The cover and title of this book is incredibly misleading but I’m deeply happy that I pushed through that appearance and continued to read this!! It was funny, tender and cathartic.

This is exceedingly more literary fiction than romance. And it is exceptional at that! However, the mistaking of it as a romcom to the reader does leave room for disappointment (similar to Beach Read, by Emily Henry, upon its debut).

Although annoying a lot of the time, main character Natalie mirrors what it’s like to be in your mid to late 20s still holding out for your dreams while you’re friends are moving on. And in a beautiful juxtaposition, Rob is someone who follows the traditional road to success and finds that’s also messy and unsatisfying.

Most importantly, I think this book is about female friendships and how they age. The things that go unsaid, how you go from doing life together to getting highlight reels of each other. Hankin does a beautiful job at depicting this.