The Cheat Sheet

by Sarah Adams

Is it ever too late to leave the friend-zone?

Hi, my name is Bree Camden, and I’m hopelessly in love with my best friend and star quarterback Nathan Donelson (so is half of America, judging by the tabloids and how much the guy dates). The first step is admitting, right? Except, I can never admit it to him because he clearly doesn’t see me that way, and the last thing I want is for things to get weird between us.

Nothing but good old-fashioned, no-touching-the-sexiest-man-alive, platonic friendship for us! Everything is exactly how I like it! Yes. Good. (I’m not crying, I’m just peeling an onion.)

Our friendship is going swimmingly until I accidentally spill my beans to a reporter over too much tequila, and now the world seems to think me and Nathan belong together. Oh, and did I mention we have to date publicly for three weeks until after the Super Bowl because we signed a contract with...oops, forgot I can’t tell anyone about that!

Bottom line is, now my best friend is smudging all the lines and acting very un-platonic, and I’m just trying to keep my body from bursting into flames every time he touches me.

How am I going to make it through three weeks of fake dating Nathan without anything changing between us? Especially when it almost-sort-a-kinda seems like he’s fighting for a completely different outcome?

Send help.
XO Bree

Genres: Romance, Sports Romance, Contemporary, Sports, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Audiobook

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2021

Reviews

[*.゜｡: vy hates you !¡ .゜｡* · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Bree is everything I aspire to be, everything I love, everything I desire. She holds my heart, and, with all that I am, I hope she never gives it back.”

edit : giving it a 1 star cause i took a good 5 minutes and contemplated my decision. yeah nope im giving it a 1 star

disclaimer : i know this book was a more PG sided book. i said smut would redeem it, not that i was expecting smut. plus, i did enjoy reading the books i just hated the execution. don’t hate me for my opinion <3

what is with women and pulling the “im so clueless i dont know he fucking loves me” card like bitch. BITCH. you only pull that card unless

1. youre stupid
2. you genuinely dont like them and want to friendzone

which clearly she doesnt want to friendzone him BECAUSE SHE’S FUCKING IN LOVE WITH HIM? so what in the actual pick me is this fucking book...

also i just thought of something I HATE WHEN THE CHARACTERS HAVE THESE FUCKING MORALS WHERE ITS LIKE "OH I DONT WANNA TAKE YOUR MONEY" like yes, in some cases thats fine but this man is rich as fcuk like take his money. if you wont i fucking will

the first half of this book was good. so addictive. i was honestly hooked. the second half?? bitch i wanted to claw my eyes out and sell my soul to satan like what the actual fuck. they kept “questioning” their feelings WHEN ITS FUCKING CLEAR AS DAY that they like each other??

this book was the biggest drag in history.. i wouldnt even call it sexual tension because its a fucking PG 13+ book like what part of that screams ”hot spicy sexual tension”??

exactly. none. of. it.

PLOT ˎˊ˗
2 besties, bree camden and nathan donelson. theyve been besties for 6 years and for the whole fucking six years theyve been in love with each other. surprised?? fuck no. bree is a ballet teacher and nathan is a star football player. theres a bit of fake dating (not the fun, hot fake dating tho) and then bam love. marriage. the end.

the plot?? basic asf. it was still fun to read but it wasnt anything that was interesting lol

also this may be a spoiler but its so bad that im just gonna say it:

who gets fucking married after a week of dating i dont fucking care you knew each other for 6 years like no. just no.

ROMANCE ˎˊ˗
there’s obviously no smut in this book cause duh PG 13+ ring any bells??

they were cute. there was kissing. VERY INNOCENT KISSING. ummm yeah idk 90% of this book is ”what they want with each other” but its all talk, no action like chop chop get together already??

honestly, maybe smut wouldve redeemed this book because it had potential and if youre gonna write a slow burn with a pretty basic plot and an annoying female mc at least give the readers the sex??

their romance was also a little.. cringe towards the end. it just got all lovey dovey and i was just like… what the fuck go back to being best friends

also a big BIG no no to public proposals id rather die and also i would hate to not be able to plan MY OWN WEDDING but everyone is different ig… *sigh*

!! SPOILERS?? even tho i think ive said a lot already so whatever read on i guess !!

bree camden :
⤷ just a no for me.

who let her exist. no.. thats mean but just huh?? WHAT IN THE PICK ME GIRL IS THIS im sorry but was she not saying how ”she was being friend zoned” at the beginning of the book??

