Dating Down is an entertaining book. Really easy to go through, with real characters that care about real problems. This is something missing from many books nowadays, most characters in a lot of books barely have any concerns other than the main issue of the book. Here, we can see how they struggle with different angles of their lives, including the romantic side, of course.

I'd say though, this book falls short in showing real emotions. Tammy and Gary seem to feel superficially deep. With this, I mean that they feel intensely and fast (whether it's love, rage or any other emotion), but it's not actually significant or meaningful since most big emotions take way more time than the time the book gives them. It made things feel rushed which made the book fall significantly in quality.

This story has got most of the teen angst present. If you're talking about insecurities, desire to prove oneself, independence, emotional turmoil and the outbursts-then this book has all that.
What I found most interesting was the turnaround, you've got Tammy, the insecure, curvy girl who is trying to be noticed by her peers and family. You've also got Gary who's never caught a break since getting into the foster care system, and between the two a yearning blossoms. It's their chemistry that I struggled with. All in all, it's a short read. Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.