Book Review: Technically, You Started It

Hey everybody, first of all, happy thanksgiving to everyone celebrating. 🥧🍗🦃 I hope you’re having an amazing day. If not, I hope it gets better soon!

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Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

When a guy named Martin Nathaniel Munroe II texts you, it should be obvious who you’re talking to. Except there’s two of them (it’s a long story), and Haley thinks she’s talking to the one she doesn’t hate.
A question about a class project rapidly evolves into an all-consuming conversation. Haley finds that Martin is actually willing to listen to her weird facts and unusual obsessions, and Martin feels like Haley is the first person to really see who he is. Haley and Martin might be too awkward to hang out in real life, but over text, they’re becoming addicted to each other.
There’s just one problem: Haley doesn’t know who Martin is. And Martin doesn’t know that Haley doesn’t know. But they better figure it out fast before their meet-cute becomes an epic meet-disaster . . .

Can I say that I’m finally reading outside of my comfort zone? Because this book’s told in text messages and I’m not really comfortable reading some stranger’s conversation, except when there’s some amazing tea. I know nobody laughed. Let’s talk about the book instead.

Haley receives a text message from Martin Nathaniel Munroe II from her class one day, asking a random question about some class project, and they start texting with each other every day without talking in real life. However, there are two Martin Nathaniel Munroes, and Haley isn’t texting with the one she thought she was texting with, and she does not really like the Martin she’s talking to!

I love this trope, and I really think this book could’ve been so much better, but I ended up enjoying it. I thought a bit about the rating though because it’s just another fluffy romance but told in text messages, and I am not really a fan of “cute” romances.

I liked the way they talked to each other in the texts because it was relatable. Everybody has their own way of typing and the author captured that. Our main characters, Haley and Martin, didn’t use a lot of short-forms of words (but there were a few), and they texted in proper sentences most of the time, sans a lot of typos. However, some characters in the book used a lot of them, made typos, used a few emojis, and typed in lowercase. So, it was a bit relatable and realistic.

I really enjoyed reading their conversation, however, I don’t think I know a lot about these two characters even after reading 400 pages of their conversations. I also think this book could’ve been shorter.

I did like Martin and Haley, and I could relate a bit to Haley because she reads books, reads up various random facts as I do, is a nerd (I’m not! Am I?), has anxiety! She’s demisexual (and Martin is bi). I loved Martin because he’s adorable. Their texts made me smile like the stupidest person on the planet. I wish I could know more about them and that’s where I think the text-format didn’t work because you don’t get to know them much.

All in all, it was a good enough read. I didn’t fall in love with it, but I enjoyed it a lot and I will read more of this author’s books. If you love cute romances, just give it a read!

So, do you think you’ll read it? Let’s talk in the comments!

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