The one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.

Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is a whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

Okay, this book is going to make me seem like such a cheesy romance lover but IT WAS CUTE OKAY. So, just be ready for this.

To start, I adored the main character. She was spunky, with a love of vintage style. I adored the descriptions of her clothing and hair–it was right up the alley of my own personal aesthetic goals, and I enjoyed seeing how her vintage love influenced her day to day interactions. She also struggled with some introverted-anxiety which made her, once again, very relatable to me. She was working to put herself out there, and it was a very fulfilling character arc.

Also, the plot itself was very creative and adorable. Of course the whole “we know each other online and in person but not as the same person thing,” is not a new plot. However, the way it was presented here was great. The evolution of their in person relationship and their online one simultaneously was so interesting and a wonderful dynamic.

This was one of the first contemporary fiction novels I have read in years that honestly had me sitting on the edge of my seat, yelling at the characters to stop being so dumb. I cannot recommend it enough! Towards the end of the novel there was some random PG-13 content. It was really out of the blue, and most of the story was very clean. However, I would be careful with younger audiences.

4 out of 5

Maddie