Scan barcode
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
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
parasolcrafter's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Alcohol and Car accident
Minor: Terminal illness
melaniereadsbooks's review
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Thank you to Disney Hyperion and Netgalley for an arc of this book.
Dylan has always wanted a boyfriend, but he's into more than he bargained for when he meets the literally hot Jordan during his shift at Dairy Queen.
I was so disappointed by this one. I wanted to like it so much but I just couldn't find anything in it redeemable enough for more than a "meh." The main character is unlikable and misogynistic. He doesn't really have any redeemable qualities and his only personality trait is "want boyfriend now." The plot was okay but nothing special and I've seen similar plots done way better. I didn't care about the characters at all.
I also felt like this was too slow and just drug on. I wish I could have liked this, but it was incredibly mediocre.
Dylan has always wanted a boyfriend, but he's into more than he bargained for when he meets the literally hot Jordan during his shift at Dairy Queen.
I was so disappointed by this one. I wanted to like it so much but I just couldn't find anything in it redeemable enough for more than a "meh." The main character is unlikable and misogynistic. He doesn't really have any redeemable qualities and his only personality trait is "want boyfriend now." The plot was okay but nothing special and I've seen similar plots done way better. I didn't care about the characters at all.
I also felt like this was too slow and just drug on. I wish I could have liked this, but it was incredibly mediocre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Bullying
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Vomit
Minor: Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
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
criticalgayze's review
DNF @ 18%
Thank you to Disney-Hyperion for the chance to preview this title for review consideration.
My first qualm with the book was that we start mid-scene, which I will admit I have rarely been a fan of in literature. I think too many writers have studied at the feet of the David Mamet school of writing that in medias res is the best place to start. In plays, this may pay off, but I think it is more off putting in a novel where we are receiving most of our understanding from the interior 0f a character and descriptions.
Then we are hit with dated stereotypes of cheerleaders and gay boys as ditzy airheads who don't achieve well in school because either they are not smart or they do not care. If we are attempting to expand the base of kids who read, I think we should (and mostly have) move past the point where we say certain types of people are not/do not want to be smart.
But what really has led me to the decision to DNF the title is that the book is scattered. I do not see the problem other negative reviews have pointed to that the first half of the book is slow. Instead, I struggle with the fact that this is a propulsive read, but I am 18% in with little understanding of how the rest of the plot will progress. If it were just a novel shrouded in page-turning mystery, that would be fine, but The Temperature of Me and You seems to just be woefully unedited to provide structure and to eliminate the more vapid early narrative choices of a debut author.
Thank you to Disney-Hyperion for the chance to preview this title for review consideration.
My first qualm with the book was that we start mid-scene, which I will admit I have rarely been a fan of in literature. I think too many writers have studied at the feet of the David Mamet school of writing that in medias res is the best place to start. In plays, this may pay off, but I think it is more off putting in a novel where we are receiving most of our understanding from the interior 0f a character and descriptions.
Then we are hit with dated stereotypes of cheerleaders and gay boys as ditzy airheads who don't achieve well in school because either they are not smart or they do not care. If we are attempting to expand the base of kids who read, I think we should (and mostly have) move past the point where we say certain types of people are not/do not want to be smart.
But what really has led me to the decision to DNF the title is that the book is scattered. I do not see the problem other negative reviews have pointed to that the first half of the book is slow. Instead, I struggle with the fact that this is a propulsive read, but I am 18% in with little understanding of how the rest of the plot will progress. If it were just a novel shrouded in page-turning mystery, that would be fine, but The Temperature of Me and You seems to just be woefully unedited to provide structure and to eliminate the more vapid early narrative choices of a debut author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Homophobia
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
foreverinastory's review
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This was a hot ass mess. Pun intended. I might lower my rating bc this became such a damn chore to read.
The Temperature of Me & You is about two young boys navigating high school, crushes and fire powers. Unfortunately for Dylan, Jordan seems interesting until he explodes his ice cream cup can then literally burns Dylan within minutes of meeting. Dylan needs to know what happened, but he doesn't know how to contact Jordan. The two eventually connect again and they try to figure out how Jordan's power works.
I really wanted to like this but when we start out by lightly stalking a love interest, the red flags go up. I could not deal with Dylan. He just seemed so disconnected from reality. As the book goes on, the plans he hatch just got increasingly more ridiculous. I really considered DNFing this book because I was so annoyed/irritated. I don't know if this was a product of the writing, the characters, the plot or a combination of all three. there's also a Harry Potter reference in this and like I hate seeing those in books written by white cishet authors, but seeing it in a queer books that publishing in 2022?? You should know better.
I did really like Dylan's friendship with Kirsten and Perry. I loved those two girls. I loved how much they were there for Dylan and each other. Easily the best part of the book for me. I also loved the sapphic character who came in later even though she's done some pretty awful things.
All in all, this didn't work for me, but I would read the author's next book and see if it was just this book in particular.
Rep: white gay male MC, achillean male love interest, white lesbian female side character in a WLW relationship.
CWs: Underage alcohol consumption, bullying, fire/fire injury, homophobia/homomisia, kidnapping/attempted kidnapping, medical trauma/scientific experimentation without consent. Moderate: Car accident, death of parents, vomit. Harry Potter reference.
