Okay. This was sooo cute!!! 🥺 The first time in a while where I wanted to stay up until 3am reading! Exactly what I needed!

I don’t think this book is for everyone; after all, it is a “rivals-to-lovers fake-dating” story, and you always need to suspend some disbelief with those. Devin and Julian’s reasons to fake date were kinda silly (I mean, asking your rival to pretend to be your bf so your ex leaves you alone? we’ve seen that a million times); and the families’ rivalry, while very much granted (I don’t think I’d ever forgive Mr. Cooke, tbh!), might also be a bit too much for some readers. But I absolutely ate it up!!! 🤧

Devin was a really great MC. He was silly and clumsy, which was very amusing, and he was also very funny. I also liked reading about his internal struggles. When he talked about how he felt about losing his mum I actually teared up! And his relationship with his sister Maya, and them drifting apart and coming back together was just so nice to read about. I also liked seeing his university plans, and how much he struggled, since he didn’t feel like he was good enough. Devin just felt like a very well-rounded and real character, and I really liked him.

Julian was a great LI!!! It was interesting to see everything he was going through: his parents’ divorce, wanting to stand up to his father and tell him he doesn’t want to go to uni, finding out his father stole Mr. Báez’s idea and that’s why the feud began, and, obviously, falling for Devin. I think I would’ve liked to have Julian’s POV, so we could see more of his internal struggles. My favourite thing about Julian, though, was the fact that he was soooooo sweet and caring!!! I just LOVE kind LIs, and Julian is truly adorable. Him showing a song by his favourite band to Devin bc it reminds Julian of him was so….!!!!!! 😳 And Julian being flustered when he asked if Devin wanted to go to a concert with him!!! 🤧 And when Julian baked a tres leches cake after Devin told him how hard Christmases are for him???!??!?!?! OH I WAS E-M-O-T-I-O-N-A-L !!!!!!! 😭💕 Julian was super precious!

Devin and Julian’s relationship was just so sweet! From the very beginning, their banter was the best! They were both cautious around each other, but they still had so much chemistry! And then we see them starting to enjoy their time together, and getting closer, and having their little inside jokes (like the whole “That’s what fake boyfriends are for” and Julian’s “selective hearing”), and thennnnn they start opening up to each other, and it was SO CUTE!!! 😭😭😭 I felt butterflies, y’all. I’m genuinely sad there wasn’t an epilogue, bc I wanted to see more of them! I also liked this approach to the fake-dating trope, where they’re not really “forced” to do much (other than spend time together) which made their connection feel much more natural! Honestly, the only thing I would’ve really changed about the romance would be the 3rd act breakup, especially since it was due to a miscommunication/misunderstanding, which SUCKS, because Devin and Julian were SO GOOD the entire book, communicating openly and apologizing sincerely! But regardless: they were still super sweet.

The SCs were also very nice. I liked the Báezes’ family dynamic, and I REALLY loved how Isabel took up the place of stepmum! I actually teared up in the end when she chose to put an old photo of the Báez family (with Devin’s mum) instead of a current photo of the family (with Isabel and Andy) in the Wall of Champions, saying they could put an updated photo next year. 🥹 I also really liked Maya! Despite being just a SC, she felt soooo well rounded! Her struggles felt so real, and I loved her and Devin’s dynamic! Their conversation near the end was so so SO sweet, and I really appreciate the author for including this type of sibling relationship. Devin’s father was also very nice, and I teared up AGAIN when he talked to Devin about how losing their lake house didn’t mean they’d lose their memories of Devin’s mum. Andy, the stepbrother, and Julian’s family were also good SCs. Overall, I just think the author did a good job with the characters!

The main storyline (other than the fake-dating) was regarding the families’ feud and the Winter Games. There weren’t that many pranks, and the Games only really start near the end, and don’t take up that much time, so if you’re mostly looking forward to that, maybe this isn’t the book for you; the main focus is definitely the romance and the family relationships. And I REALLY appreciate that, because I was here for that hehehe. Regardless, I think the non-romance aspects of the story took up just enough time in the story! Even though it wasn’t much, it still felt very balanced to me.

So, to sum things up: this book made me tear up 3 times (4, if we count the acknowledgements – yes, I teared up reading the acknowledgements), I felt butterflies bc the romance was super sweet, and I really loved the family dynamics! Definitely give this a go, if you enjoy silly little rom-coms! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