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aus10england's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Another great book by Adib! I went in with pretty high expectations, considering how strong their first two books were, and for the most part I was satisfied. I think that the book is in its prime in the first half, as we get to see the boys on tour, and the drama that ensues. I appreciate that the main character is allow to be a #messygay, and I feel was realistically portrayed for somebody in that position. I also HEAVILY enjoyed the bits between chapters, (email exchanges between managers, text messages, tabloid articles, etc.) they really added to the story, and contextualized the fame of the characters involved. Where the book fell flat for me was the romance elements, I just didn’t buy the attraction and the actions that transpired. It is successful in the sense that it is VERY melodramatic. If you enjoy boy bands, flawed characters, and Canadian culture references, I would highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming, Outing, Alcohol, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
foreverinastory's review
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
4.5/5
This was really great! I feel like it could've been longer to really explore some of the discussions presented. Kiss & Tell follows the incredibly popular boy band "Kiss & Tell" and Hunter Drake, the only gay member in the band. Hunter has been an icon for queer youth everywhere, but after his breakup with his boyfriend and texts are leaked, his image is put into question. Hunter never wanted to be the Label's perfect queer kid, but navigating the line between keeping the Label appeased and being himself is hard enough without thousands of fans and parents talking about his actions like they know him.
Then there's Kaivan, the drummer of PAR-K, the opener for Kiss & Tell on their North American tour. Hunter and Kaivan start a flirty friendship when Kaivan comes out to him. Hunter thinks this could develop into something romantic, but when the Label gets involved, Hunter doesn't know what to do.
This was such a great story about the pressure of being in the spotlight and how that affects people. Hunter is a white cis gay boy and he has a lot of privilege. It was very interesting to see all the things he dealt with and how he centers himself. Three members of Kiss & Tell are BIPOC, but when Hunter finally talks to them, he realizes that he's not the only one dealing with stereotypes and microaggressions. Hunter is a bit selfish and closed off in the beginning of this, but we see him start to come out of his shell and begin to listen. I wish this book was longer so we could've seen more action from Hunter as he comes to all these realizations.
I do wish Hunter had taken a bigger role in educating himself. Maybe it's because he's Canadian, but I think it stems more from being white. But Hunter is constantly educated by the people of color in his life and I can't imagine how tiring that was for them. I do like that by the end he's finally more receptive to what their saying and how racism is different from queermisia, but is still just as damaging.
I did like Hunter's character. He's only a teenager and he doesn't have everything figured out. Plus with private texts leaked by his ex, he's dealing with a lot. His image and reputation are in question and Hunter doesn't know how to navigate this, especially as a gay boy. The Label wants him to become more of a femme/twink persona even though that's not him. He spends a lot of time internally debating how to navigate this and what he should do.
I really enjoyed Hunter and Kaivan's friendship/relationship. Kaivan was so cute and I wanted more of him. The past interviews with him definitely made me worried. I liked how he did eventually talk to Hunter about all of it. There was so much interesting presence about heteronormativity, and toxic masculinity. We do get some discussions of it and I was glad for that. I would've loved more, but ultimately, I really enjoyed this book.
Last thing I'll say is that this cover is RUDE and screams pansexual vibes and then there was no pan characters and I was sad. Oh well :(
Rep: white Canadian gay cis male MC, Iranian-American gay cis male side character, white Canadian gay cis male side character, white Canadian cishet male side character, Vietnamese-Canadian cishet male side character, Brazilian-Canadian cishet male side character, Indian-Canadian cishet male side character, Black queer nonbinary drag monarch side character, white American gay cis male side character, various queer & BIPOC side characters briefly mentioned.
CWs: Body shaming, slut shaming, homophobia/homomisia, racism, sexual harassment. Moderate: alcohol consumption, sexual harassment, sexual assault, outing, consensual sexual content, grief, past death of parent. Minor: Car accident.
4.5/5
This was really great! I feel like it could've been longer to really explore some of the discussions presented. Kiss & Tell follows the incredibly popular boy band "Kiss & Tell" and Hunter Drake, the only gay member in the band. Hunter has been an icon for queer youth everywhere, but after his breakup with his boyfriend and texts are leaked, his image is put into question. Hunter never wanted to be the Label's perfect queer kid, but navigating the line between keeping the Label appeased and being himself is hard enough without thousands of fans and parents talking about his actions like they know him.
