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Sparks Fly
Arthur Pham didn't expect to spend his final year at the Stonebury Conservatory for Young Mages dating his archnemesis-fake dating, that is.
Arthur's particular brew of perfectionism and anxiety has served him well, landing him at the top of his class. Almost.
The number one spot belongs to Stonebury's most popular student, Mika Rivera-Arthur's sworn rival with a mirthful glint in his eye and an ever-present grin. But when Arthur's tuition check bounces, he must win the fellowship money granted to the top student in his class, or his future will come to a grinding halt.
When a spell reveals that the only obstacle in Arthur's way-Mika-is his soulmate, they enter into a fake dating ploy to stop their classmates' ridicule. On their rollercoaster of falsified romance, Arthur finds himself shoved into more compromising situations with his rival than he ever imagined, and he's horrified to find that he even enjoys some of them.
The real Mika-wickedly charismatic and earnest in equal parts-refuses to fit into the checkboxes on Arthur's meticulous to-do lists. Can Arthur put aside his pride to secure the future he has so desperately dreamed of? Or will his obsession with hating Mika cost him everything?
Arthur's particular brew of perfectionism and anxiety has served him well, landing him at the top of his class. Almost.
The number one spot belongs to Stonebury's most popular student, Mika Rivera-Arthur's sworn rival with a mirthful glint in his eye and an ever-present grin. But when Arthur's tuition check bounces, he must win the fellowship money granted to the top student in his class, or his future will come to a grinding halt.
When a spell reveals that the only obstacle in Arthur's way-Mika-is his soulmate, they enter into a fake dating ploy to stop their classmates' ridicule. On their rollercoaster of falsified romance, Arthur finds himself shoved into more compromising situations with his rival than he ever imagined, and he's horrified to find that he even enjoys some of them.
The real Mika-wickedly charismatic and earnest in equal parts-refuses to fit into the checkboxes on Arthur's meticulous to-do lists. Can Arthur put aside his pride to secure the future he has so desperately dreamed of? Or will his obsession with hating Mika cost him everything?
284 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2023
43 people are currently reading
5215 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
July 24, 2023
Academic rivals to soulmates to fake dating to friends to lovers to enemies to real boyfriends, oh my! New adult steamy, slowburn romance (because one is an oblivious!idiot! and the other is so deep in denial he might as well be in Egypt) - private boarding school for mages in an urban fantasy setting with an interesting and unique magic system.
I am having a hard time fully processing this book and putting it into coherent thoughts because all I can think is boy-want-love—magic-cute-assholes-LOUD SCREECHING NOISES. So I’m giving you my broken thoughts in a window to my overwhelmed one braincell.
Synopsis Snippets:
Gratuitous forearm-core - GOOD LORD I am fed😩
Fun and sweet with a good dose of angst - the angst isn’t light anymore
So many cute domestic moments that had me giggling and reaching for my tabs!
Magical grand gestures, Soulmate Sense
Asshole4asshole, I mean really just absolute dicks to each other but in a cute fighting but it’s so homoerotic way
Depression and anxiety and panic attacks that jumped off the page and into my heart
Our childhood traumas complement each other so well
When he makes *that* noise when exchanging hickeys and the whole world tilts on its axis
Yelling your love confession at your soulmate because he won’t let you finish speaking and you’ve had enough of his interruptions
Is this fan fiction? *insert butterfly meme* no they just HAVE to fake date, it’s the only way to solve this INSURMOUNTABLE problem
Dirty Dancing as the only reference material and boy is it used well.
Shakespeare loving brat
Knowing the exact number of times they’ve called each other by first names - how is he still in denial?!
“Boyfriends are temporary” t-shirt *grabby hands gimme gimme*
You know what it never was? It was never that serious.
Arthur: too stressed to be healthy; perfectionist; overly anxious and panicked baby boy; hard time being vulnerable; completely consumed by a certain dream about a certain mouthy rival
Michael: life of the party; popular and arrogant; teasing as flirting; wait this rivalry was serious?; hides his rough home life behind his shit eating grin; sucker for a certain nerd; super affectionate snuggleslut
It’s the arrogant popular boy falls first AND harder and the quiet nerd is an oblivious idiot until it’s too late and is also not good at apologies but in his defense his soulmate keeps interrupting him and is not following the script he planned out in his head and rehearsed all day!!
Hiding behind false pretenses and bravado until one look, one small question, one real moment makes him open up about his love of sneakers or passion for food or dream of solving class divides with magic tech. His soulmate’s name burned onto his love line on his palm - it heats and tingles and burns with his thoughts of Mika, echoing his yearning, a bright beacon through the lies he tells himself all semester.
For fans of Carry On and So This Is Ever After.
Thank you Counter Poise Press for the ARC!!
Just a small selection of things I tabbed:
“Something somehow both more subtle and more huge, unfathomable but undeniable.”
“He suddenly, viscerally understood why Mika was always staring when Arthur rolled up his own sleeves.”
“Mika kissed him like he was starving, and Arthur drowned in it.”
“You distracted me from hating you by…by…by fucking enchanting me.”
“Oh please, like I would use magic to—“
“Lowercase ‘e’, ass,” Arthur snarled. “I’m being poetic, you stupid fuck.”
“Arthur knew this one was for the books.” 😉
“You are stupid, darling,” Mika cooed, and Arthur let out a groan. “But that’s why I love your oblivious ass.”
He’d start plotting Rivera’s demise soon.
Next week. At the latest.
But Arthur took in that smile, open and honest and — when had it evolved from sarcastic and condescending?
How had he let himself start to like his so-called nemesis?
Arthur felt as if his body was the tide and Mika and the music were the moon — the touches and the glances and the smirks he’s tried so hard to block out all evening, all month, all semester, came flooding back — the too-vivid memory of Sensing Mika, the want-want-want.
Arthur felt as if every atom in his body was lit up, and he was sure he must be radiating light everywhere Mika touched him: the hands on his face, the knee at his thigh, the knee at his hip, the roughness of Mika’s chin against his own.
“I’m in love with you,” his voice cracked, “you stupid, Neanderthalistic, asshole, insufferable—“
He had a whole stream of insults lined up but he was abruptly cut off, because Mika made three long strides across the room to take his face in his hands and slotted his lips into Arthur’s.
Mika’s entire being washed over him in that kiss and Arthur wholly and unquestionably gave himself over to the electricity surging between them, to the way he saw sparks fly behind closed eyes.
