A Fantastic Mess of Everything

by Beck Medina

[layawaydragon]

The first several pages with learning about Millie and Fran were good. Solid introduction to their dynamics, history, and personalities.

Shortly after boys are introduced it becomes readily clear that Millie is much more attractive than she thinks. While that trope is mildly annoying, it hurt worse this time around because I was convinced Millie was one of us regular people.

Nope. She may not be the goddess of beauty, but she's still on Mt. Olympus. Millie doesn't see it though because of low self-esteem and anxiety disorder while best friends with Fran the Star.
She's a rom-com protagonist who needs to get her shit together. Anxiety depiction is spot on, and love the positive medication rep. I'm on Buspirone now and have taken it as a stand-alone pill. It’s like the starter anxiety med. I've never been numbed but it's highly variable from person to person.

So, don’t take this as the end-all be-all. It doesn’t mean it’ll make you numb or whatever nor does that mean it affects those around you in the same way. Keep in mind, the “numb” sensation was just after she started taking it to describe not having a panic reaction when faced with triggers and she’s clearly not a zombie on it.

The flip side is it’s not a cure. She’s still an anxious person with an anxiety disorder and she has her psychological hang ups to work through. But it helps her manage and cope, which is great to see.

Millie’s feelings towards her father is understandable and I was screaming right along with her. The relationship with Dude on the other hand…boy, that played me. The ending was adorably sweet and solidifies what I said earlier about Millie’s looks.

These are all New Adult age characters but there's no steam sex scenes. It's a slow, romantic, and cute type romance. I think the comparison to Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl is a good one.

Given the social issues included it’s weird saying it’s “light and fun” but…it kinda is. It’s a feel good contemporary romance where love doesn’t save the girl, she faces her issues and gets the help she needs.

4 Stars, besides the rough beginning with Millie the Whiney Clueless Goddess where things didn’t seem so bad and all the boys are crushing on her. I came to go “OHHHH” and things got better. A+ mental health representation.