The theme: Unusual historical. Ooops.
(I did actually try two historicals. Angels Wings by Anne Stuart, genuinely unusual, had both characters and plot I disliked. One Bride Too Many by Connie Brockway… let me just quote verbatim this one star review from GoodReads: ‘The plot is “man wears dress”.’
Why this one: I dunno, it was just calling to me. Of course it’s not a historical, but it did turn out to be unusual.
This opposites-attract romance started out with a huge strike against it, because I’m so turned off by characters who desperately want to be in with the “popular crowd.” (My teen review of the show “Square Pegs”: “they have each other and nice boys who like them, what the hell else do they need?”) So I had little sympathy for teen Lily’s efforts to leave her nerdy friends behind — they call themselves the Nerd Herd, I would be friends with them in a hot second — and think she was damn lucky they didn’t hold a grudge. And then she grows up to be an ambitious beauty YouTuber… that’s a meh from me.
Buuuut, the MMC Tobin Bui is a total goofball who likes silly but harmless pranks and is straight out of All Dogs Have ADHD. (He does in fact have ADHD which he controls largely with exercise, so geeky but ripped.) In other words, basically my husband, sans the ripped part. How could I not keep reading?
Tobin has also grown up to be a professional YouTuber, Goofybui, who does sketches and game playthroughs. But though Lily and Tobin have been frenemies pretty much forever, ten years after high school they aren’t really in touch. Then one of Tobin’s videos goes viral at a time both are feeling stuck in their careers, and they decide to give collaboration a try. And though they’re coming from very different niches, the cute way they play off each other makes their numbers explode. (I found this somewhat implausible, but then I don’t really get why people watch any of this stuff to begin with, so *shrug*.) Of course people start to ship them, and as they each start to appreciate the other’s very different style, it begins to seem less impossible.
Both characters are also on personal journeys. Tobin is being pushed by his agent to take on more work commitments, but the pressure is burning out his creativity. And Lily, as you might expect, has a lot of growing to do around her high school popularity issues, including understanding how it seemed to her friends.
“I was an outcast. We were all outcasts!”
He looked at her and it wasn’t pity. It was… disappointment.
“We had each other,” he said, almost under his breath. “That was what I never understood. Why did you give a shit what they thought, when you had us?”
(I swear to God, I wrote about “Square Pegs” above before I read this scene!)
I appreciate Yardley’s efforts to make this story inclusive and as non-toxic as possible, given the milieu. Both their professional colleagues and friend group are a diverse bunch. Tobin, whose parents are from England and Vietnam, realistically encounters some microagressions, and of course there are some unpleasant dudebro comments about Lily on Tobin’s feed, but he immediately deletes them; he’s not just a goofy bui but a very good bui. Not even a beta hero, as my husband would say, but “a episilon.” Here’s an unusually sweet “forced to share a bed” scene:
“I never got why guys wouldn’t be into snuggling,” he admitted. “It’s been a minute since I’ve had a girlfriend, but when I do, it like it when they spend the night. They’re all soft and warm and feel great and smell better.”
“You’re a hair sniffer, aren’t you?” He could hear the smirk in her voice and burst out laughing.
“Yup, that’s me,” he teased back. “Just sucking in that air like a pervy Roomba. Now get some sleep, or I’ll snuggle you.”
“Heh.” Then, to his shock, she wriggled until she was flush against him, then dragged his arm over her like a blanket. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
So yeah, I continued to love Tobin, and Lily thankfully grew on me, as she grew personally. She might even be good enough for him by the end. 😉 The prose could’ve used a bit more editing, mainly for repetitions, but overall I definitely click the “heart” button on this.