I Think I Love You is a heartfelt YA Romance that features enemies-to-lovers, and match making while dealing with topics such as coming out, first love, complicated friendships, and divorce.

Emma is a die-hard romantic, dreaming of her perfect first romance. While she waits, Emma plays match maker helping two of her friends get together without them knowing about her interference in their love life. Emma’s also Bisexual and hasn’t come out to her parents yet.

Sophia has just moved back to New York after spending a year in France with her mother and new step-dad. After her parents divorce Sophia swore off love and she certainly isn’t looking for a girlfriend. Her return to New York isn’t as easy as she thought it would be though, with most of her old friends unsure about their friendship now that she’s back.

Needless to say Emma and Sophia don’t get along too well. So when their bickering threatens to end all of their chances at winning a film competition, their friends decide that all of their problems will be solved if Emma and Sophia fall in love.

Queue an amazing enemies-to-lovers summer romance perfect for a day of reading!

What I loved most about this book was that while the budding romance between Emma and Sophia is the center of the story, Desombre does an amazing job of making their romance only a small (but very important) part of Emma and Sophia’s lives. So in between all the mixed emotions these two have between them, we also get to see Emma struggle with coming out to her parents, and Sophia navigating her way back into her friend’s lives, after basically ghosting them for a year. We also get to see Sophia work through her parents divorce and having her dad start dating again. Lots of readers are going to see themselves in these pages and that’s what makes this a great book.

Some readers are also going to see their own coming out experience within Emma’s. Sometimes coming out goes really well, or it really doesn’t. But often coming out isn’t good or bad, it’s just disappointing. I wish my own coming out hadn’t been disappointing and it meant a lot to see a character who had a similar experience to my own and I think a lot of readers will be able to relate to this experience.

The only part of this book I really didn’t like that much was the match making aspect. Match making in general isn’t my thing. It makes me really uncomfortable in all forms of media because I don’t like the lying and deception that goes on in a lot of match making we see in media.

That being said, Desombre does a great job of handling both the positives and negatives that happen with match making, and those consequences, both the good and the bad, play essential roles in this book. So while I still don’t like it, the match making does fit this book and Desombre’s handling of it was really well done.

I highly recommend I Think I Love You to readers how love romance, enemies-to-lovers, complicated friendships. This is an amazing Queer romance that teens, young adults and adults a like will fall in love with.

I really wanted to like this book! I mean rom-com, making a movie, a bi main character! It's everything that I usually love. Unfortunately, this one just fell flat for me. I got about 20% of the way through before I realized that it wasn't just an awkward start. These characters are just really flat. Each of the two main character girls have 1 personality trait and the fact that they hate each other. I was tolerating it under the hopes it would get better until Emma ends up straight up bullying Sophie. Not that Sophie is much better, but the move felt out of character. it felt like the writer was trying way too hard to set up an enemies to lovers dynamic. I'm fine with that trope, but I don't agree with starting a relationship after the really mean things Emma said to Sophie that was purely mean spirited. The characters just weren't gaining depth and the plot wasn't moving particularly well. I'm just disappointed overall.

I Think I Love You sounded like a book I would end up enjoying and I was right! I read this book in about one sitting and the writing really had me hooked. As a romance fan this definitely made me bookworm heart happy! I'd definitely recommend this book to contemporary lovers.

Emma is an interesting character. She loves love and everything that has to do with it. Her parents' relationship is the way she hopes she ends up and Emma watches every romance related movie she can. So when she sees a movie competition Emma knows that she's going to make a romcom. I had mixed feelings about Emma if I'm honest. Yeah, she's definitely excited and driven to make this movie and wants love to be there for all. Also, she's trying to figure a way to tell her parents she's bisexual. I can't even imagine how it feels to do that. On the other side, Emma can be selfish at times. The movie must go her way and she doesn't even take time to listen to other ideas. I get passion and just wanting to do something, but it did annoy me just a tad bit.

