A review by readclever
Love and Lockdown by Alyce Caswell

2.0

I received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book. So much. But I couldn't buy the romance. Angela and Colin were surface level. Nothing to really dig into, not even things they had in common. Everything felt very 21-year-old, not 31. Pillow forts and fights, arguments over tea, a wardrobe full of quarantine contraband.

Angela had the potential to be better, but she didn't quite cut it. I didn't know why I was supposed to like her, at all. Fairly cardboard to Colin's zany quirks. Ashamed to read romance books to his morning DJ gigs.

Romance was nonexistent. No chemistry beyond roommates. The HFN didn't make sense. Nothing worked.

Annoying since I wanted to enjoy a book in quarantine times. It's not going away anytime soon and there's been so many real life stories. I wanted to join in the fun. Sadly, this wasn't the book for me. I almost DNFed about 65% through.

Editing felt weak as well. Both developmentally and proofreading. So much work needed to be done to flesh out the main plot and what brings the two leads together. Too rushed, not enough care in the buildup or intimacy.