The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak

I think that this book was clever.
The romance was sweet, awkward, and they were misunderstood.
However, there were no consequences and there wasn't much character development.
Billy faced no punishment (other than the utter rejection of his first love, but that's not the point). It's his fault, he gives vitally important code to his friends, yet he doesn't go to jail? It is literally all his fault. Yet Mary pretty much easily forgives him in a snap.
What happened?
Mary is character that stays the same. She is completely static, yet she is one of the main characters. I mean, yes, she's... skinnier at the end of the book, but we are talking about personality. She stays the same. She doesn't really make any other friends besides Billy, and it's not like she took a whole new aspect to life or anything. She just stays the same.
In the beginning she's cheerful. In the end she is cheerful. What is the difference here?
Also- I feel like Bill's affinity for coding is not really represented here, it just describes himself as lazy and always thinking about drawing 8-bit characters. He's technically "not smart", right? Or is he secretly smart, but he doesn't try? This is not clarified in the story.
His friends aren't really alive. Clark is extremely insecure, but this hardly delves into anyone else's problems, just the romance. I feel like there should have been more context, and Clark's insecurities about his misshapen hand should be expressed more clearly. Other than the fact that he shoves his hand in his pocket, he seems pretty much fine.
Also, Bill describes girls as getting a look at Clark's hand, then suddenly shutting up in fright and dismay. This never actually happens in the story.
This definitely needs to go deeper into the stories of his friends and the people around them, it's too focused on coding and romance.
There needs to be more action. A lot of the story is just Bill saying it. Don't tell, show.
However, this book was good for several reasons.
I appreciated the style, it was consistent. Bill seemed like someone practical.
I liked the setting, where they have floppy disks and hard drives.
The romance seemed slow, and not too sudden. They seem to have a "love at first sight" experience, but it's not really developed. Their relationship as friends into a couple seems quick and choppy, but their friendship seems realistic.
This book definitely could be better, but I think that it's sweet in its own way. It definitely holds a lot of promise.
I give this book two stars. It had a lot of flaws, but I do recommend this for people who are into coding, and slow romances. Also, heists, I guess?

I received a free advance reader copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.