Sophia just came back from France and is still dealing with her parents getting divorced. How is love something you should want when it clearly falls apart? I totally understand this anger and opinion about love. My parents got divorced when I was older, but it's still a hard time. Trying to get used to being back in New York, living in a new apartment with her dad and seeing friends she hasn't for a year is hard. It's hard trying to fit in again when it's clear they moved along fine without you around. I loved Sophia's story and her seeing that love can still be a beautiful thing. Out of both story lines hers was definitely my favorite.

I loved the whole idea of a movie competition and doing this with friends! The ideas were really interesting and I love the few glimpses we got of the scripts. That being said, I have to say it did feel rushed at times. I think that was because of the plot surrounding their friends. While I'm a big fan of romance, I think this story could've done without Kate and Tom. I did enjoy their romance, but it took away from Emma and Sophia. This would've most likely been a five star read for me if we had gotten more time with these two and their developing romance. Don't get me wrong, I loved how it developed and we saw it happening, but I think I would've connected more with them if they had gotten more attention.

Even though I do have some things I would've liked to have seen different, I really did enjoy I Think I Love You. The characters felt realistic, the idea of movies was amazing and the way Emma and Sophia's character developed in this story was so well done! Not only do we get romance and rom coms, but also friendship, family/divorce, acceptance, trust and so much more. This story deals with a lot of things and I'm glad I read it. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more by this author in the future!

I dragged my feet through reading this book. I even waited a couple days to write this review because I had been irritable this last week and I didn’t want to take it out on this book. However, my opinion remained the same.

This was the most trope-y book I have ever read. There was a character that’s was dealing with her parents being divorced. There was a character who was in the closet and scared to come out to her parents. There was also multiple matchmaking schemes, there was a toxic male friend, they did the enemies to lovers thing, they did the super innocent friend, they did a betrayal... It was just too much. The dialogue was flat and over the top. It was as if the trope meter was just turned all the way to MAX.

Emma loves love. Obsessed with rom-coms, she can’t wait to have her very own love story. If only it could hurry up and happen already. But until then, Emma is content to help her friends achieve their own happily-ever-afters and bring her dreams, a gay rom-com she can actually relate to, to the big screen herself.

Sophia is the opposite. After the whirlwind of her parents divorcing, her mother uprooting them to France, getting remarried, and then sending her daughter right back to where she started all within the blink of an eye, Sophia is well and truly sick to death of romance. The last thing she wants to do is work on a rom-com.

This rift between Emma and Sophia soon splits their friend group in half. And what was once supposed to be a fun film project to submit for the NYC-LA Film Festival soon becomes a bitter rivalry. But love has its own plans, and these plans not even Emma and Sophia can prevent.

I was instantly drawn to I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre the second I laid eyes on it. The title is perfect, the cover is gorgeous, and the premise? *Chef’s kiss* c’est magnifique! I mean, sapphic rivals-to-lovers falling in love while filming their own sapphic rom-com? I’m pretty sure that’s the most perfect premise I’ve ever heard.

So, you can guess how high my expectations were for this story going into it.

And, oh. My. God. Did it ever exceed them.

This book was literally everything I’ve ever wanted.

Look, I relate to Emma a lot. I’m obsessed with rom-coms. But as much as I love them, they also really bum me out. Because, just like her, I very rarely feel represented in the movies I watch (and honestly, many of the books I read). So often I’ve bemoaned, ‘why can’t there just be a cute rom-com for bi girls?!’ Like seriously, there’s so few, if any.

I Think I Love You just got that need. And boy, did it deliver!

This book was so cute, and heartfelt – and the perfect mix between serious and sweet. I loved every part of it, the colourful, round cast of characters, the drama, the romance. 😍 I found both Sophia and Emma to be very relatable in their own ways, and easy to root for. They both had their own struggles to overcome, and I really enjoyed watching them do so while falling in love with each other. The supporting cast was also great. For a novel with so many characters, I felt like they were all very well fleshed out. I appreciated that not only the two main leads grew and changed throughout the story, but the other characters did too.