SHE WAS THE ONE DOING ALL THE FRIEND ZONING. THAT. WAS. ALL. HER.

literally losing braincells atm just give me a fat second

fhajkfkskfofowofoslfkvkekkekgkskekgkdlk kfkgkskkfkfkwkflglfleldkdkskkdvkkfkskdkfkflsldlvlfkdkekkgkvkdlelfkglfllwldlglflele

im calm :)

theres just SO MANY windows she could’ve taken but SHE DIDNT TAKE IT and half the time ran away??

nathan donelson :
⤷ cute turned into cringe sigh

i liked him. didnt love him or hate him so… yeah. he was a good character UNTIL THE END where the love confessions came out and it was just… gross

idc about love confessions but ive read enough to know what a ”not so cringe kinda cute” confession should be. maybe im picky. maybe im judgemental but not gonna change my mind

he’s also THE BIGGEST SIMP which is ok i guess..?? he is so whipped for her tho like its fucking clear as day lmao and yet bree cant see it?? brb while i go lose more braincells

CONCLUSION ˎˊ˗
people hyped this book a bit too much because its really not that amazing. its average. its basic. yes, its addictive but like all in all, go pick up a smutty book and just read that instead. ok bye <3

[priscilla · Rating 1 out of 5]

it was supposed to give but it did not give what needed to be gave

[Haley pham · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars!!!!!

[nikita · Rating 2 out of 5]

keeping everything aside, ppl in their 30s acting like teenagers and trying to be quirky is annoying and cringe.

[tasnim♥️ · Rating 1 out of 5]

The second hand embarrassment I experienced from the first three chapters alone...... bye. My goodness the pick-me energy, the I'm not like other girls trope???? Yeah, i'll pass.

I have never DNF'd a book so fast

[Madita · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept forgetting they were actual adults with jobs instead of 13yo kids.

I know some people have quirky personalities and I am sure that this was supposed to be quirky. It was not.
None of this was quirky.
It was annoying.

Not only did the female mc act so over the top and exaggerated all the time, but the guy was so weirdly immature that he really acted like a boy that still hadn’t gone through puberty.
I don’t get it. I also don’t get the appeal of making characters seem childish when trying to be quirky.
This is coming from a 20yo that still enjoys Disney movies and watches How to train your dragons on a weekly basis.

This wasn’t the “I am an adult but the child inside me still love xyz”.
This was “I am an adult but I am not like other girls/boys because I think like a child and still stick my tongue out at people”.

Now about the romance, why? This was just miscommunication. Not once till the end of the book did they think “mhm maybe the other person does like me”.

I can’t handle miscommunication anymore especially like this and don’t even get me started in the weird football team. Why did they act like that. Yes it was supposed to be comedic relief but it wasn’t.
One of the guys was funny and seemed like the funny best friend but the rest was weirdly immature.

[pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are things i can nitpick about this book, but overall, so wholesome, so cute, and just a very light and fluffy read

It’s what i wanted and what i expected, so I really enjoyed it

[chan ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

not really understanding the 1 star reviews. was this deeply emotional and incredibly nuanced? no. were the characters a lil immature for their actual ages? sure.

but this was an easy read, a palate cleanser, a slump buster. romance doesn’t have to be deep to be fun or worthy of a read :)

[;3 · Rating 2 out of 5]

learning how to read was the biggest mistake of my life! lobotomy here i come <3

[clara · Rating 2 out of 5]

the more i think about this book the more it incites a deep rage in me

[Cait Jacobs (Caitsbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is absolutely adorable. Friends to lovers, mutual pining, fake dating... I'm in love. While the writing style may not be for everyone, I was completely hooked by the fun characters and their swoon-worthy romance.

[TW: Anxiety, panic attacks]

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ THIS BOOK HAD NO BUSINESS BEING THIS CUTE SOS! The couple reminded me a lot of Nathan & Haley from One Tree Hill and that’s my fav show & fav couple so y’all KNOW I loved this. I only didn’t give it a full 5 stars because some parts were a bit too cheesy for me, but I still adored this book. <3

[L A i N E Y (will be back) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listen, if The Cheat Sheet was set in high school, it would have easily got at least 3 stars from me, ok? At least. But you can’t expect me to buy into your love story between grownups — one of whom is actually a successful NFL quarterback to boot when you crammed it full of characters that act this immature and special-snowflaky.

And that ending scene was just sooo extra… I’ve never read more unrealistic scene in my life. Just wish-fulfillment to the max!

[booksandzoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF— this was terrible lol

[dana sun · Rating 1 out of 5]

where do i even begin with this?

one, the plot, it was a mess like it starts off with them as friends and they somehow end up married by the end of the book (it takes place over like 4 weeks??). it reminds me of that one movie baby’s day out where this rich baby is kidnapped by these men who have no idea how to keep track of a kid and so the kid goes literally everywhere and ends up at some construction site at some point. and like the plot makes no sense but it starts where it’s supposed to and it ends where it’s supposed to so you can’t really fault it for that. but for this book i will 100% complain about it because it makes no sense like i read this book yesterday and if you asked me to describe any of what happened today, after ive finished the book, i don’t think i could do that.

two, the main character, i just didn’t like bree in the beginning. like don’t get me wrong she gets better and definitely has her moments but i just couldn’t stand her in the first few chapters. she was a pick me but he did pick her so idk…

three, the fucking miscommunication BECAUSE THEYRE SO DUMB HE LITERALLY TELLS HER THAT HES FLIRTING WITH HER?? THEIR DIALOGUE QUITE LITERALLY GOES “are you flirting with me🤨” “yes☺️” AND RHIS 7MARA DECIDES TO JUST WALK AWAY??

four, the dialogue just didn’t make it feel like they were adults. like the lines with nathan and his team could have just as easily been used in a conversation from high schoolers and it would not change a thing. the side characters were just really flat and were only there to yell at nathan and bree for being morons. i don’t understand how this book is intended for adults because the writing was just so incredibly juvenile.

also you’ve got the rich x poor trope where rich person is like “you know i can buy you something i really don’t mind” and the reply is “no but ill feel bad🙁” and it made me want to rip my hair out. rip bree and her morals i don’t have any so if anyone ever wants to buy me a car i won’t mind.

i feel like the worst part is that i actually was looking forward to it because the tropes seemed cute but i just couldn’t deal with the writing…

i don’t think this is a book i would recommend to anyone bc it was an absolute trainwreck. there were definitely parts of this book that weren’t horrible but it was overshadowed by the sheer amount of garbage also in this book.

[Destiny Sidwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

ugh! so cute and funny i wanna throw up sparkles everywhere!!! had me smiling and laughing out loud LOVE

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this book has everything I love friends-to-lovers and fake dating trope but this was so boring to me.
Sure story is pure fluff but there is barely any conflict or plot to make to more engaging.
It’s very much Sarah Adams book and if you liked her previous books you will like this as well.

[spring ~♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's say the appropriate title would have been "The Cheap Shit" instead of "The Cheat Sheet".
That's it. That's the review.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm bailing a bit early (~15%) but I just can't at this point. The main problem is a personal one—that they've been sleeping with other people while in love with each other. I mean, they've been in love with each other for ten years, which makes it difficult anyway. I mean, have a conversation, people! Seriously. Only they're so busy friend-zoning each other preemptively that they can't have a serious talk, apparently. Which is bad. But worse, they're sleeping with other people!

This bugs me. I mean, it says something about you if you're sexing up other people while hung up on another. And while casual sex might be fine (dunno, never have, doubt I could), these are relationships with at least weeks standing (and Bree just dumped someone at the six month mark). And that's just a jerk move (to be in the relationship, not that she dumped him).

And being all uptight about this let me pick at the rest of the story in my head. Like that both sound about a decade younger than their given twenty-eight, making this feel like a YA romance. Which was weird. But worse was the whole thing with Bree and her bleeding heart school for dance. Don't get me wrong, my heart bleeds just fine. I find her goals admirable and would love to buy that she's really into providing needs-based tuition in a high-caliber dance curriculum. Only, at least some of the plot includes a rent increase that means she has to take on more classes when she's already exhausted with her current load. And she shuts Nathan down hard when he offers to subsidize the studio. "Imma do it myself!" she whines, petulantly (I may have editorialized that some).

Which means that she isn't actually serious about providing quality dance instruction, doesn't it? No, her pride or ego (or something) is more important than her supposed laudable goal. So the author wants to give her nobility points, but does so in a way that actually makes her kind of stupid and maybe a bit selfish. And also, Nate has already gone behind her back and is paying her landlord for part of her rent all sub-rosa. Because that's what a caring guy he is. Going behind his love's back to unilaterally solve an issue she can't solve on her own. Because he's the man, apparently.

