this was a cute read!!! i love best friends to lovers and second chance romances and this one delivered. i was instantly sucked into their story and found myself smiling and giggling. i do wish it was a tad bit shorter but other then that this is a great romance!!! i look forward to read more from this author! ◡̈

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

5 stars

I LOVED this book! I read it in one sitting and could'n put it down. The story felt so real and was a little heartbreaking. I didn't read the previous 2 books but I think that you can perfectly read this book as a standalone. If you want to read a friends to lovers - right person, wrong time - book, I really recommend this book and this author!

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Best deduction ever: “To all the girls who look back on their early 20s and cringe a little.”

A story that perfectly captures the messiness of dating in your early twenties. That first love push and pull, where silly decisions stack up and self sabotage takes centre stage. I didn’t realise it was part of a series but it did work as a stand alone.

My main issues was that the story dragged at times. Those same parts of young love that hooked you in, well, there were also countless frustrating scenarios where every wrong decision was made. It got a little tedious. Or maybe I’m just too old and grumpy 😂

What to expect:
❤️ childhood best friends to lovers
⏰ dual timeline
👩‍❤️‍👨 dual PoV
💔 right love, wrong time
🏈 college romance

Huge thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This was so frustratingly great! I don’t usually love the dual time line but this story made sense this way, to get the full picture. The miscommunication between these two made me so frustrated.

3.5 ⭐ rounded up

I thought this book had a great story line, I loved all the characters (except JT.. 🤢 squirrel? Iykyk) but I felt like this book was so dragged out... I feel like half of the stuff could've been cut out. I felt like they kept going in the same circle over and over again. The chapters were also in "now" and "then" but within those it skipped months at a time but didn't really tell you? I was a little confused sometimes.

This was my first book by this author and I enjoyed it! It was a fun and easy read. I haven't read the first two books in the series and didn't feel that I needed to!
I loved the writing because it was super fluid and simple. The chapters were short which provides a faster reading!

Some tropes of this book are: he falls first; right person at the wrong time; summer and college romance; childhood friends to lovers; dual timeline pov.

Talking about the main characters, I loved Sophie mostly because she's a book girlie (we love to read about books in our books, that's such another level experience). Though a thing I didn't like about Sophie and Cooper, was the miscommunication between them. Cooper is a nice guy and absolutely in love with her since day one. They're childhood friends who became lovers throughout the years, but it's never been easy for them.
This book also gave me Magnolia Parks vibes so, if you like this series, you'll probably like this book too.

The reason I'm giving a 3.5-star rating is only because I don't much enjoy the miscommunication trope and I couldn't connect with the characters. Though I had a good time reading the book and now I'm curious to read more books by this author!

"Can We Just Be Happy Now?" by Tisa Matthews had the potential to be captivating with its promising synopsis and appealing cover. However, the dual POV and dual timeline structure left me feeling disoriented, hindering my engagement with the story.
The dual POV and dual timeline wouldn't have been so bad, but when coupled with the repetitive nature of the plot I was left suffering with whiplash from trying to figure out where I was up to.
For two people who supposedly really loved each other and wanted to be together, the excessive miscommunication between Sophie and Cooper made their relationship seem overwhelmingly toxic.
I struggled to sympathise with Sophie, finding her character to be inconsiderate and selfish, as opposed to simply appearing naive and young, which I'm sure the author was actually trying to convey.
While the book eventually delivers a happy ending, I couldn't shake the feeling that Cooper deserved better than Sophie, and Sophie's dad projecting his own issues on to other people's relationships added an extra layer of frustration to the overall experience.
Overall, the book fell short of my expectations, leaving me disappointed with its execution, but that's not to say that others wouldn't enjoy it; if you like a friends-to-lovers, dual POV and dual timeline then this would probably be a great book for you!

Thank you so much to Victory and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

2.5 stars rounded up. I really, really, really wanted to love this book but the toxicity of the relationship was WAY too much for me. I liked the male MC very much. He stood his ground and tried his very best to do what he felt was right. The female MC was.... in nice words, ANNOYING. I felt like the flashbacks gave a great view into the relationship they had before the issues started but it was a VERY long read, in my opinion.

