3.5 stars

a really lovely romance! the latter half gets a little violent so tw for physical abuse from an ex, but the characters are sweet and easy to care for. their banter was cute and i love how much communication they had. naya has a lot of past trauma to work through from her abusive ex and i appreciate this book's perspective on how naya learns to start healing.

i also liked how grounded this story felt. i liked that both naya and jake had relationships with friends/family outside of each other, as well as casual acquaintances from work, it made the whole story more real. the conflicts in their relationship were believable and natural for which i was so glad, i can't stand stories with manufactured conflict.

the reason this doesn't get a higher rating is bc while jake and naya are sweet and i was rooting for them, the book as a whole just didn't have that spark for me, the one in romance books that makes me extra giddy, so i can't in good conscience rate it any higher. but i still think this is an objectively well written book with important messages and an easy to love couple.