See? This is high school stuff! So yeah. One star, though I did kind of like their interactions. I liked them as a couple, frankly. But a romance needs to show people falling in love. This ain't that. They're already in love. Their lives are already entwined. They just have to have a conversation and the book is over. So everything in the way of that conversation just feels dumb, to me.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting a lot from this book and it didn't deliver. I was so so so excited to read it and then I started it...and now I can't even finish it.

The problem is, most likely, my super high expectations. This was supposed to be amazing, a new favourite, something I'd recommended to people over and over again...I'm disappointed.

The biggest issue I have is how the ballerina and football player roles tie into this. It's sort of like a background thing, they could be doing completely different jobs and it wouldn't make a difference.

Their careers were what made me want to read this so bad in the first place, so I wish it was executed better.

Then there's the two leads themselves. I don't particularly like either of them, but Bree is a whole different level of dislike.

It's clear from the starting scenes that she's immature which is okay, she's not an adult adult, she's still young, but as the book goes on this starts to get annoying. I have a special place reserved for drunk Bree, that's her at her worst by far. It's not cute, it's just sad.

It's commendable that she wants to provide dance classes to those who can't afford them, but something about that felt forced. I can't explain how exactly, it just didn't feel natural. I'm mostly talking about the dance class scenes. As a dancer myself I might be biased, sure, but that wasn't it.

Nathan...I barely have anything to say about him. He's nice and does things for other people, and it feels less forced than Bree's good deeds and yet...meh? Seeing into his head isn't all that interesting either.

The side characters are really something. Nathan's teammates were cool in some parts and cringy in others. I think I still like them better than Bree and Nathan overall.

The book is mostly fluff which is a point in its favour. If it had more angst I would've quit reading a lot earlier.

The writing is one thing I don't have faults with. There's nothing wrong with it.

Finally, this is not a bad book, but it wasn't my cup of tea. I'm giving it 2.5 stars rounded down.

[❦ jazmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Well, magic eight ball, what do you think? Should I tell my best friend I love her?”

⇢The Plot
This book was incredibly cute. The majority of the plot revolved around the love interest Nathan trying to get his best friend Bree to fall in love with him using a cheat sheet that he and his friends created, and I think that alone indicates the fluff that you’re in for. Was I annoyed at times because these two had been in love for YEARS and neither of them noticed? YES. But it was also pretty sweet so I won’t complain.

⇢Bree and Nathan
I was honestly surprised by how likeable both of these characters were, particularly Nathan. I mean, he was a football player and football players in books usually fit into a bunch of stereotypes, which he didn’t at all. And I’m here for it. Bree was a little less unique but her personality was hilarious and eccentric so she was pretty cool too.

And as a couple they were pretty great. This book was surprisingly slow burn which I really liked, but there was a bunch of romance when they were fake dating to make up for that! Overall, they were a really cute couple even if at times some aspects of their relationship seemed random.

“That’s…bad? I thought we wanted paparazzi to see us being coupley?”
When Nathan’s voice reaches me, low and quiet, I almost think I’ve heard him wrong. “Yeah, but that was when it was just fake.”




⇢The Side Characters
I have no idea if this book is going to be the first in a series but the side characters were super interesting! I would definitely read a book about Nathan’s teammates.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ❦ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

MY LINKTREE ❦

[SHOMPA · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy the bestfriend-turned-boyfriend thing. It's one of my favorite tropes when done correctly. And this one was just OK, quite amusing too. It seemed super cheesy in some scenes, yet I didn't mind. I absolutely loved every second of it!

**Content warning: Discuss anxiety and panic attacks.

[Alex.andthebooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

To było naprawdę zabawne i przyjemne tylko co to za końcówka rodem z telenoweli XD Mimo wszystko bawiłam się wspaniale! Rzadko śmieje się na książkach.

[Hilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

“Your soul is my favorite in this entire world.”

Nathan is to me the sexiest fictional man OH LORD.
The pining was legendary.
His chapters made me question my whole I-hate-dual-pov-in-romance personality.
The brownie scene, Nathan's experiment, Bree’s “experiment”....I might have combusted a little bit.

Trust me when I say I was already uncontrollably squealing from chapter 1. This book made me so happy and honestly that's the best feeling ever. Some people say Bree and Nathan act too childish and I completely understand where they come from, however for me that is the book's charm honestly! There isn't a single romance book I've read that makes me feel like it's happiness bottled up in book form like this one. This was so unique, funny, cute and heartwarming in the best way possible. There's basically no drama, and even when the characters recall bad moments in their lives the happy mood never shifts, and it's not because those events don't get the right representation. This book is amazingly balanced and so fun.

