really enjoyed this! it was just the right mix of romance fantasy vs. how relationships work in reality, and featured a great female lead character.

This book did not work for me and I’m very upset about that. I originally picked it up because of a review saying they were shocked by how many steamy scenes there were and I was ready for it. I just had a hard time connecting with the characters and while it was hot, I just didn’t really care. I can see this working for people it just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t really like the past chapters but I do appreciate the end for the character growth.

The book took me nearly a week to finish. It does NOT take me that long normally to finish a book, especially a book with only 26 chapters (including the epilogue). While I am a fan of Talia Hibbert because of her Brown Sisters Trilogy, which was nothing short of excellence, I found this book to be just okay. In addition, I enjoyed The Princess Trap and thought it was good for what it was. Upon reading the description, I immediately thought of Zafir and Dani from Take A Hint, Dani Brown. Although I have no idea why, I think it's because of Rahul and Jasmine's personalities. Jasmine, for instance, reminds me of a combination of Dani, Chloe, and Cherry from The Princess Trap. She reminds me of a lot of Talia Hibbert's female protagonists. Also, both males (Zafir and Rahul) are fond of their girl best friend first, while the two girls are oblivious for the most part. There are a lot of similarities between this book and Take A Hint, Dani Brown, including the friends-to-lovers trope, the opposite attraction and the male lead liking the girl lead more. However, Zafir and Dani are simply the best, and they bring me so much joy that no couple that Talia Hibbert writes about could possibly surpass them. In the book, Rahul and Jasmine have some great banter and cute moments, despite Jasmine being a bit annoying or defensive at times (some may feel this way). They make a cute couple, and the epilogue was great. While I think Rahul and Jasmine are likeable characters, I did not connect with them as characters or lovers as I did with the other couples Talia Hibbert has written about, even though I think they are decent characters. This book can be described in one word: decent. It is honestly difficult to judge this book because of the comparisons I made to other books Talia Hibbert has written. However, I can't help but compare this to other great books Talia has written before this.

3.5

at this point I'm not even surprised I loved this because I've come to realise that talia hibbert NEVER misses! whenever I read romance I'm not looking for a particularly nice or elaborated prose, so it surprised me so much when I found such particularly beautiful writing in this one. this is so gorgeously written, especially whenever the chapters shift to rahul's point of view, and I just couldn't get enough of the way he described her. I enjoyed every second of it. also, friends to lovers IS the superior trope for a reason! their banter was so much fun and also the names they call each other would be so cringy in any other book but it makes so much sense for their relationship. the way he was so down bad for her made me so and I just think that they both deserve the entire fucking world. my babies deserve to be happy forever🫶🏼🫶🏼

rahul can hit me up any time he wants

IN LOVE WITH EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK!!!!! Rahul and Jasmine are my babies and I will protect them at all costs. K? Bye. Will give a real review later. mwah.

this was… not what i expected. i don’t know if it was the audiobook narrator (which made this a whole experience, and not a good one at that — seriously, don’t listen to the audiobook). i don’t know if it’s the random flashbacks about her mother at the beginning? i don’t know if it’s just me not liking jas and rahul… like, at all. obviously, we know it’s all three (and much more). i’m just disappointed rating this *so* low after having loved the brown sisters trilogy so much. i really hope this was a fluke and that i’ll continue to love talia hibbert’s other publications.

I really love Talia Hibbert's writing and this book did not disappoint.

I freaking love Talia Hibbert and I loved this book. That is all.

i cannot stop thinking about this book! jas and rahul are easily one of my new favorite pairings. please, i beg of everyone, read this book.