This book was lovely! I appreciated the chance to read a book with a non-binary protagonist. My partner is non-binary and I felt this helped me understand them more.

The Love Study was a witty LGBTQI+ romance to read. The awkwardly adorable chemistry between Declan (queer commitmentphobe) and Sydney (enby YouTuber) was fun to read and see how their relationship changed throughout the course of the book. Kris Ripper does an excellent job introducing Sydney using they/them pronouns, though it may be confusing for some mainstream readers without an author's note at the beginning as to WHY that is necessary.

I am rating this a 3/5 because on the positive, it's a good book and I enjoyed the premise for the story and appreciate the inclusivity. Conversely, I didn't really vibe with all the characters and I found myself skimming though parts of the book.

Advanced readers copy provided courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a book! The title totally knocked me off the pedestal .The Love Study is about Declan the guy who left his partner at the alter . He did in fact leave his boyfriend at the altar and he did it because he was scared and now he has to move in .Imagine being known as the guy that dumped someone at the altar. But at this party he meets Sidney who is funny,creative and funny. It's such a wonderful read and oh my my that cover. Huge thanks to the publisher for my copy .

2.5 stars

I really wanted to like this book. The premise is 100% up my lane and I actually ignored my August TBR to read this book as soon as possible. In the end, what didn’t work out for me was a mixture of writing style and pacing.

If I had to describe how this book is written, I think the best way would be to say that it reminded me of what a transcription of a video diary might sound like. There are a lot of “um”s, “like”s, “…”s, and question marks (to indicate a raise in pitch rather than a real question) in the narrative that you don’t normally see in adult novels. While this type of formatting might work for YA novels, I felt like it didn’t quite fit in with the age bracket of our characters (who were around 30 years old). I often felt like the characters behaved like teenagers rather than established adults.

Another thing that bothered me about the writing was that I felt like everyone was constantly tripping over themselves about what the most PC way to say something was. It happened so often that reading conversations between characters was actually quite exhausting.

That being said, I think this book has a lot of potential. I would have liked Declan to go on more dates and for the chemistry between him and Sidney to have more time to build, but I can’t deny the fact that they shared many cute moments together. And though this book is full of queer characters of different genders and sexualities, there was absolutely no focus on queer pain/tragedy which is something that I very much appreciated.

I also always enjoy when books include supportive side/background characters and Declan’s friend group basically consists of the most supportive people you could imagine. Although it seems the next book in this series will be about Oscar (there was a sneak peak at the end), I’d really like to read a book about Mason as I felt he had a lot of character depth that wasn’t fully explored.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review! If you’re looking for a feel-good, light-on-drama novel with lots of queer rep, then I’d recommend checking out The Love Study, either on NetGalley or when it comes out in September!

Review posted on Goodreads: 2020. 08.14.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3496037086

A shortened review with a picture will be posted on Instagram: 2020. 08.18.

A review might be posted on Amazon as soon as it's eligable.

I received this copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for Kris Ripper and NetGalley for providing me a copy to read.

The Love Study was a unique read in every way imaginable. It provided insight to a part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum that I knew very little about. That is non-binary/genderqueer people.

Declan is our main character who is queer and lives a satisfactory life as an office temp. He has a great group of LGBTQ+ friends (there is, actually, a part when they are all described and their diversity is heartwarming) who refer to him as 'the friend who left his boyfreind at the altar'. When he's introduced (yet again) like this to the intriguing Sidney, who is a genderqueer youtuber, he did not expect to find himself with an offer to be set up on dates, and then analyse said dates on YouTube to give advice on queer dating.
A rather spectecular setting for a story focused on the challanges of navigating in the labirynth of queer relationships (from hook-ups to life partners).

The Cover:
Simple, yet informative and adorably queer.

The Story:
I picked this up mainly because of the GQ character but honestly the whole 'YouTube channel as a way of getting closer to each other' trope was a good selling point. I think the story itself was average. Two people meeting through freinds then starting a project together and realising they like the other after spending a good time in each other's company. Then one of them needs to work out their past issues that causes conflict. If you don't consider the queer factor I would have found the story lacking. There weren't really exciting peaks or twists that hook the reader.
I wluld have loved to see between the sheets scenes but the sexual innuendos made it fun to read.

