Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Here's to Us

The conversation of the authors when writing <i>What If It's Us</i> as I imagine it:
'Hey, Becky.'
'What's up, Adam?'
'Do you think we should do a happy ending in the book?'
'Nah, we'll do a shit ending and then squeeze another four hundred page book out of it four years later.'

As the first book dragged out with the nonsensical do-overs, this one dragged with Arthur constantly choosing to ruin other people's feelings. Especially his boyfriend Mikey. Who, surprise surprise, after getting his heart shattered multiple times does not get the happy ending.

And I don't count that one namedrop in the epilogue that insinuates he has a boyfriend.

The person who did the shattering? Oh, you bet, he gets the happily ever after with fireworks and double epilog. I literally groaned when I saw there is another epilog after the epilog, I was ready to be done with this book.

Technically, there is no cheating in this book. But 'technically' is the operating word here. Because stringing your boyfriend along because you are not sure about him but also not sure if you want to be alone and also in the back of your mind salivating over your ex is shitty. If this sentence didn't make sense to you, welcome to the dumpster fire of this book. Ghosting a dude about an important conversation because you are not sure is shitty. And then being scorned by the fact that he ghosts you is just mind-boggling. Having jealousy fits in your head over your ex and his boyfriend, when you have your own boyfriend is shitty. How can be Arthur so self-centered and not recognize he's acting like a complete asshole for 75% of the book until then he says "oh I'm an asshole' and proceeds to continue with his assholery.

Tell me how the hell you do not understand your ex soft-blocking you after you dumped them after they made the grand gesture you said you craved in the relationship.

Before starting this book, I hoped there will be some elegant way that will keep away from ruining other characters' feelings and still get Arthur and Ben the happily-ever-after they never got in the first book. Wrong assumption. Aside from the obvious victims in the story, I still can't wrap my head around Ben

contacting Hudson, his first ex, to ask what he's supposed to do about his ex and his current boyfriend. What the actual fuck is that train of thoughts

.

I'm not even going to get into the Dylan and Samantha's subplot because nope. I'll just say that Dylan being nasty to Samantha's best friend just because it's a guy is a decision, that I can't help but side-eye. Like why is that even a thing?

She's your girlfriend, you are getting married and she is pregnant with your baby, the fuck are you pressed over another guy?

The only redeeming quality (if you can call it that) is the fact the pop-culture references which were rampant in the first book are toned down by 150%. If it was as bad in this one as it was in the first book, I would have DNF it for sure because I like my brain cells too much to endure that. The sad sad takeaway from the book is that you apparently do have to want to have a big bang love story straight out of Broadway because the content, normal relationships are boring. And if you meet a person in a meet-cute straight out of the romance book you have to push and push and just fuckin make it work somehow even if it went to shit previously. Arthur's and Ben's relationship (in both books) feels like when you are trying to slam two random puzzle pieces together and they don't click together, so you just mash them together with force. And it's obvious they don't fit. Because it's ugly and unsatisfactory shit of a puzzle.

My favorite piece of dialogue out of the whole book:

<i>"Well," I say, "maybe I want more big moments from you."
"Like when I told you I loved you?" says Mikey</i>.
What a remarkable verbal punch in the face. Go, Mikey!

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