"This was an amazon first read selection for February '19. I read through it very quickly -- it is that kind of book (and I took a 'read' day this past weekend for myself).

I think that the premise and the characters were actually quite unique and built on a solid foundation. As a research wildlife biologist myself, I related to both the biologist side of Jo, but also to the complex, agoraphobic Gabe...and to the awkward, fumbling relationship dance they endured with each other. I would have given it 3.5 stars up to that point.

BUT...the book fell completely flat in the end. So much so, that as I was reading the last 10%, I was wondering if I had switched to a different book and a different author. The ending was disorganized, fantastical (in a bad way), and felt so rushed in an effort to tie up all the loose ends in just a few pages that it left me a bit disoriented. So much so that I had to read the last few pages twice to even understand what was going on. Also, after just coming off a reading high with 'Where the Crawdads Sing' and how well that author tied biology/nature to the story, this book really disappointed me in that regard. In fact, I was surprised to learn that the author was an endangered bird specialist -- this felt to me like someone writing about field research that had not experienced it. I think the author missed an opportunity to bring in that aspect more.

Final note in case it will be helpful to others. I almost went to a 1-star review because of how the main character, Jo, handled Gabe's mental illness. This book was obviously written by someone who has not experienced depression...Jo pushing Gabe to be comfortable in a city, shaving his beard off, and expecting him to just 'get over it' was triggering to me. This lack of understanding and empathy is how I am often treated by others and it infuriated me to read. 'We' need to do a better job at not dismissing depression as an 'excuse' for someone to 'hide in their bed'. It is a mental illness, not a choice. "