Okay so I was actually fairly surprised by this book when I started reading it. I thought it was going to be more literary, but this book was a straight-up romance. I liked it, though! The characters were loveable and the story was cute. I liked the idea that the characters’ entire lives revolve around avoiding loving each other. It seems like it wouldn’t be cute, but it was actually very sweet. Henry also made this aspect of the story extremely realistic, which I liked! Slow burn romance is much more appealing to me than a quick-burn one, and Henry was able to provide this. 

Another aspect of the book I liked was its entire message about love. The message--that it’s who you are with the other person when you’re in a relationship--was original, sweet, and good. I’ve never heard that before, probably because I don’t read romance, and I thought it was a nice message about love and relationships. Henry wrote a romance that provided real-life advice readers can apply to their own relationships without it feeling gimmicky or silly. I felt it was important that this romance was realistic as it gave readers insight into how a relationship can develop and ultimately exist. 

My dislike of this novel included Poppy, and I’m so sorry, but I just found her to be a bit annoying and dramatic. Her whole “quirky-girl” character was an instant turn off for me and the longer the novel went on, the more I disliked her. She can’t take anything seriously and I don’t think she had more than one meaningful conversation with Alex throughout the book. She’s constantly joking and playing around, even when it comes to the significance of her relationship with Alex. I didn’t connect with her in any way that made me like her.