SPOILERS AHEAD
5/5 Stars
"When was the last time you did something for the first time?"
Oh, my heart. This was so unbelievably swoony and was such a fun, cozy, slightly supernatural take on a typical romance.
This was such a unique plot that I could have never thought of myself (which is why I'm not an author). It should be complicated, but it was written so effortlessly that, what should be a complex time traveling apartment, was easy to understand as long as you can suspend your concept of reality and just enjoy the vibes.
As a single 27 year old woman myself, I related to Clementine so much. I also feel like I've ended up in a career that doesn't really feel like me - although ironically, her career is exactly what I would like to do. It's always encouraging to read about characters who also feel a little lost and make a big life change in their mid/late twenties, because even though they aren't real (sad) it still makes me feel like I have time to do the same things. What I wouldn't give to be living in a magical apartment and have a kind, hot, gentle guy to cook for me and make me dance in the kitchen. Let's be so for real though, there's no way I would allow that man to stay, I listen to too much true crime.
I really loved the pace of this book. It was slow, but felt like a big hug the whole time. I love the way Ashley Poston writes about grief and how shitty and hard real life can be, and she makes her characters feel so real. Lemon's realization that being damaged and hurt doesn't mean you need to be fixed, just that you might need another person to see that damage and tell you it's okay sometimes. I don't think I'm alone in feeling like my past experiences in relationships and in life are things that I need to hide or build walls around or fix, but I think it's an important journey in growing up to realize that your past doesn't need to be fixed, just understood and loved anyways. And Iwan loving her for her imperfections and her loving him for having changed was so real.
Iwan was such a golden retriever of a man, and there's something so charming and lovable about a character like that. I loved that he wasn't perfect in the beginning, and all the quirky little imperfections about him, and how he changed his life in his 20's to start over and become a dishwasher in order to chase his dreams was so endearing. And as unrealistic as it actually would be, changing the vibe of his restaurant completely in two weeks because Lemon reminded him of his roots was so romantic.
Also, can we talk about how "Lemon" is literally the cutest nickname in the world and how I almost died when she saw that he got a lemon flower tattoo over his heart 7 years ago? My heart.
Now if I have one bone to pick it's that there were quite a lot of references to real life things like TikTok, which I don't love. I have read another of Ashley Poston's books and the millenial cringe was a lot to handle in that one, but it was much less present in this one regardless of the references to things in the actual world in 2025.
Overall, a sweet and unique romance story that makes me want to go search for my own goofy ginger chef.
Comments