I'm calling it. This right here is the best friends-to-lovers romance of all time. Miss Sarah Adams made history, I'm gonna have to pick up all her books now. I love sweet romances and I can see she excels at them. Who cares about smut when you can read about a wholesome love story? Tbh I don't even like smut that much so this is perfect for me 💕✨

[I don't know if I made this up in my head, but I swear this has Dial A for Aunties romance vibes. You're probably going to love this book if you loved Meddie and Nathan's relationship.]

[CHAMPAGNE · Rating 5 out of 5]

my reading list is hoooorrnnnyyy af so who'd have thought i'd enjoy an adult romance with no smut.

Am I disappointed? Yes. I waited for more than 300+ pages for this couple to get together and I didn't get the climax I was craving for (lol, pun intended). But it was fine!

“Bree, the whole answer is that I don’t want to wait another second without being 100% truly and completely yours.

This man being such a simp was everything to me. I can't get over it, he's so perfect 😍

There’s always a moment at the end of the day when she takes the pins out and all those wild curls fall down around her shoulders—kills me every time.

At one point, the heroine annoyed the fuck out of me. The constant self inflicted conflicts was frustrating af, I almost blew a vein.

“Hello?”
“Lily, something’s wrong!” I say, shutting my front door and leaning my back against it.
“What! What’s wrong?!”
“I had a fantastic day.”

Overall, not much to say. Cute Rom-Com vibes with a hero who worships his heroine, and a supportive female lead that tells her hero how much letting go of his pent up emotions is healthy and encourages him to go to therapy 👏👏

I hold on tighter. “You can always cry with me, Nathan. We’re safe with each other.”
This breaks him wide open.
He drops his head into his hands and a sob racks his frame.

This was a healthy relationship in my eyes. But the writing? The author tend to do a lot of telling rather than showing, some things happen out of convenience. My reading has been wack since last month, and these issues I'd typically find annoying, I can slide pass rn.

“I’ve been dying for you to love me back—but I never thought you would.”

The Romance Cheat Sheet

[alerleees · Rating 5 out of 5]

sarah adams always manages to put a smile on my face

[Tina's Bookish Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's literally so hard to review a book I loved BECAUSE I CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY I LOVE IT BECAUSE ITS IN THE DETAILS AND YOU GOTTA READ IT TO UNDERSTAND but here we go:

General review:
THIS IS THE CUTEST THING I'VE EVER READ😭
This book made me realize that friends to lovers is so underrated.
THE MUTUAL PINING, THE JEALOUSY, THE FEAR, THE FLUFF, THE HIDDEN FEELINGS JUST BUBBLING OVER KJEBKVHEJ
Dual POV was literally the best choice for this book although I was in fact yelling at both Bree and Nathan throughout the whole book TO JUST KISS ALREADY EKJHBEBVD (warning: it is very slow burn and if you're expecting smut you won't find it)
This is the best rom-com I've ever read, I was laughing so much through all of it. It's so well and uniquely written and SO CUTEEE
I love how there are also these scenes when the characters are vulnerable and experiencing these very real-life things and I love how anxiety/panic attacks are dealt with and not taken lightly.

The Characters:
Bree is the most adorable ray of sunshine AND NOW IM IN DESPERATE NEED OF A BREENKET!!
Nathan is literally so unexpected and sweet and kind (and let's admit it is JUST VERY HOT) AND HES LITERALLY A HUGE SOFTIE AND I NEED A BEAR HUG FROM HIM (would also love to call him dad...)
BREE AND NATHAN ARE BOTH SO KIND AND ADORABLE AND GOOFY AND CHEESY AND THE WAY THEY TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER IS THE SWEETEST THING I CAN'T EVEN
I literally love the whole football team I WANT TO BE BEST FRIENDS WITH ALL OF THEM
Special shout out to Lily because she is so cute🥺

Favorite Scenes: (minor spoilers)
- Nathan carrying Bree to his car
- Bree drunkenly defending Nathan and him helping her home
- Nathan and the team making the romance cheat sheet
- EVERY SINGLE TIME BREE AND NATHAN TEASED OR FLIRTED WITH EACH OTHER
- The kiss at the party (also literally any kiss scene)
- “Yeah, but that was when it was just fake.”
- Bree takes care of Nathan during his panic attacks (especially when she tells him everything)
- The proposal + the wedding
- ANYTIME THE TEAM WAS THERE
- Any conversation between Bree and Lily

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a cute sports/friends to lovers romance. I love a good slowborn but it felt like it took forever for these two to get it together and finally admit their feelings for one another. I really loved the start and the end, but there was a lot in the middle that felt slow to me personally. I still would read more by this author, and would definitely love to read about some of Nathan’s football friends!