I feel like queer romance novel have it doubly hard, because not only do they have to portray an adorable, swoon-worthy romance, they also have to tackle some tough issues – like coming out to friends and family – to be able to really ground the story in reality and make it relatable. Balancing the two is no easy-feat, but Desombre managed it flawlessly! I loved that while this book dealt with some tough situations, it always stayed positive. (All too often queer stories just wind up being depressing – and there’s nothing wrong with that, those stories are important – but sometimes I just want a happy, uplifting queer romance too.)

Overall, this novel just made me so, so happy. In a way so few books can. It was positive, uplifting, and absolutely adorable – and I loved every minute of it. ❤️

Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours and the publisher, Underlined/Random House Children’s Books, for providing me with an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Heat Factor: It’s wholesomely sparky, but in a youthful way
Character Chemistry: Emma and Sophia are combative and then cuddly, and it’s extremely cute
Plot: Omg, guys, it’s Much Ado About Nothing but YA and Bi. Hearts just SHOOTING out of my eyes and also I completely forgot how ridiculous teenagers are?
Overall: This is a really sweet and surprisingly complicated book set to the tune of Much Ado About Nothing, and it was lovely.

I haven’t read a Young Adult in a long time, and I know this type of romance is often hotly debated in Romancelandia, but...it was a really fun read.

First, I don’t know how, but I completely forgot how instantly deep, irrationally hormonal, and also, utterly self-absorbed to the point of near self-destruction teenagers are. This is not me criticizing the book. This is the truth about teenagers and younger adults, and I’ll fight you on it if you disagree. Luckily, this book somehow manages to portray this unfortunately very accurate dynamic without making the kids seem unlikeable. They’re kids. They’re figuring out how to fall in love and it’s just a real mess. Add hormones and the gradual awareness that life is completely unfair and you have yourself a nicely done coming of age.

Second, I practically grew up on Much Ado About Nothing. It’s Keanu Reeves’ best movie. This is another thing I’ll fight you on. (I feel like the drama of this book rubbed off on me, or something.) So when I realized we were getting set up for a fresh, new take on perhaps the best of Shakespeare’s comedies (see; fight you), I was instantly into it.

I really loved that the characters examined relationships and their sexuality in raw and transparent ways. Emma is bi, and Sophia is lesbian. The way they intersect ended up speaking a lot to how it must feel to have to keep such a huge part of your identity guarded and safe until you’re able to come out, and I appreciated being able to see the insightful and sensitive way Emma handles it with her parents. It’s illuminating and thoughtfully done. It’s also tender and not at all sexy, which for an adult reading YA was much appreciated.

It doesn’t hurt that Emma and Sophia were practically crackling with witty comebacks and snappy retorts and went from that to some kind of emotionally chemical fusing. You knew things were going to fall apart smashingly, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was charming, funny, and touching.

If you like YA and you have good taste in Shakespeare, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this fresh and fun take. You’ll get as much a kick out of teenagers in general as you will reading Emma and Sophia snipe and then swoon for one another.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

I Think I Love You is what every rom-comish YA novel is for heteros. Miscommunications, overly sappy moments amongst friends, deception, and genuine snapshots of love and caring. I've seen some reviews complaining about how the characters are immature, and the plot is immature, and I mean, yes, I get that, but how many childish, immature characters/plots have we all had to put up with for hetero teens? let the gays have their trope-filled YA romance novels, too! Anyway, this book isn't perfect, but it warmed my heart, and I hope there are many other young LGBT+ girls who will see themselves in the story and feel represented.

I was excited to read this sapphic book that revolves around filming and relationships. I found myself relating a lot to Emma, and her own struggles with identity and acceptance. I loved the building tension between Emma and Sophie, as I’m a huge fan of rivals-to-lovers tropes. While I enjoyed the filming scenes, I wish there were more of them (whether it was just delving further into the process or the scriptwriting). The friendships were messy and high-drama, which was honestly a lot of fun for me to read as it ended happily. Sometimes, the conflict felt to drag on, but the pacing would pick right up. I felt like the characters would feel a bit too overdramatic or shallow at times, but overall I enjoyed reading about them. I love how quickly characters were to defend others and made sure that no harmful action went unpunished or unremarked on. Some books try to brush them off, but this one explained why it was wrong to do so. It was an overall fun read following the dual perspectives of Emma and Sophie as they use their film to follow their hearts.

