3.75/5
ok firstly, a massive thank you to penguin for the arc of this one - you guys ROCK.

now for the review. going to rip the band-aid off quickly here,,,,,this is definitely my least favourite Emily Henry book. the first quarter or so of the book i was,,,,,somewhat uninterested. tbf....this may also be because i read like 4 of her books last year. I may be a lil full of my fantastically written romances rn.

but! butbutbutttt!!! i still adored it, the familial, romantic, and platonic relationships (as always) made me sob and i love that she tried something new here. I honestly think the only real issue with this book is that the writer isn't as used to writing romances in this sort of way, so the balancing of the two main plot lines is a little unbalanced. But I am very excited for when/if she tries something out of the box like this again.

The plotline with Margaret - which really is the main plotline here - was just fantastic. I devoured her family's story and while i understand most people would be reminded of a certain Hugo (something I have not yet read so can't say much on), it reminded me massively of the video game What Remains of Edith Finch in all the best ways. A family saga that to its core is just about tragedy, love and self sabotage. I'm gonna eat that kind of thing UP.

I found the relationship to be a little,,,,,,instalove-y. especially the first 100 or so pages of it, but quickly got on board and didn't care about that cause yea. Emily Henry you sure can write a damn book.

I found the ending a little rushed for my liking, especially the last like 5 pages. lots of things happening that i would have loved to spend more time with.

Lots of quotes i have underlined, lots of tears were shed, lots of smiles had. but ultimately, just not to a level Emily Henry usually hits. Again, imo this is fully because of her attempt at a new genre mashing thing and as always i look forward to watching her grow <3