a fun summer romance! i always love books from 831 stories. i was glad to get a glimpse into cassidy's life, and i adored her friendship with willa and the rivals/enemies to lovers arc with leon. thank you so much for the arc!!!

Another cute romance from Romanoff. I liked this one and found the conversations around success and shame to be interesting. Good sex scenes and a fun twist on enemies to lovers. I also loved the high school nostalgia. There were parts in the third quarter where I thought the book dragged a bit, but over all really fun.

This was such a great read!

I did not know what to expect going into Cassidy’s story following Big Fan, which I absolutely adored as it also got me out of my reading slump.

What I loved about the book and what was surprising was the focus on Cassidy’s approach to figuring out what’s best for her from a professional standpoint. “People like boys who fail way better than girls who succeed,” was such a moment and Leon’s reaction in that moment made me like him even more.

The writing is tight and the pace keeps you interested. Everyone in their late-20s will relate to Cassidy and Leon who are also helping their incredible friend Willa, who while being insanely successful is juggling so many balls.

The romance was a great take on enemies-to-lovers, paired with high school nostalgia. It did not feel forced or rushed despite the length of the book.

Highly recommend whether you have read Big Fan or not!

Something I was not expecting from this endearing romance novella was its introspection on mourning a past self and tackling the anxieties of your mid/late-20s. With the context being that much of the anxeties were the aftershock of a singular event and how it disrupted the main character's confidence and identity was powerful and, even with it being a very intense event, very relatable.

The high-school nemeses-to-reunited-10-years-later-lovers plot was a cherry on top a already delicious book sundae. I love when a type A, hardworking girl meets her match in a “chillest person to ever exist” guy. That specific dynamic gets me so giddy, and Square Waves had me giggling. This sweet, quick read is perfect for beach days and avoidant attachment types.

I also appreciated that reading the first book in its interconnected universe, Big Fan, is not necessary. I read Big Fan immediately after because I adored Romanoff's romance writing so much.

The only things I didn't like about the novella I think are just the result of it being a novella vs. a full-length novel. If it was longer, I would've enjoyed deeper exploration of the main characters' dynamic when they were in high school. However, because it was so short, I felt the reference to their dynamic in high school was repetative and sometimes felt surface level compared to the fleshed out, young adult selves we're putting our attention towards in the story.

this was a cute, literary-leaning romance novella with the perfect amount of spice thrown in :) i loooooved big fan, which this is a sequel to, so i was intrigued to see how cassidy was dealing from the scandal described in that.

thank you 831 stories for the arc!

loved as always with 831! loved bringing back old loved characters from Big Fan and the most niche romance plot lines involving both self discovery and relationship love.

Thank you so much to 831 Stories for the complimentary copy of this book!

This book is out now!

As you know I have been a fan of these novellas from 831 stories and the first one Big Fan has been a favorite of mine of the collection. Romanoff is back in the same universe as Big Fan but this time we have Cassidy as our leading lady. Cassidy was not pictured in the best of light in Big Fan as she was the woman who had an affair with the husband of the FMC Maya. So I love that Romanoff is kind of giving a spotlight on the fallout from being the "other woman".

Cassidy is now trying to pick up the pieces and figured out what's next for her. She did not think DC was the best place anymore so she decides to go back to her hometown for the summer. She reconnects with a former classmate Theo and one thing led to another and they have what she thought would be a one night stand. Except they keep finding that they would be in each other's orbit.

I thought the relationship between Cassidy and Theo was cute! I love the idea of seeing individuals whom you may have had a certain opinion of when you were a teenager change as one evolves into adulthood. Granted, I know that is not always the case but in this instance Theo was a different person to Cassidy.

Just like with all the other books from this publisher, I love that these books are not super long and you do get a pretty complete story (and yes sometimes rushed).

While I don't think you necessarily need to read Big Fan prior to reading this, it may be helpful to see her in that light.

The character development and writing style is 10/10. It's crazy to me how she can write such an in-depth story in so few pages. I highly recommend reading this!

I love these Alexandra Romanoff short stories! I love her writing and character development that doesn't lack depth in a shorter novella format! I did not love this one as much as Big Fan but it was more about the story itself. I typically love enemies to lovers but I think the high school enemy piece didn't translate as strongly for me. I thought the story was interesting, but predictable which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The spice was great and there were many points I laughed out loud!

Another short sweet story from Alexandra Romanoff. I am really impressed with the amount of tension and depth she can bring to these novellas!

I didn’t love this one as much as big fan only because I think they could have had better communication and it’s seemed like there were some loose ends. Some of the conflicts seemed random to me and unnecessary. But I appreciate the childhood rivals to lovers. Brought me back to grade school where the ones that are mean to you are the ones that like you lol.

