In The Paths We Choose, Lily Ferrari enjoys having control over every detail of her life. Ever since she left her parents’ house to gain her freedom, she decided to fully own her autonomy. But an unexpected visit from her little brother may change the path she chooses to follow.

Add to that a casual fling with the bright architect Mayte González, and Lily’s summer is turning out more interesting than she expected. It certainly beats the routine of working extra shifts at Johnson’s Bookstore.

A few weeks before her college life begins, Lily needs to figure out if she’s wrong about the past or if she should continue to protect her heart at all costs.

Sometimes moving forward is only possible if you have the right people by your side. (via Goodreads)

I received an eARC from author M. Hollis in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, The Melody of You and Me, and I thought I’d enjoy this book just as much. I was totally right, except that I enjoyed The Paths We Choose a whole lot more.

I loved the friendships between Lily and all of her roommates, because it felt entirely real. It felt like the kind of friendship I had with my roommates in college (except with less arguments about who has to do the dishes), and it made my heart ache in a good way. One of M. Hollis’s biggest strengths, in my opinion, is the friendships that she writes. Each one is different, and great in its own way.

I also loved the not-so-subtle Fuck You that Lily gave her parents with the place she went when she met her brother.

However, given that Lily was described as mean several times, we didn’t see that in the narrative. I didn’t really get a strong sense of who Lily was as a person until the very end of this novella, which kind of disappointed me.

I did like that Mayte and Lily talked about their relationship, and their needs from each other. I loved that Lily’s boundaries were respected in their relationship, because there’s just so many stories where that doesn’t happen.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Paths We Choose. This is a cute, f/f fluffy romance with some steam in it, and if that’s your thing, I definitely recommend it. You don’t even have to read The Melody of You and Me first, because it’s only tangentially related, and helps set the scene for the town they live in. I would recommend it though. This is definitely a five star read for me!