Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. Despite pushing through to the end, I never got into the story or connected with the characters. First of all, the length was overwhelming. In my opinion, a story without much plot shouldn’t be stretched out so long, but the author managed to do just that! What could have been conveyed in 200 pages was dragged out to nearly 500.

We never got to see how the relationship between Nick and Izzy blossomed during their summer fling; we only received flashbacks. As someone who loves the emotional depth of a relationship, I felt cheated. It seemed like they jumped straight into the relationship after a brief separation without any angst or resistance. The excessive explicit scenes didn’t help either—they felt like filler and, to my surprise, made me feel nauseous. Nick and Izzy are supposed to be 19, but the things they do! It almost made me forget how immature they behave outside the bedroom.

Since I listened to the audiobook and endured nearly 13 hours, I want to point out some positives. I loved the bond shared by the Callahan family, and Nikolai’s character development at the end was somewhat heartwarming. However, the brief breakup between him and Izzy felt completely unnecessary.

Now, about the audio:

Initially, I struggled with the male character’s Russian accent, which made the pronunciation hard to understand. Although I eventually got used to it, I couldn’t help but question if the thick Russian accent was really necessary, especially since his American accent was so cool. It made me rethink the whole accent change. The female narrator’s voice was moderate, but at times it came off as a bit too whiny for my taste.

In the end, this book didn’t meet my expectations, with a drawn-out plot, lack of emotional depth, and narration that just didn’t work for me.