Thank you to NetGalley and 831 Stories for the eARC!

I really enjoyed this. It was a great follow up to ‘Big Fan’ and it was nice to see Cassidy’s growth and how she navigated her trauma. I loved the dynamic between Cassidy and Leon, and Willa. All of the characters felt well fleshed out and overall it was a very refreshing read.

If there’s an 831 story, I’m going to read it!

This novella follows Cassidy, who was introduced in Big Fan, while she returns to Berkeley from DC in an attempt to figure out her life. She’s reunited with her high school rival Leon the first night she’s back.

I loved this as I’ve loved the other 831 stories I’ve read. They pack so much substance into a short book while still giving you butterflies!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC - all opinions are my own.

This is a follow up story of Cassidy, the mistress who slept with Maya’s ex-husband in Big Fan, as she reconnects with her high school rival Leon. I normally don’t read stories that follow the OW, but I loved this. It was a quick read, but Cassidy, Leon, and their relationship had depth.

Trigger warning: cheating (in the past)

4.5 stars from me! Thanks to NetGalley and 831 Stories for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. Square Waves follows the story of Cassidy, who made headlines in a huge scandal as the young intern who was involved with a major political figure. She’s been running, emotionally, from this experience for many years and after a forced sabbatical from her job to mentally regroup, she goes back to her home in California, reconnecting with her old high school rival (and secret crush), old friends, and eventually herself.

I didn’t realize that this book was the second in this author’s Big Fan series and that Cassidy was introduced in her previous book but, that didn’t affect my reading experience at all. From the start of the book, the plot was very clear and it was easy to see/empathize with how much Cassidy was clearly struggling. This story felt very authentic and the plot events felt organic; I think the author choosing to focus this on a narrow window of time, only a few weeks, helped her really hone in on the events of focus here without anything feeling too easily resolved or coincidental to be unbelievable. I think the characters were likable and I was invested in this story. Plus, there were some real issues for the female main character to contend with; her personal insecurities and struggles with mental health were well depicted and added depth to this story, beyond the romance plot. From the time I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down; it felt like the right length and this was such a great world to be immersed in for a little while. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and would absolutely read anything else this author writes.

I’d absolutely recommend this to contemporary romance and fiction fans. This story was heartwarming, had depth, and was a joy to read. This is the second book I’ve read by this publisher and I look forward to reading more from them— one to watch!!!

4 ✨

Thank you NetGalley and 831 Stories for my ARC that I received in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this romance between Cassidy (her generation’s Monica Lewinsky) and Leon (her high school nemesis), and especially Cassidy’s personal journey throughout it all. The majority of the book takes place over three weeks, while Cassidy is home in the Bay, on sabbatical from her job in DC. She does some soul searching, reconnecting with friends, and lots of…🌶️ with a certain someone.

Every 831 story shocks me with its ability to pack such a punch in a short form. I’m eager to drink up what they serve next!

I have become a huge fan of the titles that 831 releases. This has to be one of my favorites. The writing is effortless, and the story was highly addictive. I appreciated how authentic Romanoff portrayed the FMC and how she wrote the MMC. Excellent work! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book - I was a big fan of Big Fan, and I liked how Square Waves stayed in the same universe while not relying on any of the story elements from Big Fan. I really like Alexandra Romanoff’s writing style and I’m excited to read more from her.

I really loved the character development and the love story in this book, it felt realistic and natural. I only wish that the ending could have been more fleshed out or wrapped up - I found it a little unsatisfying and rushed.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This is a fast-paced, fun read. It's short and sweet, and if you grew up in the days of Wattpad fanfic supremacy, this is sure to scratch an itch you didn't realize was still there. The writing is solid, and I felt immersed in the story right away. Honestly, this isn't the kind of book I would usually go for (I prefer romance over 300 pages, and I was tragically misguided away from the critical boyband obsession phase), but the style alone was enough to push me to continue it!

I can’t get over how much plot and character development (and hot chemistry!) gets packed into the short length of this book, which is a worthy follow-up to the excellent Big Fan.

This is a super bingeable story about Cassidy (who was also in Big Fan) and her high school “nemesis” Leon. They run into each other in their late 20s, while Cassidy is in her hometown on a mental health break from work, and sparks fly. I thought the journey of their relationship was believable and realistic given Cassidy’s past trauma, and I super enjoyed reading this.

Fabulous! Cassidy (you will recognize her if you have read Big Fan) is feeling stuck. She is no longer excited about her work and is trying to figure out what is next. She flies from D.C. to her hometown of Berkeley without a plan. She runs into her high school nemesis her first night back and is surprised by her attraction to him. Is it possible for people to change?

I loved Big Fan and was excited to see a follow-up. Cassidy was an interesting character - fairly introspective yet stubborn and judgmental. It was lovely to see her reconnect with her friend Willa and make sense of/explore her feelings for Leon. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to 831 Stories and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and 831 Publishing for the E-ARC.

I really enjoyed this follow up to Big Fan (which I also loved!). It was really interesting to see Cassidy’s point of view in terms of the scandal from the first book.

High school enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this was so well done. I enjoyed how they set aside their differences for their mutual friend which showed alot of growth from both of them. I also liked how they communicated with one another. This was a great and impactful story.

Thank you to Netgalley and 831 Publishing for the E-ARC!!

Looking for a bingeable highschool enemies to grownup friends(ish) to lovers?? Read this book!!

We follow Cassidy who we met in Big Fan, she was the mistress in Big Fan so it was really nice to see her story. We are a few years after the events of Big Fan with Cassidy being 28 I believe. When she goes home for a few weeks she bumps into high school enemy Leon, things progress between them making them question why they were enemies in the first place.

I loved how we saw the lasting impact the affair has had on Cassidy, and how she is going to therapy and trying to figure her life out and basically questioning if she is going to start over in a career aspect. The relationship between her and Leon was very believable, I could tell there was chemistry and while this is a shorter novel the relationship didn't feel rushed which I loved! Only thing holding it back from 5 stars is the ending, it felt a little rushed if we had maybe an extra 50 pages it would've been great, and it just didn't have that wow 5 star feeling.

Overall a solid 4 star read and I'm excited to read more from the author and publishing house!

“i turn on music and let myself feel every mile of the drive: the distance between who i have been, and who i want to try to be.”

what i love about 831 stories is that each story is so layered, and the characters always feel so relatable, raw and real. cassidy and leon are no exception. though you can’t go wrong with an enemies-to-lovers trope, what i enjoyed most was cassidy finding herself along the way.

thank you to alexandra romanoff, 831 stories and netgalley for the arc 🖤

4.5 ✰

Romanoff is such a talent! I was so delighted to see we were getting a follow up to Big Fan and I think I loved this one even more. The way she’s able to tell an emotional, moving, fun story in under 150 pages is incredible. The only thing I want more of is to see where Cassidy and Leon go next!

My only complaint with this story is that I want it to be longer. Romanoff packs so much love in such few pages. In some ways this is miscommunication, but a believable kind. This whole story felt like real life in some ways. Real people with real problems, but also with real love.