The Characters:
I can say condfidently that this story is epic and unique because of its LGBTQ+ characters. Declan's queer and a little awkward with a heart of gold which makes him an extremely loveable leading male character. Sidney is a captivating GQ person with killer fashion sense and a blunt and honest personality. They were the main reason I started this book and wanted to know more. GQ is something rarely talked about both in real life and in books. Probably, because it is really hard to put yourself in their shoes. But reading about Sidney through Declan's eyes was exciting and very informative.
Their on page chemistry and funny but sometimes awkward conversations made it easy and fun to fall in love with them. Their shy stumble through dating is sweet and makes you a little giddy.
The supporting characters were also amazing, a lesbian couple preparing for their wedding which raised some good points about legalising gay marrige in the US. (In my country it's constitutionally prohibited so it's always nice to read about). The ex who was left at the altar who seems to be coping way better than Declan who spirals down in self-doubt because of it. And the sour, lonely but still loved friend who's always their to lovingly ask you to shut your face when you get too sappy. Then, there's a co-worker who kind of puts a lot of things into perspective for Declan.
So basically, our hero is surrounded by a bunch of really great, very queer friends who help him stumble through life (and love).

The Writing:
The author used a writing style that at first was a bit weird for me but not in a bad way. The focus was on conversations, Declan's reactions on what was happening and his innermost thoughts. This perspective gave the whole book a little philosophical atmosphere. The story went faster than when there are heaps of descriptions. I would have appriciated some more details on people's appearances and the places and sometimes I felt like I am missing something because the conversation went so fast.
After getting used to the style it was quite enjoyable and never got boring.

All in all, I would say this was a really great book. It's an experience through querr dating emphasizing the diversities in the LGBTQ+ community. I learned a lot about GQ people and would definetly look for more books with non-binary characters. Declan's story through dating was adorable, entertaining and absolutely educational.

I am so torn on The Love Study by Kris Ripper. I really loved the fast pace of the dialogue when the MF’s group gets together, along with all of their snark and how they hold each other accountable and feel comfortable calling each other out. I felt a kinship with Declan since I often talk in tangents and say awkward things.

But I just couldn’t get over how for a bunch of people in their late 20’s and Sydney being mid-20’s (at least that’s what I gathered) act like a bunch of junior high kids. And all of that giggling. I can’t. I’m a happy person and laugh a lot, but everyone continually giggling, it just kept pulling me out of the story. If this was marketed towards a YA audience I would be giving it a higher score. And I do recommend high schoolers to give The Love Study a read.

There was so much talking about every aspect of the relationship which is great because I feel communication is the most important thing in every relationship, but it was through the entire book. I know communication should not stop once you start sleeping together (you should probably even do more), but as a reader it was too much. I felt like I had a teacher repeating the lessons on love and relationships over and over, instead of enjoying a romance book and seeing the two main characters grow.

Talking about growth, there was very little of it in regards to Declan. In fact, at 80% into the story he had a total meltdown and just threw it all away. Now I know this happens all the time in romance movies/books where the main character doesn’t feel like they are good enough for the other one, but the world is open here. With so much new in queer and glbta writing, why do the conventional norms need to be followed. Ripper could have just skipped all of the drama and continued on with the happily ever after. Or skipped over the breakdown and given us more of a look into queer dates. Sure there were three before Sidney, but since this was a study in queer dating, having Declan go on more dates would have enhanced the story even more.

There is a lot of potential with The Love Study if the story was tightened up, but I think before reading another romance by Ripper I would check the reviews to see if the writing style has changed at all.

Declan has a great group of friends despite the fact that they insist on introducing him by saying that he left his last partner at the alter. He did that. He left Mason at the alter... in fact, he had a panic attack and fled the scene of the crime. Now, Declan and Mason have put it behind them... mostly, but it still weighs heavily on Declan's mind. He's that guy... the one who broke someone's heart, the one who couldn't live up to the romance and wanting to spend his life with someone. He gave up dating.

