(Received an ARC from Netgalley/HarperCollins)

🌈 4.5 ⭐ rounded up ✨

A very wholesome sapphic YA romance to satisfy your soft nerdy rivals to lovers cravings! Love how black culture and movie history is sprinkled throughout the book gosh we need more books in similar settings please.

I'm all for a well-written cast of different characters with representation that feels natural and Zakiya didn't disappoint. I'm also in love with how the side characters all have their own distinct personalities— it is actually hard to get them mixed up (which I found surprising for me because I do tend to mix characters up/forget their names if there's a lot of them 💀) Also screaming about the dynamic between Rochelle and her mum, just so raw and real.

The mystery surrounding the sabotaging of the theatre could have been slightly less predictable but that's the only tiny critique I have and considering it is a minor subplot, it didn't affect how joyful my reading experience has been.

Lastly, the banter between Rochelle and Amira is top-notch and it's been so beautiful to watch them grow and I want more of them okay— I'm looking forward to more from the author <3