Loved the therapy representation in this book. I am sure many people can relate to deciphering out what we want to do VS what we know we should do after a lot of therapy 🙃

I will be happily reading any other novellas she decides to grace us with.

There’s something about a “main character returning home to find themselves again” trope that I have to admit I kind of love. In Square Waves we follow Cassidy back to her hometown after dealing with the aftermath of a scandal that rocked her life. She runs into a cast of friends including Leon who’s proving that nothing has changed since their days of being high school rivals - or so she thinks. As the story progresses we see that’s far from the truth & when their desire to help a friends new business succeed the forced proximity has them learning more about each other and themselves in the process. This one fell a little flat for me at times but was enjoyable nonetheless!

4.5 Stars

As far as novellas go this one was really enjoyable! I honestly could have read a full length book of this storyline because it had a lot to offer— post political affair scandal, heroine returns back to home town, enemies to lovers, helping friend with her business, etc.

Thank you to NetGalley & 831 Stories for the ARC of Square Waves in exchange for an honest review.

A delight - wonderful, funny, distinct story with so much wit and heart - deeply enjoyed, just the sort of story I long to read

I really enjoyed the slow-burn chemistry between Cassidy and Leon—their evolving connection kept me hooked. Cassidy’s return home and her struggle to face the fallout of an affair added emotional depth that made her easy to root for.

While the writing was strong and engaging, I do wish the story had been just a bit longer; a few more chapters could’ve made the romance hit even harder. Still, this was a heartfelt, well-written novella, and I’m excited to dive into book one next.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ALC!

Started this immediately after 'Big Fan' which may be a mistake ? 'Big Fan' was literally everything you could want from a book so it felt like a drop off for me; it's not that I didn't enjoy 'Square Waves', I just think the romance element was lacking for me when compared to the previous release.

Cassidy and Leon have the whole enemies to lovers trope on LOCK but I think this is me realising I am just not a fan of it. When characters like these clearly have so much history, it feels like we brushed over too much of it in this short novella for the impact of their relationship to hit fully.

I did feel Cassidy was a relatable character though - to me her life outside Leon was actually a lot more interesting than their connection. Her personal growth throughout this book was very well done! If it wasn't for the somewhat forced proximity I feel these characters wouldn't have ended up exploring a relationship and it would be more of a got it out my system type thing.

Would you even call this a sequel to 'Big Fan'? Yes the two are set within the same universe but there are not many relations other than that (I mean despite the obvious of Cassidy's role in the events leading to 'Big Fan'). I would like to see more from this series / universe to see if Alexander Romanoff leans into that same charm and excitement of the first release.

Thank you to 831 Stories and NetGalley for this arc !!

*All opinions are my own !!*

Yet another banger from 831 stories and Alexandra Romanoff. Square Waves follows Cassidy a few years after she was at the center of a political affair scandal travelling back home after experiencing burnout. She reconnects with an old high school nemesis and after what she thought was a one night stand meets him again when helping her old best friend.

This is a very short and clever love story that really does feel entirely believable for the characters. It was such a cute kind of petty antagonism to begin with which stands out from so many attempts at enemies to lovers.

Square Waves encapsulated the typical 831 Story of being a well rounded novella that manages to tell a full story in such a short time. While I enjoyed it, I wasn't as invested in Cassidy and Leon's story as I have been in other's. I appreciate the character growth and I identified with some of the struggles Cassidy was facing but it did seem like there was a lot of emphasis on high school and who she was and who Leon was then that it felt a tad juvenile for someone in their late 20s. Overall it was a decent read.

Love this love this love this.

No notes.

Alexandra Romanoff has done it again. This time with an amazing dynamic between our main couple. The tension of achievement, status, etc was really fascinating to read as it played out, and I loved the way it culminated.

Ugh. Delicious rivals to lovers.

This is my second book by Alexandra Romanoff & 831 Stories & I can easily say I'm hooked. While I think I loved Big Fan a bit more, this one was so fun to see Cassidy's story & her find love. I loved the enemies to one night stand to friends-ish that this took & it was really fun to watch their friendship & romance develop. Liked this one a lot & will definitely read any and all Alexandra Romanoff + 831 Stories books.

SQUARE WAVES is a fun and sweet nemesis/rivals-to-lovers romance. Cassidy is taking time away for reconnect to herself and figure out what direction she wants to go next in life and spends her time in her friend’s art studio, comes to find herself working next to her high school nemesis, Leon, all these years later. I was interesting to see how these characters changed from high school and also how much they valued and were affected by the other one’s opinion of them throughout high school and up to the present. A lot of depth and growth is packed into this novella.

Thank you to 831 Stories and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.