Reviews

I have previously read Cattle Stop by this author, and while I really loved that book I found both books had a similar problem, in that the author just kind of throws you into the story without actually telling you anything about any of the characters. It felt like I'd accidentally started reading a fanfic about characters from a fandom I've never heard of before, and the first 20% was really hard to get through because I kept having to put clues together for things that could have been easily explained in the first chapter (for example, the character Pat. Pat is a friend that works at a café. Oh no, wait, Pat is Ned's roommate. Then a few chapters later, Ned's dad mentions that Pat and Ned were childhood friends. Like, could we not have just said Pat was Ned's childhood friend and roommate in chapter 1, so I didn't have to keep having to figure out how he fits into the plot?)

Everything that had to do with the graduate school work felt highly unrealistic. Also, your boss is going to kick everyone out of the system outside work hours, but then give you access again after you start dating? Why would dating be the thing that changes his mind about letting you work after-hours? And Pat owns a café, but then it's a bar, but then it's a café again, but it's also a bar. Like, wouldn't running a café AND bar be a LOT of work?

But that all said, it is a fake-dating story. All fake-dating stories are somewhat unrealistic, so sometimes you just need to switch off the nit-picking part of your brain and just enjoy the characters.

I don't think I ever really got a grip on the character's personalities, and it felt a bit sudden when Abbot started to actually warm up to Ned. And I was kind of expecting some kind of confession or opening up from Abbot to Ned near the end, but that never happened, though we do get a pretty sudden "I love you" out of him before the book ends.

BUT, I did really enjoy the story after the 20% mark. I liked Ned, his relationship with his kid, and his dog. I really liked Ned's dad. I liked Abbot's relationship with his sister.

ninabubblygum's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

it was a very slow start (not just because it's a slow burn, the first half of the book just felt slow to me and difficult to get into) but once things picked up in the second half, i was invested. the progression of their relationship felt really natural and this was cute. the reason for the fake dating was quite silly and some of the side characters were annoying but overall it was a nice time. i really wish it had been dual pov but we can't have it all. also would've loved an epilogue but it still works without it

mrsknightwest's review

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Really, really boring

abby026's review against another edition

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2.75

I can't remeber what happened on the book and I don't know kung ano cocomment ko

nomomstayandread's review against another edition

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3.0

“Never f*cked anyone who gave me a C, you know,” he says. He can actually see Abbot’s sigh in the flare of his ribs. “Was I not clear about the talking?”

What you'll get:
Hot for teacher
Fake dating
Single dad
Enemies to lovers
Grad School x Professor
Gay and bisexual rep

Setting: Maine and Massachusetts

Ned has one semester left in his doctorate program before he can move home where his daughter is when his advisor tells him it's not done and he needs to rework it. That's fine. What wasn't fine was that everyone is terrible and keep sabotaging him. The advisor decides that people in academia need better work/life balance (HA! Never heard of her.) and cuts off their access to the university server after 9-5 hours. This unfortunately includes Ned because he's teaching a class even though he's a student himself. He can get access again if he manages to get the biggest loner in the department to socialize so now they're fake dating.

Professors treat him as a peer and completely disregard him as a student which is not to his benefit. He doesn't advocate for himself or his own needs near enough and I just got so mad at everyone. Abbot was ok - he had a crush on Ned for years and it got outed on a work trip when other professors were teasing him. But wasn't ok was that he was on Ned's dissertation committee and that seemed like a conflict of interest. They managed to fall in love without really ever having a conversation with any depth whatsoever.

All of that was what it was but Ned was clearly dealing with untreated depression but because he was friendly, everyone assumed he was doing great. They kept putting him in uncomfortable situations because they found it fun when Ned was drowning. If he was doing great, this could have been really fun. But when the main character says he's numb all the time, lonely, and is tearing up from rage-stress, he's not the one to tease right now.

alexreadshere's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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