A bit of a swing and a miss for me, I'm afraid. It reads very Hallmark-movie-of-the-week because it was engaging but very surface-level...it's hard to explain. Yes, the premise was cute and the nostalgia trip through Rom-Com Land was decidedly fun, but there's a level of immaturity to the characters and plot progression that prevented me from engaging with the story. The 2 ⭐ rating is entirely for all the B.S. that poor Leah gets subjected to throughout this novel.

Like, seriously...for 75% our MMC, Eli, is hung up on his ex and his obsession with her is very cringy, creating this OW love-triangle with a woman who has already told him 'no' in very clear terms. The fact that he really only realizes that he wants to be with Leah once

Victoria tells him she's in a relationship

did not sit well with me, especially since when he was asked to explain why he wanted to be with Victoria and could only say that she was 'beautiful'...Come. On. Leah deserves better.

Leah was a semi-strong MFC, but could have also benefit from a bit more fleshing out. A lot of weight was placed on her feelings of neglect and being invisible, but it was underdeveloped and rushed. I don't understand the inclusion of her foster-brother foe, Patrick. Outside of showing briefly that he didn't acknowledge Leah as family, his plot was more or less filler and threw off the pacing/final 25% of the story.

Overall, this was just an ok read for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.