Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This was so cute. Made my nerd and drag sides happy!
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Entertaining, but completely forgettable. I've read other gay romance books with these same characters: main character #1, who is ashamed of being queer, and main character #2, who is out and proud and reverts to be with main character #2, and then a small supporting cast that is "diverse", but not really because none of those characters actually matter to the plot or have any depth to them at all and only exist to advance the plot.
The dynamic of "closeted/ashamed" and "open/proud" characters is typically one of my favorite because I am an enjoyer of angst. I don't mind a slower build up to get to know the characters and their personalities and their dynamic together.
It's just that these characters were pretty flat, and I couldn't get invested at all. I thought that maybe things would improve, but by the last hundred pages, I was ready for this book to just be done. Like, Patrick meeting with his parents was just so boring. I didn't really have a reason to be invested in that interaction. It's not like Patrick was constantly worrying about his parents' reaction or was close to either of them or anything like that.
I also thought that the flashbacks to the 1950s were largely useless. What did those do for the narrative at all aside from clutter things up?
Also-- Not really a complaint (because I found it really funny), but this book was, by far, the best example of "author loves their thesaurus". Many instances of some uncommon word just being tossed in-- Each and every time, reading one of those words would yank me out of any kind of reading flow I had because none of the characters in this book would actually know and use these words.
The dynamic of "closeted/ashamed" and "open/proud" characters is typically one of my favorite because I am an enjoyer of angst. I don't mind a slower build up to get to know the characters and their personalities and their dynamic together.
It's just that these characters were pretty flat, and I couldn't get invested at all. I thought that maybe things would improve, but by the last hundred pages, I was ready for this book to just be done. Like, Patrick meeting with his parents was just so boring. I didn't really have a reason to be invested in that interaction. It's not like Patrick was constantly worrying about his parents' reaction or was close to either of them or anything like that.
I also thought that the flashbacks to the 1950s were largely useless. What did those do for the narrative at all aside from clutter things up?
Also-- Not really a complaint (because I found it really funny), but this book was, by far, the best example of "author loves their thesaurus". Many instances of some uncommon word just being tossed in-- Each and every time, reading one of those words would yank me out of any kind of reading flow I had because none of the characters in this book would actually know and use these words.
...any conversation happening on speakerphone was one she could invite herself to join without compunction.
Something inside Patrick tightened and ossified.
The gesture was so quotidian and yet so unexpected that it took him a moment to recognize...
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
DNF @ 25% - geez, it is just not a good day for m/m romance. this was... really bad. full of mildly offensive stereotypes, irritating cliches, and characters dryer than sawdust in the Sahara. i am honestly shocked that this was written by a gay man because it reads like it was written by a middle aged white woman who's never met a queer person in her life.
I really liked this one, with the dual timelines of today and the comic book creators in post WWII New York. The found family, realities of what it means to be queer today, and relationship between the 2 MCs all worked well for me.
finally marking this as dnf almost 5 or 6, maybe even 7 months since i last picked it up....
-------------------
review tbc maybe
-------------------
review tbc maybe
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was really fun with interesting characters. There's a whole collection of side characters that are also memorable and interesting. However, the third act breakup and resolution didn't land for me and is the main reason this wasn't a 5-star read. It doesn't completely come out of nowhere (something had to happen at the end of filming) but Patrick's behavior seemed really sudden and then the grovel was so unsatisfactory. Patrick said some really hurtful things and one "I'm sorry" just wasn't enough.
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated