Thank you to Netgalley and 831 Publishing for the E-ARC!!
Looking for a bingeable highschool enemies to grownup friends(ish) to lovers?? Read this book!!

3.5 stars

I loved Alexandra Romanoff's debut 'Big Fan' and 'Square Waves' was a worthy follow-up, though I think it suffered a bit with pacing issues trying to balance Cassidy's dilemma about her career with the romance. I really liked how this book focuses on Cassidy still trying to live down her notoriety and the lingering shame and humiliation which has left her a bit brittle and burned out with all of her relationships. Leon was a sweetheart, but I think perhaps it needed a couple more chapters to flesh out their romance a bit more.

As an audiobook experience Mollie Stark gives a fantastic performance to bring the book to life. She had a lovely vocal cadence and tone for 28-year old Cassidy. Though her Leon voice not quite there, but it was a minor issue.

Thanks to AE Titles/S&S Audio/831 Stories and NetGalley for the ALC.

Hot and delightfully heartwarming. Cassidy is breaking down the walls she put up to protect herself and letting go of these extreme expectations she had for herself while falling for her high school rival who secretly always had a crush on her? What more could you ask for?! Smut is good and vibes are great. Another hit from Romanoff

Another great 831 book! I loved the continuation of Cassidy’s story from Big Fan. She deserved!

My only critique of this one is I think it would’ve benefited a lot from a more traditional length (instead of novella)! I found the resolution to be incredibly quick, and this story could’ve really kept going to show the two characters from getting more used to each other as their older selves.

I think the author is great and the narrator was awesome! Highly recommend this one, especially if you liked Big Fan (which you should also read).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

i really like fiction that is full of heart, even if the people in it are all kinds of messy. in this book, we follow a woman who is judged by a lot of people for a thing she did in her early twenties. the person she did the thing to has forgiven her, but because it's scandalous and we as a culture are ravenous about scandal, people still hold her to it. the parts about her being burnt out and feeling trapped made me feel all kinds of things, and i think were my favorite parts of this book. the romance element felt a bit meh, a bit bland, but i think it made sense?
this is the second book i've read by this author, and although i liked the first book by this author far better, i think she's going to be an auto-read for me.

This one just didn't hit quite as well as Big Fan by the same author and publisher. I like that 831 is publishing these shorter romances to draw readers in, but this one felt underdeveloped overall. The writing was weak, and I was just not invested in the relationship between Cassidy and Leon. Would that have changed with a few more scenes/pages? Potentially.

How does a short spicy book make me feel so many big feelings?! This was phenomenal and a one-two punch full of emotions. The feelings of being adrift in adulthood, lost, feeling broken, trying to find yourself through the noise of your mind and the weight of your own thoughts, of the desire to outgrow trauma, and needing to regularly check in with yourself along the healing journey.

The narrator was amazing as well, she really captured the mood of each moment to make it feel all the more powerful.

I just found the 831 series with Set Piece, so was super grateful to have a chance to listen to Square Waves audiobook. This is my first audiobook with Mollie Stark and I enjoyed her interpretation, the voices, the attitude/mood conveyed. Really enhanced the book.

Back to the book, Cassidy was involved in a scandal on the national level. From there, she did turned something awful into positive by being involved with a non-profit and use her negative experience to help others find the silver lining.... at the same time, what about her life? She was approaching burnt out, and her boss forced her to go on a sabbatical, or else. Listen, if I have a boss that noticed and willing to give me that chance to reboot, I'm grateful for that.

To Cassidy, it's another loss. She was brought up, like many, study hard, work hard, you'll achieve what you set out to do. Turns out, what they didn't teach you is that a scandal can derail everything. Going back to her hometown, feeling like a loser. She ran into her nemesis Leon, who living this casual life and still win at every turn from high school and looks to be till now.

One thing leads to another, they are forced to spend more time, and she realizes everyone is struggling with their own crap. She is so ever jealous of Leon's carefree ways, that led him to be open to experiences, and gain more from that. While she felt stuck in a box and lost. But they also can't fight their attraction, when they were teenagers, they are rivals because they want each other's attention, but now what to do with the charge?

I do like the pace of the book, takes use from Cassidy's POV thru her reconciling her feelings, her mind, and the noise. Whether he knows it or not, Leon's 'lazy casual ways' is what helped her to see thru the forest she was stuck in. He realizes she's scared, she liked them together, and it takes her a while to figure it out herself. He knew her well. The bits and parts where she felt despair, I felt the pain too. Not because I personally gone thru anything as traumatic, but just it was really well conveyed thru and thru.