Audio book source: Hoopla
Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Narrators: Renee Dorian & Teddy Hamilton
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 8h 57m

[Luzmila✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DIOSSSSSS, ¡¡¡NO!!! Qué horror de libro, por favorrrrrrrrr.

Malditos videos de TikTok que te convencen para leerte un libro sin saber absolutamente nada.

Lo venden como increíble, gracioso y romántico hasta la médula pero lo único que encontras es a dos personajes pedorros, al pedo, en el cual se sienten atraídos entre ellos desde que son jóvenes pero NUNCA SE DICEN NADA.
Literalmente te pasas todo el fucking libro viendo/leyendo sus estúpidos pensamientos de "x no puede gustar de mi", "x es solo mi amig@", "x nunca me vería de esa forma", x esto, x lo otro.

INFUMABLES. ESO ES LO QUE SON.

Ni los nombres me aprendí de tanta repulsa que me generaron.

Normalmente me gustan los libros sobre deportistas pero NO me gustan los libros que no muestran nada sobre sus entrenamientos o sus partidos porque de lo contrario para mi es solo un libro romántico estúpido y aburrido más y este libro es así. Solo trata de ellos dos siendo unos ineptos para la comunicación básica. Infumables, ya lo dije.

Otra cosa es que normalmente no me gustan los friends-to-lovers pero he leído algunos que sí me han gustado y cuando empecé a leerlo creí que podría llegar a gustarme también pero no, fue horrible y realmente me da mucha pena decir algo así sobre un libro pero no me gustó, para nada. Llegué hasta la página 200 y pico pero no pude más.

[tanya *ੈ✩‧₊˚ · Rating 1 out of 5]

0.5 - this was one of the worst books i’ve ever read.

there’s a lot to comment on but let’s start with the writing. when i tell you it felt like i was reading dork diaries. this is clearly catered toward 11 year olds - but even then, you’d hope that there was at least correct use of the english language and conventions. there were way too many forward slashes used, such as “confused/laughing/crying”. pick ONE or use the word ‘or’. if you’re going to use forward slashes, at least only use one at a time. something else that really irritated me was the use of brackets in speech??? it only happened once but that is one time too many because literally what the fuck. you should know better and so should your editors. the writing was overall just extremely immature. it was super choppy especially toward the end when switching through scenes, and i know she was trying to be emotive and eloquent when writing the romantic scenes (closed door btw. not an issue just thought i’d mention it in case u were wondering), but it just sounded so stupid and childish. the way you could tell something was trying to be achieved but it so violently was not😭
there was also a lot of use of capital letters to convey yelling which always rubs me the wrong way in books. usually i can look past it, but it happened SO often and it wasn’t even in speech half the time.

another thing; there was NO differentiation between the characters in their POVs. Nathan’s inner monologue would sound exactly the same as Bree’s. if they didn’t explicitly state the name at the beginning of each chapter i would’ve had no idea it was meant to be two different perspectives/people. there’s a difference between having a similar personality and just outright copy and pasting your characters.

Bree was such a pick me quirky girl it was so humiliating to sit through. the way she acted around Nathan’s girlfriends and the way she was “one of the boys” with the team was so embarrassing.

I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION HOW MUCH I HATED THE ACTUAL PLOT. it was so fucking stupid and frustrating the way bree was so cynical all the time. not to mention how WEIRD it was that she was mentioning incest and kept saying nathan was like brother to her. i hated it so much. and every time you thought “oh! finally she’s going to accept that they like each other” she turned around and decided that there’s no way he could like her like that bc they’re “besties!!!” i hated her. there is not one iota of bree that i liked. she was annoying and made her and nathan weird as hell.

getting through this wasn’t exactly a chore bc i cant lie some parts were funny and Nathan’s team were truly the saving grace - that being said, i dnf’d this last year like 20 pages in and decided to pick it up again this year bc i’ve been seeing reels about it. i was so close to dnf’ing it for a second time but got through it purely bc it was so childish and light and seemed easy to just skim read parts and finish for the sake of finishing.

i think i’m just really not a romcom girlie anymore bc the main character is always so quirky and not like other girls and i cant handle it😭