The blurb for this book is incredibly misleading, no part of this book is funny. The relationship between the two main characters is super toxic and the ending was disappointing. I just couldn't connect with this story at all.

Ever feel adrift from your peers? Rae tries over and over to help Dustin while never actually getting him to get more help for himself. Dustin consistently belittles her attempts to help and learn about his mental illness. While it may seem shocking to some readers that she stays with him for years, it is a realistic depiction of what it's like to love someone and believe that is enough to make them better. Rae should choose herself, but she's obsessed with the idea of a perfect life before 30 and as such is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for what she believes is true love. Both characters are incredibly flawed and it is an excellent depiction of love not fixing everything.

Not what I was expecting from reading the blurb. I read it but would have liked more at the end to see what actually happened next.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish this book. The reviews are not lying, this book is very different from what it claims to be. I was expecting a cute and lighthearted read, based on the cover and the blurb, but that's not what I got.

Couldn't finish this one and unfortunately agree with the negative reviews I read- the description of this book is misleading and the relationship between the main characters is incredibly toxic.

This book is well written and keeps you going. Rae is kind of a frustrating character to read about as she sees all the red signs but still ignores them all and even her friends and family. Even when she has better options she goes back to the wrong one. A heart wants what it wants I guess.

I wasn't able to finish this. The mental health rep felt off to me...toxic, even, like it was an excuse for bad behavior. Maybe it would've been called out later? Worse though the plot felt different than what the blurb suggested and I kept being frustrated at the decisions being made. Sadly, I couldn't get into this one.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Alcove Press and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I didn’t find myself relating to the characters. I expected something different from the book.

Honestly, I'm shocked at how different the book was from its blurb.

The writing itself was fine, but the stiry was so toxic and disjointed from what I expected that I couldnt rate it higher than a 2.5. Nothing about it was funny. I dont even remember chuckling.

Most importantly, mental health, to me, should be written about responsibly. Yes, this type of relationship exists, but it's not healthy. I wish the book focused more on Dustin and how he grew and worked through his depression. It seemed glossed over. Overall, it left me feeling not great, even though there was a happy ending.

This book did not work at all. No aspect of it was funny, and the blurb was completely misleading.

This needed better content and trigger warnings as some readers would not be okay with this.

I don’t think it hit the mark of being a good book at all. Did not finish after 65%.

This one wasn't bad, but I didn't find myself captivated by the characters. It was an okay book and I would recommend it to romance lovers.

This was one of those books that thoroughly confused me! Having spent my 20's in NYC, I always love reliving my youth through characters who are also in their 20's in NYC. And this book definitely had that, along with some great laugh out loud moments. It was imminently readable, and entertaining. But I just hated the choices the main character kept making. It was good in that it made me keep reading, but bad in that I kept wanting to yell at her! I guess because I am now older and wiser, ha!

I wanted to like this book. I really did. The premise seemed solid, and I was in the mood for a rom-com. But as a woman who is close to 30 than 25... Rae pissed me off from probably the second page. Beginning with the heroine having an anxiety attack over turning 25 because that puts her behind an arbitrary timeline she's set for herself to find romantic life partner just angered me. It's possible I should have been more clued up by the "biological clock ticking" line in the description, but I was hoping for more. It's a tired storyline that frankly I think should have been retired in the 90s.

Plus the depiction of mental health/how to support your partner when they're struggling/using poor mental health as an excuse for behaving badly is a mess. It's 2022. Everyone is a little mentally ill at this point, including myself and almost everyone I know ages 22-35. That doesn't mean you can escape all accountability for your actions.

This book was unexpected. Based on the cover and the blurb I was expecting a more light hearted romance but it is deep, emotional, and thought-provoking. The being said, I enjoy these sorts of books and am glad I read it! I like books that make me go through a rollercoaster of emotions and make me think. At times, I found the pacing a bit odd but overall I enjoyed this novel and will be recommending it to my friends that also enjoy this deeper set of romances. I found our female MC very relatable and related to her in many aspects, although she did also frustrate me a lot and I think she had room for more character growth and resolutions. But, it was so nice to have a male MC that wasn't just the knight in shining armor who seems utterly flawless. I know people in real life that I think could relate to Dustin and it was great to see that sort of representation in a novel. It was hard to read contentwise sometimes, and sometimes toxic in my opinion, but I also greatly appreciate that as there are real-life situations much like the ones these characters find themselves in. I do think readers should check trigger warnings before diving into this one.

I do think this book is marketed wrong and is going to attract the wrong audience, and I could see that hurting the ratings and takeaway. I think if I was someone who didn't enjoy the deeper/sad romances, I would have rated this lower.

Rae is a mid-twenties Wall Street worker stuck in a spot of life evaluation. She is determined to meet her husband by the time she turns thirty, so she hits up the dating apps. When she meets Dustin, another Wall Street worker, she is immediately drawn to his more poetic soul. Dustin isn't like the other men she has met, but he also has his own battles to fight and their path doesn't seem as easy as she was expecting. Reflecting on her life and her path she is unsure of what to do. A story of give and take, battles of the mind, and big questions, Rae will have to decide what is best for herself above all else.

3.75 Stars

This is a book that makes you think, makes you feel, and makes you evaluate your own life -- especially if you’re in your late 20s like I am.