(4.5/5 stars) This was such an adorable book! I could easily have binged it if I'd had time - I actually read 75% in one sitting before other life commitments came calling. I heard this book is a modern-day sapphic retelling of Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing', which I haven't read/seen so I'm intrigued to go check it out later!

I really enjoyed the narrative voices and Desombre's writing style - direct, honest, illustrative, witty and great fun to read. There were some really beautiful sentences that made me quite emotional too. The setting is really immersive - why did I feel sweaty in the bustling streets of NYC while stuck indoors in vaguely nippy English almost-spring? - and the characters felt realistic and convincing. I cared about every protagonist, major or minor (even Sophia's dad) as they all had at least some plotline aside from the Emma/Sophia drama. I would say that some things resolved/developed a little fast and the antagonist was fairly obvious, but that didn't bother me much. Remembering how many things were flooding my teenaged brain at lightning speed, it's not that unrealistic.

My heart was warmed by all the loving relationships depicted: the female friendships, the mixed-gender friendships, the bond between Emma and her parents and Sophia with her dad, and of course the enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance! All of these relationships made me smile like a goofball at my Kindle.

The queer joy is strong with this one! I appreciated the coming-out plot thread which felt very evocative and relatable for me in parts. It was great how the issue of bi-erasure in the media is challenged by Emma, her friends and the wider student film community, and I loved seeing affirmation that regardless of who you end up with, identifying as bisexual is still completely valid.

I also liked the casual diversity, for example the fat rep and Latina rep with Emma's cousin Kate (Emma herself is mixed-race I believe), dark-skinned BIPOC rep with their friend Myrah and other subtle things like clearly non-white surnames. Small things but as a POC it's kinda nice to see some of the variation in real life reflected on the page.

Overall this book is perfect if you're looking for a light read that still tugs on the heartstrings - bonus points if you want a spring/summer seasonal vibe!

I got an ARC of this book.

This is the bi rep I want when I read a book. The bi character is bi. It is part of her, it isn’t something thrown in for flavor. It isn’t something that is mentioned, then promptly forgotten about to become a m/f romance, where it feels like the character is bi just for the edge. Don’t get me wrong, bi people can be in a m/f relationship and still be bi. I take more issue when it feels like an add on than an actual identity for that character. I loved how the bi character had to grapple with coming out and what that would mean for her. Not coming out meant not being able to find love, because being bi was an integral part of her identity.

The cover is AMAZING. I very much judged this book by the cover and thought it would be perfect for me. I didn’t even read the description, oops. I was thankful that it was as queer as it looked. The actual romance is so little and far between though. This book could have done with being longer to make the romance actually make sense. They go from at each other’s throats to being super flirty with just a rumor that the other one “loves” them. It felt very off. If you are only nice to someone because you think they are into you, that is super shitty. The fact that the characters also equate every single crush to love and the one is really obnoxious. The parents even join in, which is even weirder.

The movie plot worked decently for me. The issue there was that they had no experience making movies and were able to mash together a movie that quickly and it work for a film contest? Seems a little too fairy tale for me. I did appreciate the ending of that plot more than I thought I would. So I really have to give props to the author for making that wrap-up somewhat believable.

There was just so much drama. It was constant lying and shouting and toxic behavior. One of the characters actually called out some toxic behavior. I was really surprised. Then things got wrapped up real nicely with a big grand gesture and apology, which just didn’t sit right with me. Someone that lashes out that way and then apologizes with a big gesture just feels insincere and abusive. Might be my history of abusive partners following that exact pattern. So I really didn’t ship anyone in the book. Then oh god, the “he didn’t text me yesterday so I need to break up with him” plot. No. Just no.

