One of my favorite romantic comedy tropes—fake relationship, plus second chance at romance—paired with two charming protagonists.

I absolutely adored this book, and I absolutely adore Kosoko Jackson! This was cute, sweet, laugh-out-loud funny, but there was also an emotional aspect underneath that really got me. I loved the dynamic between all of the characters, as well. Can't wait to see what adult books Kosoko writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

The characters and their romance didn't work for me. I found their supposed connection to be challenging, and while I enjoyed the story, it didn't quite land as a romance for me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

The idea of a second chance romance mixed and fake dating trope with two Black men sounds something that I would have absolutely loved. Unfortunately for me, it just didn't land how I thought it would. There were inconsistencies with the overall plot, lack of character dimension and growth, and the foundation of the original relationship was never sufficiently laid for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an ecopy!

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love this concept! I was so excited to read a MM romance written by a queer man. I loved some of the dynamics, the steam was great and the plot was unique. We did however miss one major plot point.

This is a second chance love story for two men, in their early twenties, who dated in college and broke up pretty recently. Hudson (the one who did the breaking up) asks Kian to be his fake-date for some family events. But here’s the thing…we never found out why the relationship ended. Yes, you heard that right. We never found out why Hudson broke up with Kian. And because this was single-POV, all we could do is hear Kian's perspective.

I am interested to see what Kosoko Jackson writes next!

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2023 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2023/01/2023-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

I enjoyed this book completely, It was witty, charming, and distinctly Black and Queer in flavor, it was a joy to read and experience! I look forward to reading the second book that this author will publish under this publisher in 2023! I think they make a perfect match!

This was just ok for me. The writing was a bit too cringe for me. I was rooting for the two MC's to get their act together but overall this one didnt do it for me.

This story follows Kian and Hudson - Kian being our narrator, and Hudson being the ex-boyfriend that Kian is both hurting and pining over. In the first chapter, we learn that Hudson has invited Kian to coffee for some reason. Said reason being that Hudson needs Kian to pretend to still be his boyfriend because he never got around to telling his family that they broke up and they expect Kian to attend an upcoming family dinner and wedding. Kian agrees - half because Hudson promises him a connection for a job prospect and half because he's still in love with Hudson. Thus ensues a fake dating - that quickly turns real - second chance rom-com.

While I really enjoyed reading an own-voices, black and queer romance (and am thrilled that books like this exist at all), this story just didn't live up to my expectations. For one, I found the writing really difficult to get into. It's filled with needless metaphors, grating pop-culture references, and baffling, multiple page-long tangents. The writing was stilted and had very little flow and made it very difficult for me to get through the story. I honestly think this would have been a 3.5 star story had it been written in a different style.

But, that's not to say the writing was the only issue I had. One of the major issues I had was simply believing that these two characters had romantic feelings for one another or were in a relationship that would work long term. As mentioned, this is a second-chance romance, so we start the story with the characters having been broken up for a few months. But... we never learn why they broke up in the first place. That, on top of the stupid as heck third-act conflict, made it very unbelievable that these two characters would be able to get back together for any significant length of time. They literally never talked about the issues that made them break up in the first place, and didn't really address the issues that made them break up a second time - simply pleading with one another for a THIRD!! chance. If they can't discuss their issues and how they'll work through them when they inevitably appear next time, how can we the reader believe in their relationship?

Overall, I was left feeling very unsatisfied by this book. If I wasn't reading it for a (secret) reason, I most likely would have DNF'd it. This I think was my third attempt to actually read the book - it never truly grabbed my interest. I do think Jackson has potential, so I would be interested to read their next book to see if it's improved. But, this one was a no from me.

Loving the cover so much and the synopsis, but could not get into the story and the writing. I just did not enjoy the chemistry between the leads

This was really hard for me to get in to and I was overly worried about the imbalance of power. I opted not to finish it. But I look forward to trying this author again in the future.

With rounding it up by a lot I think this book can be a 2⭐️

The plot and the tropes were good but oh man there were so many pop culture references. I read books to escape reality meaning I don’t want to remember Greys anatomy quotes and gossip girl characters.

I really loved this story. I loved the representation and the humour. I loved the relationships - romantic and platonic. This author’s writing really spoke to me and I can wait to read their future work!

