The title of this book ended up being rather prophetic. It was a hot mess and lacking in any reason. I wasn't underwhelmed by this book so much as I was left wondering what the hell I had just read. A Mess of Reason lacks strong and cohesive characterization and fantasy, not realism, underpins it. 

Scout and Tess have been best friends forever and somehow both are in love with each other and neither is willing to make the first move. Sounds like a great NA plot, right? Except they are 29! The level of NA angst in these 29 years olds is insane and disappointing. At 29, a little maturity would be nice. A spine would be awesome.

Scout's a rock star, btw, in case you missed it. Because that's not in the book at all. What he is is a digital guy who does "concerts via hologram" thanks to Tess. Sorry, no dice! Give me a real rock star who deals with real rock star stuff. And Scout, really? Total fantasy-land character. He's not even remotely written with real life in mind. We deserve better than that.

As for Tess, the woman who masquerades as a college kid needed therapy years ago and somehow never got it. A shame really, because not only did she need it but it would have solved half the problems in this book. And Tess is the most inconsistent of the characters in this book. She goes from self-pity about never hooking up with Scout because she's afraid to ruin their friendship to actively refusing a relationship with him because reasons (spoilers) and party of that is that she never wants a full and complete loving relationship. Seriously? Bait and switch a little? 

And, after all of that, then we get the "big misunderstanding"! Ugh! Just ugh! It was so unnecessary. This was a book with inconsistent characterization and a mess of a plot.

My first Wells book, courtesy of NetGalley. 
At first i was distracted by all the verbal gymnastics; it felt like the author was trying too hard. Then I fell in love with Scout and I was able to overlooked the words and concentrate on the man, the friend, the lover Scout. His love for Tess was unquestionably the best part of the story and allowed her to break free of the prison she was living in.

copy received through Netgalley
Friends to lovers.  Scout and Tess have been best friends for years.  They are in love with each other but something is always in the way.  They are either in relationships with others or in different points in their lives.  Also Tess has a big secret. The writing was a little messy for me.  A lot of dialogue and back and forth with the main characters. This was not as good as I thought it would be.  It took me a couple of starts to get through the entire book It got to be a little confusing sometimes. I really like Scout after he bared his soul.  He was the perfect book boyfriend.  Tess was frustrating with her hesitation and lack of trust.  I liked the after the fiancee part of the story way better than the should we or shouldn't we part. It was just ok for me.
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This book was fine.  It was entertaining.  It was a little predictable but still enjoyable to read.