eris_reads 's review for:

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler

4.5

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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i really thought i wasn't going to enjoy this book because im REALLY picky when it comes to romance novels. but oh i really loved this one. a lot. i picked it up because of goats and spooky vibes. two things i love most in the world. the romance and chemistry between charlie and gretchen was SO good. the farming and goats actually being part of the story and not just thrown in quickly and forgotten about. it was a delightful read. it was really funny too. everett and gretchen's friendship was so much fun too!!

theres really only two issues i had with this book: this is something im lowkey torn about but i've noticed a trend in cishet romances that the author (i have no idea if she is queer, i'm assuming she's most likely straight) has a tendency to use poc and lgbt+ as background characters in their books. idk how to feel about this. on one hand i think its nice to see it being normalized. but it feels so like secondhand thought. i want more than just supporting side characters that are barely fleshed out. but then again to expect anything more from a (presumably) straight author is setting myself up. and i should focus reading books with lead queer/poc characters.

second thing was the ending was pretty bittersweet.

everett leaving was so heartbreaking. i wanted him to stay. i wanted him to be given the choice to leave if he wanted to.