After absolutely loving the first book in the series, of course I had to go ahead and read all the other books in the series as well.
Will and Leo's love story was teased in that first book, and I had been instantly instantly hooked on both their characters the very first time they were introduced. The moment you begin reading it, you realise that Will and Leo have such an electric energy whenever theyfe in a scene together. It's impossible not to imagine together.

Their personalities are poles apart, and a lot of the times, even though they understand that the other person has to be acted with in a certain way, they make the wrong decisions. The true story is not them falling in love, but overcoming their own fears and expectations to grab onto what's real and what's in front of them.

CHARACTERS

Leo seems like the ultimate Gen Z kid. Going to college, mid-terms, college- seeing the chapters through his perspective show touched some sore spots of relatability.
One his major flaws is that he has these intensely romantic ideas about relationships and love. And I could understand where he was coming from, because he has grown up fortunately surrounded with love in a small town, and has these grand, slightly naive ideas about how love was supposed to be.

But it also makes him view the world through the lens of these great standards. He's not looking for someone to check the swony boxes, but he chooses to ignore (or actively avoid thinking about) the fact that Will keeps telling him from Day 1 that he is not a monogamy sort of guy. He wants to keep seeing other people.

He sees Will as gorgeous and untouchable, and some of that is genuinely because of his age. He and Will have easily a 6 or 7 year age gap.
And even otherwise, Will has had just just a much more difficult childhood, and more... unpleasant experiences with romantic relationships that have just skewered his perspective on them.

He and Leo constantly clash, but there's also this tender acknowledgement. He secretly adores Leo for his cheeriness and positive outlook.

THEMES

I was absolutely in love with these two and their story. But their personal journeys also carried a significant weight.
There's also quite a bit of attention paid to the sub-plot of Will's sister. We found out pretty soon (and i don't necessarily think it's a spoiler) that she's bipolar and she has two kids. I can't recall her name right now, basically she refuses to take her meds, and a lot of the times it makes her not be able to take care of her two young children that she has. Or even be present for them or keep them safe. And Will has to step in, while also trying to take care of her as well.

And it really takes a toll on him, because it just reminds of his own childhood too much, where he was neglected and left to fend for himself as well.
I love the way that's explored with so much care- never really crossing the line into blaming the sister for being bipolar, but also holding her accountable for her actions.

It actually shows the side of the family members or loved ones who support people struggling with mental health issues or disorders.

CONSLUSION


Overall, I just loved the humor, the soft and comfortable reading vibes, the way the author balanced dealing with heavy topics side by side with light hearted moments. It was also just really cute?

Like I know this is way too far in the review to say this, but sometimes when Leo is being cheeky or Will is being too stubborn to admit his feelings, but you can see him blush anyway... it genuinely made me want to hug the book (phone/e-copy, whatever).

To conclude, I highly recommend picking this one up.