So overall, I needed more from the main romance plot, less drama, and a bit more background for the movie plot to make sense. Not a bad book, but not the best YA queer romance I have read lately. I want to see where the author goes next and watch as the plots get stronger. I liked the characters so much, until the drama started.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc for a tour. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: I Think I Love You

Author: Auriane Desombre

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: Lesbian and Bisexual Main Characters!

Recommended For...: romance fans, contemporary lovers, ya readers

Publication Date: March 2, 2021

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 14+ (romance, slight language, sexual content)

Publisher: Underlined

Pages: 320

Synopsis: Emma is a die-hard romantic. She loves a meet-cute Netflix movie, her pet, Lady Catulet, and dreaming up the Gay Rom Com of her heart for the film festival competition she and her friends are entering. If only they’d listen to her ideas. . .

Sophia is pragmatic. She’s big into boycotts, namely 1) relationships, 2) teen boys and their BO (reason #2347683 she’s a lesbian), and 3) Emma’s nauseating ideas. Forget starry-eyed romance, Sophia knows what will win: an artistic film with a message.

Cue the drama. The movie is doomed before they even start shooting . . . until a real-life plot twist unfolds behind the camera when Emma and Sophia start seeing each other through a different lens. Suddenly their rivalry is starting to feel like an actual rom-com.

Review: For the most part I enjoyed the book. I felt like the characters were pretty well developed and the plot was interesting. The book was really cute and sweet and it's just one of those books that you read when you want a strong contemporary romance book.

However, I felt like there was a lot going on in the book. There was a lot going on and I just got very bogged down with all the stories and romances and side quests and stuff like that. I also felt like the world building wasn't as great and that I think the book could have been a little bit more streamlined.

Verdict: It was cute, but I got a little lost in the crowd.

DNF @15%

The writing style wasn’t for me, and I’m not the biggest fan of high school drama nor do I enjoy film making in most cases. The two main characters obviously don’t like each other but end up falling for each other, and hate-to-love is always a hit or miss for me and I could just tell that this one wasn’t going to be for me.

So yeah, I love the premise for this book, sapphic love stories are books that I am constantly seeking out, but this one wasn’t my cup of tea. Definitely an “it’s me not you” kinda situation.

This book had a great plot in mind with the film festival and had good intentions in its representation with the characters being bisexual and lesbian, going through heartache, loss, coming out, etc. I just unfortunately wasn't captivated by the storyline and those good elements weren't enough to outweigh the saturation of teenage angst and drama for me.

I very well may just be too old for this one as I kept wanting and waiting for the angst to level down and for the story to become more mature, as well as more developed and fleshed out.

However, this still has important representation of queer identities, love and loss and I do believe YA readers could really relate to this story, its characters, and thoroughly enjoy it.

I received an ARC of I Think I Love You thanks to the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my god, this story has bi-rep and I am 1000% for it. I feel Emma’s struggle of never seeing this representation in media because I lived it. The stigma behind bisexuality is fierce and deeply upsetting (I’m 30 and the only person in my life that knows is my husband). Despite Emma believing her parents will accept her sexuality, she is afraid that their dynamics will change, which she doesn’t want. Thankfully her friends as super supportive!

Sophia. Sophia. Sophia. Her cynical outlook on love is… extreme?… even if she thinks she has good reason for it. Her parents are recently divorced and she just came back from France where she attended her mother’s wedding. She fights against all aspects of love, including rom-coms and friends relationships, although less vocally about the friends. I understand her reasoning. It makes sense and without it there wouldn’t be a plot, at least not one nearly as interesting, but I do want to smack her at times. Although that goes for Emma too to there’s that. Maybe I’m just frustrated with teenage girls? Hm….

Plot and pacing are fantastic. This is definitely a low-key, relaxing read, which is a big change from the super fast-paced books I have been reading. It was a nice change. Almost like I could breathe some fresh air. I am looking forward to reading more by this author because two-out-two great stories (she also wrote one of the stories in Together, Apart – “The Rules of Comedy”)!

