decided to pick this one up because the cover is so adorable and I’m so happy I did because this was such a cute read! I loved the main characters (Aly, Levi, Adam, Emma, and the puppies) and Aly and Levi were just a couple you really want to root for! the banter was spot on and had me lol-ing multiple times… and they’re just such good hearted people that deserve happiness!

I felt like there were a few things missing from the ending (Adam and Emma???) so I almost feel like there will be a sequel 🤞🤞🤞

definitely a quick, cute, easy read with tons of puppy shenanigans!

read if you like: dual pov, family drama, friends to lovers, flower shops, brothers best friend, weenie dogs, beach town, rom-com, movie references, childhood secret crushes, closed-door romance, blue collar man, cottages, strong friendships

[Jessica Paige (Exercise_Read_Repeat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ Filled with many of my favorite tropes, Dear Adam is an entertaining and bingey romance read. I loved the two main characters, Aly and Levi. From their teenage history to their present day banter and love for Meg Ryan movies, it was impossible to not route for them. I will say, I did not care for Aly’s parents, especially because I fet some of the family problems didn’t add to the plot development. Also, while pets in a book always make it better, I found there to be a little too much doggy drama. Still, I love discovering new indie authors and will definitely be on the lookout for Kelsey Whitney’s future books.

What to expect:
-twin brother’s best friend
-childhood secret crushes
-doggy drama
-flower shops
-hero who is in construction
-closed door romanxe
-Charleston SC setting

[Briana Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Dear Adam. I found it to be a quick read and finished it in one day. Dear Adam is about twins Aly and Adam who are best friends and Adam gets into a very serious car accident resulting in him slipping into a coma. A deviated Aly copes by texting her brothers phone filling him in on everything he is missing and leaning on an old friend’s shoulder. As Aly and Levi spend more time together they realize they want to be more than friends. Thank you to Netgalley & Kelsey Whitney for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

[Sydney Filkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do yourself a favor and pre-order this puppy (no pun intended - you'll see what I mean when you read it hehe). I had the privilege of beta reading Dear Adam and was so smitten with Aly, Levi, Pretzel and Hank. Rom-com and dog lovers rejoice, this gives sugary sweet spoonful's of both that will satisfy any palate!

[Madison Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Aly and Levi so, so much! 🥹 This book has everything—dogs, laugh-out-loud comedy, sweet moments, early 2000s rom-com vibes, and the perfect setting. This one needs to be on your TBR!

[Aly | Thealylifestyle ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ ⏦ﾟ♡︎ ⋆ 𐙚 ̊. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg this was absolutely one of the best romcoms I’ve read in a while! I read it so fast and loved every minute of it. This just gives cozy romantic comedy “movie” vibes and I’m here for it.

The main characters are likeable and loveable, the character development is great. The whole story premise is amazing, it reminds me of the best romance tropes i love and it’s all done so well. I was laughing so much throughout the whole book and I just love when a book makes me so happy.

I loved the pups and their inclusion in the story, that made me love it even more. Plus Glenda is an absolute legend, looooove her.

If you’re reading a book this summer, “Dear Adam” by Kelsey Whitney needs to be your next pick!

[Micky Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rom com with a bit of a punch. Fraternal twins Adam and Aly have been best friends since birth! It has been them against their narcissistic parents from the start, but when Adam and his best friend Levi are in an accident that leaves Adam in a coma, Aly is forced to struggle her way through life without her twin. Add in that her crush on Levi comes back front and center like a flood and the fun is on full tilt! Witty banter, hilarious dog antics and lots of misunderstandings create ample angst to make this story a fun read for a relaxing afternoon!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down. It was such a feel good story. My cheeks hurt from smiling the last few chapters. I cannot wait for book two!!!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute cozy read. Honestly loved it.

[Aleksandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a solid 4/5 until it wasn't... It's really short book and it still succeed in being boring at some point..

+ a little spoiler so BE AWARE!







........ Pretzel and Hank having puppies? That's a NO from me. I know a person who HAD a dachshund girl and because of shepherd boy 'using' her, dachshund died.... So that's a HUGE TRIGGER WARNING for me...

[Tracey Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m giving this book a 3.5! The storyline was so so cute! I love a good childhood friends to lovers! The dogs were the best and I loved that they had their own love story. I wish there was a little more depth to the book, but I definitely grew to love these characters.

