From the beginning, the male main character was honestly just… a lot. He came off very mean, cold, and unnecessarily harsh, and instead of it being the “mysterious brooding MMC” type of energy, it just felt discouraging at times.
I don’t mind a grumpy or emotionally unavailable male lead, but there needs to be something that makes it interesting early on, like vulnerability peeking through, context for his behaviour, or at least moments where you can tell there’s more under the surface.
But here, it mostly just felt like attitude with no balance. So instead of thinking “oh he’s complex,” I was thinking “why is he just being rude again?” It made it harder to connect with him at the start and honestly affected how I engaged with the romance in the first half.
Now the female main character… whew.
I don’t even know where to start, but I’ll just say it: she frustrated me. She felt very timid, overly shy, always stuttering, and constantly shrinking herself in situations where she really should have had more presence. It wasn’t even soft or introverted in a cute way, it just felt like she had no backbone at all.
And what made it more irritating is that she’s supposed to be an adult, and the story context gives “independent life” energy, but her behaviour didn’t match that. She was always second-guessing herself, struggling to speak properly, and generally just not standing her ground. At some point I was literally thinking, “please just finish a sentence.”
There was also the Stacy situation… why was she so scared of her? It didn’t feel justified in a way that matched how much she shrank around certain people. As a result, I couldn’t fully root for her at the beginning, because I kept waiting for her to grow a spine that took too long to show up.
One thing that really threw me off was the transition between being his brother’s date and then suddenly resuming the internship situation. It felt like an actual jump. Not a smooth transition, not a gradual setup, just a sudden shift where I had to pause and figure out how we even got there. The storyline needed more connecting scenes or clearer progression, because it sometimes felt like the plot was skipping steps just to get back to the romance or drama.
Now even though I usually hate love triangles, this one somehow kept me reading. I don’t even know how the book did it, but I was still invested even when I didn’t fully understand why I was invested.
That said, Harry’s introduction into the “dating possibility” situation felt way too fast. Like it went from nothing to something in a blink, and it didn’t feel earned at all. There wasn’t enough buildup for me to believe that shift properly, so it felt more like plot convenience than organic development.
Still, I can’t lie, it was messy but entertaining.
Amber — started off okay, then became annoying. At first, she seemed like that supportive friend character, but then she started focusing too much on shipping the FMC with Harry instead of actually paying attention to her friend’s emotional needs.
That was the part that made me disconnect from her character. It felt like she was more invested in entertainment and drama than actually being a good friend. She also came off a bit judgmental at times, which didn’t help. Instead of adding warmth or balance to the story, she sometimes just added noise.
That said, I can’t lie, I lowkey hope Amber gets her own spin-off. There’s something about her chaotic energy and messy opinions that feels like it could be interesting if she’s the main character and not just a side voice in someone else’s story.
One thing I genuinely did not expect was how much cheating was happening in this book. At some point I was just like… why is everyone cheating??? It got to a point where it stopped feeling shocking and started feeling like background noise. The scandals were just constantly happening without enough emotional weight or consequences to make them impactful.
Rich people drama was definitely the vibe, but it needed stronger payoff. A lot of it felt like shock value instead of meaningful storytelling.
The situation with Roje confused me a lot. I still don’t fully understand why that hookup happened or why it was introduced just to be brushed over like it didn’t matter. It felt like one of those plot points that existed just to create chaos in the moment but didn’t really contribute to the story in a meaningful way afterwards.
The mini friendship breakup was honestly more chaotic than unnecessary. It felt confusing at times and a bit emotionally all over the place, like the story wasn’t always clear on what it wanted us to feel. That said, I’m sort of glad they eventually figured it out. Even though the buildup and execution were messy, there was still something satisfying about seeing them resolve it and find their way back to each other. It didn’t fully land emotionally for me, but the reconciliation did help smooth over some of the frustration from that arc.
The romance, slow burn carried this book. Despite everything, I will say this: the slow burn romance was actually good. That’s probably the main reason I stayed invested. There was tension, buildup, and that back-and-forth dynamic that makes slow burn work really well when done right. Even when I was frustrated with the characters individually, their dynamic together still pulled me in.
However, the issue is that the romance didn’t get enough “screen time.” It felt like less than half the book was actually focused on the relationship, which made it harder for the payoff to fully land. When I read romance, I need that emotional arc to be the main focus, not something constantly interrupted by side drama.
At the end of the day, Taylor and Kambili especially felt underdeveloped. I kept wanting more from them, but they never really got enough time or depth for me to care as much as I wanted to. It felt like there were interesting side dynamics that were introduced but not fully explored.
Final thoughts…
Overall, this book was a mix of “I’m obsessed” and “I’m irritated.” The romance itself had potential, and the slow burn was genuinely engaging, but the character development and structure were inconsistent. The FMC needed more confidence and agency, the MMC needed more emotional depth earlier on, and the plot needed smoother transitions instead of sudden jumps. The drama, cheating, scandals, love triangle energy, kept things interesting, but sometimes it felt overdone without enough emotional payoff.
Would I say I enjoyed it? Yes, in a messy way. Would I say it frustrated me? Also, yes. It’s one of those books where the idea is stronger than the execution, but the chemistry between the leads still manages to keep you reading even when everything else is slightly chaotic.
And honestly… I kind of hope Amber gets her own spin-off. She might actually be more fun when she’s the main character and not just stirring things up from the sidelines.
Oluwatunmise Bankole
Oluwatunmise is a passionate reader and emerging reviewer of African literature, with a special interest in romance and tragedy and growing interest in thrillers that blend local realities with global themes. She enjoys unpacking the layered themes in contemporary Nigerian fiction, from humor and mental health to justice and identity.
