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12dejamoo's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
2.5*
Middle of the road book. I think I probably went into this expecting something different but maybe that's on me (or maybe it's on the blurb??). Anyway, it was less ~~romance~~ and more superheroes with a side of romance. Which is fine just different.
I liked lots of parts of this book - the concept is cool and the side characters were all great. I won't deny it was gripping at points.
However, it also felt like it dragged at other points. I think Dylan fell for Jordan too quickly (although with the focus on the superhero plotline maybe it was appropriate), and I think some of the scenes felt a little lacklustre. There were a lot of moments when action happened and suddenly a character was somewhere else and I had a hard time finding the moment when it had happened. Also a lot of times where things happened a little awkwardly.
A small point but there were lots of little bits that sat weirdly with me. For instance, Dylan's mum tells him he's grounded, and then a little while later he talks to her on the phone and says 'I'm pretty sure I'm grounded' and then later he says his parents don't believe in grounding their children and then later still his mum tells him he's grounded. And I'm left wondering how all those instances co-exist. And the powers are also a little unclear. I know this isn't high fantasy and it doesn't need to be explained in excrutiating detail, but I did think there were inconsistencies throughout which were kind of frustrating.
This sentiment also applies to the way Dylan interacted with people in this book. I have no idea what happened with Darlene there in the corridor - one of those moments where I can't place what exactly has transpired and suddenly he's sitting on the floor and she's shouting. Ngl I think he was fair enough to be annoyed that she wants him to join the GSA as the 'token gay', but for some reason she's now scared and/or angry with him to the point of outright shouting at him. And Savanna's earlier interactions also seemed caricaturish. I did love her later but some of her angry scenes were really awkward. And then why does Dylan insist on running after everyone all the time. The boy DOES NOT know when to take a hint. And yes, okay, maybe I'm weirded by it because I wouldn't do that but also there are so many times where someone runs away from him and he just follows them for ages without any signs of stopping.
Overall, it was a good enough time but I'm kind of glad it's over.
Middle of the road book. I think I probably went into this expecting something different but maybe that's on me (or maybe it's on the blurb??). Anyway, it was less ~~romance~~ and more superheroes with a side of romance. Which is fine just different.
I liked lots of parts of this book - the concept is cool and the side characters were all great. I won't deny it was gripping at points.
However, it also felt like it dragged at other points. I think Dylan fell for Jordan too quickly (although with the focus on the superhero plotline maybe it was appropriate), and I think some of the scenes felt a little lacklustre. There were a lot of moments when action happened and suddenly a character was somewhere else and I had a hard time finding the moment when it had happened. Also a lot of times where things happened a little awkwardly.
A small point but there were lots of little bits that sat weirdly with me. For instance, Dylan's mum tells him he's grounded, and then a little while later he talks to her on the phone and says 'I'm pretty sure I'm grounded' and then later he says his parents don't believe in grounding their children and then later still his mum tells him he's grounded. And I'm left wondering how all those instances co-exist. And the powers are also a little unclear. I know this isn't high fantasy and it doesn't need to be explained in excrutiating detail, but I did think there were inconsistencies throughout which were kind of frustrating.
This sentiment also applies to the way Dylan interacted with people in this book. I have no idea what happened with Darlene there in the corridor - one of those moments where I can't place what exactly has transpired and suddenly he's sitting on the floor and she's shouting. Ngl I think he was fair enough to be annoyed that she wants him to join the GSA as the 'token gay', but for some reason she's now scared and/or angry with him to the point of outright shouting at him. And Savanna's earlier interactions also seemed caricaturish. I did love her later but some of her angry scenes were really awkward. And then why does Dylan insist on running after everyone all the time. The boy DOES NOT know when to take a hint. And yes, okay, maybe I'm weirded by it because I wouldn't do that but also there are so many times where someone runs away from him and he just follows them for ages without any signs of stopping.
Overall, it was a good enough time but I'm kind of glad it's over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Car accident, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content
mengzhenreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
2.5
I really loved the concept behind this book, but really felt like it didn't deliver much. The high school setting was almost cartoonish, the beginning half was such a slog, and I felt like the ending of the book was really rushed, especially with the plot with HyrdoPro and that whole situation.
This definitely reads more younger, and I think I was expecting it to be more sophisticated than it actually was, which is partly my fault so that's fair. I would've lost my mind over this book if I was in middle school, but right now it isn't my cup of tea.
