" i didn't really care for this book. it was co-written by steve almond & julianne baggott (i think that's her name) & it's about a man & a woman who meet one another at the wedding of some mutual friends. there's a spark, they make out in the coat room, & then they have a weird long-distance pseudo-romance that involves an exchange of confessional epsitles regarding their romantic histories. i guess the idea is that they will air their dirty laundry & if they are still interested in one another when they know all the terrible things in each other's romantic/sexual lives, they will meet in person again & consummate the romance. which is pretty much exactly how it goes down. of course they are into each other & they meet at some random train station in new jersey or something & do the deed. there is supposed to be some suspense around whether or not it's all going to work out, but it's like...it's a book. the book wouldn't be much of a book if it didn't culminate in these people getting what they wanted in the end. & all the stories of previous relationships gone off the rails is just kind of squicky & not fun to read, in much the same manner as you wouldn't really want all the nitty gritty details of your own partner's past relationships, because it will just make you feel insecure & maybe you'll think less of your partner somehow for either treating people in questionable ways or having the bad taste to choose dates that treat your partner in questionable ways. & plus, steve almond's dude character was way too dudely to me. i have found this to be a consistent problem in all of steve almond's writing (& i have read a surprising amount of it, but no more!). he's just too dudely & lacks subtlety. i mean, maybe he is not a subtle person in real life...which is another problem with this book. i have big issues reading about romantic/sexual problems in novels because i always wonder how much of the writing is actual autobiographical or reflects truths held dear by the actual author. i find it distracting & somewhat distasteful. thank goodness i just picked this up at the library & didn't actually spend money on it. "
— Ciara, 1/26/2014