I HAVE TO SAY…

SYNOPSIS

The self-destructive main female character lives in her rich friend, Lucas’s house to write a novel, but things get complicated when her ex-boyfriend, Cameron shows up.

What could happen?

RECAP AND REVIEW

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an arc!

Release Date: Feb 23, 2026

Let me start by saying, this is not a romance book, so I highly recommend not reading it if you’re looking for romance.

There should also be a trigger warning about the suicidal ideation, depression, and some of the sexual situations and the sexual assault in this book.

I was pulled into the book by the cover and synopsis. I was looking for a messy read and it’s messy, but not in the way I was hoping for (or in a way I enjoyed honestly).

The main female character is self-destructive and seems depressed, but she’s also vain and mean. She is self-loathing and insecure and has self-awareness but doesn’t do anything with her discoveries. She cares a lot about how she is perceived, but there’s an emphasis on how she’s perceived by the men in her lives. She frequently holds her tongue and worries about if she’s being sexy enough for them.

There’s no chemistry or romance in this book, and the men she’s around are awful. She seems to have unhealthy attachments to them. We get Lucas and Cameron’s perspectives here and there, but I think it’s to emphasize how awful they are and to give a tiny more context.

The main character feels like she owes Lucas for letting her crash at this house, and there’s some sexual situations with him that are questionable.

This book also frequently establishes a point or a thought to then unravel it in the next line with words like, “or maybe it’s not that.” I’m sure it’s to show that the main character constantly overthinks, and in a way it makes her unreliable, but it was also frustrating to read because it’s so frequent.

There’s not much character growth by the end and there’s little explanation into why she is how she is or thinks the way she does.

OVERALL

Overall, I give this a 1 out of 5 stars. The characters are just too unlikeable and it became an exhausting read. I can see this being an indirect commentary about men and female friendships and relationships, how woman feel they need to act, and privilege, but it just wasn’t for me.