I don’t think this book is very good. I think Kian is a really frustrating main character in that though he feels distinct, he spends 80-90% of the book putting his foot in his mouth, and also often doesn’t even know what he’s just said. I have experienced this only when I’ve just woken up. He also feels like he has almost no agency in the plot because he makes every single decision under duresss or persuading from Hudson and seems to have no genuine motivation beyond “not being over his ex.” Besides that, it really feels like Hudson and Kian aren’t talking about any of the issues between them, just dancing around them. I was finding this all so frustrating that I headed over to Goodreads where I immediately discovered via Alexis’s great review that they never talk about why they broke up in the first place. It’s giving those college couples that break up every two months and immediately get back together and everyone kind of makes fun of them. Overall, YA getting better editors when. Thank you for listening.

As romance fans, our expectations often felt out of sync with the story. If this was marketed as witty new adult fiction, we might have enjoyed it more. I think readers who like pop culture-inflected romances, angst, and wealth p0rn, but don’t mind opaque heroes might like this. I liked the characters, but the romance arc was missing too many elements to believe that these two wouldn’t break up again in a week. As a book, I’d give it a B, but as a romance specifically, it was unsatisfying.

If, on the other hand, you want to see fake relationships used to work through inner personal hangups, I can recommend Kosoko Jackson’s I’M SO (NOT) OVER YOU (Berkley, 368 pp., paper, $16).

Kian Andrews is a journalism graduate in Boston, desperate for work and recently dumped by the too-handsome scion of a Southern brewing family. Hudson Rivers has a fraught relationship with his parents — but they did love Kian, his ex. So Hudson makes Kian an offer: Pretend they didn’t break up and come as his date to a cousin’s high-profile wedding, and he’ll arrange a meeting with a family friend who runs the news site Kian is desperate to write for. It’s a straightforward exchange of favors, which leads to no emotional or social complications whatsoev — ha-ha, no, of course it’s a disaster.

Kian is a whirlpool of self-doubt and anxiety. The constant churn of trying to understand his own spiraling thoughts has made him an expert in reading other people’s unspoken communications — a great trait for a journalist but a horrible one for an ex. Especially with someone like Hudson, opaque and surface-perfect, with deep scars he’s desperate to keep hidden. These two push each other’s buttons as if they were born knowing where to poke: Their negative chemistry at the start is incendiary and chaotic.

It’s also irresistible, and it shows why they both find it hard to move on. Kian and Hudson are hot messes and they make terrible decisions — but they make less terrible decisions together, and the parts when they’re in sync shine with a beautiful, blooming sense of wonder. Jackson’s experience in young adult literature shows in this book’s close point of view and its depiction of a character on the brink of something transformative.

I'm So (Not) Over You follows Kian, after he's approached by his ex-boyfriend Hudson to pretend that they're still dating for a dinner with Hudson's parents. Things go from there, and Kian and Hudson have to keep up the ruse for longer than expected, which gives them time to work through their past and see if there's any chance at a future.

I think what threw me off at first ended up being what I appreciated the most about this book in the end. There's a very unique writing style that this book is written in. Most books I don't tend to notice the style or voice too much because it doesn't stick out. Here it took a while to keep up with Kian and his thought process, but once I was familiar enough with it, I started to enjoy it quite a bit!

I really appreciate the way Kian and Hudson's story developed. It felt very natural and organic, with lots of small scenes building up the relationship again. I especially appreciated certain aspects of how arguments were handled towards the end of the book. I won't say too much more because of spoilers, but the characters actually took their time to think things through instead of rushing to apologize without processing their feelings, as I find happens too often in other romances.

Most of the conflict in this book comes from the fact that Kian and Hudson are from two very different social classes. Kian is solidly middle class, while Hudson is part of the elite, wealthy Southern society. That causes a lot of tension throughout the novel, and I very much enjoyed how it was handled and discussed, in both the overt and subtle ways.

There were lots of little aspects about this book that I enjoyed, but I think that the best way to discover them would truly be to read this book for yourself. I feel that I would struggle to coherently explain why certain aspects were meaningful or enjoyable, but if you read those moments yourself, you would understand immediately. So if fake dating, forced proximity, and a second chance romance is your kind of thing, I wouldn't hesitate to pick this book up!

This was the Big Gay Fiction Book Club selection for spring and we dedicated an entire Big Gay Fiction Podcast episode for the book discussion.