Like other Abby Jimenez books I've read, this one read fast and was very fun. I feel like the writing is very engaging and easy to read, even if I don't always remember a lot of the details later. I felt like the premise was a little bit goofy but also understandable and somewhat endearing, I liked the setup and the proposal of fake dating, the characters go into this arrangement with a known time frame and that felt neatly set up.

Both of the main characters have a lot going on in their personal lives and then are adding this romance on top. Justin practically had love at first sight and it was obvious that he was more invested in the romance. I enjoyed reading his pining, but I didn't love how Emma felt so emotionally withholding. I felt that she unfairly pushed him away because she was so unwilling to engage with her own feelings. Overall Emma was just a mess, she was unable to see her own traumas and issues and then resistant to acknowledging them. I felt that it was very frustrating to witness both her mother's actions and attitude as well as Emma's responses to those behaviors. There was a whole scene where Emma's best friend Maddie pretty harshly tells Emma how she feels about Emma's mother, and though I felt that Maddie was going about things wrong then, I did appreciate how Maddie was so firmly on Emma's side and truly did care for her.

I made an update at 24% about liking the banter between Emma and Justin, their connection was very easy and I enjoyed reading their dates that felt very carefree and silly. An update at 33% was about how Emma openly acknowledges that she has a tendency to withdraw and uses the phrase "get small". I felt that this language became annoying and sometimes when I was feeling less forgiving I was quite annoyed with how she would revert to this mindset and it felt like excuses. I was frustrated that Emma is a nurse but actively declares how she is 'healed' and does not need therapy-- the commentary from Maddie is falling on deaf ears. From Justin's point of view it felt like Emma was more mature and a bit different than within her own perspective, more flattering (which if you think about it is romantic). An update at 83% was for surprise at some of the direction of the plot.

Overall I felt that there was a lot going on in this book, I did like the connection and romance between Emma and Justin, but felt that there was so much trauma dumping and bonding that it somewhat detracted from the romance. I felt that Emma really needed to get some serious therapy before she would be ready for the end of the book. After reading some other reviews, I saw some commentary about how the ending felt a little bit rushed, and I can see that. I wanted to see a little bit more about how these two would work together and heal together. I see multiple reviews saying that Justin is the kind of guy "if he wanted to he would", and I agree with that, almost to the point of him being a little too perfect. I especially loved how he makes the surveys and invitations and questionnaires that were so funny and cute for Emma. I love the Emma was kind and viewed the world with empathy, and I saw a lot of hate for Amber which is justified. I saw one comment about wishing that Emma would have had a little bit more personality since so much of herself revolves around her mother, and I can see that.

At the start of this book I was really drawn in, I liked the setup of how the humans were living in this underwater city and how our main female character Mira is a very competent if underappreciated welder and engineer helping to ensure the city works. We also get to see how Mira has invented the rebreather, and is brave and competent. I was drawn in by Arges and how he is the leader of his people and how he is tasked to learn from / about the humans. Then her capture was exciting and I felt was kicking off the next phase of the book in an interesting way. But... then she is stuck in a cave and he has left her alone for much of the time. She repairs a droid and Byte totally carries the book for a lot of scenes. The two main characters take so long before they can properly communicate, it just started to drag and I didn't truly feel that the emotional development was building any weight during this time. I understand how these two had a fascination with each other but ultimately I didn't feel that the love and feelings that develop between them had enough basis or foundation. (he had two dicks though and it was a double penetration situation, so that checks out)

Byte was a great character and I really enjoyed how he was described and how he became Mira's support. I also liked that there were undine and human politics at play and both characters faced consequences for their thoughts, feelings and the time that they spent together and away from their own peoples. Overall I just felt that there was a lot that was packed into these 380 pages, I didn't fully buy into the romance and towards the end there was an element that felt like a deus ex machina to help allow them be together underwater. The last chunk of the book felt really rushed, with unexplained plot holes and the introduction of a random villain character and a sudden shift away from the romance toward lots of action and high stakes. I do understand how this was setting up for the rest of the books in the series, I just felt that this could have been expanded a little bit more to improve the pacing over the course of this book.

I agree with many other reviews and comments that I saw that this book was a fun time with an interesting premise, but agree that it needed another round of editing and tighter plotting and pacing, and this meant that I really had to just be along for the ride and suffer through some inconsistencies. Though the world is intriguing, I'm only vaguely interested in continuing in the series.