3.5 stars One of WG’s angstiest books
Angsty? Oh yeah… Toxic? Yuuuuup… Drama-filled? check… and I couldn’t put it down 😅… even though I wanted more.
Scarlett (18) and Easton (18) share a secret… they’ve been into each other for a while, but… Easton’s dating Scarlett’s twin sister 😬 and everyone knows it 😬. Easton has social media/contracts with Scarlett’s sister Tully, and it’s getting harder and harder to break up with her. Scarlett’s getting tired of the whole situation. She wants Easton but she can’t handle the jealousy she feels every time her sister’s with Easton. So she tries dating, tries kissing other guys, but no one makes her feel anything remotely close to what she feels for Easton.
Easton hates that he met Tully first. When they met, they made TikTok’s that went viral. Now, he’s stuck with her and her superficial persona because of their fame and various contracts/sponsors, but he only wants Scarlett. With her feisty mouth and attitude, he can’t help but wish he had met her first.
Even when they try to stay away from each other, they can’t help it 😬. All of this is a recipe for disaster 😅…
What I liked/loved: possible spoilers
—the ansgt 😱. There’s a lot of it 😅; from beginning to the end, so much happens. The premise alone lets us know there’ll be angst, add in a bunch of other elements, and it’s angst-central
—the 🔥. Oh LAWD. This is STEAAAAMY😮💨. Before the book begins, Scarlett and Easton had only kissed, but as their relationship progresses, it gets 🥵. The first kiss we see happens around 14%, and 🔥 situations until they go all the way by 46% ish 😉. And it’s a…
—surprise V situation 👀 (even though Easton doesn’t realize it 🤦🏻♀️)
—Easton loves to eat cereal 🥵💦 and
—he’s a diiiiirty talker 😉
—how obsessed Easton is with Scarlett 👀. It seems like he’s not considering the circumstances, but he ONLY wants Scarlett and ONLY thinks about her 😅. She’s everything for him (I’ll comment down below)
—the secret relationship part😅. I didn’t mind this too much considering Easton wasn’t intimate with Tully…
—how much of a bulldozer Easton is 👀. As soon as Scarlett’s having second thoughts, he comes in and says “not today” and shows her just how much they’re meant to be together 👀 and how much he wants her 😮💨
—how jealous Easton gets 😈. I love me some OMD, and Scarlett’s not gonna stop living life if Easton doesn’t get his ish together 💅. I luuuurve the JP scenes 😈
—I felt bad for Easton with how much his hands are tied 😬. He’s a likable character with the type of homelife he has 😏
—Scarlett leaving to get a breather 👏🏻 I needed some space too
—the letter-writing and questions 😅. I found myself figuring out answers too 😅.
—the lies, not once, but twice 😅. I like me some twists… and I was definitely surprised 😱
What I didn’t like/wanted more of: SPOILERS
—I was trusting in Easton’s word until Tully says she had her mouth on him first 😐. I wish we knew if she was lying 😐 ETA it seems (based on a comment down below) that it probably DID happen… 😒
—the rushed ending 😐. Soooooo much happens at the end… too many things, and I was left with so many questions of things we didn’t get much resolution to 😏. With all the ansgt in the book, I wanted more detailing all that happens at the end
—with how obsessed Easton is with Scarlett, I don’t know why he didn’t try getting out of the contracts he had with Tully sooner 😐. Yes, he had debt because of his alcoholic dad to take care of, but… ugh… I wish he had figured out something sooner 😐
—Scarlett’s musical side. Whatever happens to it? She performs and even gets the opportunity to go to London, which she takes, but after she comes back, we don’t see this anymore 🤷🏻♀️. Not in the years they’re separated, not in the epilogue, no where else 😐. I really wish we had more of this. This was Scarlett’s talent and it just get thrown to the wind 😏
—the broken/repaired sister relationship. So, Scarlett and Tully become the best of friends by the end, but I really wish we had seen this developed better. We’re spent disliking Tully most of the book, and then it all gets fixed? I wish we had seen this 😏
—their mom 😑. I didn’t like their mom 😬 not only because she seemed pretty selfish, but also because she didn’t notice how neglectful she was. Sigh. And don’t get me started on their dad… the cheater 😑
—more on the parents ^^
—Kevin….? Where’d you go?
Overall, I liked a lot but I wish there was more or other things were fleshed out better
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no sharing
-cheating of a parent
-cheating ish between MCs: this is complicated
-OWD: the H is dating the h’s sister. They’ve only kissed but there’s a scene where she almost gives H a BJ for his bday
-OMD: the h dates/kisses OM to get over the H (before they’re intimate). The night H takes h’s v, the h was dancing/grinding on OM
-death of a parent recounted
-underage drinking
-virgin h/no info on the last time H was with someone (was never with OW girlfriend/twin)
-condoms
-separations/6 months/2 years/both celibate
-HEA/epilogue/months later