This was such a delightful summer queer romcom! The matchmaking plots were a bit... obvious but I loved the rival short film plot and also Sophia and Emma's turn from constant fighting to realizing they actually liked one another. It was sweet. Also the 'coming out as bi' scene and Emma's reaction to her parents' reaction was very relatable.

Sophia and Emma were both believable teen characters, and while the side characters weren't fleshed out as much, they made up a realistic group of friends.

I just saw in another review that it's a spin on Much Ado About Nothing which... duh me, it totally is. Which probably explains how much I enjoyed it as I love the play.

I actually think this would make a great movie, which is fitting since they spend the whole book attempting to make a gay romcom short film.

'I Think I Love You' by Auriane Desombre is a YA contemporary rom-com that centers around a pair of girls who start out as something closer to adversaries and just may end up falling for each other along the way.

Emma is an incessant romantic who wholeheartedly believes in love, even if she doesn't believe she'll find it for herself. When she gets an email inviting students to participate in a high school film festival, she just knows it's going to help her make her dream career a reality.

Badgering her friends -- Kate, Tom, Myrah, and Matt.. into working on the student film project with her, she has the perfect idea. A gay rom-com with a happy ending.. and a chance to see herself represented onscreen.

When her rival, Tom's best friend Sophia, returns from Paris unexpectedly.. she thrusts herself into the middle of the project and starts contradicting everything Emma hopes to do. From that point on, the competitiveness just spirals out of control.. and that's really where the story begins.

Set in New York City, there are lots of great visuals and Desombre does a fantastic job of allowing the reader to really see the locations through her descriptions. Honestly, throughout the years it's been such a popular place to film rom-coms, that it kicks off the story with just the right feeling.

Kate is an absolute darling and you kind of just want to keep her safe, but I did really enjoy Emma for the most part as well. Sophia is incredibly annoying at first, which means the author was completely successful in her attempt to alienate and distance the character from the pack. When we meet her, she just seems rude, pretentious, and over-confident in regards to pretty much all of her opinions.

Don't get me wrong, Emma is set in her ways too. She's gotten used to not having to compete for what she wants with Sophia gone and she doesn't take kindly to her opinions being challenged. Honestly, I can relate. I probably wouldn't have responded maturely either.. but these two take it to a new level, driving wedges into the comfortable group dynamics.

Of course, in an effort to 'help' each other, there are some interesting dramatic situations that occur because meddling often makes a mess of things. The underlying theme though is love. Ultimately, these people care about each other. They want to see their friends happy and they're willing to do what they think it takes to make that happen.

Some of the themes are a little cliche and there are moments where pivotal points within the story seem just a tad forced, but overall it's a cute tale, with some amusing dialogue. I genuinely enjoyed it and if you're looking for an easy read.. that's a predominantly heartwarming story to brighten your day, this would be a good choice.

I THINK I LOVE YOU was such an amazing book of representation. It was the first time I was able to identify with a character heavily. This book brings bisexual representation that is rarely seen in books, let alone YA books. Often times when there is a representation for LGBTQ+ characters, they are either gay or lesbian which is still important, but I think the fact that I THINK I LOVE YOU has a bisexual character, gives a sense of validity to individuals who identify as bisexual.

With the plot on its own, it didn't draw me in as much although as a TV prod. major I definitely grew interested in the book as it progressed. This book was definitely a character-driven book -- without the quirks and unique personalities of the characters, I wouldn't say it was a strong plot.

The characters of course were amazing. It was hard to love Sophia at first but getting to know her definitely grew a soft spot in me. I typically do not enjoy the "romance-hater" trope and did have a hard time reading the first few chapters from Sophia's perspective. In contrast to Emma's chapters that I immediately enjoyed but soon grew a tad bit of annoyance with her demands. I think both characters are flawed realistically especially at their age.

Overall I enjoyed I THINK I LOVE YOU. It took awhile for me to get into it since I am not usually a contemporary reader but I do enjoy the romance aspects. I would recommend it especially to film nerds! It was interesting how the author wrote the process of production and honestly made me consider writing my own short soon.