I am having a hard time fully processing this book and putting it into coherent thoughts because all I can think is boy-want-love—magic-cute-assholes-LOUD SCREECHING NOISES. So I’m giving you my broken thoughts in a window to my overwhelmed one braincell.
Synopsis Snippets:
Gratuitous forearm-core - GOOD LORD I am fed😩
Fun and sweet with a good dose of angst - the angst isn’t light anymore
So many cute domestic moments that had me giggling and reaching for my tabs!
Magical grand gestures, Soulmate Sense
Asshole4asshole, I mean really just absolute dicks to each other but in a cute fighting but it’s so homoerotic way
Depression and anxiety and panic attacks that jumped off the page and into my heart
Our childhood traumas complement each other so well
When he makes *that* noise when exchanging hickeys and the whole world tilts on its axis
Yelling your love confession at your soulmate because he won’t let you finish speaking and you’ve had enough of his interruptions
Is this fan fiction? *insert butterfly meme* no they just HAVE to fake date, it’s the only way to solve this INSURMOUNTABLE problem
Dirty Dancing as the only reference material and boy is it used well.
Shakespeare loving brat
Knowing the exact number of times they’ve called each other by first names - how is he still in denial?!
“Boyfriends are temporary” t-shirt *grabby hands gimme gimme*
You know what it never was? It was never that serious.
Arthur: too stressed to be healthy; perfectionist; overly anxious and panicked baby boy; hard time being vulnerable; completely consumed by a certain dream about a certain mouthy rival
Michael: life of the party; popular and arrogant; teasing as flirting; wait this rivalry was serious?; hides his rough home life behind his shit eating grin; sucker for a certain nerd; super affectionate snuggleslut
It’s the arrogant popular boy falls first AND harder and the quiet nerd is an oblivious idiot until it’s too late and is also not good at apologies but in his defense his soulmate keeps interrupting him and is not following the script he planned out in his head and rehearsed all day!!
Hiding behind false pretenses and bravado until one look, one small question, one real moment makes him open up about his love of sneakers or passion for food or dream of solving class divides with magic tech. His soulmate’s name burned onto his love line on his palm - it heats and tingles and burns with his thoughts of Mika, echoing his yearning, a bright beacon through the lies he tells himself all semester.
For fans of Carry On and So This Is Ever After.
Thank you Counter Poise Press for the ARC!!
Just a small selection of things I tabbed:
“Something somehow both more subtle and more huge, unfathomable but undeniable.”
“He suddenly, viscerally understood why Mika was always staring when Arthur rolled up his own sleeves.”
“Mika kissed him like he was starving, and Arthur drowned in it.”
“You distracted me from hating you by…by…by fucking enchanting me.”
“Oh please, like I would use magic to—“
“Lowercase ‘e’, ass,” Arthur snarled. “I’m being poetic, you stupid fuck.”
“Arthur knew this one was for the books.” 😉
“You are stupid, darling,” Mika cooed, and Arthur let out a groan. “But that’s why I love your oblivious ass.”
He’d start plotting Rivera’s demise soon.
Next week. At the latest.
But Arthur took in that smile, open and honest and — when had it evolved from sarcastic and condescending?
How had he let himself start to like his so-called nemesis?
Arthur felt as if his body was the tide and Mika and the music were the moon — the touches and the glances and the smirks he’s tried so hard to block out all evening, all month, all semester, came flooding back — the too-vivid memory of Sensing Mika, the want-want-want.
Arthur felt as if every atom in his body was lit up, and he was sure he must be radiating light everywhere Mika touched him: the hands on his face, the knee at his thigh, the knee at his hip, the roughness of Mika’s chin against his own.
“I’m in love with you,” his voice cracked, “you stupid, Neanderthalistic, asshole, insufferable—“
He had a whole stream of insults lined up but he was abruptly cut off, because Mika made three long strides across the room to take his face in his hands and slotted his lips into Arthur’s.
Mika’s entire being washed over him in that kiss and Arthur wholly and unquestionably gave himself over to the electricity surging between them, to the way he saw sparks fly behind closed eyes.
February 15, 2024
it’s hard for me to rate and review this because the writing was a little off for me. The portions of the book that could’ve been more descriptive remained still and the filler portions felt like a word dump.
The rivalry worked out well for me but the “enemies” bit was a bit too kinder garden pull your hair type.
However, them developing feelings was very cute, it was a more realistic scene with how confused the characters were <3
The rivalry worked out well for me but the “enemies” bit was a bit too kinder garden pull your hair type.
However, them developing feelings was very cute, it was a more realistic scene with how confused the characters were <3
December 29, 2024
7/17/23:
This book, very much like They Hate Each Other, captured me with the first page. I’d like to make a special note prior to the rest of the review: FOREARMS?? YES!! (Currently my gym obsession is making my forearms look as good as Arthur makes Mika’s sound 👀)
If you don’t know me, hi, I’m Dilly and I will fawn over tropes until the day I die, especially rivals-to-lovers, forced proximity, found family and fake dating. Go through my favorites and each of those will have AT LEAST one of these four. Because they don’t miss. These tropes are the backbone to a perfect book for me. And boy was this book perfect. Aside from those four, this book also had the idiots in love, miscommunication and soulmates tropes which just fit in so well along with everything else??
This review is not going to be coherent AT ALL, but it’s completely fine because its all vibes and chaos around here anyway. SO, here we go: lemme just say: ARTHUR? I just want to give him a hug??? Like I love him so much? He’s such an idiot but he’s so fuckin smart at the same time?? And I can totally see myself in his shoes making the same exact dumbass decisions that he made. He has such a hard time figuring out his feelings and saying what he means to say. Which, like, mood but also CMON MAN. At the beginning of this book, he started off HATING Mika. He had this whole plan and how he was going to take him down was all figured out and sorted. And then things fell apart. Mika, as it just so turns out, is his soulmate, according to an ancient spell. And thats where shit hits the fan.