When one of Declan's friends invites a new person to a get-together it's because she wants to set up Declan's ex. But, Declan is immediately drawn to Sidney. Sidney identifies as non-binary and is a wonderful character. They are creative, quirky, funny, intelligent and a YouTuber! During the course of a conversation, Sidney asks Declan to appear on their youtube channel. They two decide upon a series in which Sidney finds dates for Declan. They will come together to live stream Declan's reaction to the dates.

One of the most striking things about this novel is the way that the date-ship between Sidney and Declan unfolds throughout the story. They have long and interesting conversations about gender, romance, the way that we try to fit in with other people in spite of what we may want ourselves.

"People making an effort to fit themselves inside a script that doesn't work for them, and then being unhappy with the result." - Sidney

The time that Declan and Sidney spend with one another is far more wonderful for Declan than any of the dates he goes on. It takes him a long time to admit that he has feelings regarding Sidney. The thing about Declan is that he's still bearing the weight of leaving his (now) friend Mason at the alter. He has many questions about it. Does it make him wrong? Is he defective in some way? Will he make the same mistakes again? Will he hurt someone else the way that he is confident he hurt Mason?

There are some great discussions in this novel about relationships and the way that we may try, at times, to fit in with the expectations of others. At times, I wished that there were more actions rather than dialogue but conversations were interesting enough to be engaging most of the time.

It was wonderful to see a non-binary character depicted so well in a novel. Sidney is introduced in such a way that disperses pre-conceived ideas. I even found myself stumbling over my own assumptions while I was reading - and I really enjoyed that! I love books that make me think carefully about what I'm reading.

If you like quirky characters, queer folk, intellectual conversations, and a lovely friendship - this is a novel you will enjoy!

review will be posted August 15

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher HARLEQUIN - Carina Press in exchange for an honest review.
The Love Study is a rarity because never have I read a book about a group of diverse, queer characters and related so hard to all of them. Not necessarily the characters themselves but the dynamics, the attitudes, the friendships. This is the story of Declan, a man who has struggled with dating in the past and has huge commitment issues. He meets a nonbinary Youtuber called Sidney and together they start a new streaming show. Sidney will set Declan up on dates and Declan will discuss what diverse dating is like in the modern world. However, Declan soon starts to fall for Sidney just as his commitment issues start to kick in hard.

Ripper has perfectly captured something I almost never see in books and that is to be commended. The group of people in The Love Study interact like my friendship group does, like so many predominantly queer groups do. That alone makes this book refreshing and highly entertaining, but the plot that goes alongside that is also great. I am a huge fan of cute dating project type stories, and this is a brilliant example of the trope. The romance is sweet but realistic, never quite crossing into outright fluff and addressing a lot of genuine relationship issues which can come up in queer groups. This is all done extremely well.

The only thing that stopped this book being perfect for me was that at times, it felt a bit cringey? I'm not sure if it was just that I'm not used to reading books which actually reflect real life experiences but at times, it got a bit intense. This bothered me quite a lot but I recognise it is likely a me problem which is why I didn't take too much off the rating for it. If you are not used to these kind of social environments, you might not 'get' this book and you might find it a bit off putting as a result. If you're open-minded though or used to predominantly queer spaces, this is a real gem.

Overall, The Love Study is both a very important book in terms of its rep and just a fun, sweet romance. If you care less about rep than me, you will still love the story and the couple and everything that goes on. I would love to see more books like this, more romances where I feel I can relate to the characters. I am very glad I got a copy of this and I will definitely be looking out for more of Ripper's work.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 stars

3.0-3.5 stars

The Love Study is was my first book experience with not only Kris Ripper but also a genderqueer/nonbinary character. (We all have to start somewhere, right?)

I will say my cishet brain took a bit of a moment with the pronouns game to realize that they/them was not, in fact, referring to multiple people. (I know, I know, stop eye-rolling at me... baby steps.)

Overall, the book was very cute and sweet about two people with a generally bleak outlook on love and relationships find each other and find a way to romantically relate to one another that absolutely works for them. (Which, I felt, was kind of a mystical unicorn sort of situation for them both).

