On the Same Page

I’ve never read a Haley Cass book before but I had heard they were good fun if you want a light LGBTQ romance with some spiciness. I liked how Riley and Gianna, our protagonists, had been friends for a long time and appreciated the flashbacks to their college years showing how they grew close and the character development of Gianna was especially well done. From mean girl to being Riley’s ride or die after hearing some home truths felt natural and I think we all know someone who starts with an arrogant nature but mellows with time and circumstance. They’ve known each other a decade by the time we’re in present day and they’re still there for one another which was sweet but how they come to explore another side of their relationship had me giggling so much - the author deserves to take a bow for the way it all unfolds and the very realistic reactions to their initial moments together. This is truly a friends to lovers book, and I loved their moments together, and fully understood their reasons for keeping it secret. Again something many of us who have had a romantic moment with a friend can relate too because there’s always that moment of ‘what happens if it doesn’t work?’ or ‘if they know they’ll over-analyse it’ et cetera.It’s not all sugary sweet of course between the two because that would be all too easy. Gianna is wary of relationships and Riley is a people pleaser which frustrated me because there are times both in the past and present where she lets herself be walked over by Gianna and others. I wanted her to have a little bit more fire and to stand up for herself more often. The conflict and tension are something that could easily be resolved if Riley and Gianna came up for air and checked in again about what they both wanted because it’s evident to the reader that they’re more than friends with benefits. If they did, they would have been, as the book is called? On the same page somewhat sooner rather than later.This did live up to what I believed it to be, an easy read over a few hours with some great moments between Riley and Gianna but also some great and genuine LGBTQ representation with these ladies but also some of their friends. I wanted to reach into the pages and shake some sense into the two of them and then give Gianna some much needed hugs because the initially superficial girl we meet during her college years is holding onto so much pain and anger at the world and Cass wrote her so well that you’ll probably not like her very much at first. I’ll be checking out more of Cass’s books in this series, which so far has a novella and a sequel that focuses on Riley’s twin sister Ellie, whom we've seen throughout this book and I was wondering more about her because she sounded interesting. After all, she may look like Riley but was very different in every other way.