Amy Spalding

This was a cute, sweet, light f/f YA romance, and I 100% valued it for that. It was the perfect companion for a night when I was too sick to sleep, and I in no way intend that as criticism. It’s the kind of light lesbian teen romance I would have loved to read as a teen, and that I’m still delighted to find now. I mean, for this to be my ideal book, it would need to have, say, dragons in it also, but this is still pretty great. And it’s so FLUFFY, which is exactly what I want from f/f. show more I’ve done the angst! I’ve done the lonely lesbians and the dead lesbians and the wretched misery of it all. I am full up on that, possibly forever, and I am now in Full Fluff Mode when it comes to books about lesbians. This met my needs.

Also, I love that the author clearly ACTUALLY KNOWS and appreciates Los Angeles. show less

3.5 Stars
After having spent an embarrassingly long time being totally confused by this story I re-read the blurb and realised I somehow missed the very significant detail that this story is told in two different timelines going in different directions. I hadn't paid attention to the dates at the beginning at each chapter either. Yay me and my astute observation skills. I had to start again with fresh eyes and now I am sad. I am sure everyone who has been through a friendship break up knows show more it can be like losing a part of your identity, especially if you are 'do everything together friends'. You are left to establish a new version of yourself without your bestie and there can be quite an adjustment period. We are not talking about the slowly drifting apart breakups by the way. We are talking about the increasing 'tension and division, lost and bewildered, then shouting and ugly snot crying argument' breakups that leave your immediate future in disarray because you had quite a few things you were meant to be doing together in the near future. I thought the timeline and reverse timeline format was genius because it meant by the time the story ended we were left with a chapter showing how incredibly close and happy they had been, which brought clarity to how devastating the break up actually was.

Now I will say that I found Kat to be an incredibly self-centred and entitled person and she may be the cause of some DNFing. However, I encourage Readers to push through because she does have a journey of self discovery that may ease your dislike of her somewhat.

A cleverly told story that actually left me feeling emotional and in need of a long phone call with my bestie. show less

Contains Spoilers: For those who love the insightful writing styles of Sophie Kinsella, Beth O’Leary, or Casey McQuiston, Amy Spalding writes a romantic, yet cautionary tale of just how impacting the affects of a toxic relationship can truly be. This slower paced queer romance was made for anyone who has suffered a life altering break up and may have not made it to the other side, or worst yet - for those close to someone who has yet to realize their friend/sibling/parent may be slowly show more losing themselves in a toxic relationship. Amy reminds the reader that it is ok if you are not right for someone as that someone may be completely wrong for you. Don’t lose who you are to keep someone who may not deserve you.

What I liked about this book: Initially reading this book, truth be told, I was bored - not because it wasn’t able to capture my attention; but because, like Nina - I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. I was introduced to Nina running late to meet her girlfriend Taylor, causing her to hit a pedestrian, so the words Taylor subsequently uttered were valid and the break up was justified. Joining Nina three years later, I too believed what she was doing was for the best if she was truly that much of a burden - until I was allowed to see who Nina was through the eyes of those around her. Being privy to the world she shut out, suddenly my curiosity got the best of me, pulling me into the story and stirring a strong sense of suspicion that Taylor may have been more toxic than perspective. What broke my heart and made me want to hold on to Nina was constantly watching Taylor’s words poison everything good in her life. Amy did an amazing job of slowly burrowing into my heart; hoping, wishing, praying that Nina would finally realize Taylor for who/what she was and stop standing in the way of her own happiness.

What I didn’t like about the book: Nothing, I love everything about this book. I loved how much Nina evolved and the ying/yang of her and Ari. I loved how much friendship played a role in Nina’s growth and support as well as a reminder that a therapist is the most important ingredient when attempting to heal. Most of all I loved when we went full circle and Nina crossed paths with Taylor again, she had no idea how her night was going to end but she finally got the closure her heart needed to open for Ari. She became who she was meant to be, in her own time, letting go of a sense of foreboding that was suffocating herself.

Words cannot begin to describe the impact this book will have. The first thing I wanted to do when I finished was recommend it to a good friend who I swear could have been Nina, with the same list of faults given to her by her former girlfriend, making parts of this story more real than fiction for me. Amy’s message of love, forgiveness, redemption, mental health, and acceptance is the golden combination of what makes a good book a lasting memory. show less

Happy publication day!

A Hollywood sapphic love story with an insane amount of food as side characters! (I’m blaming you, Amy Spalding, for all the snacks I consumed while reading it, just fyi.)

Nina has been dumped in a pretty mean way three years ago and never really recovered. Her ex had made her think that she was some evil, toxic person who didn’t deserve to be happy and Nina had believed her. Not only she swore off dating, she also ghosted all her friends. And when she was busy show more keeping herself alone and miserable, Ari stormed into her life with boundless energy and much needed joy.

I loved Ari, she was confident, spontaneous and fun to be around. She also deserved better. Because Nina on the other hand…
Nina frustrated me to no end; first, her level of denial was truly astonishing. Girl!! You can’t be THAT blind?? She sends you gifts, ‘be at my place tonight’ texts, she is into you!!!

Next to being absolutely clueless Nina excelled at self sabotage. I guess if someone convinces you that you’re toxic you actually become toxic… So Nina had assumed things would eventually go to shit, they obviously did and she didn’t try to stop them.

I know I keep complaining about third act breakups, but this one was so bizarre. They didn’t even have a proper fight; mistakes were made on both sides, they discussed them in a three minutes phone call, and that was it, they just hung up and stopped talking. show less