Regan Gallagher and Emma Bordeaux share a mutual friend, Sutton Spencer, and an apartment, but they are NOT friends. Ever since getting off on the wrong foot two years before their living arrangement, Emma has shown nothing but disdain for Regan. Unrelenting and hopeful, Regan is determined to change the nature of their relationship and become friends. A misunderstanding with Emma’s mom finds them in a fake dating situation that leads to more than friendly feelings.
I listened to the book on audio, which I highly recommend. The narrator, Lori Prince, does such a phenomenal job of bringing each character to life with their own unique voices. The writing lends itself well to distinguishing each character, but Prince deserves their flowers for the incredible voice acting.
As the story unfolds, we learn that much of the miscommunication between Regan and Emma stems from their own strained relationships with their families. To Emma, Regan is chaotic and reckless, reminding her of her mother, Kimberly. To Regan, she believes Emma sees her the way her family does, as a bumbling mess that is incapable of getting things right. But once they both start to let each other in and see who they really are, both characters also start to evolve their familial relationships.
Although this is a romance with Regan and Emma’s budding relationship at the center of it all, Cass deftly weaves a bigger picture of each character by showing their relationships outside of the romance. Emma undergoes a major change as she starts to let her mother, Kimberly, back into her life and become part of the new family she has. Meanwhile, Regan begins to mend the broken relationship she has with her sister, Audrey, who treated her poorly because of what their parents told her about Regan.
The queer aspects of the story are also handled in a different way than I’ve seen, and that was refreshing. Emma is bisexual, but only comes out to Regan after they bump into her ex-girlfriend at the supermarket. Even though they share their friend Sutton, who is also sapphic, Emma keeps her private life so tight to her chest that she never feels the need to tell her roommate that she’s been living with this part of her. Regan, on the other hand, never realized her attraction to women until she started to recognize her feelings for Emma.
Regan’s character is also rounded out with the ADHD aspect of her personality. What most people see as pure chaos and being inconsiderate, she tries to convey that her brain works in an “act first, ask questions later” manner. But Regan does develop into a person who becomes more conscious of boundaries and learns to meet Emma where she’s at.
The way the story unfolds overall has the perfect push-and-pull, building tension and finding relief when it’s time. But it did take a moment to get to that steady pace, as the beginning felt discombobulating, jumping straight into Emma and Regan being roommates and then doubling back to how they got there. Other than that, it’s a great plot. And for those who prefer no drama without a third-act breakup, this novel takes the reader straight through to the happily ever after.
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