Be Dazzled

Originally I wasn't a big fan because of the jumpy time line of going back and forth. It felt like 2 stories with the same characters and there motivations seemed weird because you could see two versions of them at the same time. Overall the book was very cute and fun to listen to while creating my own cosplays for an upcoming convention. I didn't like Evie's sudden change of heart at the end and her acceptance because it felt forced and like the author just wanted a happy ending. I would have liked for it to have been more progressive throughout the book, and the same with Luka's family.

This was a really sweet mlm love story! It hit the dramatic beats well, there were a lot of sweet moments. You could feel the ache of longing, you can feel the anxiety of competition, and yes, you can feel the joyful moments too. La Sala is masterful at evoking emotion. If you are looking for lovers to enemies to lovers story, look no further.

I would have loved the convention setting to be more fully realized. There was very little of that aspect of it despite being the central focus. It would have been fun to see more of it. I also felt at time the overall story hit the tropes of a YA romance pretty hard, there was not much here I had not seen before. The ending also felt a little easy after the conflict it set up.

However, overall, it was a fun journey. If you are looking for a romance with a more dramatic tint, you will enjoy this.

The audiobook was wonderful! The narrator put so much pathos in his performance!

I laughed out loud at least twice while reading this and, given that I'm currently descending into one of my regularly-scheduled depressive episodes, that's impressive.