But, I do think that this really does have potential to be a really fire (pun intended) tv show so I'm gonna keep an eye out for that.
This definitely reads more younger, and I think I was expecting it to be more sophisticated than it actually was, which is partly my fault so that's fair. I would've lost my mind over this book if I was in middle school, but right now it isn't my cup of tea.
But, I do think that this really does have potential to be a really fire (pun intended) tv show so I'm gonna keep an eye out for that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
thebookpaiges's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Stalking, Suicide, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Gun violence
Minor: Homophobia
nellienelson's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Okay so I just finished reading this book and in my opinion it’s a bit ‘WattPad’-ish. I love the queer representation and it’s a well-written book, but it’s a bit unrealistic how quickly they catch and confess their feelings. The pacing was off, too. The beginning of the book took long, and then the plot where it was building up to happened in maybe five chapters at the end of the book and that was all.
They also don’t really go through a lot of character development during the book and the characters seem a bit flat in my opinion.
Aside from that, I really did love the book. It was an easy, light-hearted read with queer representation and some sweet scenes.
If you’re in need of something light-hearted, I’d definitely recommend it!
They also don’t really go through a lot of character development during the book and the characters seem a bit flat in my opinion.
Aside from that, I really did love the book. It was an easy, light-hearted read with queer representation and some sweet scenes.
If you’re in need of something light-hearted, I’d definitely recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcohol and Homophobia
Minor: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Suicide
sirpancakes's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, and Homophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
pey333's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit and Suicidal thoughts
naomidanae's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping
tepidgirlsummer's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This is a review of an ARC from Edelweiss.
First of all, can we acknowledge that fantastic cover art? I am obsessed with the cover art.
The premise of this book is cute: Boy meets new boy in town. Boy 2 (Jordan) has Secrets™, which Boy 1 (Dylan) accidentally finds out about (in this case, that his average temperature is 110℉ and sometimes he accidentally/on purpose sets stuff on fire). Dylan suddenly finds himself going through changes; keeping secrets from his family and his best friends, Perry and Kirsten; trying to solve a mystery; and dealing with a homophobic bully while experiencing the agony and ecstasy of falling in love for the first time. Phew! That’s a lot of balls in the air!
And it is a lot of balls in the air, truly, which I think is why this book ultimately didn’t do it for me. It clocks at 415 pages, so there’s a lot of room for a lot of things to happen, and part of the problem (for me) is that things just keep happening, with little to no resolution before more things happen. For example, Dylan is keeping these massive secrets from his parents and sister. Periodically, his family pops in to be concerned and/or disappointed. I kept expecting things to come to a head with that, but each time the conflict abruptly ended and most of the time wasn’t addressed again. Why keep inserting these half conflicts? Why not spend more time focusing on the Big Mystery portion? Or even examining the conflict between Dylan and his friends when he starts acting secretive and distant?
It took me a while to finish reading due to life stuff, so it’s admittedly hard for me to accurately judge the pacing of the novel. But the sense I got as I read was that things were scattered and moved slowly until around the last fifth of the book. Suddenly, there were plot twists and people being sneaky and relationships being tested and secrets being revealed. And then it ended.
I didn’t feel much of a connection to any of the characters and I’m generally a character-driven story kinda gal, and some parts were a little cheesy. BUT. I marked a lot of pages where a lot of cute things happened. I love cute things. Give me all of the “oh my god, I just touched their hand with my hand, now what do I do?!” moments, please. I will also take all of the tender gestures. The overall awkwardness of hanging out with someone you’re into and stressing about whether they’re into you back, of going on a first date, kissing for the first time, etc., was captured well. There were also a few times when Dylan had teenager-y epiphanies about love and relationships—not just his romantic relationship with Jordan, but his relationships with his best friends and peers in general.
I think this is a good book for anyone who wants a YA book that’s light, low-conflict, more about plot development than character development, and generally pretty wholesome. It’s got some mystery, some sci-fi, some romance, and just a dash of teen angst. (I say “just a dash” because for the most part I think the angst is very much warranted, given the situations the characters find themselves in.) Overall, not something I’ll run to buy immediately but I will probably read it again.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts
betweentheshelves's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for an advanced copy of this to review! It has all the elements that I love in my stories. Romance, superpowers, great friendships. Usually, this is a winning combination. However, parts of this book fell a little flat for me.
