spoilers 
 I know, I know. WTF is wrong with me. But generally I can gauge how highly I'm going to rate something based on how long it takes me to read it, once I really get into it. This one took me six days, and I seriously considered bailing on it in the middle. 
 It's just...meh. I LOVED Fangirl, and I love Carry On. This was missing something for me. I'm going to list two reviews down below that get at the feelings I had during the book, but this book didn't make me feel anything. That's unusual and often a bad sign because it doesn't take much to get me invested in a plot. Give me a solid romance, and I'm all over it. Except this wasn't a solid romance. It felt rushed and forced. One second, they are doing this weird tango of awkward on the bus, and the next, they are declaring their love for each other. It felt so...teenager in its insta-love. There's nothing wrong with teenager, but it gets to a point where I can't take anything else in the book seriously because of how mushy and illogical the romance is, which is a problem when Rowell tackles serious issues. 
 I really appreciated the serious issues she does tackle: domestic abuse, sexual violence, bullying, gender stereotypes, weight. However, I didn't feel any of these were taken all the way in the story, with the exception of the sexual violence threat. We got everything in half doses, just enough to mention that it's there, in the background, causing an impact we don't actually see. Even with the domestic abuse story thread, we have no idea what happens to Eleanor's family. They just up and disappear. We get hints but not enough to form a solid conclusion. That's a problem considering how big of a deal her family was through the book. 
 The ending was much better, but by the time I got there, I was finishing the book just to finish it. I'm an emotional reader/viewer. I cry at anything remotely sad or beautiful. This ending did not make me cry. Not even a single tear. I felt for the characters, and I felt the ending was the best part of the whole book, but it wasn't enough to make up for the rest of the book. 
 Overall, meh. I'm so disappointed it was meh, because most of my GF friends adored this book. I can see why. It just wasn't for me. 
 Steph Sinclair's Review 
 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... 
 Emily May's Review 
 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...