I loved this book. There were times that I wanted to sit the MMC’s down and give them a stern talking to about how silly they were being but that is to be expected when the characters are so relatable. I didn’t like that they were referred to as boys when they are grown men (both over 40) but it was lovely reading a romance book with more mature characters. I’d love to know more about them but I think that would drag the story down too much. Perhaps we could get more information as novellas or bonus chapters.

This was a very low-angst, slow burn romance. I enjoyed the cozy, lazy river feel of it. I didn't have to worry too much about where the story was going to take me. There were certainly P&P parellels however it was lacking in the pride and prejudice. Obviously retellings don't have to be 1:1 but I would have enjoyed this story more if the comparison to P&P wasn't lurking in the shadows. It would have better as it's own seperate entity. Overall enjoyable and I recomend this read to anyone looking for something warm and easy.

This is a must read., as a gay man. it is a must read. The way this book had me in a choke hold with the characters and story line. It did a solid good job on portraying feelings and reactions. As a reader I want to be taken into a word, escape and this book did exactly just that.

I do love a P&P retelling! This has some great aspects - loved the characters of Ben & Avery; The "Mr Collins" bowling date was hilarious - particularly like the intro of the only 2 reasons an adult would ask another adult to go bowling. The first half follows P&P's plot closely enough to be enjoyable / anticipating how various plot landmarks will be interpreted, but not SO closely that it is annoying - it's just right. I love Avery standing up for Ben to his horrid mother - that is definitely one of the highlights.

The second half falls a little bit apart, I think it loses some of the P&P framework; I never felt like I really KNEW Ben, and more-so Avery's character very well (though some of this was intentional) but still felt a bit lightly sketched sometimes; the ski-vacation is very vague, as are some other things like Avery getting Ben a book he really wanted as a gift, but WHAT book is never said.

The big reveal at the end is pretty good.... but also an almost unbelievable twist for what we know of Avery -- still, I do like his coming to realize who he really is.

Overall a fun read -- think the 1/2 half could have been a bit stronger/more P&P-linked, and some of the settings and characters could be more detailed -- but definitely enjoyable for P&P fans!! Ben & Avery were lovely!

This was cute!

The formatting threw me off quite a bit, which I think is just an ARC thing, but with so much texting I wish there’d been a clear difference between that and the rest of the writing. Sometimes this made it hard to follow who was speaking or writing, which was a shame.

All in all, this was a fun, quick read. It wasn’t particularly heavy on the Pride & Prejudice elements, though I didn’t go in wishing for that particularly. The writing was a little clunky at times - not bad, necessarily, it just seemed a little inexperienced (not sure if that’s actually the case, though).

This story relies quite a lot on miscommunication and just-not-communicating, which I both most ardently dislike. Particularly with regard to the (internalized) homophobia, I think it’s a shame we never got any kind of confrontation (or discussion at least) due to Ben’s conflict avoidance/lack of assertiveness. I think this also halted the relationship development, since Ben spent a lot of time assuming Avery’s thoughts and feelings, rather than asking him and starting a conversation. Oh well…

Very cute queer Pride & Prejudice retelling in a cozy bookstore setting. I'm a big fan of tropes likes friends to lovers and slow burn, so I really enjoyed this.