Time of Our Lives is the latest heartwarming romcom from legendary author couple Austin Siegemund-Broka and Emily Wibberley (affectionately known as #Wibbroka.) This book stole our hearts, and we’re counting down some of the absolute cutest moments from it, along with some of our favorite photos from #bookstagram!
1. Let there be dictionaries!
We read each other our spontaneous favorites for I don’t know how long… I feel her shoulder edging nearer to mine, and whether it’s conscious or unconscious, it’s hard not to hope she’ll close the distance.
Juniper and Fitz’s first real conversation without others around. After being dragged to a party neither wants to be at, they roam Brown’s campus and end up on the roof. There they dig through Fitz’s dictionary for their favorite words. Halcyon. Bucolic. Propinquity. They get closer as the evening goes on – partly due to the cold but also due to something more? It’s clear they have a connection. It’s the perfect moment for book nerdy hearts, connecting with someone over words.
2. “How did you get her number again?”
I immediately narrow in on the underlined word. It’s not one I remember of either of us reading out loud, though. Serendipity. The word is underlined in one of Juniper’s unmistakably neat strokes. Next to it, I find ten digits. It’s a phone number.
It feels like the beginning of everything and you can feel Fitz’s excitement through your toes. It feeds perfectly from the night before where they were hesitantly growing closer and it feels like a little bit of warmth from the place between their shoulders has held through in the morning light. Fitz is no fool and immediately texts her and so begins our next most adorable moment.
3. The texting. The. Texting.
This is coming from a place of complete friendship and has nothing to do with any potentially non-platonic hopes I may have, but I feel like you’re not the type to pick a college for a guy.
So much banter so little time. Whenever Fitz and Juniper don’t find themselves in the same place, there’s the texts. And more importantly their reactions to teach other’s texts. It’s clear how quickly they’re getting to know each other through these messages. There’s a lot of almost-phone-hugging and moon-eyes-at-phone moments that will feel both relatable and make your heart soar. These two are too adorable.
4. High Line Epiphany, Ahoy!
Maybe part of me had to tell Fitz. Fitz’s stunned expression drifts into a grin, which he immediately flattens. But he fails, and I can’t help rolling my eyes.
After a major move forward for Juniper and some emotional self-examination for Fitz, they meet on the High Line in New York City. You can feel the chemistry crackle between them and with no more obstacles in their way, they decide to purposefully tour the last few colleges together. IT’S EVERYTHING WE WANTED AND IT TOOK 200 PAGES TO GET THERE, OKAY.
5. Road trip! Road trip!
“Please,” I shoot back, “you’ve been staring at my lips since we met. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Yes, it does,” he replies instantly. “It means I think about kissing you often.”
Sometimes you just need extended time in the car to confess your feelings when the other person can’t escape or run screaming and OH BOY DO WE HAVE THAT IN THIS BOOK. Getting to see Fitz and Juniper in the car working through their own emotions is really gratifying as a reader. Plus the awkwardness is adorable and it just made us want to keep them in the car forever.
6. Falling Water = human embodiment of heart eyes emoji.
The pull is undeniable. It’s a new definition for what I’ve felt between us during the past few days. It’s no longer a hint. It’s now a demand. Not from him, but from the universe, calling on us to decide here and now what we’re going to be. What we could be.
No spoilers but this detour from their college trip is everything. Seriously, you must get to this part of the story and then join us in turning into the human embodiment of the heart eyes emoji.
7. Small Cameron & Brendan cameo.
“The food here is terrible.” She declares. “I don’t know how you stand it.”
“It’s not terrible,” the boy replies. “It’s just not LA.”
One of our favorite parts of Wibbroka novels is getting small glimpses of our favorite characters from other books. In If I’m Being Honest we get to see Megan and Owen from Always Never Yours. We hope for a Juniper and Fitz cameo in the next #Wibbroka novel. We promise the moment of Cameron & Brendan from If I’m Being Honest is more explicit than the above quote reveals but no spoilers for those who haven’t had the gift of getting to this part of the book yet. It’s just so pitch perfect for the two of them and for the point in this book where it lands; it’s like they know their characters or something.
Get your copy of Time of Our Lives here!
Looking for more great reads? Read the first three chapters of Forged in Fire and Stars here!
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