[amanda | thereadinghomebody · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨B O O K R E V I E W✨
Dear Adam | Kelsey Whitney
Pub date: May 20, 2023

Format: Kindle
My Rating: 😍
Steam: 🧼
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Goodreads Rating: 4.16
Emojis: 👯🐶💐🏄🏻👷🏻‍♂️🩺📱💖

This book! Oh what a sweet, wholesome read. With its laugh out loud moments to its jaw dropping + emotional moments…I couldn’t get enough.

Aly and her best friend who happens to be her twin brother are as thick as thieves. With unbearable parents - they need eachother to help keep one another sane. When Adam gets into an accident and Aly loses the everyday support of her brother, her world is turned upside down. While this event was emotional and sad, it did not make this book super sad as a whole, which I appreciated- I was looking for a romcom and somehow this author rode that line flawlessly. It wasn’t overly focused on forgetting about Adam or soley on Adam and his coma. I liked that! There were multiple storylines going on but not one seemed to overtake the other.

Levi, Adam’s best friend stepped in to be there for Aly - unbeknownst a mutual crush between the two of them. But Levi has a secret that he’s needing to come clean to Aly about having to do with Adam’s cellphone…the cellphone Aly keeps texting with updates on life to keep Adam in the loop while he’s in a coma…

Read if you like:
•dual POV
•mischievous dogs
•unicorn boxers 🦄
•friends to lovers
•tiny cars with eyelashes
•strong sibling relationships
•closed door romance
•childhood crush

Pretzel + Hank = furever 🐾

Thank you @netgalley and @kelseypwhitney for this eARC in exhange for my honest review.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute perfection. A brothers best friend romance filled with adorable puppies and childhood friends to lovers.., sign me up 10x over. I adored so much about this book. Hank and Pretzel, the most perfect…. Oh wait, right, I mean Aly and Levi.

Aly and Levi are the type of people you can’t help but root for. Sweet, kind, good hearted characters with an abundance of southern charm. I loved watching their story unfold. Two kids who have loved each other for more than a decade finally getting their shot at love.

This book made me feel so many things. I cried during at every scene in the hospital. I smiled as Levi and Aly fell in love. My heart grew 20x the size with every mention of my favorite little pretzel and her bestie Hank.

I really hope that Kelsey is teasing another book for Emma and Adam cause..: that’s a thing..: right?! I don’t know, if not, it should be…. It has to be, right?

I am immediately pre-ordering this one.

Please read if you like;
-brothers best friend romance
-friends to lovers/childhood friends to lovers
-Weiner dogs
-German shepherds
-pup parents
-gleenies weinies… AKA THE BEST HOT DOGS
-flower shop owners
-feel good romance
-healthy friendships
-mini coopers with eyelashes
-hot contractors in unicorn underwear
-going incognito and smuggling puppies into non pet friendly locations

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the amazing Kelsey Whitney and the publishers at Victory Editing for the ARC of Dear Adam.

[Lopke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dear Adam has a very interesting premise where you have inseparable twins who are always supporting each other until a tragic accident leaves one of them in a coma. Now having to navigate life with (toxic) family drama, messy doggo's, and old feelings arising again for your brother's best friend.

Sadly...the writing for this one just did not click with me. The story itself gave off very cutesy 2000's vibes, but the writing was just very cheesy? and felt a bit sloppy at times.
I was also irked with the overdone celebrity references right from the start...

The way the story ended was also messily rounded up, leaving me with a few questions... like, for instance (SPOILERS), why did no one tell Levi that Adam was awake after a week? Why didn't Levi say he was at the gala? The moment between Aly and her mother at the hospital but nothing at the end? The family business being handed to Hudson?
These are just questions I personally wanted to see elaborated on.

Don't get me wrong, it's not the worst story by any means and will definitely have its audience. I actually really enjoyed Levi and his pov. I would've just liked the writing cleaned up a bit and not so rushed at the important parts.

*𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸*

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book 🥺 I loved the characters so much, other than Aly & Adam's parents and Hudson 😒

Aly & Adam's closeness as twins was fabulous. I love a brother's best friend story and everything that happened in this made it so sad but so good.

Aly's best friend Emma was a great and funny side character and I want a story about her!!

