This book is the cutest! Between her Tourette’s and his ADHD that causes impulsivity, Hollyn Tate and Jasper Deares have faced and triumphed over nearly insurmountable odds. Yet, when he brings her a coffee his first day on a new job, fate takes a stand. Due to facial tics that are especially triggered when she’s attracted to someone, she gives him the impression that she views him with disdain. However, ever optimistic and charming Jasper doesn’t let that deter him from getting to know her. And thus begins a relationship that rivals the best of movie rom-coms.
Jasper’s dream is to be a successful actor, and the path begins with his improv group. When he runs into an old friend who floats the idea of buying and renovating an old New Orleans theater to serve as his group’s home base, Jasper’s past as an abandoned foster child and his academic failures make him doubt his abilities. Hollyn, who has stepped out of her comfort zone by moving into the city and working in a shared WeWork-type office space where she writes anonymous, popular entertainment reviews as Miz Poppy, avoids human connection fearing rejection based on trauma from childhood bullying. When Jasper guesses her secret and learns that she’ll need to reveal herself to keep her job, they decide on a mutually beneficial arrangement. In the process, their friendship grows and their blatant honesty allows them to be vulnerable and draw strength from each other.
This story has all of the elements that make for a memorable friends-to-lovers romance. Loren has done a masterful job combining this trope with a love triangle reminiscent of Pretty in Pink featuring her best friend and first love Cal. She also introduces Andi, a true-crime writer and podcaster, who becomes Hollyn’s first female friend (and the heroine in the next book in the series). If you love rom-coms with witty banter, genuine friendship, male unicorns, personal growth, and improv comedy, pick this delightful book up! Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Soucebooks Casablanca through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
3*
Addie, whose OCD has gotten so severe that it takes her 3 hours to get ready for school, must postpone her senior year when she is admitted to an inpatient adolescent psych ward. Her fellow patients include Didi who suffers from Tourette’s and pathological lying, Leah who is depressed after brain tumor surgery, Wolf who is in search of his “horse” and whose diagnosis isn’t revealed, Junior who has anger issues and seizures, and Fitz who has spent the last two years at the hospital for schizophrenia (or, more accurately, multiple personality disorder). Their days are full of both individual and group therapy, exercise, eating meals, playing Boggle, and watching movies. During the times they have to socialize, Addie and Fitz form a strong connection, bonding over literature and punny jokes. The humor is the coping mechanism they use to keep their illnesses from totally overwhelming them. When Fitz asks Addie to break out with him and travel to San Juan Island so he can make amends for the tragedy that landed him in the psych ward, she agrees and even smuggles in money she’s saved in a book by asking her mother to bring her more reading material. Unfortunately, once outside the safe confines of the hospital and without their proper medication, their walls come down and circumstances spiral out of control. The big question posed to Addie by one of her teachers, which is a thread running through much of the book, is what the characters in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” were waiting for. Will either Fitz or Addie find the answer after their ill-advised trip?
Author Hyde spent three of his high school years at Johns Hopkins for severe OCD like Addie’s, and many of the other characters are based on his fellow patients. The authenticity he brings to his writing as a result of his own experiences helps create a vivid and heart-breaking story, but also highlights the humor and humanity found in adolescent psych wards. In this respect, the book would be a great vehicle for bibliotherapy. Unfortunately, Hyde uses literary references from authors generally studied at the college level to sculpt most of the conversation between Fitz and Addie. Although liberally sprinkled with humor, the dialogue is ultimately too cerebral and theoretical for most teenagers, especially Fitz who doesn’t seem to have had much proper schooling and has very limited resources with no internet access and no library at his disposal. Unfortunately, most adolescents wouldn’t have the patience to sift through the dialogue to finish the book. So, although deserving of a large audience, it will be hard-pressed to find one.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Shadow Mountain Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
