Thank you Avon and Harper Collins for the ARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

🛳 second chance 🏳️‍⚧️ t4t 🛳 achillean romance 🏳️‍⚧️ tattoo artist MC 🛳 marine biologist LI 🏳️‍⚧️ forced proximity

I enjoyed this one! It's a really cute second chance romance, where exes are on a cruise together with their shared friend group. I really liked that this was second chance but not because of a past miscommunication that caused them to break up. It felt very refreshing in that sense, and honestly more realistic. Sometimes you meet the right person at the wrong time.

I loved that this was a t4t romance (they're both trans), because we do not get enough of that in traditionally published books! We also got a bear love interest 😍

My only "issue" was just that I find the book a little slower and character driven, but that's a me problem based on personal preference. If you like a cute character driven romance with relatively low stakes, you will LOVE this!

Thank you Harper Voyager for the ARC and ALC! All opinions are honest and my own.

🔮 chosen one prophecy 📚 cursed realm 🔮 fae and demons 📚 dark academia 🔮 sigil based magic system 📚 dreamsharing 🔮 dual POV

When will it be my turn to have a hot demon stalk me in my dreams? 😫

It took me a little while to get into this one, but by the end I was having a fun time! I will say though, I feel like the first ~15% of the book could have just... not existed. It was pretty slow and didn't really give us enough information that I think it was necessary. I fear it could have been an email ☠️ But that could also just be my lack of attention-span, and other readers might prefer the slower start to get characters more established! It also could be that those characters and her home town will come back later in the series, and I am just being a clown.

I thought the magic system was really fun, and I'm hoping we get more of Audra's unique kind of magic in book 2. I think that is basically my only issue with the magic system; I wanted more of it! I want to see it used more, see more of the possibilities it has, see how it's used differently by the fae and demons... essentially it's just an interesting magic system that has a lot of potential!

I wasn't really sold on the romance, though I'm hoping that also develops more in book 2. However, that being said, Zhaire 😍😍 He is such a good male lead. WHERE do I get my own Zhaire? Sir, my dreams are completely open if you want to come chat 👀

For the narration, I enjoyed the audiobook overall! Both narrators did an excellent job. In particular, I LOVED the male narrator! He really brought Zhaire to life and made me fall in love with him. I don't think the female narrator matched the vibes I personally got for Audra, but that's definitely a me thing. She did a great job with narration

While I think there were some slower aspects to this book, the ending really brought things back together and made me excited for book 2! I recommend picking this up if you're a fan of dark academia (and hot demon men)

Thank you Raincoast for the free review copy! All opinions are honest and my own.

💚 YA contemporary 🏒 academic rivals to lovers 💚 trans MC 🏒 achillean romance 💚 LI falls first 🏒 hockey player LI but very little actual hockey 💚 competitive academic summer camp

I had so much fun reading this! I was a big fan of And They Were Roommates, and this book did not disappoint! It was such a cute and campy YA contemporary romance

Like And They Were Roommates, But I Hate Him has a very unserious writing style. It's silly and sometimes pure crack, but still serious enough in the moments that count. I know this is not a writing style that will work for all readers, so I highly recommend reading a sample ahead of time if possible to see if it works for you. If you love books that are fun and sometimes outrageous, then you'll LOVE this!

Something I really loved about this book is that we get queer romance with a trans character without the plot revolving around being queer and trans. I love books that address these topics, and explore how characters are treated differently for their gender and sexuality, but it is so nice to get a book where queer and trans characters can fall in love in a modern setting and focus on the romance. We need more books with trans people existing without the plot being that they're trans!

It did take me until the last ~3rd of the book to really get into the romance, but it ended up being really cute, and I kind of wish we could get a book 2! I want more of Rory and Luca getting to date, and I want to see where their lives end up.

I also need to mention that even though Luca is a hockey player, there is very little hockey content in this book. So if you don't like sports in books, this book is safe 😂 It mainly focuses on the academic competition, and Rory learning to live life for himself