The dogs definitely added to the story too. Will definitely be reading more of Whitney's books!

Thanks to NetGalley & the author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jaimie Abbasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you a fan of puppy shenanigans? Hank and Pretzel alone were enough to make me fall in love with this book but they are dogs. Their human counterparts, however, are just as cute! After her twin brothers tragic accident Aly reconnects with her childhood crush (twin bro’s best friend) Levi. They are both struggling with Adam’s accident in different ways but they come together to comfort each other as they wait for Adam to come out of his coma.

Parental drama, house renovations and puppy chaos all mixed with emotional moments and (some) wonderful side characters aka Aly’s best friend Emma. This is such a wonderfully binge worthy read. I really loved seeing how Aly and Levi’s relationship grew and developed. I was also excited to see how Aly grew stronger and stood up for herself throughout the book. My only complaint is that I wish there was just a little bit more I felt like it ended a little too quick. I would also love to have had some clarity on Adam and how he dealt with his father’s choices- maybe Adam can have his own book 😉

Overall this was such a delightful read. I definitely recommend it!

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ADORED THIS BOOK. 🫶🏼

I feel like this book was a just everything you could want with a bow on top. You had banter, rom com type love, deep emotional character depth, outstanding side characters, and a Dear Adam letters/texts to an unexpected person.

Aly and Alex are connected by his best friend and her brother. Alex and her Adam get into a bad car accident leaving Alex in a coma. Alex, whom has always had a crush on Aly, decides to come back to his hometown to see Aly after receiving an unexpected text.

I adored this book! The banter was so well done. I was laughing out loud throughout the entire time. While you have the laughs from a rom com type romance there was also hard family situations be dealt with and medical issues to handle with Adam.

I really loved the concept of this book as well. It was modern while also giving me 2000s vibes which i loved.

PRETZEL THE PUP WAS THE MAIN CHARACTER.

I immediately needed more from the side characters and i’m ready for another book! lol

It’s giving: brother’s best friend, friends to lovers, long time crush, and third act break up (but it actually didn’t bother me)

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Adam arc review!!

This book was absolutely perfection!! I absolutely flew through it which I loved but don’t want it to be over😫 I’ve been dying to read this book since the announcement and I was finally able to get my hands on it and it was everything I wanted and more!🥹

This book follows Aly and Levi! I absolutely loved both of these characters! I loved how sweet Levi was!! And of course Pretzel and Hank! This was such a cute little romance book! I loved it so much! Levi is for sure one of my new favorite book boyfriends!🤭 I’m a sucker for a childhood friends to strangers to lovers so I loved the way she wrote this trope!

Rating- 4.75⭐️

Read if you like🤍⬇️
☁️ brothers best friend
☁️ closed door romances
☁️ mini coopers
☁️ friends to lovers
☁️ sweet little romances
☁️ the best pet side characters!

Thank you so much Kelsey Whitney for the arc of this book!! I absolutely loved it!!🫶🏽 this beautiful book will be released may 20th!!!!

[Emily | booksandbedtime · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw the dachshund on the cover, I knew I needed this. But then I read the synopsis and was hooked.

Short Synopsis:
Aly and Adam are twins and best friends. Adam travels to California for work but spends a few days with Levi - his childhood friend, and the source of Aly’s childhood crush. But tragedy happens in California. Adam is in a car wreck and suddenly in a coma. Aly missing her brother and best friend, begins to text him all the updates about her life as she would normally - including Levi.

My Thoughts:
I can’t say enough good things about this one. It was so cute. It made my heart squeeze. Aly, Adam, Levi and Emma are just the best! (Aly and Adam’s parents not so much.) If you want a sweet romance that you’ll fly through and make your heart squeeze, pick up this one.

Read if You Like:
🐶 Brother’s Best Friend trope
🐶 Childhood crush
🐶 Dogs
🐶 Amazing side characters
🐶 Closed-door romances

[Jenah Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet read! I flew through it in a day and am really hoping there’s a sequel coming for Adam’s story! Aly and Levi were both such fun characters, and the dogs added so much humor to the story!

[Readbooks16 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given the opportunity to Beta read this beautiful book and it was so great! The characters and wonderful and authentic and I loved the storyline! I can’t wait to read the finished product and update my review!