Declan was known as the man who left his last boyfriend at the altar. Like literally, that is how his BFFs (the 'Marginalized Motherfuckers') introduced him to people. (Ugh, the boy HAS A COMPLEX already... stop making it worse- sorry, sorry...- ::deep breath:: ) Declan is struggling and pretty much just wallowing in guilt, and anxiety related to his last beau, with whom he is still friends. Two of Declan's BFF's are working up to their own nuptials, which kind of has him working up into a tizzy when he is introduced to Sidney. Sidney has a YouTube channel called Your Spinster Uncle where they discuss all sorts of queer-life and just life-life issues. Through their introduction and conversations, Sidney propositions Declan to be the subject of a series of shows that have him dating others and discussing his dating 'results.' Since Declan has been in not a great place emotionally and mentally since his last relationship anxiety/panic attack fiasco, the whole idea of letting someone else help the process is absolutely appealing to him. Thus, the Love Study begins.

Sidney has always felt on the outside of life. So much so that they never really fit in. Moreover, this created such a resonance with them that the outside of the norm sort of felt like home to them. In the book, they talk about the alien-ness of chia seeds make them feel comforted in some way. They really took this whole concept so far into their life that relationships became a challenge because of the heteronormative (giving of chocolates and flowers) felt like a slap against their idealized self. (I have this whole hierarchy of needs- self-actualization thing I want to write but I think I will lose most of you- And- it may not even be the author's intent- so...) Sidney's experience in life and fulfilling relationships were basically nil due to coming up against accepted norms that everyone wanted to place on them.

Sidney and Declan, through their interactions with the show and then afterward grew and soon it became all too clear to them that they had a spark that really shouldn't be dismissed. The Love Study (the book) basically works through their navigation of Declan's sometimes crippling anxiety and Sidney's need to feel free and seen for who they are and outside of society's assigned expectations.

As I said before, aside from my initial hiccup with pronouns, I found the book to be very cute. This is a fade to black and fairly slow burn. Definitely not an insta anything. While the whole fade to black works here because it places the emphasis on the 'relationship' rather than the 'romance' of it all... But, I'm kinda a perv and I wanted a little sneak peek or something of what their bedroom times looked like. (Look, it was mentioned more than once how 'compatible' they were in that aspect of their relationship- I'm just curious- seriously, stop with the eye-rolls)

I felt like that in the struggle to be super-inclusive of everyone's feelings and the while navigating everyone's 'schtick' ended up feeling like they were all super fragile. I didn't ever really feel the spark or any chemistry between Sidney and Declan other than they kind of liked the same things, maybe? It kind of felt like they just ended up being besties that also, erm, had sexytimes and defaulted to being homebodies. I would have liked to see how Declan and Sidney grew emotionally and became better versions of themselves rather than just say they figured their best relationship out for themselves- HEA- the end.

In the end, The Love Study was cute and sweet about two people finding love in a dreary world of expectation. I would recommend this book for those looking for a sweet story about finding love that works for you with very low to no drama.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

3.5 stars
If you're looking for a great fun and sweet love story in the LGBTQ+ romance this book is definitely for you.
I enjoyed the overall story and the characters are so great , so real and the book touches many stereotypes of our nowadays that many young people are experiences. It has insightful moments in the lgbtq world and how acceptance and discovering ones desires and focusing on what they really want for their future and life is a big part of their life.
The banter was great and many times i have laughed at the snarky replies or quick thinking but other times i just felt like the story it's dragging so that's why i can't love it enough for a five stars read.
Overall it's a great book that many people will enjoy for sure.

Declan left his fiance at the alter - if his friends introduce him it's the first thing you will know about him. Sidney has a YouTube channel with a decent following where they dispense advice to their viewers. On their first meeting Sidney convinces Declan to get back on the dating horse and be the subject of a new web series about queer dating. That is where we start, and if you want to know the journey, you will have to read for yourself.

Ripper's novel has a cast of Gay, no, pan, trans, genderqueer misfits who support each other and call out the BS when they see it.

For me, this was a first in reading a novel where a main character preferred they/them pronouns. Although it too me a page or two of adjustment, I loved this.

I felt the novel had a strong premise, but in the end I felt a little let down. It was enjoyable, but despite the post-college age of the cast, it read like a teen novel, with an equivalent level of emotions maturity and awkwardness. I thought it was a fine read, and I could see myself recommending it for a younger audience, but for me, I was hoping for a bit more depth.

