Tropes:

fake dating, slow burn

Steam level: 🌶

Honestly, this was too long and too slow for me. I didn't immediately connect with the characters, either, which didn't help. There's nothing wrong with them, but where Battle Royal started with a sense of humor that immediately hit for me, that was missing here.

Pet and Matthias are both very likeable, and the romance is cute and follows the expected route. It's just longer than it needs to be which, combined with a slow burn, made it drag for me. There is a secondary plot thread related to Pet's family, but that doesn't start until about 40-50% in. The fake dating and characters alone just didn't carry the plot enough.

Spoiler for something that happens at the end:

I'm also just not a huge fan of that trope where they ran into each other once as kids, never forgot, and now they're in love.