Idk what divine spark exists in the universe, but if there is one, I hope they make me a lover of romance novels in every lifetime 🥹♥️🥹♥️.

Like. This book made me so SO proud to be a champion for this genre. Katie & Tyler were exquisitely drawn protagonists. They were funny, broken, empathetic, beautiful people whose push & pull was riveting throughout. Their journey to letting go of the past & embracing each other was so tender & aching. The writing was plain, perhaps, but so stellar in its deployment of thematic scenes & nods to literature. In fact, the meta-commentary on writing & romance throughout was MAGNIFICENT.

I mean, really. I truly pity the folks who can’t or won’t read romance novels. Their worlds must be so dim in comparison.

Anyway READ THIS BOOK!!!

What I liked: witty banter, and incredible female relationships — hilarious, warm, complicated, & showcasing so many facets of womanhood — & Black womanhood, specifically. Evie, in particular, had me HOWLING like a loon, I love her so much. & as a younger sister myself, Janelle’s journey with Amerie & their mom was heartwarming & relatable af.

Alas, I wish the romance was even half as good.

Firstly: Rome was The Perfect Hero. I fully appreciate the importance of writing romance heroes that are perfect, especially in a Black romance. The ones who say & do exactly as they should in every situation, no matter how messy, who are effortlessly charming & show genuine interest in the heroine’s hobbies (without really expecting her to do the same), who can pretty much read the heroine’s mind so she never has to ask for her needs to be met — they just always are. I can appreciate why those heroes should exist: so Black women — and other BIPOC women — can envision a life of ease & softness for themselves. And after all, how can we subvert or complicate the idea of “the perfect man” if we don’t define it first? But I have to confess: those types of heroes, frankly, bore the shit out of me. The best romances, to me, are the ones where we see messy, unfinished human beings who want fiercely, misinterpret things occasionally, put their foot in their mouth, or get anxious, or maybe even lash out once or twice or withdraw etc, find love & self actualization together. If one person is already so fully self-actualized as to be perfect…yawn.

Second: the slow burn in this was nonexistent. I knew it would be going into it, given the premise, but I feel like we could have at least stretched out the emotional tension a little bit more? But, that would require Rome to not be SO perfectly amazing at communicating to Janelle how he feels in exactly the right way at exactly the right time…so.

Third: the banter in this book was fantastic, but the rest of the writing had some cringy moments. I’ve learned something new about myself, though: that I absolutely CANNOT stand it when people refer to their or others’ private areas as sentient beings separate from themselves. Sooo thanks for that, I suppose?

Anyway. This is a long-winded way of me saying I just wasn’t the right audience for this book. But if you’re someone who enjoys the Perfect Hero fantasy and insta-love (& don’t mind some cringe writing), this one’s for you!