This was such a lovely book! I think the writing was beautiful and sample straight to the point. I want to thank the publisher and netgally for giving me the opportunity to read this lovely book

I really liked this book and the characters. It is a quick read. I am so happy to find good LGBTQ+ books. The author wrote these characters in a way that I felt connected to them. I liked them, heck I would love to hang out with them. I recommend this book.

Declan and Sidney experience the world of dating through Declan's participation in Sidney's "Your Spinster Uncle" YouTube advice show. Soon it is obvious that they are both really only interested in each other, leading to their building a fun, satisfying relationship despite Declan's fear of commitment. In addition to the two thoroughly appealing main characters, there is a great supporting cast of Declan's long-time friends, including the man he once left at the altar. I thought it was cute and an easy read!

So, I did not fully enjoy this book BUT I'm giving it a four star because I think for a lot of romance readers, they're going to love it.

Its a gentle romance, about Sidney and Declan who are both leery of relationships for varioys reasons that come down to, the conventional doesn't suit them.

They were both awkward, shy people surrounded by friends who love and support them.

Personally, I didn't quite connect with the queer culture Ripper wrote (because its not like the queer culture I've experienced and am a part of) but I think it will resonate with many other readers.

Declan and Sidney explore the world of dating through Declan's participation in Sidney's "Your Spinster Uncle" YouTube advice show. Soon it is obvious that they are both really only interested in each other, leading to their building a fun, satisfying relationship despite Declan's fear of commitment. In addition to the two thoroughly appealing main characters, there is a great supporting cast of Declan's long-time friends, including the man he once left at the altar. This is an all-inclusive queer romance that is breezy and delightful, even with the requisite anxiety and heartache, and I cannot wait for subsequent entries featuring secondary characters.

Declan and Sidney were cute and had amazing chemistry together, I loved their relationship, but I didn't like all the debates and asking for permission about what to do or how to do it before everything,
I mean, I can understand something like that in a scene, talking about boundaries and what is a trigger or a kink, but in a romantic book it felt like I was being given a lesson about relationships and love instead of seeing that relationship. It felt off and a bit condescending.

The Love Study is the first in a new series by Kris Ripper, and another title in Carina's queer Adores line. My previous encounters with Adores titles have been mixed, but this one was unequivocally lovely. Sharp, quick dialogue and the dry wit of the narrator, Declan, combined with slow-build angst to make a sweet, thoughtful HEA, with plenty of adorableness along the way.

Declan is a "commitmentphobe", in all aspects of his life. Among his friends he's notorious for abandoning his last boyfriend, Mason, at the altar and he hasn't had a relationship to speak of in the five years since. Now, at 28, he's pretty much given up on dating or any plans for permanency. He works as an office temp, rejecting offers of long term employment in favour of the endless variety and easy exit routes of short contracts. It isn't what he envisioned but it's fine and it feels safe, given the devastation he caused when he tried committing in the past.

What he does have is an awesome found family in the 'Marginalized Motherfuckers', his friends from college who form a queer circle of safety around him. They include Mason (the erstwhile and very forgiving former fiance), Oscar (misanthropic, with anxiety) and Mia and Ronnie (the group's only couple). These five have known one another for ever, and it shows in the brilliant, easy way they tease, infuriate and care for one another. Right at the start of the book, when I wasn't sure if and how it would work for me as a romance, I was utterly sold on the fierce love between these five.

When The Love Study opens the Motherfuckers are on the countdown to Mia and Ronnie's wedding and Declan is feeling secretly fragile, recalling the run-up to his own failed nuptials. Enter Sidney, a genderqueer YouTuber with a life advice channel called Your Spinster Uncle. They have recently moved to town and are looking to make connections, as well as ways to grow their channel. A chance encounter at a party leads them to make Declan a proposition: why doesn't he come on the show as part of a modern dating experiment? Each week Sidney can set up him with prospective partners, and explore what does and doesn't work in a live-stream show. It can be called The Love Study.

What the study reveals, of course, is that Declan and Sidney have a thing for each other: full marks for intellectual and physical chemistry. When they're together they find an easy rhythm of talking, sharing food, watching Netflix and listening to podcasts that leads to, you know, touching and tangled limbs and the bedroom. But since Declan is terrified of commitment, and Sidney doesn't feel like dating works for them either, they're unsure of what to do about it. What do they even call themselves? Companions? Datefriends?