Then there's Kaivan, the drummer of PAR-K, the opener for Kiss & Tell on their North American tour. Hunter and Kaivan start a flirty friendship when Kaivan comes out to him. Hunter thinks this could develop into something romantic, but when the Label gets involved, Hunter doesn't know what to do.
This was such a great story about the pressure of being in the spotlight and how that affects people. Hunter is a white cis gay boy and he has a lot of privilege. It was very interesting to see all the things he dealt with and how he centers himself. Three members of Kiss & Tell are BIPOC, but when Hunter finally talks to them, he realizes that he's not the only one dealing with stereotypes and microaggressions. Hunter is a bit selfish and closed off in the beginning of this, but we see him start to come out of his shell and begin to listen. I wish this book was longer so we could've seen more action from Hunter as he comes to all these realizations.
I do wish Hunter had taken a bigger role in educating himself. Maybe it's because he's Canadian, but I think it stems more from being white. But Hunter is constantly educated by the people of color in his life and I can't imagine how tiring that was for them. I do like that by the end he's finally more receptive to what their saying and how racism is different from queermisia, but is still just as damaging.
I did like Hunter's character. He's only a teenager and he doesn't have everything figured out. Plus with private texts leaked by his ex, he's dealing with a lot. His image and reputation are in question and Hunter doesn't know how to navigate this, especially as a gay boy. The Label wants him to become more of a femme/twink persona even though that's not him. He spends a lot of time internally debating how to navigate this and what he should do.
I really enjoyed Hunter and Kaivan's friendship/relationship. Kaivan was so cute and I wanted more of him. The past interviews with him definitely made me worried. I liked how he did eventually talk to Hunter about all of it. There was so much interesting presence about heteronormativity, and toxic masculinity. We do get some discussions of it and I was glad for that. I would've loved more, but ultimately, I really enjoyed this book.
Last thing I'll say is that this cover is RUDE and screams pansexual vibes and then there was no pan characters and I was sad. Oh well :(
Rep: white Canadian gay cis male MC, Iranian-American gay cis male side character, white Canadian gay cis male side character, white Canadian cishet male side character, Vietnamese-Canadian cishet male side character, Brazilian-Canadian cishet male side character, Indian-Canadian cishet male side character, Black queer nonbinary drag monarch side character, white American gay cis male side character, various queer & BIPOC side characters briefly mentioned.
CWs: Body shaming, slut shaming, homophobia/homomisia, racism, sexual harassment. Moderate: alcohol consumption, sexual harassment, sexual assault, outing, consensual sexual content, grief, past death of parent. Minor: Car accident.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Grief, Outing, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for an arc of this one.
Hunter is the only queer person in his boyband, and he is feeling the effects. After a messy breakup with his ex of 2 years--also a bandmate's twin brother--Hunter's sexts get leaked and his public persona is entirely changed. Hunter has to change everything about who he is for the public to keep the label and the fans happy, but he has had enough.
This book had my entire heart for....almost all of it. I was so immersed and reading this so fast because I loved it so much. Hunter is a great character and I loved watching him grow. A lot of his struggles made me so frustrated because of the way queer people are always treated. But it was all really important stuff.
I also really enjoyed the focus on having queer friends and how different it is when you are with cishet people all the time. I felt that!
The only thing that really frustrated me with this book is that I felt like nothing was resolve regarding the slut-shaming that Hunter went through. There was a little about it but...apologies needed to be made, and they weren't, and I felt like frustrations were redirected and then it was just swept under the rug instead of really been taken account for. So that sucked.
But I loved the rest of it.
Pub Date: March 22, 2022
Hunter is the only queer person in his boyband, and he is feeling the effects. After a messy breakup with his ex of 2 years--also a bandmate's twin brother--Hunter's sexts get leaked and his public persona is entirely changed. Hunter has to change everything about who he is for the public to keep the label and the fans happy, but he has had enough.
This book had my entire heart for....almost all of it. I was so immersed and reading this so fast because I loved it so much. Hunter is a great character and I loved watching him grow. A lot of his struggles made me so frustrated because of the way queer people are always treated. But it was all really important stuff.
I also really enjoyed the focus on having queer friends and how different it is when you are with cishet people all the time. I felt that!
The only thing that really frustrated me with this book is that I felt like nothing was resolve regarding the slut-shaming that Hunter went through. There was a little about it but...apologies needed to be made, and they weren't, and I felt like frustrations were redirected and then it was just swept under the rug instead of really been taken account for. So that sucked.
But I loved the rest of it.
Pub Date: March 22, 2022
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Racism, Body shaming, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual assault
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