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owls_rainbow's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
sarahrichardsn's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
drakoulis's review
4.0
Nate Plus One is a cute YA romance, featuring a background of a teen band and South African heritage.
The romance itself is the highlight of the book, it's feel-good, sweet and swoony and will make you smile. The book is rather short, thus there isn't too much depth or too much drama, which has its pros and cons.
I liked the flair of South Africa by the means of Nate's grandma, on the other side I feel that the plotline with the uncle was left underutilized, I'd like a more firm resolution there, and a bit more depth in the band-related plotline.
The final song the boys wrote ("Run To You") looks quite good in rhyme, it is something band-related books usually struggle with, so kudos to Kevin van Whye.
The book is an easy, pleasant read !
The romance itself is the highlight of the book, it's feel-good, sweet and swoony and will make you smile. The book is rather short, thus there isn't too much depth or too much drama, which has its pros and cons.
I liked the flair of South Africa by the means of Nate's grandma, on the other side I feel that the plotline with the uncle was left underutilized, I'd like a more firm resolution there, and a bit more depth in the band-related plotline.
The final song the boys wrote ("Run To You") looks quite good in rhyme, it is something band-related books usually struggle with, so kudos to Kevin van Whye.
The book is an easy, pleasant read !
epatrickmaddox's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
jrv45's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
beesneysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
3.5
Okay, I need to be so clear that this book was genuinely written well, and up until about 75% in, i was sure it would be a solid 4 star read. The reason it’s not is nothing to do with the writing itself, but the tropes being used. The more I thought about it, the more I got frustrated.
Before I explain why, I’m going to talk about how much I liked it! I went through a phase where I was really interested in South African culture, so it was nice to revisit that. The family aspect, the band aspect, the cultural aspect… they all were so well put together.
But, I do want to mention the points I didn’t like. For one, there was SO many clashing plots going on and that was a bit frustrating to follow. I feel like so many of the storylines were limited because there were so many. I also got frustrated with the “kissed his ex in front of his new boyfriend” trope. I’m so not a fan of cheating tropes, and I feel like there were SO many things that could’ve been a source of conflict that didn’t involve this trope. It’s so overdone. Add in the miscommunication and you having a cliche trope. And THEN, just when I get over how annoyed I was, there was an OPEN ENDING. the author spent the whole book talking about this battle of the bands competition, making me HATE the other band and the old lead singer for ditching them JUST TO NOT TELL ME IF THEY WON? I read to escape thinking, so a book making me think was not what I wanted.
Overall, I did like the characters, the setting, and the relationship. I just wish the last 25% was different.
Before I explain why, I’m going to talk about how much I liked it! I went through a phase where I was really interested in South African culture, so it was nice to revisit that. The family aspect, the band aspect, the cultural aspect… they all were so well put together.
But, I do want to mention the points I didn’t like. For one, there was SO many clashing plots going on and that was a bit frustrating to follow. I feel like so many of the storylines were limited because there were so many. I also got frustrated with the “kissed his ex in front of his new boyfriend” trope. I’m so not a fan of cheating tropes, and I feel like there were SO many things that could’ve been a source of conflict that didn’t involve this trope. It’s so overdone. Add in the miscommunication and you having a cliche trope. And THEN, just when I get over how annoyed I was, there was an OPEN ENDING. the author spent the whole book talking about this battle of the bands competition, making me HATE the other band and the old lead singer for ditching them JUST TO NOT TELL ME IF THEY WON? I read to escape thinking, so a book making me think was not what I wanted.
Overall, I did like the characters, the setting, and the relationship. I just wish the last 25% was different.
netslummer's review against another edition
4.0
Nate Plus One is a very cute medium-burn, friends-to-lovers, secret-mutual-crushes, omg-my-ex-will-be-at-this-destination-wedding-please-come-with-me, everyone-can-see-we-are-both-into-each-other-but-we-can't-see-it mm romance.
Nate and Jai are friends. Nate agrees to join Jai's band Infinite Sorrow for a battle of the bands competition in a few weeks when the lead singer defects to a new band and steals Infinite Sorrow's new song. In turn when Nate's mom can't come along to a two week trip to South Africa for a family wedding that Nate's exboyfriend Tommy will be attending, Jai tags along (also because the boys are both obviously into each other). Cuteness ensues. Exboyfriend drama ensues. Grand gestures ensue.
But more than that it was actually super cool to get a cultural and less-America-centric history lesson of South Africa in this book. I didn't expect a history lesson and an adorable romance. I'd recommend this book for sure.
Nate and Jai are friends. Nate agrees to join Jai's band Infinite Sorrow for a battle of the bands competition in a few weeks when the lead singer defects to a new band and steals Infinite Sorrow's new song. In turn when Nate's mom can't come along to a two week trip to South Africa for a family wedding that Nate's exboyfriend Tommy will be attending, Jai tags along (also because the boys are both obviously into each other). Cuteness ensues. Exboyfriend drama ensues. Grand gestures ensue.
But more than that it was actually super cool to get a cultural and less-America-centric history lesson of South Africa in this book. I didn't expect a history lesson and an adorable romance. I'd recommend this book for sure.
skittlesnz's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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
5.0
Theres all this emotion...
Such a great read, this book. Nate and Jai both have problems that the other can fix. Nate needs someone to go to South Africa for a wedding with him and Jai needs a Singer for his band. Good thing they are both really good friends with each other and can help a buddy out right? Of course, nothing is as ever that simple and romance, drama and unfortunately homophobia, abound. Definitely a good read that was a little different for me.
kiriikiri's review against another edition
Not a dnf, will not ever read.
Kevin van Whye's book Date Me, Bryson Keller is a plagiarized work of the BL manga Seven Days by mangaka Venio Tachibana.
https://strokingfire.wordpress.com/2021/02/09/book-review-date-me-bryson-keller-by-kevin-van-whye/
https://web.archive.org/web/20221219163018/https://strokingfire.wordpress.com/2021/02/09/book-review-date-me-bryson-keller-by-kevin-van-whye/
Kevin van Whye's book Date Me, Bryson Keller is a plagiarized work of the BL manga Seven Days by mangaka Venio Tachibana.
https://strokingfire.wordpress.com/2021/02/09/book-review-date-me-bryson-keller-by-kevin-van-whye/
https://web.archive.org/web/20221219163018/https://strokingfire.wordpress.com/2021/02/09/book-review-date-me-bryson-keller-by-kevin-van-whye/