1 ⭐️ What initially interested me about this book were the promised Taylor Swift references. Unfortunately everything else about the book, did not hold up. Ethan was actually a terrible human being, and Sloane was mainly just annoying and knew no self worth whatsoever. Everything felt very surface level and at no point did I ever enjoy their relationship or this story. I understand that this book is portraying an unhealthy relationship but it did so in a way that was not engaging or worth reading.

Thank you NetGalley & Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

OMG!!!!
This book was like a huge for me <3
My bf left me in November and I was kinda mess and found a quote from this book on booktok and was like "why not...add to tbr" then I found it while I was searching for my next read this year...
This book was like the last few months of my life even the healing phase and I owe the author for writing such an inspiring book like that for lost girls like me.♡

The character development of Solan was great and Ethan character reminded me of my ex so I can relate.
Lauren was so lovable friend and like a big sister.

Totally recommend and it's also a clean romance.

desperate fmc who's "in love" with walking red flag "emotionally unavailable" mmc. that's it. that's the book.

this book had so much potential. it was similar to Normal People, but lacked the chemistry and emotional depth that Normal People had. the writing focused too much on conversations with side characters and less on the actual emotion the characters were feeling. we were told that Sloane was soooo in love with Ethan about 200 times but we were never shown it? it was so painfully obvious how uninterested Ethan was in an actual relationship (because of his past but we never really get into that) and i cringed at how delusional Sloane was and how she kept circling back to their situationship. i do like books about messy, complex characters and their relationships, but the execution lacked any emotion and chemistry to get me to care.

I could not with this book. All this is in the first 10% is college kids going to the bar and drinking. I've been to college, I know the party scene, I don't need a play by play of consuming alcohol and playing drinking games.
Honestly it turned me off. Sloane and Ethan aren't even interesting, they're lacking depth. Everything every character says sounds so scripted. Albeit it's a book, but the dialogue doesn't flow naturally.

2🌟. Honestly just couldn’t stand this book. The only positives were the Taylor Swift references, the setting being partly in New York, and Lauren. Ethan was just a coward and toxic and the most boring man alive. Sloane was downright whiny and annoying. The characters got drunk like almost every single chapter like is that all you do in your free time? The writing felt extremely surface level and there was no depth. Their “relationship” was just so toxic and not enjoyable to read about. I really wanted to like this but sadly it just fell completely flat for me. Thank you to Netgalley, SOURCEBOOKS Landmark, and Alissa Derogatis for this ARC.

⭐️ go girl, give us nothing.

but in all seriousness, how did this book get published?! it was a <i> hot hot hot </i> mess. the writing was some of the worst I've read -- the writing was <b> bad </b> and the plot wouldn't even get picked up by freeform or the cw. in this story, we are following the ultimate pick-me girl and f*ck boy as they drink excessively, hook-up and do the "will-they, won't-they" dance a million times. there was VERY concerning scenes in here that were borderline sexual assault (i.e. getting so drunk that things get "fuzzy" and still continuing to hook-up with someone). the story is set in NYC, but is is clear that the author has never lived in a city, let alone NYC based off of all of the cliches and stereotypes that we included about city life.

ty to Netgalley & Sourcebooks Landmark for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

WELL. 1) please hire an editor, this ain't wattpad. 2) Sloane was the dumbest, most idiotic character I've ever read about, like girl bffr, learn of something? 3) Ethan makes me want to commit crimes, and not in a good way. 4) The idea was good, the execution was NOT. A hard pass, sorry.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book in exchange of an honest review.
I understand many of the criticisms thrown at this book are actually the point of it. It tells you from the preview that this is going to be about untrustworthy characters and that the relationship probably won’t be a healthy one. But I just couldn’t relate at all.
I knew from the start this book just wasn’t for me, so I kind of dnf it. I couldn’t push myself to keep reading.

This was not as bad as people were making it out to be! A little young-sounding for me, not the best dialogue either but I have read worse.

This book is probably closer to 2.5 stars for me. The only thing keeping it this high is that I read it in one sitting, so it clearly kept me at least somewhat interested. However, there were so many parts I struggled with (and maybe these won't matter to you as much).
First, I absolutely hated the MMC and the FMC was pretty frustrating too. They did the same back and forth dance multiple times, always stating that this break up would be the last, and then absolutely nothing changes. No growth, no conversation, nothing.
The MMC can't figure out how to love someone because of his trauma, which is poorly explained and kind of explored but then abandoned. No one ever calls him out on it (other than the FMC kind of?), and he never gets help.
My biggest question is why does Sloane even like the guy?! We don't really see any fun moment or conversations that show why she is head over heels for this boy. There are a couple of references to things they've done together that we never see, which was annoying. I would rather have read about those moments than just overhear a reference to some great weekend. She falls for him but I definitely did not.
There are also some basic editing errors, like the wrong year listed for a chapter and missing quotation marks more than once. This book is set to be published soon, so it feels like those should have been fixed by now.
Finally, 2 small spoilers that really made me not enjoy this read - There is a cheating plot line which personally, I can't stand. Totally get that some may be fine with this but just a warning if you aren't. More importantly, I would NOT consider this book a romance read. I don't know what it is, but when I see "romance" I have certain expectations that were not meant with this book.

