there is just something about jillian meadows and the characters she creates, the relationships she crafts, and the worlds she builds. i’m never going to be able to describe my feelings as articulately as many, many others have done on their reviews of both this book and give me butterflies, but know my sentiments and feelings match theirs exactly

this book is a gem among gems. jillian has absolutely become an auto-buy author, and i am sitting here in tears writing this, fiending for a reread of wreck my plans and give me butterflies. everything in no place like you is handled with such love and grace, from the side characters, to the family relationships, to the friendships, to the side plots, to the romance, to the grief, to the apologies, to the spice. my list could go on and on and on, but i’m trying to give the comma a break 😅

overall, a gorgeous ode to the friends we make along the way (family or not). if y’all know me, you know i adore a love that heals and makes its participants better through its lessons of joy and support. and the best of these is when, like theo and fable, they were already both fantastic people, who just needed the other to help them realize how wonderful they each actually were

obsessed with jillian, theo, and fable forever 🩷 plus, shoutouts to BOTH p&ps??? jillian, can we be best friends 👀

in kate’s keys, — down bad mmc who doesn’t know how much of a gem he really is 💚 — second chance, friends-to-strangers-to-allies-to-lovers (immaculate, no notes) — healing, grieving, and growing 🥹 — heart-stoppingly poetic and beautiful in a way i may never be able to fully comprehend ♾️/10✨

thank you to netgalley and avon for the opportunity to receive an eARC and final gifted copy, and share my honest thoughts 🖤

i am a second chance girlie, through and through, all the way down to the very fabric of my soul, and books like this one are perfect reminders of why

there is something so soul-healingly (shh, that’s totally a word) beautiful about having had someone see you arguably at your very worst, or through the most difficult time of your life, or when you struggled the most, and still look at you and say, “you are who i want and you are who i love.” and second chance duet gives us to that in spades

but not only do we get to see the resolution of delicious yearning, or loving each other through the ups and downs—we get to see both main characters looking within themselves because of truths falling in love has taught them, and heal and grow and change for the better (anyone who knows my endless love for pride and prejudice will not be surprised by my obsession with this type of love in books)

and we got to read it all in the soft, poetic voice of ana holguin. and not poetic in an overly flowery, wordy way, but poetic in a way that certain lines would be worded with such heart and resonance that they’d come along and punch you in the gut—which is, of course, my favorite kind of poetry

a beautiful, real love story. i feel like i just watched two of my college friends come together and fall in love and i’ve never been happier

thank you to netgalley and forever for the opportunity to receive an eARC and share my honest thoughts 🖤