I enjoyed this novel, but not in the way one enjoys escapism or a Romance novel, but in the way that one appreciates a beautifully written, thoughtful book that discusses tough topics, but also leaves room for characters to make mistakes, grow as humans, and tackle difficult challenges that real-life throws at you repeatedly.

I will say this is a more mature book for a mature audience. If you’re in your late-20s or older, I’d say this book will really hit home for you; or at least it did for me. I think if you’re younger than that, maybe save this for another day. I do not mean this to be condescending, but there are some books that just require good timing to make sense. This is a real-life, messy, harsh novel that forces you to reflect on harsh realities but in a beautiful and brilliant way.

I think there are a couple of key aspects here to keep in mind:

This is NOT a Romcom despite the cover, this is a Contemporary Romance that is messy and emotional and discusses some hard topics so please check Trigger Warnings (TWs).

The author takes on some tough topics such as depression, toxic relationships,the evolution of friendships, and growing as a woman both professionally and personally.

The author puts you in positions you may, or may not, have been in before. For me, having never experienced anything like this personally, it really made me think about how I would’ve approached the situation, but also appreciate Rae’s perspective as well.

The characters are messy and real. Rae and Dustin’s relationship is toxic and Rae really learns to grow and develop in her personal and professional life throughout this novel.

Dustin suffers from depression and is not the typical Romance hero we may all be used to. He is a real human being in this book, one who is fighting his own demons and also trying to figure out life as he does so.

Rae is an interesting character in her quiet strength. She is resilient and while you think her weak at first, the way you see her grow and evolve into a pillar of strength, into a woman who knows herself and knows what she wants, but also what she doesn’t know what she wants is so engaging. She learns to own who she is and I thought that was the most beautiful part of this novel.

This book is hard to review. On one hand, I was expecting a light and fun romance novel about a smart and successful woman. This is definitely not that. Once I adjusted my expectations, I was drawn in by Rae's story and her facing the realities of life and love. I would caution about reading this if you suffer from depression or suicidal thoughts. Dustin's story was hard and at times, I needed to take a minute to think about how he wasn't a real person to shake myself out of it.
Overall, I would generally choose a lighter read, but this one had its redeeming qualities.

I DNF'd this at 18% and will not be reviewing this book on any platforms other than this one.

This was honestly such a disappointment. The blurb was misleading and I disliked the main character so much, it made the book unreadable. There were sections of the novel that were detailed when they shouldn't have been, and sections that severely lacked necessary detail. Reading this honestly felt like a weird fever dream.

I was really hopeful when I started the book. But soon I realized I don't like how it was narrated. Though I kept reading, thinking this may get better.

This is a book that suffers from the problem of misleading blurb. After having spent a few hours on this book and read every bit of it, I can confidently say that I didn't find anything in this book even slightly funny. And that is what I was expecting it to be. Having said that, let's get into the plot of this one. Set over a period of five years, this is about a 25 year old investment banker who after realising that her "biological clock" is ticking decides to jump into the Manhattan dating scene. She goes on a number of dates and I wish we got more content about those dates (could have been funny). Most of the book is about her romantic relationships, professional success and friendships over the period of those 5 years. I feel like if I say anything more, it would be a spoiler. One thing I have to say is that I actually enjoyed the writing of the author and might pick up something else by her one day. The author did capture New York and it's various neighborhoods in a beautiful way and that was fun to read. But the fact that I wanted to know more about the friends of our MC than her says a lot about what I feel about this one overall. We started on the wrong foot and my relationship with this book never recovered from that. Most of these are 'me' factors. So you can still give this a chance if it interests you.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I would like to thank NetGalley for for the ARC copy of this book in return for my honest opinion. When I first requested this book I really thought it was a story of a young up and coming Wall Street Executive who is 25 and hoping to get married by the time she is 30. Well it is, but then you throw in the serious issue of depression and the book takes on a whole different meaning.
Here you have Raelynn a 25 year old wanna be poet stuck in a Wall street job that consumes all of her time and energy. Her best friend Ellen share a so called penthouse in New York and both are looking for that perfect man. Ellen who also works in a fast pace NY business meets Aaron and their love blossoms. Then there is Rae who cannot seem to meet that right person after many failed first dates. That is until Dustin appears. Now Dustin seems like the perfect person for Rae yet things do not progress they way Rae would like it to. She is falling hard for Dustin, but Dustin is but isn't falling for Rae. What is he hiding? When Dustin goes AWOL for awhile Rae feels like something is wrong. As this is going on Rae is at the beckon call to all her bosses and is extremely unhappy with work and worries she will never hear from Dustin again, as her time clock to being thirty is nearing.
Rae's heart is broken when Dustin finally tells her he want to be only friends because he doesn't want to drag her into his darkness of his depression, Rae doesn't really get the full meaning of this until she sees how his moods change his disappearances and the final straw when she walks in on him with someone else.
So much goes on in this book that made it seem to drag from time to time. I liked how Ms MacMillan wrote the character of Rae and showed how she grew throughout the book. How she made Rae face the fact that love canno t always change a person. That time frames must be changed, and that your happiness should count for something. I also liked her friendship with Ellen. They went through a lot with each other and yet always found their way back to each other. It was sometimes hard to read the parts about Dustin's depression . It's a very hard illness to read about.
I only gave this book three stars because it wasn't what I thought it was. I did enjoy seeing the characters evolve, and that Rae finds what she doesn't want in life. I would look forward to reading more from Lindsay MacMillan in the future.