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pitabread's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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? No
4.5
THE QUEER JOY!!!
That’s it. That’s my review.
That’s it. That’s my review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Car accident
cindymarieo's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
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? No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Grief, Antisemitism, Car accident, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Transphobia
hannahmayhere's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Biphobia, Blood, Death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Vomit
Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Police brutality
Mentions of AIDS crisismissbreathing's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.0
This was so cute!
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I liked so many things about this one. The characters were all amazing! I found August very relatable and Jane so lovable. All of the secondary characters were fully-realized and fun to follow. I want to live with the gang above the Popeye’s SO badly!
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The pacing dragged a bit, especially in the beginning. It makes sense, though, considering the logistics of Jane’s situation take a while to establish. Once it picked up, the romance was cute and sweet and a joy to follow. I also loved the ending: it was sweet and hopeful.
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‼️ MILD SPOILER: “kissing for research” is my new favorite trope. Thanks, Jane and August! ‼️
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My favorite thing about this book is how it celebrates LGBTQIA+ identities. Nobody is straight, and I love it! On a more serious note, though, McQuiston does a beautiful job of portraying LGBTQIA+ characters lovingly and with pride. They remind us that Pride was hard-earned, and we catch a glimpse of the sacrifices the LGBTQIA+ communities of the past made for those living today. McQuiston manages to sound genuinely hopeful for the future while reminding us that this world is still not as accepting as it needs to be.
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I liked so many things about this one. The characters were all amazing! I found August very relatable and Jane so lovable. All of the secondary characters were fully-realized and fun to follow. I want to live with the gang above the Popeye’s SO badly!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The pacing dragged a bit, especially in the beginning. It makes sense, though, considering the logistics of Jane’s situation take a while to establish. Once it picked up, the romance was cute and sweet and a joy to follow. I also loved the ending: it was sweet and hopeful.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
‼️ MILD SPOILER: “kissing for research” is my new favorite trope. Thanks, Jane and August! ‼️
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
My favorite thing about this book is how it celebrates LGBTQIA+ identities. Nobody is straight, and I love it! On a more serious note, though, McQuiston does a beautiful job of portraying LGBTQIA+ characters lovingly and with pride. They remind us that Pride was hard-earned, and we catch a glimpse of the sacrifices the LGBTQIA+ communities of the past made for those living today. McQuiston manages to sound genuinely hopeful for the future while reminding us that this world is still not as accepting as it needs to be.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, and Homophobia
lastingliterature's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book wasn’t what I was expecting… But that is probably because I didn’t read the full description and was thoroughly confused when August was trying to discover if Jane was dead or not. Whoops.
The story centers on August, who moves to New York to get a break from her mom and figure out what is she supposed to be doing with her life. Within the first couple of days, she has found friendship in her quirky roommates and has developed a crush on “Subway Girl,” the cute girl who always seems to be riding the same train. Like, always...
August wasn’t my favorite protagonist, but I did enjoy her. I liked the backstory of her being somewhat of a child spy and how far she is willing to go to help her friends and loved ones. I wish she had a little bit more sass or something to her—she just felt a bit bland at times. Jane, her love interest, was definitely her opposite in that regard! She is extremely confident, charismatic, and magnetic. I could definitely feel their connection.
The storyline is a little drawn out, in my opinion. The book is over 400 pages and with the main problems being Jane trying to remember her memories, it was rather slow. I kept waiting for something to happen and take a turn. However, the word “warmth” does come to mind when I think of this story. It’s not fast-paced and isn’t the steamiest—instead, it’s a good slow burn. It’s comforting, it’s nice, it leaves you feeling content. If I knew it would be this type of story in advance, I probably would have loved it more.
I absolutely adored Red, White, & Royal Blue, and this one just doesn’t live up to it (that is a hard level to reach twice!). I am most definitely a Casey McQuiston fan, though, so I will continue to look out for more of her books!
Thanks to the publisher for this ARC!
The story centers on August, who moves to New York to get a break from her mom and figure out what is she supposed to be doing with her life. Within the first couple of days, she has found friendship in her quirky roommates and has developed a crush on “Subway Girl,” the cute girl who always seems to be riding the same train. Like, always...
August wasn’t my favorite protagonist, but I did enjoy her. I liked the backstory of her being somewhat of a child spy and how far she is willing to go to help her friends and loved ones. I wish she had a little bit more sass or something to her—she just felt a bit bland at times. Jane, her love interest, was definitely her opposite in that regard! She is extremely confident, charismatic, and magnetic. I could definitely feel their connection.
The storyline is a little drawn out, in my opinion. The book is over 400 pages and with the main problems being Jane trying to remember her memories, it was rather slow. I kept waiting for something to happen and take a turn. However, the word “warmth” does come to mind when I think of this story. It’s not fast-paced and isn’t the steamiest—instead, it’s a good slow burn. It’s comforting, it’s nice, it leaves you feeling content. If I knew it would be this type of story in advance, I probably would have loved it more.
I absolutely adored Red, White, & Royal Blue, and this one just doesn’t live up to it (that is a hard level to reach twice!). I am most definitely a Casey McQuiston fan, though, so I will continue to look out for more of her books!
Thanks to the publisher for this ARC!
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Sexual content
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