The Love Study is about two people learning how to move beyond the social conventions and cultural norms of romance and dating, and forming a relationship that makes sense to them. Neither feels like they 'fit' in the world, for lots of reasons, and although they know intuitively that they 'fit together', the more they try to name or describe what they have, the less comfortable it feels. This discomfort starts to seem like failure: failure at romance, at dating, at relationships. The book's angst comes out of this disconnect between the infinitely varied lived experiences of gender, sexuality and love, and the social structures of those things. Kris Ripper does a great job of showing the allure of norms - Declan definitely doesn't want to get married, but he's grieving for the loss of the idea of it - and the difficulty of breaking free of them. It's especially difficult when you've gotten to know one another in the spotlight of social media, which can be strict and normative as well as freeing.

What I loved about the book in the end was the way it didn't make light of these issues, or the process of working through them. Both Sidney and Declan, but especially Declan, are given lots of time to figure things out, via the aforementioned cute scenes of cooking and watching Netflix, and through the interventions of the other Motherfuckers. It could have felt like a very shallow basis for conflict and angst, but it didn't. So although I wasn't sure about the swift set-up for the story in the early chapters, I was fully on board by the final third.

A couple of other things to mention. The book is fade to black, so there is no on-page sex, although it is very sex positive. It focuses instead on generating intimacy through talking and thinking (and being ruthlessly teased by your friends). I think this was absolutely the right choice, because it keeps the reader's eyes where they are meant to be, on the juncture of Declan and Sidney's personal expectations, rather than on the juncture of their bodies. That's where the work is needed in this case. There is also no external threat or violence. While the impacts of homophobia and transphobia are acknowledged, they aren't used for plot and so Declan and Sidney have space to develop intimacy on their own terms. Both of these things contribute to the softness of the story, and I found it a soothing comfort at a difficult time.

I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series, which is grumpy, anxious Oscar's story. He had some lovely cameo moments in this book, and I'm already deeply invested in his future happy ending.

The ARC for this novel was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much!

“Companionship doesn't have to mean a sexually exclusive lifetime commitment that stars with marriage and ends with death,but that is such a strong narrative it's hard to find people who are open to other interpretations"

Dating is difficult. Finding love, that special and unique person, is even more, and Declan knows it.

After left Mason, his ex-boyfriend and who he thought would be the love of his life, on the altar, Declan finds himself in a difficult position, full of fears and insecurities. He has not been the same since he ran away from his own wedding in front of all his guests in the midst of a panic attack, but although life was difficult for him then, he now believes he is ready to go on dates again. It's been six years since his failed wedding to Mason, his anxiety and panic attacks are under control (almost) but while he is sure, he has been unable to find a way to start dating again.
When he meet Sidney, a non-binary youtuber with a channel dedicated to give advice to followers, he thinks that maybe what he needs is a host. With Sidney's new series called The Love Study, Sidney will decide on Declan's upcoming dates and they will be able to comment on the results in a live on YouTube later. Declan doesn't really care too much if his dating was almost disastrous, because although he has in mind that he wants to date, he thinks he has already found the person he is looking for in the beautiful and incredible youtuber who plays his host.

This is not a drama story, I have warned you once. It is a sweet, sensitive story that talks about not fitting into the mold, about wanting something more than what society is used to wanting. She talks about trauma, insecurities, unresolved issues and touches on very important topics in a healthy and extremely sweet way because, God, Declan and Sidney's relationship is beautiful.

To be honest, although I really enjoyed the story, it was difficult for me to connect with it at first. The first half of the book was definitely not my thing, it took me too long to get used to the characters, connect with them, feel some emotion and empathy, but when I got to the second half of the book everything was so sweet and spectacular that it made me let go a sigh of relief and excitement that Sidney and Declan are the most wonderful and humane people in the world.