[Halle McClain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Kelsey Whitney, for allowing me to be a beta reader for Dear Adam! I absolutely adored it, and I can’t wait for the cover reveal!

[Juliana Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes me feel like I’m in an early 2000’s romcom and I am LIVING FOR IT

[Calista · Rating 1 out of 5]

For many reasons, Dear Adam by Kelsey Whitney is the weirdest book I've ever read by far. Don't let the beautiful book cover fool you. It's not as good as it looks. I rarely give such full-on negative reviews and always try to put forth the good parts as well. But this? No.

Summary: Aly and Adam Bloomington are twins. When Adam gets into an accident and falls into a coma, Aly sends text messages to her twin to keep him up to date on everything that happened while he was out. Except Levi Middleton is reading all those messages. He visits Charleston, and they start bonding.

Tropes/Genres:
• high school friends to lovers
• brother's best friend/best friend's sister
• contemporary rom-com
• dogs (weird dog drama)
• uncomfortable privacy-invading characters
• a load of illegal stuff

Review: As I said, it's a very weird book. The author must've dedicated this book to all the laws she wished she could break but couldn't. Or maybe she already did break them. I don't care if fictional characters bend the law a little. I mean, the law isn't always right. But the moment they start putting others at risk or affecting other people, that's where I draw the line. If they get punished for their actions or feel remotely remorseful, I'm perfectly fine. But Aly and Levi get away with EVERYTHING. Not only that, those illegal actions get condoned, GLORIFIED and ROMANTICISED. It's so annoying.

First of all, it's illegal to access someone else's private communications (this story is set in the United States, and yes, it's against Federal Law). Even if Levi got exposed in the end (it's hardly a spoiler when we all know it's going to happen because that's how stories work), she just got mad, and the two got their hApPy EnDiNg anyway. Reading Aly's text messages for Adam without either party's consent is ILLEGAL and MESSED UP. I can totally understand why Aly reacted the way she did, but the way she forgave him??? I don't like HOW she forgave him. I don't like the reason she forgave him. The whole thing also felt like there was some form of power imbalance, though, with Levi being able to freely see Aly's thoughts and Aly not being able to do the same. Levi has an advantage in the relationship. I know Levi didn't really mean it – he just wanted to be connected to Aly. So whatever. Either way, this pales in comparison to the other questionable things they did.

Second, places such as hospitals don't allow pets for a reason. This book romanticised sneaking a dog into a hospital. Hospitals ban pets for a reason, okay? Pet allergy exists. I have a dog at home. I'm allergic to pet dander. I'm young and healthy, but once in a while, I'll get an allergy attack and need my 10 mg of cetirizine dihydrochloride. Now, what's a hospital filled with? People who aren't feeling well. Their immune systems may be compromised, and the last thing they need is a f*ing pet allergy attack in a place where they didn't expect there to be such an allergen. Allergies better be taken seriously because they can take lives. Don't f* with people's health like that.

Third, BRIBERY IS NOT OKAY. The book bloody condoned bribery, okay? And once again, it's to allow pets where pets are not allowed. PLEASE. And true enough, they did get into trouble because of their pets and got BANNED. But what? It's okay because their pets were happy? Even though they ruined the boat ride for everyone else? SHUT UP. Stop being selfish and stop doing what YOU want. You live in a society. It won't kill you NOT to bring dogs to places where they're not allowed. The only thing that's worse than that is trying to pass your dog as a service dog and lying your way through.

Those aside, I didn't feel any chemistry between Aly and Levi. I also couldn't feel much of Aly's sadness regarding Adam's coma. It wasn't really talked about, so it kind of felt like Adam's coma was an unnecessary plot point just to set up the conflict of Levi having Adam's phone and looking at Aly's text messages. Look, the start of the book was okay, but the story basically went downhill from Chapter 9 onwards. This book is just out to test my patience! I couldn't connect with the characters. The book also had a bunch of UNCOMFORTABLE characters, some of which get portrayed as being okay— IT'S NOT OKAY. INVADING PEOPLE'S PRIVACY IS NOT OKAY. This book seems to love portraying characters who invade others' privacy. And there were even some side stories or traits of characters that felt completely irrelevant to the main story and were just out to make readers uncomfortable. It's okay having unlikeable characters, the kind that makes you uncomfortable, but for something that claims to be a rom-com, it's WEAK. The comedy is WEAK af. WEAK. I felt more uncomfortable in this book than I ever felt like laughing (because it's supposedly a rom-com, you know?). There's not enough "rom-com" to balance it out. There are just too many disturbing characters everywhere in the book. I'm looking at you: Glenda, Hudson and Aly's parents. They're all so creepy.

