A review by kfriend
Overachiever by S.M. Shade
4.0
Overachiever is entirely adorable- what a fun little new adult, friends-to-lovers rom com romp! This is my first SM Shade book- though many of her stories have graced my TBR- and I’m so glad I’ve finally jumped in. This is a light story- mostly lower drama, very humorous, and super cute.
I had not read the first book in the series (though I am now), so while the friends span the books, you don’t need to have read the prior one to dive in. Our story follows two friends, Owen and Remee, as they find themselves working together as interns building houses for the summer to earn a grant to pay for their college tuition. They’re part of the same friend circle, but isolated and away from their friend pack, these two cuties find themselves connecting in new and exciting ways...wink wink.
Remee is our “overachiever”- she’s driven, focused on her goals, and highly ambitious. She’s all kinds of Type A- which is the ultimate barrier to her budding connection with Owen, because she’s unwilling to consider any distractions. Owen, on the other hand, is super laid back. While incredibly intelligent, he doesn’t have a long term plan like Remee- he’s just enjoying the now. He’s also SUCH a cutie- he’s a adorably goofy at times, witty, and such a sweetie. His chemistry with Remee is really sweet- these two have fun banter, have some sweet emotional moments, and fall together so naturally.
I appreciated the diversity of the types of humor here- we have everything to some slapstick physical humor to witty banter. SM does something quite clever- she makes talking about sex and having sex FUNNY. Which only endears her characters to us more- and makes their story feel so relatable. And, despite one minor blip, the story is pretty decidedly low drama and low angst- it’s as chill as Owen. I will say I didn’t quite buy their friendship at first-they felt more like acquaintances, but once they were isolated, the friendship more authentic to me, and I certainly bought in then. Their relationship is also told in two parts- and I actually appreciate we get a good chunk of story after they are together, and though I didn’t find that as humorous as as engaging as the their getting together stage, it was a treat to see the before and after aspects of their romance (something we often only see in an epilogue). And, the later portions of the story really help deepen our understanding of these characters.
All in all, I’m glad to have discovered this author. I loved getting to escape for a bit in something so sweet and fun with such a poignant and meaningful message- the reminder that there is always room for love in any plan, you just have to let it in.
I had not read the first book in the series (though I am now), so while the friends span the books, you don’t need to have read the prior one to dive in. Our story follows two friends, Owen and Remee, as they find themselves working together as interns building houses for the summer to earn a grant to pay for their college tuition. They’re part of the same friend circle, but isolated and away from their friend pack, these two cuties find themselves connecting in new and exciting ways...wink wink.
Remee is our “overachiever”- she’s driven, focused on her goals, and highly ambitious. She’s all kinds of Type A- which is the ultimate barrier to her budding connection with Owen, because she’s unwilling to consider any distractions. Owen, on the other hand, is super laid back. While incredibly intelligent, he doesn’t have a long term plan like Remee- he’s just enjoying the now. He’s also SUCH a cutie- he’s a adorably goofy at times, witty, and such a sweetie. His chemistry with Remee is really sweet- these two have fun banter, have some sweet emotional moments, and fall together so naturally.
I appreciated the diversity of the types of humor here- we have everything to some slapstick physical humor to witty banter. SM does something quite clever- she makes talking about sex and having sex FUNNY. Which only endears her characters to us more- and makes their story feel so relatable. And, despite one minor blip, the story is pretty decidedly low drama and low angst- it’s as chill as Owen. I will say I didn’t quite buy their friendship at first-they felt more like acquaintances, but once they were isolated, the friendship more authentic to me, and I certainly bought in then. Their relationship is also told in two parts- and I actually appreciate we get a good chunk of story after they are together, and though I didn’t find that as humorous as as engaging as the their getting together stage, it was a treat to see the before and after aspects of their romance (something we often only see in an epilogue). And, the later portions of the story really help deepen our understanding of these characters.
All in all, I’m glad to have discovered this author. I loved getting to escape for a bit in something so sweet and fun with such a poignant and meaningful message- the reminder that there is always room for love in any plan, you just have to let it in.