The story centers on Declan, a boy who, as mentioned a lot in the book, had a failed relationship 6 years ago with his best friend named Mason. Declan is a very special character, very complicated, because from the first moment he is introduced to us we can see how guilt gnaws at him even after so many years. As he tells us his love story, he also tells us about his anxiety and panic attacks and how it felt for him to go through all those negative changes in his life, which have still left him after many years.
Declan is empathetic, adorable, somewhat silly and with the habit of speaking without thinking, he is a character who shows his insecurities on each page of the book, who tells us how it is to want to be the perfect piece for the wrong game and I must say that, although in the first half of the book I didn't understand his character very much, in the second half I felt a lot of sympathy for him. He is adorable and has been through a lot of things but he is trying to give everything to make things work and that seemed very human and nice of him, in addition to worrying too much about what others feel, trying to make people feel comfortable around him and he's super funny, which I found adorable throughout the book.

For me, the star is Declan, but Sidney is not far behind because although we know little about Sidney's past, what they show us in the book is an extremely responsible person who really likes to help people and who, in addition, is very aware of him and what he wants, as well as the importance of a healthy relationship with good communication. Sidney is just what Declan needs, because although they are not the same, they understand each other very well and together they make an incredible duo. Between laughs and jokes they tell you a very entertaining story that finally becomes extremely cute.

Something that I especially loved about the story was just that, how adorable the couple was, the beautiful relationship Sidney and Declan had and, especially, the way they paid attention to each other's limits, tastes and needs as well as to his emotional well-being, something that I have seen show a lot in the books that have been published lately and that I adore every time it is handled in romance books.
Sidney and Declan know that they have many things to work on and they know that it can be difficult, especially for Declan because of her past and those unsolved problems, but little by little we see how they evolve and I must say that I loved. Too much the sweet couple they made, their moments together, their jokes, how sweetly they showed their love and how they cared for each other.
For me, that relationship saved the book.

And this is when I start with the things that did not seem to me from the book, and the reason why, in general, it was difficult for me to get into the story at first.

For starters, the first thing Declan tells us is how his friends present him. They don't introduce him to new people like "Declan, their friend", but like "Declan, he left his boyfriend at the altar so be careful".
I think that's a little inside joke among his friends, but at first when I read it, it seemed to be in very bad taste, especially since later Declan explains how uncomfortable he feels about it and tells us about his story with Mason.
It wasn't precisely the joke that made me uncomfortable, but what it involved.

Honestly, when friends are featured in the book (with that "wonderful" joke to start with) all I could feel was discomfort as well as some anger. Actually, I didn't like none of his friends at the beginning of the book because I felt they were somehow making fun of Declan and the incident of his wedding. That, combined with the bad taste jokes and the extremely awkward scenes in which they, in my opinion, made fun of Declan made him feel no empathy for them.

In fact, at the beginning of the book, as I mentioned earlier, I couldn't empathize with anyone other than Declan and Sidney. If I could describe that first half of the book in one word, I'd say it's awkward.
Starting with the jokes of Declan's friends, the conversation between Sidney and Mason about The Love Study, going through, of course, those moments when Declan attended his dates or didn't know how to talk to Sidney.

Little by little, and as the story progresses, we see how Declan's discomfort disappears and we begin to understand a little more the relationship between Sidney and Declan, as well as that of Declan with his friends. However, for me, the second half of the book was GOLD.

There we not only see Declan dating a person who he considers extremely important to him, but we also see him face some mistakes from the past, it is where he tells us about his insecurities more deeply, as well as shows us that side that he always hides in front of people. We also have some very interesting conversations between Sidney and Declan about relationships, boundaries, friendship... I find it lovely that they can talk to each other in such an honest and open way and can trust each other so much.

As I said before, I didn't like the first half of the book very much but the second half was gold for me.
This, however, is a super cute book, one of those that does not have too much drama but entertains you a lot. If the author had handled the start differently, I think this would have been a 5/5 book for me.

Declan left his boyfriend at the altar years ago. Jumping back into dating is intimidating - more so when he agrees for his dates to be chosen by Sidney, a YouTuber who wants to use Declan for their show. But it's a little hard for Declan to focus on his dates when all he can think about is a certain someone else...

Gosh, this was the cuteness thing I've read in ages. Declan and Sidney reached peak levels of utter adorableness - their relationship was saccharine in the extreme, which was frankly too much for me. But if you want to sigh happily until 80% of the way through the book, where there's a weak attempt at conflict, then you'll probably enjoy this piece of fluff.