Mika is a mess. He’s a complete and total bi chaos disaster and he knows it. The one and ONLY thing that has kept him vying for the #1 spot against Arthur is pure spite. And spite doesn’t really add up to much when the person its for is the same person you’re falling in love with. Mika has a girlfriend. Id like to put that out there because I was SO confused. But she’s aware of the whole soulmate situation and knows that Mika and Arthur are just fake dating to “get people off their backs”. Because thats what this idiot tells her. And aside from being an utter wreck, Mika can be so gentle and sweet and caring. He’s so scared of getting rejected that he doesn’t even know how to put himself out there. And when he does it’s so cautiously and carefully that Arthur can’t even tell. Above all, however, Mika would do anything to help the people he cares about. And that’s all I can give you. ;)
Arthur and Mika’s relationship just builds so well. It’s a complete hatred at first and to the point where Arthur has this whole plan to sabotage Mika. And then as he starts to try to go through with this plan, he puts it off by a day, then a week, then another and then he gets to the point where he realizes he was with Mika all day and didn’t once think about his plan. That pretty much describes their entire relationship: both of these idiots start off with some sort of feelings for each other and as they get to know each other and see each other at their lowest, those feelings grow. And they fall for each other. There is a huge scene that happens near the end that crushed me and I was crying because EMOTIONS, but the ending is absolutely perfect and there’s not one thing I would change about this book.
Thank you so so is much Counterpoise Press and Birdie Lynn for this wonderful wonderful book and these two characters! I can’t wait to dive back into their world and reread this over and over again. 🥹
7/9/23 full review to come but: this book had all my fav tropes bundled into one books and i adored Arthur and Mika so so so much. there’s fake dating, forced proximity, rivals to lovers, familial trauma, found family and so so so much queer rep! it’s just such a good NA book and i genuinely can’t wait for more people to read it!!
This book, very much like They Hate Each Other, captured me with the first page. I’d like to make a special note prior to the rest of the review: FOREARMS?? YES!! (Currently my gym obsession is making my forearms look as good as Arthur makes Mika’s sound 👀)
If you don’t know me, hi, I’m Dilly and I will fawn over tropes until the day I die, especially rivals-to-lovers, forced proximity, found family and fake dating. Go through my favorites and each of those will have AT LEAST one of these four. Because they don’t miss. These tropes are the backbone to a perfect book for me. And boy was this book perfect. Aside from those four, this book also had the idiots in love, miscommunication and soulmates tropes which just fit in so well along with everything else??
This review is not going to be coherent AT ALL, but it’s completely fine because its all vibes and chaos around here anyway. SO, here we go: lemme just say: ARTHUR? I just want to give him a hug??? Like I love him so much? He’s such an idiot but he’s so fuckin smart at the same time?? And I can totally see myself in his shoes making the same exact dumbass decisions that he made. He has such a hard time figuring out his feelings and saying what he means to say. Which, like, mood but also CMON MAN. At the beginning of this book, he started off HATING Mika. He had this whole plan and how he was going to take him down was all figured out and sorted. And then things fell apart. Mika, as it just so turns out, is his soulmate, according to an ancient spell. And thats where shit hits the fan.
Mika is a mess. He’s a complete and total bi chaos disaster and he knows it. The one and ONLY thing that has kept him vying for the #1 spot against Arthur is pure spite. And spite doesn’t really add up to much when the person its for is the same person you’re falling in love with. Mika has a girlfriend. Id like to put that out there because I was SO confused. But she’s aware of the whole soulmate situation and knows that Mika and Arthur are just fake dating to “get people off their backs”. Because thats what this idiot tells her. And aside from being an utter wreck, Mika can be so gentle and sweet and caring. He’s so scared of getting rejected that he doesn’t even know how to put himself out there. And when he does it’s so cautiously and carefully that Arthur can’t even tell. Above all, however, Mika would do anything to help the people he cares about. And that’s all I can give you. ;)
Arthur and Mika’s relationship just builds so well. It’s a complete hatred at first and to the point where Arthur has this whole plan to sabotage Mika. And then as he starts to try to go through with this plan, he puts it off by a day, then a week, then another and then he gets to the point where he realizes he was with Mika all day and didn’t once think about his plan. That pretty much describes their entire relationship: both of these idiots start off with some sort of feelings for each other and as they get to know each other and see each other at their lowest, those feelings grow. And they fall for each other. There is a huge scene that happens near the end that crushed me and I was crying because EMOTIONS, but the ending is absolutely perfect and there’s not one thing I would change about this book.
Thank you so so is much Counterpoise Press and Birdie Lynn for this wonderful wonderful book and these two characters! I can’t wait to dive back into their world and reread this over and over again. 🥹
7/9/23 full review to come but: this book had all my fav tropes bundled into one books and i adored Arthur and Mika so so so much. there’s fake dating, forced proximity, rivals to lovers, familial trauma, found family and so so so much queer rep! it’s just such a good NA book and i genuinely can’t wait for more people to read it!!
December 1, 2023
Why I read it: Kindle Unlimited, I think, and enemies-to-lovers is my jam.
Thoughts: Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii loved this. Every bit of it. Possibly the one thing I wasn't too jazzed about was that it takes place at a ~magic academy~ and I'm kinda burned out on the very concept of the damned thing, but look, it was free and it looked promising enough that I gave it a shot. And so: no regrets. I literally wish I could forget this book just so I can read it again for the first time.
I would also pay real money to see the author's fanfics. I bet she writes 'em and I bet they're great. I don't care whether this started out as fanfic, but I'm definitely wondering what the source fandom was. I don't even care if it's the fandom that burned me out on the whole wands-and-rivals thing, and the cover is probably just giving me the completely wrong idea, but I just need to know. Birdie Lynn, DM me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, the book itself: most excellent. Superior bantz all the way through, even through some emotional scenes, and yet without undercutting the emotion. Arthur was incredibly relatable, right down to his vicious inner saboteur, who saw Mika's unattended breakfast and went "Sabotage—poison it!" and had to be beaten back by Arthur's common sense, which made me snort-laugh. I also knew Arthur and Mika's fake-dating relationship was legit as soon as they started calling each other out on being "bourgeois scum" and having "sweaty hands", respectively, because that's exactly how my husband and I talk to each other (right down to those specific insults, I swear) and I can attest to insults being the way to some people's hearts.
I also liked reading about young people solving their problems while acknowledging that some problems you just can't really fix (like both Arthur and Mika's relationships with their parents), but you can still count on your friends to help you through. I did think there were too many friends that I barely remembered throughout the book -- other than Arthur's two (Johnathan and Clarke? I'm bad with names, soz, but I think that's right) and Mika's Cherry, I couldn't tell you a single thing about all the other people whose parties and birthdays they go to, and the prep-for-Spring-Social scene felt like A Lot because there were a bunch of characters I didn't care about. Also, unless I missed it: was the long-distance-boyfriend-who-definitely-totally-exists confirmed to definitely totally exist by the end? I would've loved for that joke to pay off at the end, in the epilogue, where damn near everything else seemed to pay off.