I was down bad with the title and synopsis of this book, but once I started reading I just could not get into it. The sentence structure and dialog feels very juvenile. I had to double check if this was considered a new adult title. The characters fell flat for me, especially Sloane and Ethan. I get that the point is that their relationship is toxic, but I didn’t feel an ounce of chemistry between them. Great idea, not so good execution. And it could just be that this book wasn’t for me and that’s totally okay!

I do want to see what Alissa can do in future works and I look forward to reading more from her!


*** Thank you Net Galley and Sourcebooks for the ARC!

Sloan and Ethan find themselves in a very odd and on, no commitment relationship. Sloan is head over heels and as someone who has been there before i think this book really showed all of the emotions and thoughts that a person goes through in this type of relationship. It is an amazing story about realizing your self worth and friendship. This book was so beautifully written and I loved it. I will definitely be buying it when it comes out in 2 weeks!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book but it fell flat for me. The story idea had a lot of potential but the writing was mediocre. The whole book consisted of telling not showing so it got a little boring. The characters also didn’t feel very likable. I think it would’ve been better if they were so that the reader could empathize with them. Like I said before, I think the story idea is good but it was not executed well.

Call It What You Want, told in dual POVs, follows the years long “almost relationship” between Ethan and Sloane during their final year at university and the years following.

Author Alissa DeRogatis has painted a beautiful, modern, and fully realistic portrayal of a “situationship” or “almost relationship”throughout this almost love-story. Call It What You Want was fully of raw emotions, hard truths, beautiful friendships, and a relatable storyline that perfectly expresses the whirlwind of an almost-relationship in your 20’s.

Like Sloane and Ethan, I was, too, a senior in college in 2016. The writing fully encapsulated what senior year at university was like during this time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of Call It What You Want in exchange for my honest review.

i had read a lot of bad reviews but wanted to give it a try to see for myself. honestly, i didn’t like most of the book. maybe i would’ve if i related to any part of it but this just wasn’t for me

Sadly I decided to dnf at 25%
The plot wasn’t bad but I really couldn’t get into the writing style. It kept taking me out of the story which affected my entire experience.

This was infuriatingly realistic. I think a lot of people have been in a toxic relationship, or situationship, where the hope of the relationship is far more idealistic than it will inevitably play out. The plot feels repetitive because these types of relationships are repetitive. Will they, won't they? Been there, done that, but maybe this time will be different. Spoiler alert; if it's that off and on, it will never truly be on. “This is a love letter to all girls who have had a hard time getting over someone they never dated”.

I originally read this book when it was first self-published after hearing about it on TikTok! I read it in one day and sobbed all the way through it because I felt so much for Sloane. I feel like every college-aged girl has had similar situationship and experiences and they HURT. Although I definitely enjoy happily ever afters where the main characters end up together I feel that Call It What You Want had its own type of HEA. It was the HEA where Sloane discovered her worth and decided to put herself first. Maybe this book isn't a traditional love story, but it is something I think all girls should read because they may relate to it, or it may teach them to put themselves first in these types of situations.

I loved this book so much and I can't wait to see more from Alissa DeRogatis!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark & NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

So I’ll be honest, the writing isn’t very detailed, and it isn’t that deep. BUT man this story just hit me right in my feels, and was such a cathartic reading experience for me.

It was so refreshing to read a Romance that didn’t have a HEA, because sometimes life doesn’t work like that! It was also so nice to see an “almost relationship” written about in a book. I don’t speak for all girls, but I know I speak for myself when I say I had an almost relationship JUST LIKE this one in my early 20s. And honestly this is the first time I’ve ever read anything like it, in a book. I felt seen, and my guess is that many other girls in their 20s are going to feel the same way reading about something they more than likely have experienced in some caliber.

All in all, this book should be mandatory reading for college freshmen everywhere. The failed “almost relationship” isn’t the star of this story; the star is YOU and learning to love and lean on yourself.

I highly recommend this book! It’s a short and easy read, that will leave you nostalgic for those college years, and also feel so validated because someone has written about something most of us go through.

Oh and chefs kiss on the perfection of the title explanation in the epilogue.

“Call it what you want, but for me it was love.”

I really wanted to like this one given the setup- a girl falls for the unattainable guy who won’t open up to her and just wastes her time. I love that- it’s not something I’ve read before; but it’s the writing that made it fall flat for me. I can’t picture the characters, I can’t put a feeling to them, i felt no connection to Sloane or Ethan- not even enough to hate Ethan for Sloane!!
I think if there was more editing, more getting behind their feelings and actually reading that rather than just being told this is happening and this is what’s Ethan said or Sloane did, I think i would have liked it better.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!
All thoughts and opinions are my own.