As the dedication implies, Can We Just Be Happy Now? is a messy (in a good way!) look at first love and navigating those challenges that come with growing up. I spent the whole book alternating between frustration and Cooper and Sophie for not communicating and working through their problems, and hopeful they would figure it out (which I think was the whole point). This felt like a very genuine portrayal of what it’s like to be young and trying to figure out what you want out of life and relationships and how easy it can be when you’re younger to let outside opinions impact your decisions.

Overall I liked reading this one! Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

I didn't really enjoy this one much. I couldn't stand the male character Cooper. He had no problem sleeping around but when Sophie did he got mad and they weren't even dating. I know the characters are young and immature but this was just to much for me. I didn't enjoy all the back and forth with them and was hoping she would have moved on with someone else. I did finish the book though because I needed to know how it ended.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

This book was a representation of young love. We do stupid, immature, wild things for love. For me, someone in their 30’s, their actions were beyond frustrating, but putting myself at THAT age, it feels more accurate. Their relationship was quite toxic and unhealthy, which is not my favorite and probably also shouldn’t be marketed to young people as “romance”. Sophie’s college bucket list was ridiculous. I didn’t overly enjoy this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

This is the first book I read by this author, and it was a disappointment. While I know this is a YA book with characters that aren't all that mature, both the FMC and the love interest were downright childish. They are supposedly in love, but Sophie has this weird conception that she must complete a "college bucket list" before settling for Cooper - which isn't a bad thing, but this couple is just on and off throughout the book and simply toxic. Cooper isn't that bad, but he is far too stalkerish and controlling. I couldn't say what happened from start to finish, as I DNFed this book after Sophie went and had sex with Cooper right after she slept with somebody else, and she couldn't understand why that was a problem. Really? You don't have to be 30+ to understand that it's just a lack of respect for yourself and everyone else you might be in a relationship with.

The dual timeline didn't really help me understand the issues with this couple, but I did appreciate the dual POV. Hence, the two stars.

I...really didn't like this. The love interest, Cooper, is so possessive over the main character, Sophie, even when they're not together. I cannot root for a man who gets mad at a woman for having sex with another man when they're not together but he's allowed to have sex with other women. Because, you know, that's healthy and what women have been fighting for. By the 30% mark, I was screaming at my girl Sophie to leave this man. So goddamn toxic for no reason. DIsgusting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing for a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Cooper and Sophie are fresh off a break up and struggling with still wanting to be together but something (unknown to the reader) is preventing it. It is dual POV and dual timeline so we get to jump back and see how their relationship began.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF at the 26% mark. I was already having a little trouble getting on board with their relationship after Sophie slept with someone else when they’d only been apart for two months and seemingly just to complete some kind of college bucket list? Maybe if I’d kept going I’d have learned more history to support that choice but it felt too close to cheating for me. She did mention that Cooper had also been with other girls so I’m going to assume their relationship is on and off throughout. I was going to continue on but after reading about a 16 year old girl having her first kiss and then two weeks later reading an open door scene of her first sexual experience, I had to stop. I really enjoy spice but as a 30+ year old woman, I’m uncomfortable reading spice with characters that young.

Reading about their initial step into being more than friends was sweet and it was clear they were very close. It definitely seemed to be setting up for a good bit of angst and pining. Younger readers will probably enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"Can We Just Be Happy Now" is the perfect blend of college romance with the lingering nostalgia of childhood friendship and love. Main characters Sophie and Cooper are portrayed between "Then" and "Now", childhood love versus adult realities, bittersweet memories versus bitter a breakup. The chemistry between Sophie and Cooper is undeniable and made the book an easy read as I found myself rooting for their relationship.

The writing is enchanting with both the dual timeline and dual POV, managing to capture the reader's attention without adding unnecessary confusion. While I didn't read the other books in the series I didn't feel like I was missing anything crucial (that I know of), rather just some characters or settings that may have had more of an impact had I read their stories first.

If you're a fan of friends to lovers, absolute devastation, and the feelings of bittersweet nostalgia that come with young love, this is the book to read next.

