A review by wardenred
You're the Problem, It's You by Emma R. Alban

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

He may have promised Beth he’d take the man under his wing, but he doesn’t have to make the effort sober.

Much like with the first book in the series, I enjoyed the combination/juxtaposition of a historical setting with historical problems and a rather modern style. There’s something so quirky and fun about how the author handles it. I also absolutely lived for all the appearances of the characters from the first part. Good thing there are so many! I loved seeing how Beth and Gwen carried on in the aftermath of their happy ending, and their parents, and Alfie and Meredith (though I wish there were more scenes with Meredith actually being there).

That said, the actual main romantic storyline sadly didn’t grip me at all. :( I liked both Bobby and James as separate characters, but their romance didn’t work for me very well. From the blurb, I expected enemies to lovers, but honestly, they weren’t so much enemies as two people critically allergic to communication. I think they both thought the communication was the real enemy? Seriously. They spent such a big chunk of the book trying to talk and mutually ruining each attempt, and then suddenly things progress so quickly. And then James just keeps physically running away from every problem they predictably have, and I don’t know, it just got so tiresome after some point. The main thing I always want from romance as to see two characters make each other’s lives better. Here, all too often I felt like the opposite was happening, but the way the narrative was constructed also stubbornly presented this mess as cute, romantic, and worth rooting for. Sorry, it was not.