I really liked the soulmate bond as a plot device and I thought it was used very well to show the relationship's growth and changes. The slow burn was slow enough for me, and so so so delicious, and the fact that they could sense each other throughout the novel was fantastic, especially when Arthur didn't want that to happen and didn't know how to deal with it. I thought it was an especially clever gimmick to show how the relationship gradually heated up. And speaking of heat, this was an incredibly saucy book for the YA/NA audience. There was a wet dream, there are multiple hard-ons that get described as such and not just vaguely hinted at, hickeys get described in nearly-erotic detail, and then the protagonists actually have sex at the end and it's not exactly detailed the way it would be in outright-erotica, but it's not delicately glossed over the way I've seen in the queer YA/NA novels I've read this year. To me, the only thing making this YA/NA is that the protagonists are young people (though to be fair, they're referencing Dirty Dancing and Sixteen Candles and show me a 20-year-old who makes those references on the reg in 2023) and they're in an academic setting.
I also really liked that nearly the whole book was from Arthur's POV alone. When there was a Mika POV chapter near the end, I was like, "Oh shit, things are serious now!", which is exactly the reaction a POV switch should engender, as far as I'm concerned. Keeping your book to a single POV is apparently a lost art, but Sparks Fly has restored my faith (for now).
What else? The location was novel and interesting! Amsterdam! Second book this year I've read with an Amsterdam connection (the other one was The Devil and the Dark Water) and to be honest, I wish there was more Amsterdam -- both in other books I might generally stumble upon, but also in this book specifically. The jokes about whether the coffee place was actually called Coffee or whether the board out front was merely advertising the goods, etc, I loved that. But as a wannabe naturalist, I especially loved Arthur and Mika's bike ride, and the descriptions of the landscape around their lookout bench. I wish there'd been more of that and, more generally, more of the Netherlands to firmly root the story to a place, but I get why there wasn't.
As a final note I'd just like to say that despite me going "I wish that this book had more of [thing]" or "this book had too much of [thing]", I do think it was basically perfect and exactly what I wanted and needed. It's so rare to read something as engaging and -- dare I say it -- as effervescent and sparkling as this, and I felt so much joy reading it that any and all shortcomings are just little blips of personal preference to me.
My highlights and notes are here. Pretty sure a re-read (maybe next year) would yield a lot more highlights too, because so much of this book is just so dang funny, I want everyone to see bits of it.
Would I read a sequel or the author's other works: Absolutely. What a delight. I'm definitely following this author now to see what she comes up with next.
Thoughts: Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii loved this. Every bit of it. Possibly the one thing I wasn't too jazzed about was that it takes place at a ~magic academy~ and I'm kinda burned out on the very concept of the damned thing, but look, it was free and it looked promising enough that I gave it a shot. And so: no regrets. I literally wish I could forget this book just so I can read it again for the first time.
I would also pay real money to see the author's fanfics. I bet she writes 'em and I bet they're great. I don't care whether this started out as fanfic, but I'm definitely wondering what the source fandom was. I don't even care if it's the fandom that burned me out on the whole wands-and-rivals thing, and the cover is probably just giving me the completely wrong idea, but I just need to know. Birdie Lynn, DM me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, the book itself: most excellent. Superior bantz all the way through, even through some emotional scenes, and yet without undercutting the emotion. Arthur was incredibly relatable, right down to his vicious inner saboteur, who saw Mika's unattended breakfast and went "Sabotage—poison it!" and had to be beaten back by Arthur's common sense, which made me snort-laugh. I also knew Arthur and Mika's fake-dating relationship was legit as soon as they started calling each other out on being "bourgeois scum" and having "sweaty hands", respectively, because that's exactly how my husband and I talk to each other (right down to those specific insults, I swear) and I can attest to insults being the way to some people's hearts.
I also liked reading about young people solving their problems while acknowledging that some problems you just can't really fix (like both Arthur and Mika's relationships with their parents), but you can still count on your friends to help you through. I did think there were too many friends that I barely remembered throughout the book -- other than Arthur's two (Johnathan and Clarke? I'm bad with names, soz, but I think that's right) and Mika's Cherry, I couldn't tell you a single thing about all the other people whose parties and birthdays they go to, and the prep-for-Spring-Social scene felt like A Lot because there were a bunch of characters I didn't care about. Also, unless I missed it: was the long-distance-boyfriend-who-definitely-totally-exists confirmed to definitely totally exist by the end? I would've loved for that joke to pay off at the end, in the epilogue, where damn near everything else seemed to pay off.
I really liked the soulmate bond as a plot device and I thought it was used very well to show the relationship's growth and changes. The slow burn was slow enough for me, and so so so delicious, and the fact that they could sense each other throughout the novel was fantastic, especially when Arthur didn't want that to happen and didn't know how to deal with it. I thought it was an especially clever gimmick to show how the relationship gradually heated up. And speaking of heat, this was an incredibly saucy book for the YA/NA audience. There was a wet dream, there are multiple hard-ons that get described as such and not just vaguely hinted at, hickeys get described in nearly-erotic detail, and then the protagonists actually have sex at the end and it's not exactly detailed the way it would be in outright-erotica, but it's not delicately glossed over the way I've seen in the queer YA/NA novels I've read this year. To me, the only thing making this YA/NA is that the protagonists are young people (though to be fair, they're referencing Dirty Dancing and Sixteen Candles and show me a 20-year-old who makes those references on the reg in 2023) and they're in an academic setting.
I also really liked that nearly the whole book was from Arthur's POV alone. When there was a Mika POV chapter near the end, I was like, "Oh shit, things are serious now!", which is exactly the reaction a POV switch should engender, as far as I'm concerned. Keeping your book to a single POV is apparently a lost art, but Sparks Fly has restored my faith (for now).
What else? The location was novel and interesting! Amsterdam! Second book this year I've read with an Amsterdam connection (the other one was The Devil and the Dark Water) and to be honest, I wish there was more Amsterdam -- both in other books I might generally stumble upon, but also in this book specifically. The jokes about whether the coffee place was actually called Coffee or whether the board out front was merely advertising the goods, etc, I loved that. But as a wannabe naturalist, I especially loved Arthur and Mika's bike ride, and the descriptions of the landscape around their lookout bench. I wish there'd been more of that and, more generally, more of the Netherlands to firmly root the story to a place, but I get why there wasn't.
