Begrudgingly put myself in Ali Hazelwood's hands again and tbh if I read this book before The Love Hypothesis, I probably wouldn't be as critical and wary of her work. I enjoyed the characters more and they feel less like..... a caricature of their intended tropes? I really like the grandma HAHAHA and I appreciate a man who honestly tells us his feelings and intentions relatively early. Couldn't even be too mad at the third act break like, yeah you're both right and you're both wrong and you're both angry just chill and work on your own shits these next few pages. Still, I've been hyperaware of everything I don't like about Hazelwood's writing style, although this is highly personal to me. Like, I can't keep up with the STEM stuff bc I'm not a STEM girlie. That's her writing style though and it just doesn't personally do it for me because I'm just not into the academe setting for my consumption.

Have you ever read a book and are hyper aware of every breath you take and hold? I really loved this one, it was such a beautiful and heartbreaking read. I'm glad I took my time with this one, considering it was the first time I was trying out this genre. The formatting, the illustrations, and the fairytales — they were all gorgeous and fit together so well. It's hard to address the big theme without giving this book away, but you definitely feel it throughout the story even if they only give you the name for that feeling at the end. Honestly I think that's even more amazing — for a story to have been making you feel a certain way from the start without making itself obvious in the narrative. I just really enjoyed this whole experience so much ugh the only reason I'm not giving this 5⭐️ is because I'm not sure if I'll be able to re-read it and that's like my only criteria for that rating.

In love with the queer joy and future this book painted, while still addressing the fear, pain, and discomfort many people still live with today. Yeah, they're rough to read and excruciating to follow, but knowing love, acceptance, and freedom waits for them at the end makes it all worth it. Some might say it all falls into place all too well at the end and it's a convenient miracle, but so what? Don't we all wish for that when faced with our biggest fears? And are you denying the reality and possibility that it, in fact, could be as easy as that?

I sure read this book. I honestly wish I enjoyed this book a little more, but it overall just didn’t quite hit where I wanted it to? I couldn't get over the writing style and I'm not sure if it's because translations. They never truly fully convey the original meanings and intentions. It just felt messy and all over the place. Its cast of characters are another thing. Even by the final chapter, I still had to sometimes pause and try to recall which character is who. I don't even know if I really warmed up to Fumiko like yeah she did a nice thing but I feel like that was it and I wasn't really given the opportunity to get attached to the cast to the level that I was hoping? I can't really fully explain it except that I wish this book gave me more than it did. While I dont hate it and the values and lessons are great, it was just a little too cozy for me. Like, I wouldn't pick up the sequel books but I'd look up spoilers for the stories of the characters I already know, y'know?