Take a photo of a barcode or cover
242 reviews by:
itsawrapxx
Glaring issues with the plot, and the pacing was off. Outside of becoming a photographer, I'm not sure what exactly Harlow discovers about herself.
medium-paced
I left this book with deeply conflicted feelings about classism and saviorism. Civil’s love for the Williams family feels sincere, but love—at its best—also requires trust: trust that people understand their own needs and are capable of choosing what is right for themselves. Civil repeatedly fights for what she believes Erica, India, and Mace should have, yet she rarely allows them the autonomy to define or pursue those needs on their own terms.
What’s especially striking is that they do know how to ask for what they want, even when those desires fall outside of Civil’s vision for them. This tension underscores the limits of Civil’s well-intentioned care. Her reconciliation with Ty feels essential to her personal healing, but while she reaches that emotional reckoning by the end, the narrative never offers full closure on their relationship—leaving that thread unresolved in a way that feels both deliberate and unfinished.
This romance was… painfully dull. Ella keeps insisting her life is “falling apart,” but aside from the divorce, everything seems pretty standard. Meanwhile, the relationship between her and Miles never gave me a single flutter—no spark, no tension, no yearning. They call Miles a “bad boy,” but how? The man only ever interacts meaningfully with Ella, and even then, I still walked away knowing absolutely nothing about him.
Both Ella and Miles felt flat, and while I wouldn’t call their relationship insta-love, there was zero actual build to it. I honestly don’t know how I even made it to the end, because I was never invested. And that bit with the choreographer and TikTok dances? Made me cringe just a little.
Overall: a miss for me.
Charles and Candice can go straight to hell—and Kayla’s daddy can ride shotgun. The whole time I was reading, I kept wondering if Kayla was supposed to be an unreliable narrator, because we could all clearly see something was off with Zorie the moment she handed over their emergency stash to a boyfriend she’d known for three weeks. Girl, be serious.
At its heart, this is really a story about friendship and chosen family. It was wildly entertaining, but I’m still not sure where I land on how much I actually enjoyed it overall. Somewhere along that endless road trip to nowhere, the scenes started to feel repetitive—Kayla being shocked by Zorie’s latest questionable decision, yet still choosing to stand by her girl as they dug themselves into a deeper and deeper hole.
That said, the audiobook was excellent, and the whole thing played out like a movie in my mind—messy, chaotic, and hard to look away from.
Overall, it was a solid read—and honestly, the title fits perfectly. When it comes to the friends aspect, the dynamic between Debra and Shelby was far more compelling to me than the friendship between Tyrell and Leonard. I appreciated the way the book touched on colorism and how it shaped both women’s relationships and self-perception, even though I wish it had explored those themes more deeply.
On the lovers side of things, the core message seems to be about communication and emotional honesty in relationships. Debra was upfront with Leonard about her needs, and he actually held space for her feelings. Shelby, on the other hand, kept circling around her real fears, and Tyrell didn’t exactly create a safe space for vulnerability either. Every argument between them felt like talking around the actual issue.
I did enjoy the read—it went down smoothly—but I’m not sure it’ll stick with me long-term.
In an attempt to not spoil the story I have a parent with vascular dementia and the portrayal of Sienna's father dealing with the condition was so unrealistic it took me out of the story.