Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Allison Avery is elated to learn she had been accepted into the PhD program at Claymore University to study medieval literature under a professor she's admired for years. Much to her disappointment, she discovers that her ex-boyfriend, Collin Benjamin has been accepted into the same program. Just as she is trying to balance other areas of her life helping her ailing father, the last thing she wanted was to compete with Colin again. The competition to impress their instructor becomes just as challenging as graduate school itself. Their competitive nature is put to the test when they learn there is only one spot for a coveted research trip opportunity overseas.

This was a nice debut into the rom-com genre but did lack a bit of both. The romantic aspect struggled as the relationship between Allison and Collin took a painfully long road to reconciliation of any kind just to work together let alone reunite what "may have been" from their undergrad days at Brown University. The story between Allison and her father, Jed, fat-shaming her was uncomfortable and seemed almost like an unnecessary side note. It seems that Allison has accepted her full-figure and has the confidence to succeed that her weight barely needs any focus.

I rounded up this novel for its earnest attempt as it might be appealing to some people. It just didn't impress me. ( )

I read this because a Valentine themed online quiz at Book Riot recommended it to me and since it also had blurbs from authors I liked, I gave it a shot.

I give it points for getting me to read it in one day so obviously there’s something here BUT there were so so so many things that I did not like.

First of all please do not start a romance by telling me the hero reminds you of Ichabod Crane. I’m all for tall, skinny, nerds (I’m married to one!) but Ichabod is not a romantic hero.

Please do not mention hair gel in every single romantic scene. Like EVERY ONE.

I can not take a charter seriously who drinks SEVEN beers in like two hours hours, spilling it all over herself more than once, and it’s treated as if it’s kinda normal?There are multiple scenes with vomiting/near vomiting from alcohol. Also she is in this state of drunkenness when there’s a major relationship breakthrough. Sl like a critical plot twist happens when she is literally covered in beer and is throwing food at the guy when he’s doing something nice. and somehow this convinces him to bear his soul to her? What now?!

The behavior confounds me. They are quite young but they should be too adult for this kind of behavior. More likely I’m just too old for this book.

Lastly the timeline made no sense. I suppose this is supposed to be happening in the future even if it seems present day. The lead mentions being a Junior in high school during the pandemic but is now pursuing a PhD. That’s can’t be right since it’s barely 2023. I know that is a nitpick but it irritated me anyway.

I think the author wanted me to fall in love worth Chaucer as I fell in love with the main characters and that didn’t happen for me at all and I ultimately felt like the actual romantic relationship didn’t have enough behind it because too much time was spent on academic talk when it could have been spent on the relationship and when the climax of the story requires me to appreciate Middle English….it just fell flat. ( )

I loved the opening of this novel:

If one more person used the word hegemonic, Allison Avery was going to scream. After almost two full weeks of classes at Claymore University, she should be more adjusted to the quirks of graduate-level literature courses, but it still felt like… a lot.
[...] She certainly hadn’t planned on being crammed into the same cramped desk/chair combos from undergrad that jabbed at her curves no matter how she angled herself. Nor letting her eyes burn until the wee hours of the morning, trying to make sense of two paragraphs of Jacques Derrida.

So delightfully relatable! The book continues with:

And never, ever, ever had she expected to be sitting across the discussion circle from Colin Benjamin. Her ex-boyfriend.

Which isn’t personally relatable but is one of my favourite romance tropes.

However, Allison and Colin are not just exes, they become rivals. I didn’t enjoy how this rivalry inspires Allison to lie to their mentor about some of her struggles, nor inspires a competitiveness in Colin which suggests he’s liable to repeat past mistakes. I spent much of the book wondering if they should get back together. (I ended up being somewhat indifferent to their romance, which is not the sort of reaction I expect from something described as a “rom-com”.)

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the parts of this story about being a university student and studying literature and seeing Allison’s growth. ( )

Overall, I didn't love or hate this book. It was a rough third to plow through, but a solid 3 out of 5. I enjoyed the academic world and a not-so-perfect romance and main characters. There's a hint of enemies to lovers, but that enemy is also an ex-boyfriend. The plot follows Allison as she navigates her PhD coursework, TA assignment, her ex/enemy as her co-TA, the challenges of growing up with changes to parental and friendship relationships all while trying to earn a spot for her dream job opportunity. No pressure right?! Colin (the ex) was not that likable of a character since I was never sure if he should be trusted or just ignored. In the end, he wasn't so bad and won me over somewhat. Some of the plot just seemed to drag (the middle section), so that's the reason for a 3 instead of a 4. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC ( )

Thanks to The Book Club Cookbook and publisher St. Martin’s Griffin for a gifted copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

Well this was a frustrating and disappointing rom-com. The premise sounded great and there were a few fun elements (books, medieval literature, scrabble), but I hated the boyfriend and wanted to shake the girlfriend – “No! Don’t forgive him! Don’t trust him! He’s a jerk and you can do better!!”

Allison and Colin were in love during their undergrad years at Brown. But Colin betrayed Allison when they were both competing for a major award. After graduation, Allison has healed, moved on, and been accepted into her dream PhD program at Claymore University. Imagine her shock at seeing her old rat of an ex-boyfriend in the same PhD program, again competing with her, this time for a career-changing research trip and the advisee position that is tailor-made for Allison.

I don’t want to share any spoilers, so won’t get specific about all the ups and downs in their relationship, but the author portrays Colin negatively throughout the novel, so I didn’t have any empathy for him. I didn’t like him at all and couldn’t see why Allison would be attracted to him. It didn’t make any sense for me (and Allison) to forgive him for his poor and hurtful choices, first at Brown and then during the PhD semester. Allison doesn’t have good boundaries with either him or her emotionally abusive father, and the turnaround attitude by both men at the conclusion is unbelievable.

This was a book I wanted to throw across the room when I finished. It’s an understatement that I didn’t like the ending. I hated Colin. I was disheartened that Allison kept forgiving Colin and making excuses for him. This debut was so disappointing on so many levels. I can’t recommend it. ( )