How do you write a review about a book that means the world to you?

When I finished this book, I was hyperventilating. I've never had a book hit me so close to home. It's like Desombre reached into my soul and wrote it out on paper. From Sophia's parental situation to Emma's bisexuality, the book just spoke to me on a level no other book has.

Sophia is just --- she's me. That's all I can say. Emma is perfect... Goodness, everything about this book was perfect. I can't even make coherent sentences.

I loved reading Sophia and Emma transform in this book. Their character development and their relationship development were perfect. They are both flawed but that's what makes them great characters.

Not to mention, this book was ADORABLE. I was practically smiling the entire novel. Sophie and Emma's development from rivals to friends to lovers was... ugh, I loved it.

In conclusion, this is a new favorite, please buy it, bye!

A sapphic, enemies to lovers, romance about aspiring filmmakers? Sign me up! The dynamic between all the characters was so fantastically written, and Auriane wonderfully captures the feeling of working with your friends to create a film that's close to your heart. I blew through this book in just a few days, and it was an absolute delight from start to finish.

Beware all, for there will be spoilers ahead, because I simply must dive into some of the things that I absolutely loved about this book.

Okay, have you averted your eyes? Because this is the last warning, there be spoilers ahead.

First things first, I am so unbelievably glad that Emma's team did not win the film competition. Naturally it sucks for the main characters, because they have a lot riding on the rewards that the festival had to offer to the winner. But as a film student I can tell you, that's exactly what it's like in this world. You put together a project you're really proud of, and are convinced that you might just have a shot at winning the award, or getting into the right school, but sometimes it's just not enough. So I am so happy that this was reflected in the story because it made it feel all the more real.

The book starts out with both the main characters being extremely stubborn in both the type of story they want to create and in their opinion and treatment of each other. In short, Emma and Sophia are kind of assholes at the beginning. Emma does not want to consider ideas other than her own, and Sophia wants to keep everyone around her out of a relationship, both because of her opinions on love and her fear of change. But despite how frustrating they are at the beginning, it allows for EXTREME character development, which I have decided is one of my favorite things to see in a book. Watching both the groups as they navigate creating their stories, and seeing Emma try to incorporate more angst, and Sophia try to bring in more love, was AMAZING. Talk about growth!

Emma and Sophia's chemistry was off the charts, and you can tell this from very early on. One of my favorite moments was when Sophia saved Emma at the dance from Matt's refusal to take no for an answer when he asks her out (speaking of Matt, can we talk about what a trash human he is?). I loved the build up for their relationship because it felt natural. It didn't feel like insta-love, even the declaration of love comes pretty quickly, because these two have been in each other's orbit as frenemies for years. Therefore, it makes sense that once they drop the bullshit and stop fighting for the sake of fighting, and actually try to get to know each other better, they would totally fall in love quickly.

Throughout all the fun and games, there's real, tangible struggles that both the characters are going through, that I feel is relatable to so many people. On Emma's side, is her battle to come out as bisexual to her parents, and on Sophia's, is her struggle to deal with her new reality following her parents divorce, not to mention how alone and isolated she feels. The last part is what I felt I connected the most with. Sophia feels like an outcast in her group after spending a year in Paris. There have been plenty of times in my life where I have been the odd one out among my friends, so following Sophia as she confronts how lonely she truly feels is something that I felt deeply as I was reading.

Overall, this was a contemporary romance. The characters were, for the most part, well developed, I only wish we got more Myrah throughout the story, as she was the one I felt that I cared the least about (except for Matt, I definitely care the least about him because F*CK MATT he can go fall in a ditch). The story felt fresh and original, with a great balance between the heartfelt moments and the more dramatic, introspective scenes. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking for an epic sapphic love story, with a great friend group to back it up.

This is a sweet story about two girls pursuing their passions and trying to figure out what love looks like to them. Along the way, they learn a lot about judging people before you truly get to know them. This is a perfect YA romance to have in a classroom library.