This story is about Annie, a twenty-something woman who is going to Seattle to surprise her best friend, Darcy, for a two week vacation. Only Darcy is on her own vacation with her girlfriend Elle in Canada. So to prevent total disaster, Darcy has her younger brother, Brendon, bring a copy of her keys to Annie so that she can stay there while Darcy is out of town. Ever the helpful brother and gentleman that he is, Brendon decides to show Annie around Seattle. While together, Annie tells him that she is disenchanted with dating and romance and doesn’t really believe in it anymore. As the founder of a dating app called OTP, Brendon is a little bit hurt by this and decides to woo Annie to show her that romance isn’t dead. This goes just as you expect it to tbh and that is not a problem. It is sweet, funny, and charming, and you just enjoy the journey these two take with each other. I think the last like 25-30% of this really killed it for me, and not in a good way. I just felt that a lot of the drama was manufactured and not real, and the stuff that was real was being treated poorly by all of the characters. I think if you like traditional romance, and enjoy a bit of steam, you will probably like this. If you want any insight as to why I didn’t, keep reading.
I really didn’t like our main character Annie, I found her annoying, sadly. I also wish that her bisexuality was more apart of the story instead of just three moments where it’s mentioned, and only once did the term “bi” get used. I really liked the male protagonist, Brendon, although he also got on my nerves sometimes lol. There were just some character dynamics that didn’t work for me. I think Darcy and Brendon both didn’t respect boundaries at some parts, especially towards the end.
I didn’t like Annie’s overall arc as there wasn’t really one. She claims that she usually just jumps head first into everything, no thoughts, just vibes, but all we see from her in this book is her being reserved and cautious. So while we might hear that she’s not usually like this, all we see/know is her being like this. I also felt like Annie’s relationship with dating was very male-centric and unrealistic. Her qualms with it were not unrealistic, but her perspective is. This is a woman who spends most of her year traveling for work, and then is upset that people aren’t trying harder to make it work and get to know her. Hunty, you’re not there for them to get to know you. Not everyone is comfortable dating someone who isn’t around a lot and that is NOT a character flaw, they are allowed to feel that way and act accordingly. I’m not saying that her feelings aren’t valid, I just think she wasn’t being very smart about it. When I say her feelings towards dating are very male-centric, I mean her reasons as to why she is over dating, are things that are traditionally problems when dating men, not women. Not that they can’t happen with women of non-binary people because of course it can, I’m just saying it’s not as frequent. With women, ghosting is more of a thing that hit it and quit it. Do you get what I’m saying? It goes back to why I think her being bisexual wasn’t really apart of her story, it felt like it was thrown in instead of it being her. I like the scene in the beginning with the barista at the airport, but I was hoping there’d be more discussion or ownership of it throughout the story instead of literally the three times it came up.
Brendon was overall a very sweet, caring male lead. In fact I would go so far as to say that here is another example of an idealized man that doesn’t really exist lol. I mean that in a lighthearted way obviously, but it’s so obvious when a book is written by a woman versus a man because women write men like Brendon, men write men like Gaston. And we are not trying to get Gaston. I liked that Brendon paid attention to what Annie said, and took her seriously when she shared her feelings. I also like that he would ask her before doing anything if it was ok, we love a man who cares about consent!! I will say that Brendon did have a bit of an annoying moment towards the end that I wasn’t too keen on, but it’s overshadowed by all the other good moments.
I have mixed feelings about Darcy in this one. I like her character overall, but they way she was with Annie in the third act mess, was really not cool. I don’t want to go into spoilers, but if your friend is making a big decision, then don’t keep telling them it’s not. It is. You saying it’s not is really invalidating. I know where she was coming from, but it showed a lack of tact and understanding of her friend. I understand that she cares a lot about Annie, and is willing to be tough love and full of reason, but she should also know when to take it down a notch and let her friend feel for a second.
Like I said, I think most people would actually get along with this, and that my problems with it may not be something that bothers other people, but I just wanted to get my opinion out there in case you do have those same feelings.
Just Read It 