This is the second book in a duology and you definitely need to read the first book to understand Rowan and Neil’s relationship and all of the background information.

The story picks up at the end of the summer, right as Rowan and Neil are getting ready to head to their respective colleges, about 3 months after the end of book 1.

Rowan is at Emerson in Boston to study creative writing. But she can’t write and is completely stuck in her own head, worried that she’ll never be able to write anything good. She also never sees her roommate, misses Neil and her friends, and feels overwhelmed.

Neil is studying Linguistics at NYU. He gets along well with his roommate, slowly finds a core friend group, discovers he might want to change his major, misses Rowan and his mom and sister, and finds himself spiraling.

There are a lot of hits and misses when Rowan and Neil are able to visit and talk on the phone. Both are keeping some of their concerns from the other, which causes them to feel guilty. The normal freshman year, far from home jitters are there for both of them, as is the miscommunications and fears of a long distance relationship. I love how each of these topics was covered and that the author wasn’t afraid to explore Neil’s mental health issues.

I loved both roommates. Even though Rowan’s was MIA much of the time, she was there when it mattered. And Neil’s roommate was perfect, I’m not sure he would have made it through without Skyler.

I was pleased with the ending and how everything was resolved.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC for review consideration though NetGalley, on behalf of the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.