Okay. This took me AGES to read, I didn't warm up to the writing style (first person past tense is just something I personally don't like), but it also didn't suck me in and I honestly didn't really care about the characters. I'm sure this would have been different if this wasn't my first Charlie Novak book, because this really doesn't work as a standalone, and that's on me. But since I can't remember signing up for the ARC... 😂 There were so many namedropped characters without any introduction and especially Ryan and Rory were so close in names, I would have needed notes to keep them apart. Especially since Ryan uses both he/him and they/them pronouns, which gets introduced in book 1, but here it looks like a mistake and made me confuse them with Rory even more.I usually like oblivious best friends to lovers because of all the hurtful pining and the release coming with it when they finally find a way to be together, but the pining really wasn't acted out and they got together way too quickly for my liking - I couldn't begin rooting for them, because they were already together when I started to get a feeling for their dynamic.Regarding their dynamic and character depth: There was so much potential for depth with Jonny's possessiveness and fear of losing Devon, but it wasn't really touched besides one therapy session that faded to black and it wasn't really talked about afterwards. I basically don't know anything about them, and still, if I'd have read the The Court series and book 1 in this series before, I guess that would be a tad better. But there still was a whole lot missing regarding character development, I'm sure this will be characters I'll completely forget, if I don't continue with the series/bookish universe. Also, the spicy scenes were repetitive and I've honestly skimmed most of them.What I really liked was the whole nerdy thing - not regarding the nerd x jock trope (I'm honestly tired of that), but jocks with nerdy hobby activities. Playing D&D was exactly my vibe and the Stardew Valley mentions? Chef's kiss!Also, an MMM book was heavily hinted on - it will not be the next book in the series (coming Summer 2025) since the character's name is already announced, but I guess the book after that will be MMM. And I'm really excited for that one since these are the side characters that caught my attention.All in all I'd say it's not a bad friends to lovers romance, and you will enjoy it if you read the series (and The Court) in order - but don't read it as a standalone.