Review: You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle (Spoiler-Free)

This book was so good it made me forget I was on my period. And that is a FEAT.

I need a physical copy of this immediately because I think I will be using it as a form of pain relief. I also am dying to be able to annotate it even though I know that literally every single page will be highlighted.

Normally I’d insert some quotes to really show the iconic parts, but if I did that I’d be inserting 368 pages of text into this review. The whole thing is the iconic part.

This book is so deeply funny yet serious at the same time. The humor is unmatched, I’ve never laughed out loud at a book as much as I did with this one. But the book also knows when it has to take itself seriously. I loved seeing the characters grow from where they began at the beginning of the story, and the narrative makes sure to highlight the positive changes they undergo, the steps they take to become better in their relationship.

The trajectory of their relationship is both infuriating and cathartic. The author brings you on the same ride they’re on: you don’t hear that they’re angry, you feel their anger. You don’t slowly see them fall back in love, you fall back in love with them.

I loved the conversations about toxic families, career struggles, communication, LEGIT EVERYTHING.

This is among one of the first adult romances I’ve read, and I’m trying to figure out which tropes and aspects I’m a fan of. I think the main takeaways with this one that made me love it more than other romance books (which I sometimes struggle with) are:

1. The tone is very cynical and sarcastic rather than sappy and romantic

2. The couple has already been together for over a year (almost two) so it’s so easy to believe that they’re actually in love because they actually know each other

3. The romantic scenes were very mundane and human, little things that build up over a lifetime, not some giant rented out movie theater for someone you’ve known for three weeks

4. Both the main characters are making mistakes, and BOTH of them have to learn from that

This book is just so great and I will be re-reading it very regularly. I also desperately need to get my hands on Twice Shy!

If you want to hear even more of my thoughts, check out my reading vlog!