[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Nash is an artist and a graphic novelist. He’s active on Twitter where he has shared his graphic novel, Rex, with the world. That’s how he met Kels.
Kels is a baker and a book reviewer. Her blog and social media accounts – One True Pastry – pair book covers with cupcake designs that Kels bakes herself. She’s built a big following online and a small inner circle of Twitter friends, including Nash. He’s become her best friend over the last few years online.
Halle has moved to Connecticut for her senior year so she can focus on applying for college and building on her other interests. She and her younger brother are living with their widowed grandfather while their parents are in Israel filming a documentary. Usually Halle and Ollie would go with them. That’s one of the reasons Halle has struggled to make friends IRL (in real life). The family has moved so much, Halle has never really gotten to put down roots. Add to that her anxiety and her general awkwardness, and it’s easy to see why face-to-face relationships are hard for her.
Halle’s expectations for finding friendship in her new home are low. And then she runs into Nash. He knows her grandfather from temple and says hello, knowing she’s new in town. But Nash isn’t new to Halle. She’s been best friends with Nash online for years. Only he has no idea that Halle is Kels.
Review
There are so many things I enjoyed about this:
- All the book love – This is a book lovers book. There are book Twitter stories and Bookstagram examples that will be familiar to readers who frequent those spaces. The book signing, cover reveals, and book convention pieces felt like home to me. This was my favorite part of the book.
- The baking – I loved Halle’s/Kels’ take on her book reviews. The cupcakes sounded amazing. (There were no recipes in the review copy of the book.)
- The characters – I loved the characters in this. Halle’s circle of friends – online and off – were great. And her family was even more delightful than her friends.
I’ve read other secret identity sorts of books before, but this one was on the painful side at times. I couldn’t relax into enjoying Nash and Halle together because of all the angst on her side and the lying by omission. As painful as it was – as much as I was dreading the moment where it all falls apart – I was also craving that moment. I wanted the lying done! I wanted Halle to get to be wholly herself and not this divided character.
The end wraps things up well. I loved where everything settles in the end, both for Halle and Nash as well as for the other characters. Don’t miss this fun YA romance! (Language, LGBTQ+, TW: anxiety/panic attacks)