While You Were Seething by Charlotte Stein

A road trip romance that finds its footing and delivers when it counts.

While You Were Seething has a premise I was immediately drawn to—enemies forced into close proximity, fake dating, and a road trip that promises endless banter. The ingredients are all there.

The execution was a mixed experience for me. The third person POV kept me at a distance from both characters longer than I would have liked. Daisy’s perspective never quite pulled me inside their dynamic the way I was hoping, and the flashbacks didn’t provide the clarity or context I needed to fully understand the weight of their history. I also wished we had gotten more insight into Caleb’s feelings about love—his past is alluded to but never fully explored, and that distance made him harder to connect with early on.

Once the walls between Daisy and Caleb finally come down, something shifts. Their chemistry is undeniable and I finally felt the connection the story had been building toward. A standout scene near the end, where Daisy speaks to his readers about holding onto their dreams for love, is one of the most quietly powerful moments in the book. It is the scene that finally brings everything into focus for both of them.

By the end I believed in them. I just wish I had felt that pull sooner.

If this sounds like your kind of read, you can pre-order a copy HERE or request it from your local library.