this book is too damn long and badly written. characters suddenly show up out of nowhere and locations shift mid-scene with no explanation. also it never failed to confuse me that the male lead has a first name and a nickname (which also happens to be a — completely different — first name) that are used interchangeably. i tried to turn my brain off and read as if i was on wattpad at fifteen years old again, but it got to a point where i just couldn't take it anymore.

there is a side plot with the characters’ friends that i was missing 90% of the context for because i haven't read the previous book in which they were the leads. apparently this book and its predecessor take place concurrently, but the author writes under the assumption that you have read the other book prior to this one, leaving me quite lost.

one thing i did appreciate was the disability representation. that's probably the only good thing i can say.

p.s. ro just needs to get a restraining order against tyler.

i’ve never seen the walking dead, so there were many moments where i felt like i was missing the full context. of course i can't know whether that is truly the case or if that's simply the way the book was written. perhaps even knowers of the lore would've been in the same spot as me.

the art style i found a bit confusing at times; it was hard to make out what was happening.

always, always love quality disability representation.

tillie walden did a great job of crafting characters i cared about in a short number of pages. i did tear up.

i enjoyed the stories hero tells and that they are loosely connected. many share a common thread of women suffering under the rule of men and often using their wits to escape men who mean to abuse and take advantage of them, a theme much appreciated.

ultimately, however, the humor didn't really land for me, and i didn't feel all that attached to the characters, so i’m unable to give this a higher rating.

the first 60 pages of this are fantastic. it's a comprehensive explanation of mutual aid, its importance, and how it differs from charity. most of the things discussed in here were not completely new ideas to me, but i had only heard bits and pieces relayed at a time, rather than how spade presented the information as a whole picture. that was super helpful for me to me, as i had never heard everything laid out like that before.

the second half, detailing how to form and foster successful mutual sid groups, was a bit more of a struggle for me to get through as someone with no personal experience with the subject. i'm sure this section would be much more helpful for those already involved in such groups.

this is a fake dating story, but it also has a trait i love that i commonly find in friends to lovers arcs, where the main characters act as if they are already dating while still being in denial of their own or the other's feelings. that was very fun to read.

however, after reading free from falling by e. l. massey, which includes lyrics to songs so good that i wish they were real, the lyrics featured in here paled in comparison.

in fact, reading another romance book about a singer and another public figure falling in love closely following free from falling only reminded me at every turn just how much i prefer that book to this one. even the acting-like-they’re-dating-before-they’re-dating element was also present, and, dare i say, done better in free from falling. that doesn't mean i didn't enjoy this; i did! it's very cute. i honestly don't have much else to say about it. unfortunately for i’ll pretend you're mine, a very high standard was set for me earlier this month, and this one fell short of that standard.