One of my fav lines: People loves a boy who fails than a girl who succeeds. Boy, ain't that the truth. For her to realized that as a teenager, that's very mature and set her on a very busy but unclear path. Overall, I enjoyed it, again partial to Set Piece more, but I enjoyed this one.

Thank you NetGalley & AE Titles / S&S Audio for the ARC.

This was a different kind of romance plot than I normally read and that is probably for a reason. I don't particularly like any type of political topics in my romances, even though it was a past event (think Monica Lewinsky six years after the world found out). It was a little interesting (and sad) to read the aftermath from the female PoV and then see how she tries to navigate love after something that public.

*Provided an ALC (advance listening copy) audiobook from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

🎧ALC REVIEW🎧
📚Square Waves by Alexandra Romanoff
🎤Solo narration by Mollie Stark
💘Thank you to NetGalley & AE Titles / S&S Audio for this ALC.

⭐️ 4 stars

This was short and sweet, and hit nicely. Listened to it all in one morning while cleaning the house. It was strangely relatable in the way that I’ve been between DC and the Bay Area myself for the past few years. And I’m the same age as the FMC and also not sure what if I'm happy in my career?

I enjoyed this story, I love the concept and only wish it could be developed into a longer story! Obsessed with the drama of the “gen z monica lewinsky” and I really wanted to hear more about how that impacted Cassidy’s life. I also always love a classic rivals to lovers story, where they realize they were just into each other and fronted anger as a shield.

I liked Leon as a character as well, but I almost feel I know nothing about him. I know that’s not unsurprising with a novella/short story. What stood out to me is how he never looked at Cassidy with pity or sympathy, the way she is used to from the public. Their love was quiet but sweet!

Audiobook notes:

-Solo narration by Mollie Stark
-Solo pov, single timeline
-Mollie did such a phenomenal job with this. Her characters were top tier and it was absolutely lovely to listen to her.

I started this audiobook and was breezing through it, but the further it went on, the more insufferable the plot became. It felt like bad Monica Lewinsky fanfiction and I just became less and less interested in continuing. Its a short book, but it somehow felt never ending.

Oh, how I LOVED this.

This was my first book by Alexandra Romanoff, so I hadn’t read Maya’s story and went into this with a fresh perspective and with incredible sympathy for Cassidy’s situation. We’ve all been young and made regrettable choices, but few have had their mistakes broadcast on a national stage. The shame, the scrutiny, the self-inflicted guilt. It was heartbreaking to witness the fallout through Cassidy’s eyes.

Despite its short length, this story packs a huge emotional punch. It’s filled with warmth, redemption, and a cast of loving, supportive characters that made me want to reach into the pages and hug them all. Romanoff writes with compassion and empathy, and it shows.

Some books are outshined by their audio counterparts, and vice versa. This book is one of those rare finds for me in which I enjoyed both equally. Mollie Stark has done an absolutely PHENOMENAL job narrating. I loved her portrayal of the characters and felt fully invested in the story, despite having already read it. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It’s just SO GOOD. It makes me want to babble on.

Many thanks to NetGalley, AE Titles / S&S Audio | 831 Stories, and Alexandra Romanoff for the privilege of receiving both this ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest opinion. I truly feel honored.

Not Quite Sure How to Feel About This One

When I requested this book I didn’t realize it was part of a series and unfortunately, you really need to read the first book to fully understand Cassidy and her motivations. Cassidy returns home years after a scandal involving a senator, and while she’s trying to find herself again, she quickly reconnects with her old high school rival, Leon. They hook up on her first night back, and from there, the story is mostly her trying to resist doing it again.

The attraction between them is clearly intense, but it felt overwhelmingly physical. There were hints that their connection might run deeper, but because we weren’t given much backstory or context either about their history or about Cassidy’s inner world it just didn’t fully land. Everything felt a little vague, which made it hard to root for their relationship or understand Cassidy’s inner conflict.

I wouldn’t recommend this one as a standalone, but if you’ve read the first book, it might be a satisfying continuation.