As a final note I'd just like to say that despite me going "I wish that this book had more of [thing]" or "this book had too much of [thing]", I do think it was basically perfect and exactly what I wanted and needed. It's so rare to read something as engaging and -- dare I say it -- as effervescent and sparkling as this, and I felt so much joy reading it that any and all shortcomings are just little blips of personal preference to me.
My highlights and notes are here. Pretty sure a re-read (maybe next year) would yield a lot more highlights too, because so much of this book is just so dang funny, I want everyone to see bits of it.
Would I read a sequel or the author's other works: Absolutely. What a delight. I'm definitely following this author now to see what she comes up with next.
August 18, 2023
4.5 rounded up cus this was so FUN and CUTE
October 1, 2023
I think, Mika said suddenly, Summoning his phone and flipping onto his stomach to peruse it, "we need a song. To really capture this moment, you know? Enemies to soulmates to fake boyfriends to best friends to enemies again to lovers . . . it practically writes itself."
I'll be honest. I set this debut novel down about 75% in for a few reasons. But halfway into my next read, I kept feeling an unmistakable niggling that I'd abandoned a story that deserved another chance.
So glad I gave it one. As you can tell from the author's unwitting summary above, the peregrinations of the plot lead to the prevarications of the characters, and left my head in a spin.
Still, the writing captures that truth of first love and the chiaroscuro of the heart, in this tale between soul-mages, armed with wands.
I'll be honest. I set this debut novel down about 75% in for a few reasons. But halfway into my next read, I kept feeling an unmistakable niggling that I'd abandoned a story that deserved another chance.
So glad I gave it one. As you can tell from the author's unwitting summary above, the peregrinations of the plot lead to the prevarications of the characters, and left my head in a spin.
Still, the writing captures that truth of first love and the chiaroscuro of the heart, in this tale between soul-mages, armed with wands.
March 20, 2024
While I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, I have to give it only 3 stars for... well, for my own conscience more than anything.
Good news: I actually cared about the romance! During the oh-so-predictable third act break-up scene, I was stressing! I smiled when they confessed their love! Yay!
Bad news: This read like a fanfiction and, while I like fanfiction, if I wanted a story with this plot, I'd just go read one with characters I already love. While the fake-dating trope has probably been done in fanfiction 100000 times, I couldn't help but compare this to my favorite one- Just Lovers Like We Were Supposed to Be - and think about how I honestly prefer the fanfiction version of this book.
Sparks Fly is, at least, self-aware. "What is this, a fanfiction?" and lines like this are uttered many times throughout the story. As are other incredibly cliché things, such as:
- "The bell rang, and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in."
- "Arthur's heart did a tap dance[..]"
- "Enemies to soulmates to fake boyfriends to best friends to enemies again to lovers... it practically writes itself."
And lest we forget the blatant plagiarizing of a Lord Huron song (is this legal? lol):
"To confess the way he'd had all, most, some, and then none of Mika felt different [...]"
....
I had all and then most of you
Some and now none of you
Take me back to the night we met
Anyway.
This is supposed to be an adult book, but it reads entirely like YA. I'm only adding it to my 'adult' shelf because of the sex scene (which isn't even that graphic, but still).
The world building made absolutely zero sense. Frankly, the addition of magic did absolutely nothing for the plot, and I'm confused as to why they were even wizards in the first place. The entire thing could have been set in a University and been entirely the same. I can't help but wonder if the author read a Harry Potter fanfiction with this plot (or even the one I did!) and decided they wanted to write their own. I mean, I cannot describe how little I understood where this book even takes place. Mika, the love interest, is always described as being American, so it has to be somewhere other than North America. Right? Or maybe not? Who knows? Not the reader.
Despite all this, Sparks Fly is fun. I love a good cheesy romance, so I'm not too difficult to please in that regard. I breezed through this in less than 24 hours because I was having a good time and, truthfully, I just wanted Arthur and Mika to get together.
This is 100% one of those stories where the entire thing could be solved with one conversation. But where would be the fun in that? The world building and use of fanfiction tropes bothered me more than the logic used by the characters-- or, lack of.
Good news: I actually cared about the romance! During the oh-so-predictable third act break-up scene, I was stressing! I smiled when they confessed their love! Yay!
Bad news: This read like a fanfiction and, while I like fanfiction, if I wanted a story with this plot, I'd just go read one with characters I already love. While the fake-dating trope has probably been done in fanfiction 100000 times, I couldn't help but compare this to my favorite one- Just Lovers Like We Were Supposed to Be - and think about how I honestly prefer the fanfiction version of this book.
Sparks Fly is, at least, self-aware. "What is this, a fanfiction?" and lines like this are uttered many times throughout the story. As are other incredibly cliché things, such as:
- "The bell rang, and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in."
- "Arthur's heart did a tap dance[..]"
- "Enemies to soulmates to fake boyfriends to best friends to enemies again to lovers... it practically writes itself."
And lest we forget the blatant plagiarizing of a Lord Huron song (is this legal? lol):
"To confess the way he'd had all, most, some, and then none of Mika felt different [...]"
....
I had all and then most of you
Some and now none of you
Take me back to the night we met
Anyway.
This is supposed to be an adult book, but it reads entirely like YA. I'm only adding it to my 'adult' shelf because of the sex scene (which isn't even that graphic, but still).
The world building made absolutely zero sense. Frankly, the addition of magic did absolutely nothing for the plot, and I'm confused as to why they were even wizards in the first place. The entire thing could have been set in a University and been entirely the same. I can't help but wonder if the author read a Harry Potter fanfiction with this plot (or even the one I did!) and decided they wanted to write their own. I mean, I cannot describe how little I understood where this book even takes place. Mika, the love interest, is always described as being American, so it has to be somewhere other than North America. Right? Or maybe not? Who knows? Not the reader.
Despite all this, Sparks Fly is fun. I love a good cheesy romance, so I'm not too difficult to please in that regard. I breezed through this in less than 24 hours because I was having a good time and, truthfully, I just wanted Arthur and Mika to get together.
This is 100% one of those stories where the entire thing could be solved with one conversation. But where would be the fun in that? The world building and use of fanfiction tropes bothered me more than the logic used by the characters-- or, lack of.
