Review: Thirty Things by Cate Ashwood

All their lives, Finn and Nate have been inseparable, sharing everything, and when a childhood accident left Finn broken, Nate stood by his side as all his other friends left. After all their years together, there’s one secret Finn still hasn’t revealed: he has been in love with Nate since they were eight years old. Hiding his feelings for twenty-one years—terrified of what might happen if Nate ever found out—has been difficult, but losing his best friend would be worse than living with a bad case of unrequited love. Unfortunately for Finn, Nate doesn't make it easy.

Nate believes there are some things that just have to be done before your thirtieth birthday. As a gift to Finn, he plans an adventure to check off a list of thirty things to experience before hitting that milestone. Starting in Crawfordsville, Indiana, they tour the country, trying new things and meeting interesting new people. Nate’s having the time of his life, but he can tell Finn is holding something back. As the days count down, navigating the back roads suddenly seems easier than figuring out where their relationship is heading.

One thing’s for certain. There will be no turning back.

Thirty Things was a sweet, super low angst, friends-to-lovers story. So low angst that I barely felt any tension.

That's right. Friends-to-lovers... with no tension. Huh?

The premise was super cute. Finn's bestie (who was also his roommate), Nate, planned a fun road trip/adventure with a list of thirty things to do before Finn's birthday. It was a very sweet gesture and instantly made Nate an endearing character.

But other than their trip, nothing really happened. There were a lot of details that I didn't care too much about, which was annoying when I felt the story was lacking in other areas. I would have rather been reading about the characters and how they felt, instead of how the brewery they visited was set up. It made for a boring story when I think it could have been really good if there was more going on between Nate and Finn. I guess there was a lot going on, but I didn't feel any of it. Gimme some chemistry! Both guys were perfectly likable and sweet. But the tension just wasn't there, especially for two guys who have been best friends their whole lives. Not only that, but they'd been pining for each other for years. I expected crazy chemistry jumping off the pages. But... nothin'. I didn't really feel much of anything from them.

Everything fell together too easily. I have to say I was surprised with Nate, I felt like his affections came out of nowhere. They were just BFF's, and then he's suddenly all lovey and making sexual innuendos. It was like he switched characters or something.

Like I said, the guys were fine. I liked them and their little adventure was a cute idea. But that wasn't enough to save the story. It didn't all come together for me.

A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

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