A review by happyeverabigail
Thinking Out Loud by Grayson Long

hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was up and down for me. Enough up for 3 stars and those positives included: the Abbott Elementary vibes of the staff at the school (not full on laugh out loud but super charming), the mental health rep of the FMC as the anger expression of anxiety etc I feel is not commonly seen and I think that variety is important, and some of the romantic moments were truly romantic- like the "what are we?" conversation.

What didn't work for me: I know this is a big take but I don't think we needed the MMCs POV at all. He felt underdeveloped immediately and basically served to be another angle to admire the FMC through. We could've gathered all we needed to know but with more tension without being in his head. This is a credit to how real the FMC felt with how developed she was as a character but every time it switched to his POV I felt the story would slow way down. Yes it's definitely a slow burn but so slow it felt like the romance kept getting put on pause vs slowly building, we were just waiting and not really in anticipation.

I'd read this author again but this one wasn't for me.