More Than Just a High School Romance

"I went into this expecting a simple high school romance, and I definitely did not expect to come out feeling like I'd just been on an emotional roller coaster that forgot where the brakes were. The first thing that stood out to me was the writing style. It has a very raw, diary-like feeling that makes the characters sound like actual teenagers instead of polished fictional people. Their conversations feel natural, messy, and sometimes awkward in a way that works for the story. I especially liked how the different points of view let us spend time inside both Evie's and Carmelo's heads. Seeing the same relationship from both sides made it easier to understand why they made certain choices. The story wasn't afraid to tackle difficult subjects. It deals with some incredibly heavy material, so I would absolutely recommend paying attention to the content warnings before reading. Even with those darker moments, the heart of the story is really about two damaged people slowly finding comfort in each other. I thought the quieter scenes—working on their school project, sharing food, talking late at night, and eventually opening up about their trauma, were some of the strongest parts of the book. Those moments felt genuine and gave the romance a sweetness that balanced out a lot of the pain. If I had one small criticism, it's that I think the story could benefit from a little more editing. There are quite a few grammar mistakes, repeated words, and long paragraphs that occasionally pulled me out of the reading experience. I also think some of the emotional moments deserved a little more room to breathe because they were powerful enough to stand on their own. That ending definitely left me wanting to know what happens next. There's still so much unresolved between Evie and Carmelo, and now I'm invested enough that I need to see where their relationship goes from here. Mia Vita!"