Let me just start off with saying that Sandy Hall wrote this in 6 days...and that completely checks out. I have to say I am a little on the fence about this book. The overall idea of the novel is good and creative but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been.
Synopsis: The whole quirky different thing about this love story is that it is told for 14 different perspectives. And none of them are the couples.
Plot: There is absolutely nothing else that happens in this book that isn't about Gabe and Lea, our couple that isn't a couple. Each of the viewpoints is consumed with thoughts about them which comes off as stalker-ish and super weird at times. Because of this style, it was really hard to feel as though the plot was fully fleshed out. Each of the viewpoints is so short (a few pages at max) and we never get inside the heads of the two most important people, leaving their relationship to feel underwhelming. I understand that this book was attempting to be unique but I don't think it made this relationship as meaningful or successful as it would have been if told in a traditional manner. All the interactions felt very forced because they were the only way for us to get insight into the romance, i.e. characters eavesdropping from bathrooms or hiding behind poles to hear Gabe and Lea speak. Besides a super simple plot, this was also a slow burn romance filled with miscommunications, tropes that may or may not bother you.
Characters: There is a lot of them, and all of them felt super flat. Because these viewpoints are solely there to focus on Gabe and Lea, their thoughts are only consumed with them. This leads to us knowing very little about who's mind we are supposed to be, besides their obsessive thoughts on this couple. There are a wide variety of characters from "bitchy baristas" to angry characters, who are simply there only for the reader to hate and are actually angry for no reason. Besides that, there are also pointless characters like a bench (that is sentient and perverted) and a squirrel. These characters are supposedly there to have a non-biased POV that can exist without the creepy stalker vibes that we get from all the other characters. Even after all of that, and 14 viewpoints I feel as though we know nothing about the main characters Gabe and Lea. The chemistry that is talked about so often, is never seen and I don't understand the obsession everyone from a bus driver to a food delivery man feels.
Now that I'm done ranting, I don't want you to think I hate this book, because I didn't. It was different, quirky and even cute at times. Despite all these faults mentioned, I found myself smiling or laughing and overall it was a charming read. There was also really good representation of gay characters, disability and even trauma. Overall however, I think it tried and focused a little too hard on being different and could have been more successful told in a different way.
Don't regret reading, but will not be re-reading anytime soon. 3/5 stars.
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