.... I think Courtney Milan has found her niche. Or maybe her writing has improved after publishing so many books. Either way, I unreservedly have only praise for this book. (But honestly that cover is pretty, um. It makes me embarrassed introducing this to people.)

But that's literally my only complaint about my this book. I... loved how real this book was. I don't know. Maybe it's just coincidence, but I really resonated with quite a bit of Jay and Maria's journeys in the book. I had had instances when I felt exactly the way one of them did. Sidenote: I loved how long it took them to know each other -- I'm just not a fan of primary attraction, where you fall for someone's look/appearance, and not really really knowing the other person. I loved that the focus was on emotional attraction, vulnerabilities, and honesty, instead of physical attraction. Thank god.

I've tried a lot of Courtney Milan's books but her historical novels just always sort of hit and miss the spot. I love the way she writes the emotional aspect of her stories, but the worldbuilding was always so thin and sketchy; and in a lot of the romances, there is so much angst from forced misunderstandings, but the characters rarely grow or learn. So it's just... really hit and miss for me.

But this book is so different. It's so real. That's so stupid to say, but what I mean is, I feel the authenticity and solidity of the characters. There's humor and there's tension and there's tenderness. The characters are not a collection of traits; it's not like: this is a heroine who's feisty; but: this is a person who happens to be the heroine. I love the moments when the characters introspect and choose to let go of harmful assumptions, to process their emotions and face their vulnerabilities. They grow, and I love that.

My personal favorite moment was when Maria was going to leave after discovering Jay is A, and Jay is just standing there looking at her -- and she thinks that A is vulnerable, and Jay is not. But A is Jay. And she does it. She walks back. It's hard but she does it. I felt so proud of her. I mean... I really relate with moments like this. I love reading about moments like this.

My other favorite thing about this book is the diversity. Courtney Milan is pulling a Rick Riordan -- starts out with narratives about the majority group, and now that she's successful she branches out into people from all kinds of backgrounds and identities. Love it. I'm so glad Jay gets called out lol. Like right at the beginning, Jay said something like, 'I'm a feminist because I know lots of women and I've worked with so many of them'. And I was immediately wary. That's not how it works. Just coz you've interacted with many women doesn't mean the interactions were good. And stuff like that. And he gets called out for that later. I'm so relieved that small stuff like that doesn't get away and is addressed.

Anyway this was so enjoyable. The fact that it's so diverse and good is why I'm giving it stars. Also I wanna know how trans readers feel about this book -- is Maria represented respectfully??