Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I'm afraid this just wasn't it for me. I loved the concept, the blurb and the cover - but it wasn't at all what it seemed to be marketed as. What I thought was going to be a story about self-discovery, sexuality and love with a sapphic romance was not really any of that.

Rowan decides to break up with Edi, but only for three months so they can date and explore before settling down together. But then, she meets Winifred and wonders if she even wants to go back or start again. The story was largely about her relationship with Rowan, who was not redeemable for me in the slightest. I didn't really get any progression from the characters translate through when I read it, and even though I'm aware it's some of these unlikeable characters who are stating the opinions, the amount of transphobic, homophobic and just generally uncomfortable statements in this book made it feel all wrong and they didn't read as though the person saying them was 'in the wrong' exactly.

There were some humorous, sweet parts of this story, and I think if this was remarketed and sensitivity read, it could make for a really sweet novel.

I'm sorry, but I simply couldn't finish this book. I know there are often characters you're supposed to dislike, but you at least have to like some and I couldn't. Sounded interesting ad, wasn't.

A gentle fun read - perfect as a summer read on the beach.

Edi thought she had her life planned out with her fiancé, Rowan, who she has known his primary school. However once engaged he suggests and she reluctantly agrees to a 3 month break when they can date other people to ensure that they are ready to settle down for life. Edi finds this unsettling but does try to meet other people including Winifred who makes her question who she is and what she wants from life.

Finally she takes control and decides what is best for her ably supported by her gaggle of close female friends.

I'm slightly disappointed. Well... even maybe a bit more than slightly.

As a person who has some experience with any kind of marketing, I'm very disappointed with how the marketing team decided to promote the book, starting with the blurb that has literally no connection to the actual book and ending with the quite bad representation of the LGBTQ+ community, you see the cover you think - "oh it will be a sapphic book", yeah, no.

I got this book over a year ago as an arc and I was really interested in it, then I saw bad reviews and I was just ignoring it. I read it now and there are way too many wrong things in this book.
What annoyed me from the start was the unhealthy relationship, the boyfriend is such an asshole that I hated him in the first chapter so imagine how much I hated him with each chapter. If Charlotte Barnes wanted us to hate the guy... good job then.

I hate queerbaiting, and sure some of you might be like "there's no queerbaiting", there is, in the freaking description of the book, then the cover. The story only introduces the queer point in the plot around the middle of the book and it's not that good. There's also this one transphobic comment that was edited out when the book was published but still.

I'd say that the book was a waste of time, but it wasn't. I didn't hate it too much, I managed to finish it the same day I started it and the friendship part of the story was quite nice. But that's about it. Therefore this book gets only 2*. Next time, if there even will be next time, I'd recommend maybe writing a coming-of-age story that have more editing/research done before it will be released.

I like my stories to be slow but this was probably a little TOO slow. I figure it was supposed to be a sapphic romance but then why did she stay with her boyfriend then? which, by the way, was a little homophobic. I didn't care much for the friend group and I struggled to tell them apart if I must be honest. A big pass for me. 2 stars

This book read young for me, I very much wanted to like it but unfortunately dnf’d at about 40%. It wasn’t for me but I can see others loving it

This was not was I was expecting. I really enjoy books were characters have a chance to explore living outside of a relationship, so I really thought I'd like this book, but it fell flat. Edi was annoying, Rowan was a bigot, and the friend group was everything that's wrong with white women.

Wanted to like this. Couldn’t get into it read other reviews and can see I’m not the only one. Something definitely went wrong with this one.

I loved this book! Absolutely my cup of tea, very cute. The author managed to grab me entirely with this book, and it made me want to keep reading on and on. I would definitely read more of this author in the future.

A nice light easy read about life, love, friendships, relationships and being good and true to yourself. Childhood sweethearts Rowan and Edi are saving the date, that is until Rowan wants his cake and to eat it oh and with a cherry on the top. He thinks it would be a good idea to “take a break” to find themselves, although inside Edi’s heart is breaking she agrees, what Rowan isn’t banking on is while he’s “sewing his oats and finding himself” Edi starts to come round to the idea and too embarks on a journey of self discovery.

I was really excited to be accepted for an ARC of a queer book but about 20% in I felt like there was a lot of blatant transphobia. I toughed it out until about 55% and I just couldn’t focus anymore so this was a DNF for me.

I thought this book sounded good but when I started reading it I wasn’t that interested in it and didn’t find myself wanting to pick it up and continue reading it.

Ahhhhh this was a definite DNF for me. I thought this book was going to be a queen romance and I was excited to read it as i haven't read many before. But I feel this was heavily transphobic. I myself am not trans but I support them and for me this book was just rude. The quote "I thought bitchiness was for the gays, not for the gals" just doesn't sit right with me.

