I had stupid high expectations for this book and was excited to read it, only to feel meh most of the time reading it. The story itself isn't atrocious - the prose is nice enough to read and the banter can be enjoyable - but I had such a difficult time suspending my disbelief to accept what unfolds in this book.

For a story that takes place in our contemporary world, it floored me that it took as long as it did for the climax to happen. Alex and Henry spend a vast majority of the plot untouched by the consequences of their actions. And I get it. It's a fluffy romance that's meant to be escapism, but it's difficult to escape when the world mirrors so much of our own.

I don't typically read pure romances, so I'm not sure if this is a genre thing or not, but wow, were problems resolved lightning fast. I wish the story stewed in those issues longer. Hell, I wish it just sat still for a couple of pages instead of jumping to the next thing. Any and all conflicts are immediately resolved, making aspects like the enemies-to-lovers and fake relationship tropes extremely short-lived. I kept forgetting Alex hated Henry so much due to how quickly it was chucked out the window.

Any subplots outside of the romance were kind of forgotten, only to be brought back when it was convenient for the plot. At one point, June doesn't want to be on the campaign team and wants to be a journalist... and then that kind of gets swept under a rug. And I can't remember if there was a section I skimmed that detailed more on this or if the author actually forgot to connect details. This happens so often that it came to the point where I stopped paying attention to secondary characters doing anything outside of Alex and Henry; it just wasn't important.

There were many annoyances throughout the story: I could never get a solid read on Alex's mom as a character and she felt like a different person each time she showed up; Zahra read like she belonged in an anime and not an American romance novel; Henry and every British character read like a stereotype; pages upon pages of details regarding kissing and groping and stuff, only to have the actual sex glossed over at best (and there's a lot of sex); Alex's mixed background never felt genuine to me (I have a hard time believing someone who's eaten tacos and stuff in California is NOT complaining about inferior avocados while in DC); anything and everything with Liam ticked me off; Alex clearly has a drinking problem and no one ever stops to call him out on it, especially Henry with his sober sister; etc etc.

But regardless of this, I did find myself enjoying it enough to keep turning the page: the prose is simple yet evocative, witty yet emotional; the plot keeps moving forward, despite some of the scenes lingering in filler-ish chapters; June and Nora are 100% dating in the background and you can't convince me otherwise; Alex being bi and 100% ok with that; Henry's frustrations with not being able to be himself; everything leading up to Henry and Alex's first kiss; etc etc.

I realize despite being queer af, I'm not the intended audience for this book. This might've been a cute slice of escapism for a lot of people, but for me I couldn't stop scrutinizing the details and how very little added up. Regardless, it was a fun distraction from what I typically read and I'd be curious to see what else this author publishes in the future.