After a bit of a slow start, the book does start to pick up pace wise about halfway through. There are some great action sequences included, and I will admit that Dylan and Jordan have some good chemistry. It is a bit on the instant love side, which isn't my favorite trope. But given Jordan's life situation, it does make sense.
Overall, the plot feels a bit all over the place. The pacing for most of the book feels off, stretching out scenes that don't need to be and skipping some important information. Some of the world building could have been done a bit better. I think this is partly becuase there is focus on details throughout that weren't important to the structure of the world. I'm left with so many questions and not a lot of answers.
At times, it does seem like Dylan and Jordan are moving a bit quickly in their relationship. However, it does make sense in the context of the overall story. They are teenagers, after all. Some teenagers like to move quickly. Most of the characters in the book also felt a little underdeveloped, especially the side characters. They felt one dimensional and I just wanted more from them.
All in all, while I loved the idea behind the story, the writing didn't quite live up to my expectations. But, if you're looking for a gay superhero romance, you'll definitely find it in this book! If you like things like The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune, you will still enjoy this story.
----
Mixed feelings about this one! I liked the story, but some of the writing wasn't quite where I wanted it to be. Stay tuned for a full review to come soon!
After a bit of a slow start, the book does start to pick up pace wise about halfway through. There are some great action sequences included, and I will admit that Dylan and Jordan have some good chemistry. It is a bit on the instant love side, which isn't my favorite trope. But given Jordan's life situation, it does make sense.
Overall, the plot feels a bit all over the place. The pacing for most of the book feels off, stretching out scenes that don't need to be and skipping some important information. Some of the world building could have been done a bit better. I think this is partly becuase there is focus on details throughout that weren't important to the structure of the world. I'm left with so many questions and not a lot of answers.
At times, it does seem like Dylan and Jordan are moving a bit quickly in their relationship. However, it does make sense in the context of the overall story. They are teenagers, after all. Some teenagers like to move quickly. Most of the characters in the book also felt a little underdeveloped, especially the side characters. They felt one dimensional and I just wanted more from them.
All in all, while I loved the idea behind the story, the writing didn't quite live up to my expectations. But, if you're looking for a gay superhero romance, you'll definitely find it in this book! If you like things like The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune, you will still enjoy this story.
----
Mixed feelings about this one! I liked the story, but some of the writing wasn't quite where I wanted it to be. Stay tuned for a full review to come soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Vomit
Minor: Alcohol and Suicidal thoughts
krin's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
I think this would be a great book for a younger person to read - maybe late middle school/early high school?
I think this was an excellent effort for a debut novel. The dialogue was great and I loved Dylan's voice from the first-person POV - he's funny and sweet. It's a great story of friendships (and family, more near the beginning).
The romance part of the story was a bit lacking - it's sweet and has a very cute ending but it's lacking substance. Which is fine, they're teenagers. Similarly, there is a lot left unexplained about the powers. It's not too difficult to suspend your disbelief but it's hard to forget that you need to do it.
A few content considerations: teenagers drinking alcohol, some low-key fatphobia and while maybe it's not bullying exactly, there is a lot of . . . mean-spiritedness. The book could also have done with a sharper round of editing - there were some slightly awkward turns of phrase and a couple of inconsistencies. But it didn't take away too much from the book.
Overall though, it was a good story and I'd be interested to see what the author turns out next.
I received a digital Advanced Review Copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I think this was an excellent effort for a debut novel. The dialogue was great and I loved Dylan's voice from the first-person POV - he's funny and sweet. It's a great story of friendships (and family, more near the beginning).
The romance part of the story was a bit lacking - it's sweet and has a very cute ending but it's lacking substance. Which is fine, they're teenagers. Similarly, there is a lot left unexplained about the powers. It's not too difficult to suspend your disbelief but it's hard to forget that you need to do it.
A few content considerations: teenagers drinking alcohol, some low-key fatphobia and while maybe it's not bullying exactly, there is a lot of . . . mean-spiritedness. The book could also have done with a sharper round of editing - there were some slightly awkward turns of phrase and a couple of inconsistencies. But it didn't take away too much from the book.
Overall though, it was a good story and I'd be interested to see what the author turns out next.
I received a digital Advanced Review Copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Fatphobia and Suicidal thoughts