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wildatheart1339's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Homophobia, Medical content, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cancer, Stalking, and Vomit
friends2lovers's review against another edition
4.0
Hands are on my scalp, rubbing, gently pulling at my hair. On my back, my face. I lean into it. Purr like a fucking cat because I’m an animal now, apparently. But it feels so good, so right, that I just go with it. When I finally wake from my mini-coma, Whit is asleep beneath me. I’m wrapped around him like a koala on a tree. I don’t even want to tell him I’m awake because he feels so nice underneath me.
Whit is a debut novel and it kind of shows. The writing is flawed and the plotting is a bit messy. This is a very trope-y story, which I think is a trap that a lot of new romance authors fall into. They have these ideas bouncing around in their head and end up cramming them all into one book, which results in underdeveloped plot threads and characters.
I think the weakest part of Whit is the titular character. Because Whit is keeping secrets and has a traumatic past that the author doesn't want to reveal until later, we don't get much of his POV. What little we know of him comes mostly from Caleb's perspective, and Rose isn't an adept enough writer to create a well-rounded character in such an indirect way. So, Whit remains a closed-off, distant character throughout. Plus, it's really easy to guess what Whit's been hiding, so when all is revealed it's pretty anti-climactic.
Also, this has a couple of my M/M romance pet peeves: (1) too much emphasis on top/bottom roles; and (2) conflating the enjoyment of anal sex with being gay.
All that being said, I thought this was pretty great, especially for a debut novel. I was able to suspend my disbelief and overlook the weaknesses. I laughed out loud quite a few times. I found Caleb to be an endearing, loveable character. The physical affection between them was really sweet. Overall, an amusing, enjoyable read that I devoured in less than 24 hours.
Endnotes: M/M Contemporary Romance, college, roommates, opposites attract, gay for you, class difference, caretaking, secrets, traumatic past, meddlesome family, grumpy x sunshine, fake dating (sort of), cuddle sluts, 1st-person dual POV (mostly Caleb), present-tense, short novel (75k words), Kindle Unlimited
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Cancer, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt
emilia777's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
whit and caleb were vv hot and i just love them together
Graphic: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Self harm
Minor: Cancer, Suicide attempt, and Physical abuse
tankytoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Caleb and Whit have sex and do boyfriend-y things right off the bat as if it's the most natural thing in the world.
Although sometimes it is adorable that Caleb accepts the change without much fanfare, there wasn't a deep enough of a connection for me between the two to justify their affection for each other aside from initial lust.
The issues that arise between them stem mostly from Whit who had a tougher upbringing despite his family's immense wealth. He is starved of love because his parents deprive him of it. While Caleb, even losing his mother and not knowing his father, had a loving childhood courtesy of his relatives.
Other obstacles that throw a wrench in their relationship were mostly minute to even be registered. Ultimately, it comes down to them choosing what they value more: love or money.
Other things to note, there's a tad too much sex and some may feel uncomfortable with some of the scenes
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Death of parent and Cancer
dashboardlights24601's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Death of parent and Cancer