December 16, 2023
2.5 stars rounded down to 2 stars because this book made me so angry. I loved the premise, the magic rivals to fake boyfriends to lovers trope was good, and the execution itself wasn't bad except for two things that entirely ruined the experience for me. 1. The way Cherry was treated. I hate to see female characters be completely let down in MM romances to set up the main couple, especially when it comes from a female author. Cherry, the only relevant female character in the story, was only there to be cheated on. She had no purpose but to be made a fool and even her boyfriend showed no sadness when she broke up with him. She could've literally just been Mika's best friend and it would have been the same for the story without adding the very uncomfortable cheating. It made me HATE both Arthur and Mika, the way they didn't give a single fuck about fucking over this sweet lil lady. It made me so mad I could barely enjoy the book. 2. The misunderstanding at the end was bullshit it was so dumb and obviously there to add the angst, it felt so cheap and useless.
Also the writing felt a little bit immature to me at times, very social media slang modern american high school and it felt a little odd to me.
So yeah wanted to love it and soo disappointed by the whole thing. It could've been so much better, because Arthur and Mika were cute as heck!! I just can't stand the cheating, esp when it brought nothing to the story and could've been avoided.
Also the writing felt a little bit immature to me at times, very social media slang modern american high school and it felt a little odd to me.
So yeah wanted to love it and soo disappointed by the whole thing. It could've been so much better, because Arthur and Mika were cute as heck!! I just can't stand the cheating, esp when it brought nothing to the story and could've been avoided.
February 7, 2024
Hear me out.
This book reads as a fanfiction - in a BEST WAY possible. It hits all the spots, it gives all the feels. The tropes, the chemistry, the tension, the UST!
Sure, the book is not without its flaws: some elements need a bit more disbelief suspension, and the whole situation with Cherry (who deserves the world and more)
But as I was recently reminded, the ⭐ rating is a measure of my enjoyment and satisfaction with a thing, not a measure of its objective quality.
So yeah, loved it, 5 stars.
This book reads as a fanfiction - in a BEST WAY possible. It hits all the spots, it gives all the feels. The tropes, the chemistry, the tension, the UST!
Sure, the book is not without its flaws: some elements need a bit more disbelief suspension, and the whole situation with Cherry (who deserves the world and more)
But as I was recently reminded, the ⭐ rating is a measure of my enjoyment and satisfaction with a thing, not a measure of its objective quality.
So yeah, loved it, 5 stars.
March 31, 2024
reads like fanfic with the serial numbers filed off (derogatory)
January 19, 2025
Cute little romance that I probably would've gobbled up if it had been a magic high school AU fanfic on AO3 for my fave couple. As original, adult fiction, it was okay.
Sparks Fly was very fanfictiony which was fun though the characters pointed that fact out quite a few times lol
Some parts were really cute but I can't understand why this wasn't YA. I could believe teens acting this way, and the setting was also very YA so it kept throwing me off when they mentioned being over 20. Also didn't love how Cherry was treated or portrayed, solely there to further Mika and Arthur's romance.
Sparks Fly was very fanfictiony which was fun though the characters pointed that fact out quite a few times lol
Some parts were really cute but I can't understand why this wasn't YA. I could believe teens acting this way, and the setting was also very YA so it kept throwing me off when they mentioned being over 20. Also didn't love how Cherry was treated or portrayed, solely there to further Mika and Arthur's romance.
August 2, 2023
so this was really fun, kind of a cross between One Last Stop & Carry On (also a lot of Fanfiction. A LOT.)
the main characters were well written and y'know what? This book gave me exactly what I expected in a very good and comforting way. I honestly want more books like this, just an interesting main couple and maybe some magic hijinks.
the writing is fun, especially some of the dialogue. the pop culture references WILL age badly, so you should read this probably in the next 5 years.
Some things to note:
- if you don't like self aware humor, be warned, there are some jokes how much this resembles fanfics
- the side characters are a bit of a cliché (although I think that's kind of the point)
- again, this goes exactly the way you think it'll go. no big surprises. so if you need plot twists in your books, this isn't for you (but it was definitely for me)
- there's less magic school stuff than you think there is.
the main characters were well written and y'know what? This book gave me exactly what I expected in a very good and comforting way. I honestly want more books like this, just an interesting main couple and maybe some magic hijinks.
the writing is fun, especially some of the dialogue. the pop culture references WILL age badly, so you should read this probably in the next 5 years.
Some things to note:
- if you don't like self aware humor, be warned, there are some jokes how much this resembles fanfics
- the side characters are a bit of a cliché (although I think that's kind of the point)
- again, this goes exactly the way you think it'll go. no big surprises. so if you need plot twists in your books, this isn't for you (but it was definitely for me)
- there's less magic school stuff than you think there is.
January 20, 2024
Arthur and Mika are literally the cutest!! I love them
September 10, 2023
Sparks Fly is a fantasy romance set in a college campus for young mages. When perfectionist Arthur Pham is unable to pay the tuition for his final year, he cuts a deal with the school to pay it off once he wins the fellowship grant for graduating at the top of his class. The only thing getting in his way is his rival, the effortlessly cool Michael “Mika” Rivera. And when a wayward spell reveals to the entire campus that they are soulmates, both hatch up a scheme to become fake boyfriends to get the distracting pranks and teasing their classmates off their backs. But as the weeks go by (and after an embarrassing shared wet dream), Arthur starts realizing that the relationship may be fake, but the feelings are becoming all too real.
This was just a super cute and fun read throughout, and it just made me smile. First and foremost, Sparks Fly is new adult college romance that just so happens to be set in a magic school (so the magic is essential but also just incidental to the plot). A self-described “enemies to soulmates to fake boyfriends to best friends to enemies again to lovers” romance, this book has got the tropes down pat. It gives fanfic vibes but really well written and polished.
Arthur is just a fun character to follow around. We understand his drive and his motivations so you just can’t help but root for him despite this hare-brained, likely to backfire plot. And you will want to shake his entire body to wake him up from his obliviousness so he finally see what is right in front of him—Mika. Because we only ever see Mika from his own perspective in a single chapter, he is less of a known quantity, but he is both the cool popular guy and the bi mess of a man with mommy issues. The romance is both front and center while also being a bit of slowburn (see above obliviousness), and it will just charm you with the frustrating sweetness and cuteness of seeing two smart idiots fall in love and not even know it.
Sparks Fly is a cute, fun, and charming new adult gay fantasy romance that features academic rivals, fake boyfriends, forced proximity, and all the buzzy romance tropes.
