Five-amazing-stars for the cover alone! It is beautiful and perfect. I can tell that the author is a Taylor Swift fan based on the number of references I have come across. I loveee when authors geek out like this. It reminds me they are just like me!

Finding out that this is the author’s debut novel took me by surprise because it did not read like one. I thought it was written by a seasoned writer so I am thoroughly impressed and amazed.

At first sight, one might think this book is a cute queer romance book, but it is more than meets the eye. It was thought-provoking, evocative, and emotional as well. For a YA book, the subject matter was handled with great care and nuance.

Our main characters Beth and Gwen were a bit messy, but lovely and completely obsessed with each other. I absolutely adored them! This book was so “Dress” coded (a song by Taylor Swift). IYKYK. There is a good amount of longing and yearning.

All in all, if you want a sapphic, historical romance consisting of stolen gazes and moments that remind you of Taylor Swift love songs, this book is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business (wow that was a mouthful) for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was so much fun! I'm a bit disappointed that it looks like the uk is changing the title to 'more than a best friend' as my e-arc says. This is so Taylor Swift coded that it's a shame to change the reference in the title. Especially since I spotted some TSwift references!

I really enjoyed this! It was definitely fun, but it had more than that. It was an insight into the hardships facing LGBTQ+ people in the past, albeit from a YA lens. But it had a nice balance, it still managed to be a cute story.

I liked the romance a lot - I did feel it was a teeeeensie bit underdeveloped for me. For example at one point Gwen mentions Beth often ranting about a certain topic - We have never even heard of this topic before. So I enjoyed their friendship in the beginning as a starter for romance, but after the halfway point it was just the romance and a lot more plot driven rather than exploring their general interactions.

I really enjoyed the parents evolving relationship too! In fact I would read even more about them - I wanted even more parent trap shenanigans as well because I enjoyed their relationship. Sometimes there was a lot more tell rather than show.

It sounds like I'm being negative but I actually really enjoyed this. It was great for a debut, and I can tell the author will get better and better. I liked the relationships and I especially liked the discussions around women's rights and the struggles of lgbtq people. And I also love to see queer joy and older queer characters. I will certainly read the sequel when it comes out too!