The one star in this book is basically given for Aly's struggle with Adam's coma and the way her parents reacted to it. I understood her anger towards her parents, who are awful, by the way. And I also HATED Hudson. I can't believe I thought he might be a nice guy because he offered Aly lactose-free ice cream, which was something Aly COMPLAINED ABOUT, by the way. I think that's the one thing Hudson did good in the story – he took lactose intolerance seriously, something our dEaReSt main character DID NOT. Those are literally the only good parts of the story. I don't understand how the average rating is so high at the time of writing (4.25 from 36 ratings, excluding myself), but sure. But I felt so betrayed because I thought this book would've been so good. Aly and Levi are 27, but they feel like they're 17-year-old high-school students. Maybe even younger. They have zero sense of social responsibility and completely lack awareness of their actions I'm not one to nitpick about characters not acting like their age, but even 17-year-olds know what social responsibility is. Aly and Levi don't act like civilised human beings. They sound like the kind of people who would do stupid things for TikTok viral. Oh wait, they already did something similar.

Can you believe Aly and Levi are already two of the better characters in the book? There are characters that are worse than them. The only character I liked was Emma, Aly's best friend. She's the only sane person in the story. If you can't even make your characters likeable, it's hard for readers to enjoy the story. It feels like the author is relying on even more unlikeable side characters to make the unlikeable main characters more likeable.

Let's not even talk about the dog drama. It was one of the weirdest parts of the book, and it felt completely irrelevant to the story. Pretzel, Adam's Dachshund, just felt like a tool, an object, to appeal to dog lovers. I don't like that.

I don't recommend this book to people who care about being responsible members of society. This book feels Wattpad-esque. If you know, you know. Heck, even plenty of Wattpad authors write better than this. The writing and content are so not it for me. The characters are also way too unlikeable. Maybe you'll like this book. Maybe. But not me. I know the author worked hard on this story, and I'm sorry for not enjoying it, but there were too many problems in this book.

[melodie | readingwithmelodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

i really liked the synopsis and the story definitely delivers, it just felt like it was missing that little *something*

while I usually enjoy tropes and quirkiness, I felt like this one was just a bit too forced, I wish we got to see Aly’s personality build up a bit more instead of being thrown everything in one go. I think everyone was trying too hard to be different it just felt the same. I’m bad at picking up if an authors showing or telling, but I have a feeling there was a *lot* more telling than showing here

the whole texting this was also not fleshed out at all, I loved that premise and I do wish it was explored more and had more nuance to the overall plot. it reminded me of mr wrong number, it’s hard not to compare the two, but this wasn’t executed as well. like Aly saying it was betrayal and it hurt her over and over again isn’t really convincing me. TELL ME WHY ALY

the pacing was a bit weird at the end, maybe it’s just me taking a short break in the middle but I swear we went from semi flirting straight to confessions and dating within a chapter and the unavoidable breakup that every romance be seems to have at 80% of the way in, then suddenly life decisions happen and what the heck happened and boom, the I love yous. the WHIPLASH. and I finished the book with so many questions too

I did really like the start of the book, I binged about a good third of it in one sitting, it was just the ending that was wild

this book vaguely gives me the cheat sheet vibes, so if you liked that book, i would definitely recommend this one! I did also rate the cheat sheet the same 3.5 stars as this because it just wasn’t my vibe (I know lots of people don’t mind it but adult books with childlike writing just isn’t my thing, and unlike genres, it’s hard to know if a book has it until you’re into it) but that doesn’t mean it’s not someone else’s vibe

overall I don’t want this to be or sound like a bad review, because it wasn’t an unpleasant reading experience (and trust me, I’ve had those and this is definitely not that), it just wasn’t fleshed out enough to be a standout or memorable read, but definitely something fluffy to enjoy when you don’t want to think too hard

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review

and quick spoiler warning for below





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anyone else find the dog pregnancy totally unexpected and weird?? it did not need to be there and the more I think about it the less I liked that plot