Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for this eARC!

This was veryyyy good. I can't summarize it better than Olivia Dade's AITA post, so please enjoy: https://x.com/OliviaWrites/status/1699802771279536291?s=20. The first half of this is an enmistry romcom (it really was funny), which gives way to a much more dramatic (but ultimately satisfying and joyful) second half of the book. Dade provides trigger warnings for this one, and I think they'll be important for many readers.

I think folks who liked Oliva Dade's Spoiler Alert series will also like this one. Come for a town named HARLOT'S BAY, stay for the monster erotica (a surprisingly large throughline). Also, the next book is KARL? Super can't wait.

Is this book good? Yes. I mean it is Oliva Dade, of course it is good. And here is the however. However, this is not fluffy. There is a serious, down and gritty, examination of depression. There is a trigger warning at the beginning of the book because there is also discussion of a child's death (main characters baby brother, so it happened in the past but it is still discussed). So clearly both our hero and heroine have some serious mental health and/or trauma to deal with and recover from. Did I cry, rather a lot, while reading this book? Yes. But I kept reading it. And honestly, the levity of the monster erotica thread is very much needed to keep the novel from being too dark. Also, I don't think this is a spoiler, but surprise virgin hero, which I know is some of y'alls catnip. I recommend this one, but if you are not in a good headspace, maybe hold off on reading it until you are.

I enjoyed this book, but maybe not as much as previous Olivia Dade books. However, she reamins one of my must-read authors. I would purchase this for my library.

Olivia Dade brings her signature style of clean wit and comfortable lines, and her last few books have done well for our libraries. Definitely a goodie with this one 👍🏻 I stopped at the end of chapter 1 (11%), but should be easy three stars, leaning more toward four, with five for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.