Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert is just simply delightful. Fun-loving Conrad has had a string of bad luck over the past year, so when the opportunity arises to go to the biggest convention for Odyssey, the card game that he loves, and play in the tournament, Conrad jumps at the chance. The downside: having to drive from New Jersey to Las Vegas with Alden, an uptight guy who is his biggest enemy. Five days in a car together, though, can change a lot.
This book was awesome and just so fun to read. It has all the best tropes - enemies to lovers, road trip, only one bed (!), forced proximity, all of it. The whole trip is really well-researched, which was awesome, but the characters are what really shine. Alden and Conrad are both so well thought-out, just utterly believable. Watching them put aside their differences and fall for each other is a treat, and though you know the final conflict is coming, it's done so well and so perfectly that I'm still reeling.
On top of all the fluff, Albert deals with a lot of real issues. Both Conrad and Alden have a lot of struggles they are facing, and Albert handles all of these topics very thoughtfully.
I would absolutely recommend this book, and can't wait to read what Annabeth Albert puts out next!