However, thank you for the chance to read this.

I really did not enjoy this book, I didn't like the writing style and the homophobic/transphobic comments were unnecessary and made it worse.

I struggled to read and would not recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC to review. I did enjoy this book, but it took me a while to read and I think it is intended to be a quick, fun read.

This book was very English. I enjoyed the quirks and some of the plot line. A lot of the book felt very homo/transphobic and that left an odd taste considering the plot line given for the book. Not a favorite for me, but this may resonate with other readers.

Normally I would be thrilled with a book where the character focuses on platonic relationships and realizes the importance of friendship in relation to romance and how there's no hierarchy of relationships, but honestly I was so annoyed this entire book that I can't even have any sort of celebration for that small success of this story.

This book is not a sapphic romance It is about a questioning bi woman with a piece of shit fiance who instead of creating an open dialogue about polyamory and open relationships, decides that they should just take a 3-month break so they can see other people before they get married. Rowan is the most infuriating character and such a garbage person. I hated him and I think they were supposed to hate him but also it gave us this like lack of sympathy for Edi because Rowan is so awful there's no sort of silver lining on why she would stay with him and be so conflicted.

So basically Rowan is allowed to go sleep with other people but he gets all butt hurt when Edi does the same thing. Edi ends up trying to have a relationship with a man and goes on dates one with some very transphobic comments that I'll get into later, and then she ends up kind of questioning her sexuality and exploring her bisexuality with dating a woman named Winifred. You cannot tell me that anyone named with a friend is going to go by Fred. Like what is this Scooby-Doo?, there's no way. Why would anyone choose Fred over Winnie or even Freddy I could handle but Fred. I think for the whole point of the name though was so that Edi could say she was going out with Fred and Rowan and everyone else would just assume it was a man because it was easier to do that than two confronts some of the biphobia and homophobia within all the secondary characters that is never addressed. Fun.

So anyway during their 3-month break somehow they still are meeting up every week going on dinners and talking about the dates that each one of them are having except they're not actually talking It's just a control tactic for Rowan that's so obviously a control tactic but whatever.

There's very little on-page chemistry between Fred and Edi and even less character development for Fred. She's basically a manic pixie dream girl who does art and serves as the sapphic emotionally competent partner. I want you to imagine those videos on TikTok where lesbians talk about how easy it is to impress women because men set such low standards and just insert that into Winnifred. Like she literally just tells Edi that her legs look good and that she doesn't need to wear tights with the dress and it is like "oh my God you've changed my whole world". Like girl come on?!

All right let's get to the transphobia. There's a scene where Edi goes on a date with a stupid man from a dating site and during the middle of it he goes up to the counter and she decides to open her phone and check her notifications and she finds out that she got a dick pic. Date comes back to the table and Edi freaks out and her phone ends up face up on the table with the dick pic in full of you and man says something about how the better not be hers because that would be a whole different form of deception or some bullshit. Now maybe, MAYBE, I wouldn't be so mad if Edi had combated that statement in any way shape or form, but she doesn't. She just kind of laughs it off and says oh no it's not mine etc. What the fuck.

So not only are both Rowan and Edi absolutely unsympathetic and intolerable characters, but Edi is a part of a friend group of six people. SIX of them! Why? They are all the same and you cannot distinguish one from the other except for the fact that one of them is a lesbian and makes some gross, about how straight women don't actually exist they just haven't met her yet which is super yucky. It's definitely something a cishet man would say about how he can just fix a queer woman or queer person and just because a lesbian said it does not make it quirky or okay.

Anyway can you tell that I really dislike this book? Also I just did not like the narrator and yeah it was not anything like I expected and that wasn't a bad way. You're not allowed to give me a gorgeous sapphic book cover and promote this as some sort of rom com and then give me these terribly queerphobic group of white people who cannot point out toxicity if it slapped them in the face.

After getting engaged, Rowan suggests he and Edi take a 3 month break to ensure that they have sown all their wild oats and are ready to spend the rest of their lives together. Whilst heartbroken, Edi tries her best to give it her best shot and to try and meet some other people during the break. As Rowan seems to be enjoying his freedom a little too much, Edi starts to find the things that were missing from her relationship with a woman-which leads her on a whole different path of self-discovery.
I struggled a little with this at first as the pace was a little show and I didn't find myself invested enough in the characters-worth persevering though and definitely a nice different path to your average rom-com.

This book was just not for me. I felt that the writing style and simply the writing itself wasn’t up to the standard I was hoping for and didn’t suit me as a reader. Things felt a bit all over the place and not entertaining enough to keep me hooked.