RTTF review
5 ✨✨
🌶️🌶️.5
I have followed Chelsea since An Unexpected Paradise, adored the Companion Project, died over a small town bookshop in Booked for the Holidays, and had to fan myself after Camera Chemistry. Getting an ARC of this book was an absolute dream and I’m so thankful to be able to review it!
First off- the tropes. I LOVE a friends (or best friends) to lovers so much but I sometimes get a small ick- why now? Like all the sudden bc your girl is getting married you want to step in? Like okay dude go fight for your girl but why not sooner. RTTF does NOT have that issue, at all! It’s a true “it’s always been you.” Knowing someone for most of your life and wondering why that draw is there? So amazing. Their development felt like coming home and putting on your favorite sweatshirt, so cozy and right and I think that’s amazing to accomplish. Of course we have the one bed on the road trip and I swoon every time, and this time is no different. Dang you hallmark romances that have me hooked every time!
Second- can we PLEASE make Patrick our new standard for book boyfriends!? This MAN truly is a 10/10! Kind and caring, a sunshine but realistic soul, and the most considerate and emotionally mature male ever. I joked with a friend I see him higher on the list than Rhysand and that’s a task hard to do but Patrick does it! The way he cares for Lola goes above and beyond and it had me giggling like a school girl and feelings the butterflies! Going out of his way to do the little things that are actually huge and not expecting anything from it, just to see her smile? *swoon* My only flaw with him- that he’s fictional to be honest *sighs*
Third- my girl Lola!! Hey girl, omg she is stunning!! Her whole vibe is someone that I just want to be friends with (bc no one is taking Patrick’s spot tbh). Another perfectly sunshine character that I can see myself relating too. She devotes her entire soul to her craft and is inclusive and I absolutely adore that. You can feel her passion leap off the pages and can’t help but root for her. She’s truly a girls girl and I just want to be in the friend group now. Also let’s have Lola start a book club bc she and I have similar tastes in books ;)
Fourth- NO THIRD ACT BREAKUPPPPPP. Okay let’s be real, we all read books with drama to escape reality for a bit. But a predictable breakup/ makeup- not my thing anymore. There is NONE of that in RTTF and I couldn’t have loved it more! Patrick and Lola felt like a warm embrace, they felt stronger than a miscommunication, and the one “bump” they encounter, he walks in (or struts in ;)) and saves the day! What a knight in shining armor! It’s rare to find such a balanced couple and having something throw a wrench at them would’ve taken away from that, so glad they truly have a happy ending. I had to savior this book while still reading as fast as I could, totally WORTH ITTTTTT :)
Fifth- our peppers. I love a good smut with a little plot every now and then, don’t get me wrong, but RTTF was the most perfect balance of tension and passion and plot! Everything was crucial to the plot and enhanced my love for this couple. The fact they can read each other so well and work together, just incredible!!
I have read quite a bit in my time- alien romance, dark romance, cowboy, you name it and I might have read it. Booktok has never let me down but usually I can find something that drops it from 5 stars to lower, needing something resolved with the story or finding things wrong that don’t sit well with me. But I have never felt that way with Chelsea’s books. They always seem as perfect as a book can get. The effort and time she puts into her stories, crafting these with such attention to detail that I’m never wanting more like I have with others (besides wanting them to go on forever and ever). They feel like warm embraces, like they could be your friends stories, they’re relatable and swoon worthy. I will never stop singing her praises as an author. So simply put, read these books- 15/10 would alwayssss recommend!