I loved this so much! I had a hard time putting it down. It was so much more than I expected, even after having read the rave reviews. It was funny and heartwarming and compelling. Every character is wonderful, the road trip was so much fun, and the low angst level is something I always appreciate.

Conrad & Alden are both very kind, sweet people - easy to root for, relate to and sympathize with. I appreciated their backstories and circumstances; it was nice to read about normal people with normal lives.

I really enjoyed the way Conrad & Alden’s relationship developed. The dynamic changed slowly over the course of the first half of their road trip and felt very believable and realistic. It was nice seeing them open up and be willing to change their perceptions as they got to know each other better.

The enemies-to-lovers trope is a tricky one for me as it is usually so over the top and rarely done in a way that allows the MCs to act rationally. I don’t enjoy watching people be vicious to one another, especially for really dumb reasons. There’s none of that here. I think the way Conrad & Alden initially regard one another makes sense and is super relatable, as well as how their feelings toward each other change over time. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book. This was an enemies/rivals-to-lovers done well.

Honestly, everything about this was done well, I felt. Romances often employ so many contrivances and require so much suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader that makes it really hard to get into the story. But everything about this one felt natural. A+ writing by Annabeth Albert.

It is mentioned several times that Alden is neurodivergent, struggles with anxiety and socializing, is rigid in his routines, has difficulty discerning sincerity from sarcasm, etc.  I love the casualness of this (likely autistic) representation. It’s not something to be made a big deal of; it’s just part of him. His personality is his personality, his needs are his needs. Period. I love even more how quickly Conrad catches on and adjusts his expectations of Alden. It’s not that Conrad suddenly realizes anything in particular about Alden in terms of a diagnosis, it’s just that he decides to exhibit compassion towards him as he begins to understand him better. They actually both begin to take care of one another in different ways as they become more aware of each other’s individual needs and circumstances and I really liked that. 

One star deducted for speaking ill of St Louis-style pizza. (Just kidding. I wouldn’t take off a star for that, even though they’re so very very wrong. Cutting your pizza into squares is awesome.) *This book also needs a more diligent copy editor. I found at least three (non-typographical) errors.