Review of I’m So (Not) Over You

Book:  I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson

Source: I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: February 22nd, 2022

Pages: 368

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I had quite the journey reading this book, my friends. So buckle in as I tell you all about how a book I almost DNFed turned into a 4 star read!

Our story begins when I got accepted for this book on NetGalley. Some time after that I attempted to read this book for the first time. I got a chapter or two in, but wasn’t feeling a big pull, so I put it down, with the plan to continue soon. Except with school being busy and with my reading not being super prolific, I didn’t reach for I’m So (Not) Over You for another few months. Since it had been a while, I started from the beginning, and again, I got stuck at the same point. So I did the obvious thing! At this point the book was released already, so I requested a copy from my library and tried reading the physical copy.

Thankfully, the third time was the charm! I still got stuck after the same two chapters, but for some reason having the physical copy motivated me to push through, and I’m so glad I did, because I really ended up enjoying this book. So with all those details aside, let me tell you what this book is about, and why I ended up enjoying it so much!

I’m So (Not) Over You follows Kian, after he’s approached by his ex-boyfriend Hudson to pretend that they’re still dating for a dinner with Hudson’s parents. Things go from there, and Kian and Hudson have to keep up the ruse for longer than expected, which gives them time to work through their past and see if there’s any chance at a future.

I think what threw me off at first ended up being what I appreciated the most about this book in the end. There’s a very unique writing style that this book is written in. Most books I don’t tend to notice the style or voice too much because it doesn’t stick out. Here it took a while to keep up with Kian and his thought process, but once I was familiar enough with it, I started to enjoy it quite a bit!

I really appreciate the way Kian and Hudson’s story developed. It felt very natural and organic, with lots of small scenes building up the relationship again. I especially appreciated certain aspects of how arguments were handled towards the end of the book. I won’t say too much more because of spoilers, but the characters actually took their time to think things through instead of rushing to apologize without processing their feelings, as I find happens too often in other romances.

Most of the conflict in this book comes from the fact that Kian and Hudson are from two very different social classes. Kian is solidly middle class, while Hudson is part of the elite, wealthy Southern society. That causes a lot of tension throughout the novel, and I very much enjoyed how it was handled and discussed, in both the overt and subtle ways.

4 Stars

There were lots of little aspects about this book that I enjoyed, but I think that the best way to discover them would truly be to read this book for yourself. I feel that I would struggle to coherently explain why certain aspects were meaningful or enjoyable, but if you read those moments yourself, you would understand immediately. So if fake dating, forced proximity, and a second chance romance is your kind of thing, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick this book up!

What book did you give a second (or third) try and ended up enjoying? Do you prefer reading physical or e-book copies?

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