I completely understand the hype behind this book! While I am not the biggest fan of YA books (Wes hits the nail straight on the head with the comment about them being young and not looking for forever in high school!), I am a huge fan of Lynn Painter, so I wanted to check this one out for myself. I am so happy I did. While I am not nearly as well-versed as Liz when it comes to romantic comedies, I still appreciated the humor, the emotional depth, the connections, and – most of all – the relatability of the characters, even though they are only in high school.

Balancing the dynamics of friendship, attraction, change, and even grief is something anyone can experience at any point in their lives. Because of that, even adults reading about high schoolers can find themselves thinking, yeah, I get it! We often look at young adults and think, you are kids, you have nothing to worry about! But we forget we were them once, and life – while more of a fishbowl – is still not easy for them.

Liz was carrying a lot on her shoulders without a healthy way to cope. Witnessing the evolution of her relationship with Wes, as well as her coming to terms with the burdens that had been weighing her down, added so much substance to an already sweet love story – even if it is, at least for me, only an HFN versus an HEA. Lynn does write the sequel for these two, so maybe those who continue will get the chance to witness an HEA.