This was just a super cute and fun read throughout, and it just made me smile. First and foremost, Sparks Fly is new adult college romance that just so happens to be set in a magic school (so the magic is essential but also just incidental to the plot). A self-described “enemies to soulmates to fake boyfriends to best friends to enemies again to lovers” romance, this book has got the tropes down pat. It gives fanfic vibes but really well written and polished.
Arthur is just a fun character to follow around. We understand his drive and his motivations so you just can’t help but root for him despite this hare-brained, likely to backfire plot. And you will want to shake his entire body to wake him up from his obliviousness so he finally see what is right in front of him—Mika. Because we only ever see Mika from his own perspective in a single chapter, he is less of a known quantity, but he is both the cool popular guy and the bi mess of a man with mommy issues. The romance is both front and center while also being a bit of slowburn (see above obliviousness), and it will just charm you with the frustrating sweetness and cuteness of seeing two smart idiots fall in love and not even know it.
Sparks Fly is a cute, fun, and charming new adult gay fantasy romance that features academic rivals, fake boyfriends, forced proximity, and all the buzzy romance tropes.
October 12, 2025
had my issues with this (mainly the amount of alcohol and drinking (and drugs) involved both on- and off-screen and during important moments) which is mostly personal preference and dislike.
the writing was okay though it did remind me heavily of fanfic, but that made for a very quick and easy read. the fast pacing of the story also helped. i truly breezed through this and ive enjoyed it a lot.
fake-dating simply never misses!
the setting also played a part for my enjoyment during my read, as im simply easily won over by magic school/college settings. the two mcs were very lovable and felt somewhat familiar (though I can't tell why) which made it very easy to get hooked into the story and to stick around. perhaps i got a little too attached. oh boys.
the writing was okay though it did remind me heavily of fanfic, but that made for a very quick and easy read. the fast pacing of the story also helped. i truly breezed through this and ive enjoyed it a lot.
fake-dating simply never misses!
the setting also played a part for my enjoyment during my read, as im simply easily won over by magic school/college settings. the two mcs were very lovable and felt somewhat familiar (though I can't tell why) which made it very easy to get hooked into the story and to stick around. perhaps i got a little too attached. oh boys.
July 12, 2024
really fun!! this book deserves more hype with so many well written i’m glad i found it
February 7, 2025
So fun! Best fake dating I have ever read. Except for how Arthur never yelled at Mika about Cherry, this was brilliant!
July 27, 2023
“Enemies to soulmates to fake boyfriends to best friends to enemies again to lovers…it practically writes itself.”
Folks… RUN don’t walk to read this book!!! This is an excellent upcoming queer new adult novel about rival wizards at a magical school who start fake dating (fav trope) and of course shenanigans ensue!!
I absolutely adored reading this book, Arthur and Mika were really well-written protagonists and the magical wizard school vibes were immaculate. Birdie is a great writer and her (literal) magical imagery was unparalleled. I wish I could live in this book and ship Arthur and Mika like their classmates lmao 😆
I highly recommend this to all of y’all!! It’s a short read and full of a lot of fun, heart, and lovely queer magic ❤️🌈
Folks… RUN don’t walk to read this book!!! This is an excellent upcoming queer new adult novel about rival wizards at a magical school who start fake dating (fav trope) and of course shenanigans ensue!!
I absolutely adored reading this book, Arthur and Mika were really well-written protagonists and the magical wizard school vibes were immaculate. Birdie is a great writer and her (literal) magical imagery was unparalleled. I wish I could live in this book and ship Arthur and Mika like their classmates lmao 😆
I highly recommend this to all of y’all!! It’s a short read and full of a lot of fun, heart, and lovely queer magic ❤️🌈
March 6, 2024
2,5/5 but i’m rounding it up bc i really wanted to like this book. and i hate that i didn’t.
i can’t even say that i had too many significant issues with it because, again; i didn’t (although my notes app rant says otherwise). it was just soooooo underwhelming. i guess my expectations were too high - in the end, i just felt too old for this story and the way it was written, which should really tell you something because i am supposed to be the target audience. my fourteen year old self would probably have loved this book but i’ve been through way too many queer romances for this one to really stick out in any way. i don’t even know what to say anymore because if i had to do a deep dive into everything that irked me while reading, this review would be like five pages long.
in conclusion; this book wasn’t terrible. but it wasn’t great either, no matter how much it pains me to say that. too much telling, not enough showing, and when it finally came down it, it was in all the wrong places. instead of making me giggle and kick my feet at 2am i was just forcing myself to finish this.
and for everyone comparing it to a fanfiction - i don’t know what kind of fanfiction you people read but the mattdrai tag on ao3 would never have done this to me. i’m done here. literally and figuratively.
i can’t even say that i had too many significant issues with it because, again; i didn’t (although my notes app rant says otherwise). it was just soooooo underwhelming. i guess my expectations were too high - in the end, i just felt too old for this story and the way it was written, which should really tell you something because i am supposed to be the target audience. my fourteen year old self would probably have loved this book but i’ve been through way too many queer romances for this one to really stick out in any way. i don’t even know what to say anymore because if i had to do a deep dive into everything that irked me while reading, this review would be like five pages long.
in conclusion; this book wasn’t terrible. but it wasn’t great either, no matter how much it pains me to say that. too much telling, not enough showing, and when it finally came down it, it was in all the wrong places. instead of making me giggle and kick my feet at 2am i was just forcing myself to finish this.
and for everyone comparing it to a fanfiction - i don’t know what kind of fanfiction you people read but the mattdrai tag on ao3 would never have done this to me. i’m done here. literally and figuratively.
July 7, 2024
There are so many reasons why I loved this book, but here are a few that stick out:
Arthur and Mika’s chemistry was tangible. Their dynamic was compelling from start to finish, as were their relationships with their respective friends. The magic system was easy to comprehend and interesting to lay the foundations of the book.
There is a bit of miscommunication happening at one point, but it didn’t bother me in the slightest because it made sense for their characters.
SPARKS FLY is a genuine and witty story. While probably not for all readers (ahem, people who prefer exclusively more literary works), it was perfect for me to shut off my brain and lose myself in good feelings. Everything I could have hoped for.
Arthur and Mika’s chemistry was tangible. Their dynamic was compelling from start to finish, as were their relationships with their respective friends. The magic system was easy to comprehend and interesting to lay the foundations of the book.