Can we just be Happy Now was a cute romance following childhood best friends from high school to college with a friends to lovers theme. It was definitely a roller coaster - one minute I was irritated with the characters, the next I was rooting for them. So many ups and downs. There is a dual POV and dual timeline which, for me, got a little confusing as the two timelines came together. But ultimately it was cute story with a bit of spice that left you rooting for a happy ending.

Thank you to Victory Editing, Tisa Matthews, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not even sure where to begin! Sophie and Cooper were the perfect version of young, messy love. After growing up together as best friends they both realize they were meant to be more and the journey they take us on to get there was- rough to say the least. But isn’t that how young love is? It is messy. It’s not perfect. There’s going to be miscommunication and jealous. It’s just reality.

Cooper writing in her birthday books every year may be one of my favorite book moments ever.

I enjoyed the dual POV and the dual timelines. What a rollercoaster, but so worth it in the end!

So grateful for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

What an infuriating, frustrating and exciting representation of young love, of coming of age of finding who you are and what it means to be yourself in a relationship.

First loves are a big deal and they are a part of us forever. We would have done anything for them. But when you are young and finding out what love is, it is full of self sabotage, stupid decisions, overthinking and some more overthinking. This book had all of that in a dual POV and dual timeline where we follow Cooper and Sophie as their friendship blossoms into something more and what that means for them, their families and their future.

Cooper has my ENTIRE heart, eventhough I wanted to hit him in the head once or twice because his actions were frustrating to me. Young him and a little older him was a total sweetheart, a gentleman (although still a guy in love) and he is the perfect representation of he fell first, he fell harder and he will do anything for who he loves.

Sophie and her internal turmoil and her journey of discovery can be frustrating but at least for me it was very relatable. And I had to keep reminding myself of how young she was. Plus for someone who hates the miscommunication trope, she sure found herself in that situation a lot.

Can we just be happy now? is an emotional, heartbreaking, warm and fuzzy, frustrating, wholesome book about love that has always been meant to be but it does not come easy. A representation of the fact that the one has to be chosen time and time again and that it requires work.

Tisa definitely gave me all the feels and she got my reaction of how I could not put this book down and read it in less than 24 hours.

This book is part of the Finding Home series and can be read as a stand-alone but I recommend you read the entire series first because stories intertwine and there are recurring characters through them all.

*Review has been/will be posted to Instagram, Facebook, Amazon and Goodreads*

3.5⭐️

I was in the mood for a childhood friends-to-lovers second chance romance with some angst and this hit the spot. This book follows childhood best friends Sophie and Cooper and their on and off relationship. It is dual timeline. The past one starts from when they are 16 and 18 and first get together, to a some months before the present timeline (i.e., her in college), where they have recently broken up again.

There was a lot of push and pull in this book. They characters would make the same mistakes over and over again. It didn't bother me too much because I knew this going into it and they were acting like their ages. The way they acted was almost too realistic for people their ages. I see a lot of people frustrated with Sophie. I was too, but I felt for her. Cooper had spent the past 2 years sleeping around and focusing on himself (which he says many times he had fun and enjoyed) and that's what she was pushed to do by multiple characters. I didn't love her choices, but I could see how she got there. Overall, I did enjoy their HEA and could see how they both grew up (Sophie especially). There were a lot of sweet moments between them.

If you read for safety, I'm not sure this would be for you. It didn't bother me too much, but expected as much going in.

OMG! When I think of young love, this book explains it so well! Sophie and Cooper did so much improvement and growth. The back and forth of being a young couple in love is portrayed ON POINT. Can we talk about how good all the advice was in this book (except the dad lol, iykyk). This storyline is a blueprint of how falling in love young and guiding yourself to that person takes time and commitment. Although it's hard to see characters go back and forth, I think Tisa did this perfectly. I think what made me like the push and pull even more was that Cooper was waiting for Sophie to choose him. What makes it so good, is that it is very relatable. I think we all have been head over heels at a young age and found it hard to navigate a relationship. This story has warmed my heart so deeply!

Goodreads review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6211630047

posted on; 1/31/24