Superb Addition to the Big Fan Series

Cassidy returns to her parents' house in Berkeley almost ten years after she left for college and then her work in DC. Her three-week sabbatical from her job as an anti-bullying activist is not entirely voluntary and she is at a bit of a loss as to what to do with her life going forward. When she meets Leon, her High School year's stoner and now a laid-back surfer, they have a one-night stand and Cassidy is happy to close that chapter, especially since romance really isn't in her life plan since that scandal six years ago. But then their paths cross again when she volunteers to help her friend Willa get her gallery space ready for her big opening day..

What reads as a West Coast, cute, lighthearted romance is actually scratching on many deep topics. Alexandra Romanoff manages to squeeze a lot of depth and realness into this novella - and a bit of good spice. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mollie Stark, which was gripping and hard to put down, so I tore through it in two days. I enjoyed it a lot more than the other novella I read from this imprint, though the 'sign up for extra chapters' still grates on me..

I really appreciate how Romanoff manages to address the notoriety and scandalous outrage victims of power hungry, horny men in powerful positions attract from the media and society. There is some talk of a somewhat abusive affair (where power dynamics are concerned) and the trauma that the nationwide attention brought Cassidy.
But this book does not stop there, mining her pain. Instead the (self)advocacy, healing and relationship journey after such significant trauma is addressed in a very gentle and not woe-is-me, all despairing manner. Tackling a topic like that takes guts and Alexandra Romanoff has those aplenty!

Square Waves, for non-surfers or beach dwellers like myself, are a sure sign of dangerous waters. But this novella, love story, self-discovery and all, gives hope for all stranded at the beach..

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC.

Turns out, you didn't have to read the first one to read this one, but all in the same universe.

Square Waves has a high school frenemies to lovers trope with a splice of Monica Lewinsky energy thrown in. Cassidy returns home after a catastrophic affair damages her world and reputation. She connects with her hometown and old best friend and runs into her hometown rival Leon.

I appreciated how we saw the lasting impacts of the affair on Cassidy, it hit. How it impacted her relationships and career, how she grows past. Romanoff built characters up with limited pages to do it and though I think an extra twenty pages could have resulted in a more thorough finish, this novella left you feeling like knew these characters.

The audio was very well done and paced, I appreciated the narrator very much.

To be published June 24, 2025. Thanks to Netgalley for the audio ARC.

4 stars ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

Such a well done book, super easy to binge read.
I really enjoyed getting to see Cassidy handle the aftermath of the affair. Seeing her go through the process of talking with therapists, feeling a bit lost and judged but it all felt super real which is impressive because the book is so short.

The only thing I would have wanted to see less was Leon and Cassidy talking about how they saw each other in high school, like yes I get your impression of people lasts but also it was high school and everyone’s lost in high school.

Our narrator Mollie Stark did an amazing job of story telling and bringing all these characters to life.

A short, quick and punchy read. This is a raw and vulnerable story that packs in a lot of themes, tropes and struggles. It delivers satisfyingly on all of them.
I really enjoyed the writing. I appreciate that even though it deals with quite modern issues the language isn't full of internet phrases.
The rivals to lovers dynamic is full of chemistry and emotion. The characters on their own also felt very real.
The narration was fantastic.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, short romance with a really strong audiobook narrator. I really appreciated the way they brought out the voice of Cassidy and I particularly enjoyed the novel's thoughtful portrayal of navigating anxiety both generally and in response to Cassidy's past and present in the limelight. This is billed as an enemies-to-lovers and the enemy part is more an echo of their high school relationship than a product of the present - I had wanted to see more of that dynamic in the present and more of their relationship unfolding generally. Still, this was a fun listen with a novel set up and I look forward to the next book by this author.

Thank you to the publisher and thank you to NetGalley for the chance to review this audio ARC. Full review will be available soon

• unable to shake the messy headline-making affair from six years ago, cassidy takes a forced sabbatical from her non-profit job & returns home to berkeley for some r&r. after running into her high school rival, leon, at a bar and having a one-night stand, cassidy thinks it was just a good way to blow off steam. but when she goes to help their mutual friend set up her new ceramics studio, she & leon find themselves working closely together, and she sees he’s more than the slacker she once knew. can they both put aside their preconceptions of each other?
• this was the PERFECT follow-up to “big fan,” and i loved exploring cassidy’s story years after the affair blew everything up. i especially thought cassidy’s floundering trying to decide a new career path to be well done.
• cassidy & leon’s enemies-to-lovers storyline was *swoon* so good. it just felt messy & raw & authentic, considering they were both dealing with their own insecurities throughout the story.