This was a hot ass mess. Pun intended. I might lower my rating bc this became such a damn chore to read.
The Temperature of Me & You is about two young boys navigating high school, crushes and fire powers. Unfortunately for Dylan, Jordan seems interesting until he explodes his ice cream cup can then literally burns Dylan within minutes of meeting. Dylan needs to know what happened, but he doesn't know how to contact Jordan. The two eventually connect again and they try to figure out how Jordan's power works.
I really wanted to like this but when we start out by lightly stalking a love interest, the red flags go up. I could not deal with Dylan. He just seemed so disconnected from reality. As the book goes on, the plans he hatch just got increasingly more ridiculous. I really considered DNFing this book because I was so annoyed/irritated. I don't know if this was a product of the writing, the characters, the plot or a combination of all three. there's also a Harry Potter reference in this and like I hate seeing those in books written by white cishet authors, but seeing it in a queer books that publishing in 2022?? You should know better.
I did really like Dylan's friendship with Kirsten and Perry. I loved those two girls. I loved how much they were there for Dylan and each other. Easily the best part of the book for me. I also loved the sapphic character who came in later even though she's done some pretty awful things.
All in all, this didn't work for me, but I would read the author's next book and see if it was just this book in particular.
Rep: white gay male MC, achillean male love interest, white lesbian female side character in a WLW relationship.
CWs: Underage alcohol consumption, bullying, fire/fire injury, homophobia/homomisia, kidnapping/attempted kidnapping, medical trauma/scientific experimentation without consent. Moderate: Car accident, death of parents, vomit. Harry Potter reference.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Vomit
eashani's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-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? It's complicated
2.0
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for this review
So. This was a book I read.
Normally in my reviews I like to talk about the plot, or the characters or *something* more interesting than whatever this book was.
I saw the cover and absolutely fell in love with it, because oh my god look at it. I read the first couple pages about hating chemistry and laughed because it was relatable. So tell me why it all went downhill from there???
The only part I only remotely liked about this whole book was the parents. Which is surprising considering they don't even get talked about a lot. I liked how Zepka made them supportive of Dylan's sexuality which isn't super common in queer books. They might be the only reason the book didn't get a 1 star review.
Now for the things I disliked:
#1. There was absolutely no chemistry between Dylan and Jordan. None. Zilch. Nada. I could replace either of them with cardboard cutouts and no one would notice.
#2. The plot. Where is it. There was this really cool concept about superpowers and sci-fi and shady companies and somehow the author made it all really bland. The whole book was just boring.
#3. Side characters. I honestly cannot even remember their names. They were entirely forgettable, seemed to solely exist for Dylan, had no personalities.
#4. The writing. Now generally, I don't like to mention author's writing styles because everyone has unique styles and what might appeal to me wouldn't necessarily appeal to anyone else. Except for the first 70 or so pages, there are the most stunted sentences I have ever read. The conversations are lifeless, and the characters seem to just be there for the sake of being there.
#4.5. Adding onto the writing, the whole book felt like it was a first draft. I think if had been edited a lot more, with more life added onto the characters, maybe it could've been great, but eh.
I honestly could go on about parts I didn't like (seriously, there were so many.) but for the sake of my own sanity, I will restrain.
I will say though, I understand this is a debut novel, and the author was bound to not be at their best. If they do publish any more novels I would be interested in reading those to see if they're any better.
So. This was a book I read.
Normally in my reviews I like to talk about the plot, or the characters or *something* more interesting than whatever this book was.
I saw the cover and absolutely fell in love with it, because oh my god look at it. I read the first couple pages about hating chemistry and laughed because it was relatable. So tell me why it all went downhill from there???
The only part I only remotely liked about this whole book was the parents. Which is surprising considering they don't even get talked about a lot. I liked how Zepka made them supportive of Dylan's sexuality which isn't super common in queer books. They might be the only reason the book didn't get a 1 star review.
Now for the things I disliked:
#1. There was absolutely no chemistry between Dylan and Jordan. None. Zilch. Nada. I could replace either of them with cardboard cutouts and no one would notice.
#2. The plot. Where is it. There was this really cool concept about superpowers and sci-fi and shady companies and somehow the author made it all really bland. The whole book was just boring.
#3. Side characters. I honestly cannot even remember their names. They were entirely forgettable, seemed to solely exist for Dylan, had no personalities.
#4. The writing. Now generally, I don't like to mention author's writing styles because everyone has unique styles and what might appeal to me wouldn't necessarily appeal to anyone else. Except for the first 70 or so pages, there are the most stunted sentences I have ever read. The conversations are lifeless, and the characters seem to just be there for the sake of being there.
#4.5. Adding onto the writing, the whole book felt like it was a first draft. I think if had been edited a lot more, with more life added onto the characters, maybe it could've been great, but eh.
I honestly could go on about parts I didn't like (seriously, there were so many.) but for the sake of my own sanity, I will restrain.
I will say though, I understand this is a debut novel, and the author was bound to not be at their best. If they do publish any more novels I would be interested in reading those to see if they're any better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident
More...