There is a bit of miscommunication happening at one point, but it didn’t bother me in the slightest because it made sense for their characters.
SPARKS FLY is a genuine and witty story. While probably not for all readers (ahem, people who prefer exclusively more literary works), it was perfect for me to shut off my brain and lose myself in good feelings. Everything I could have hoped for.
December 28, 2023
Who gave the right for something so swoon-worthy to exist. Why is this book so perfect to the point where I'm sending audio messages of my tortured screaming into my friend's chat. This is the best queer academic enemies to lovers book I've ever read in my entire fucking life and im gonna burst into flames now.
Birdie Lynn, you're officially one of my favourite authors now.
Birdie Lynn, you're officially one of my favourite authors now.
July 15, 2024
I loved this so much.
These potato heads were so adorable, their push and pull.
Arthur was slowly changing his mind about Mika and trying to came to terms with his feelings and Mika got there so much faster. The problem was neither of them showed it.
They pushed everything down until it exploded. And what a way to explode ;)
Their chemistry was palpable and I was here for it
These potato heads were so adorable, their push and pull.
Arthur was slowly changing his mind about Mika and trying to came to terms with his feelings and Mika got there so much faster. The problem was neither of them showed it.
They pushed everything down until it exploded. And what a way to explode ;)
Their chemistry was palpable and I was here for it
February 17, 2024
3.5 ✨
someone compared these two to snowbaz so I had to give it a read. I’m here for anything rivals-to-lovers (with fake dating) in magical school; the conflict was meh and the ending wrapped up quickly but neatly, but it was cutesy fun not super high stakes (carry on forever in my heart tho 😖)
someone compared these two to snowbaz so I had to give it a read. I’m here for anything rivals-to-lovers (with fake dating) in magical school; the conflict was meh and the ending wrapped up quickly but neatly, but it was cutesy fun not super high stakes (carry on forever in my heart tho 😖)
August 1, 2023
C’était génial de bout en bout, rien à redire 🤌🤌🤌
November 6, 2023
(3.5) queer enemies-to-lovers wizards ya’ll
October 31, 2024
It's nerdy, gay, magical, uses classic tropes, and has a touch of smut. Overall, it's a cute book.
July 28, 2024
Lo devoré en un día, estuvo bien bonito. Viva el drama.
December 4, 2025
Was it good? Hmmm... Was it exactly what I needed, a silly queer romance? Definitely.
September 3, 2023
I really wanted to give this book 4 stars because it had all the makings of a new favourite, but there were just so many things that frustrated me too much to overlook.
Mika was low key a piece of shit the way he treated Cherry. She was the real MVP, she put up with so much - Mika literally, actively cheating on her, IN FRONT OF HER - and yet she was the one to reconcile them in the end. Mika stringing her along while knowing he had feelings for Arthur almost the whole time - he said “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for that” after they kissed the night Cherry finally broke up with him, after witnessing them dry humping on the dance floor, and that he liked Arthur the whole time. It just grated on my nerves so much how we as the reader were supposed to accept Mika being actively shitty just because of his constant reassurances that “Cherry isn’t the jealous type” as if that means anything. Jealous or not, she should not have had to put up with that. It made me lose a lot of respect for both the characters and left a bad taste in my mouth (especially considering she’s the only female character with dialogue, and she was used as an emotional punching bag with no resolution).
The amount of repetition in this book frustrated me. It wasn’t done well, in a way that made an impact, because the things that were repeated didn’t need to be emphasised so much. It seemed like an excuse for the author to use the same descriptors over and over again, without making it feel like they had nothing else to say. It didn’t work.
The big climax where everything came to a head when Arthur told Mika that the only reason he did the fake dating thing in the first place was because he wanted to try and beat him academically. And that destroyed Mika. For some reason. Because they were both rivals when they started their thing, and for a long time after that too. It doesn’t make any sense that that should come as a surprise to him, let alone be the reason the ‘separate’. It seemed like a flimsy plot device on the authors part.
Also, the characters are supposedly 21 but they interact like they’re 16. I can’t explain it, but the idea that anyone in this book is an adult just doesn’t make sense. It felt like a high school setting a lot of the time.
I did enjoy this book. The banter was fun, the tension was done really well, and there were a lot of tropes I liked (if a little TOO tropey - with a lot of tik tok slang :/) but it definitely needed a bit more editing, with certain plot points being explained more.
Mika was low key a piece of shit the way he treated Cherry. She was the real MVP, she put up with so much - Mika literally, actively cheating on her, IN FRONT OF HER - and yet she was the one to reconcile them in the end. Mika stringing her along while knowing he had feelings for Arthur almost the whole time - he said “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for that” after they kissed the night Cherry finally broke up with him, after witnessing them dry humping on the dance floor, and that he liked Arthur the whole time. It just grated on my nerves so much how we as the reader were supposed to accept Mika being actively shitty just because of his constant reassurances that “Cherry isn’t the jealous type” as if that means anything. Jealous or not, she should not have had to put up with that. It made me lose a lot of respect for both the characters and left a bad taste in my mouth (especially considering she’s the only female character with dialogue, and she was used as an emotional punching bag with no resolution).
The amount of repetition in this book frustrated me. It wasn’t done well, in a way that made an impact, because the things that were repeated didn’t need to be emphasised so much. It seemed like an excuse for the author to use the same descriptors over and over again, without making it feel like they had nothing else to say. It didn’t work.
The big climax where everything came to a head when Arthur told Mika that the only reason he did the fake dating thing in the first place was because he wanted to try and beat him academically. And that destroyed Mika. For some reason. Because they were both rivals when they started their thing, and for a long time after that too. It doesn’t make any sense that that should come as a surprise to him, let alone be the reason the ‘separate’. It seemed like a flimsy plot device on the authors part.
Also, the characters are supposedly 21 but they interact like they’re 16. I can’t explain it, but the idea that anyone in this book is an adult just doesn’t make sense. It felt like a high school setting a lot of the time.
I did enjoy this book. The banter was fun, the tension was done really well, and there were a lot of tropes I liked (if a little TOO tropey - with a lot of tik tok slang :/) but it definitely needed a bit more editing, with certain plot points being explained more.
December 25, 2023
4.79 coz justice for cherry
but fuck me. loved it. went feral multiple times. im being poetic u stupid fuck😭😭😭😭
but fuck me. loved it. went feral multiple times. im being poetic u stupid fuck😭😭😭😭
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