5 ⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5

Format: audiobook

Narration: 🎤🎤/5

"’A friend like you is a gift. You're loyal and fearless, and you'd support me with any little thing I wanted to do. Not everyone is lucky enough to find their Roo. So yeah, I had to get through a little teasing, but who the fuck cares? Because I always knew that as soon as I walked out of that locker room, I'd be heading straight for you and... I dunno. When we're together, I forget about all the stuff I'm supposed to worry about.’"

This book was such an unexpectedly pleasant surprise.

I’ve been in a bit of a slump this month so it took me like 6 days to finally really settle into this story. I loved the premise from the beginning. Unrequited love is everything to me, add in the hurt/comfort elements from Roo’s epilepsy and his and Tanner’s complete codependency with each other and this book was the perfect cocktail of tropes for me.

I loved the little flashbacks to their high school days and how fiercely Tanner protected Roo from everyone. I love when a boy is completely in love and doesn’t even know it. They were just so sickly sweet together.

I was kind of worried this book was going to be nearly identical to Irresponsible Puckboy and while there were similarities, it was a very different dynamic. Tanner very much gives Dex vibes with his obsession with his best friend, but I think he was a lot less toxic than Dex was (sorry—I love Dex and Irresponsible Puckboy but Dex WAS super toxic).

The one bed trope was perfection. Done so freaking well. Everyone eventually asking them: “You know air mattresses exist, right?” Obsessed. And Tanner’s parents being confused when he came out to them because they thought he’d been dating Roo for years. Just so many little elements of this story that really did it for me.

Yeah, kind of a slow start but just an amalgamation of adorable moments and delicious pining and mutual affection and heartwarming memories and nosy friends and family. Loved this.

The amount of spice was small but mighty. The way Tanner was just immediately down for whatever because it was Roo and everything with Roo was easy. Oh, my heart.