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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I already had this on my TBR list so I was very excited when I got the chance to read it early. I wasn’t completely sure what to expect when reading this book but I think I had assumed it would be more fluff. I was pleasantly surprised by how dark and (likely) realistic the behind the scenes of the music and boy band world was described. I can’t even imagine having every little detail of my life be so controlled and calculated for public consumption. I also liked the exploration of how confusing it must be to be so famous that you doubt the intentions of those around you even when you want to trust them.
Overall, it turned out to be a darker and more realistic portrayal of what might happen in this kind of situation. It was still sweet but wasn’t overly saccharine.
Overall, it turned out to be a darker and more realistic portrayal of what might happen in this kind of situation. It was still sweet but wasn’t overly saccharine.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
tense
slow-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
It was just ok. My most despised trope is miscommunication, which this book had in abundance. The immaturity of the main characters aged 18-19 years old was evident.
The story could’ve easily been trimmed by 2-3 hours. The fact it took 5 hours into the plot for one character to reveal his feeling to another was ridiculous. I did appreciate the insight of the abuses of the recording industry towards their artists.
The story could’ve easily been trimmed by 2-3 hours. The fact it took 5 hours into the plot for one character to reveal his feeling to another was ridiculous. I did appreciate the insight of the abuses of the recording industry towards their artists.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
tense
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]
The first thing I want to say is don't read the summary before reading this book. The summary talks about the boys wanting to come out to the world as if that's the primary plot, but they don't even start dating until 160 pages in.
This book reminded me a lot of when I was hyperfixated on boy-bands and my whole world revolved around my ship and knowing as much information as I could about the boys. So reading this with that previous knowledge of how fans can hold a group of celebrities to weird tropes was very interesting.
[Spoilers]
[Spoilers]
[Spoilers]
[Spoilers]
Early on we learn of Rubens crush for Zach and how tightly controlled the boys are by their management. We also get a sense of who each of the boys really are, and get a crash course in Angels substance abuse. At this point, I was excited to read about how Ruben and Zach fall in love; especially with their impending European leg of the tour. However, my excitement dwindled to confusion and then frustration very quickly.
I was a little thrown off in chapter five when Angel said he was Asian and Jon made the comment about his dad possibly being racist even though he has a black wife. One, I had no idea until that chapter that Jon was supposed to be mixed and Angel Asian. I could have made a assumption with Angel's last name, but I didn't. So learning that 64 pages in felt odd to me. Second, Zack and Rubens miscommunication tropes kicked off three pages later and I felt like my hair was going to fall out of my hair from the stress.
I was very grateful the book took the time to show Zach's process to understanding his sexuality. I think there's a lot of internalized homophobia we can harbor. And it's even more confusing when you're raised in a hyper religious family, have LGBTQ friends, or both because you have a perception of what it looks like to know your gay. And sometimes it's hard to see that your emotions fall into that spectrum so you live in constant denial.
Zach needed time to really think through what his feelings meant. HOWEVER, I spent a hundred pages ripping my hair out because Zach didn't tell Ruben the reason he needed space. We know Ruben has been with guys who used him to figure themselves out and has had struggles in the romance department. So I'm glad Zach realized later how bad not communicating hurt him. And I'm glad Ruben got a reality check on how his actions were actually coming across (though I think people were harder on Ruben than on Zach and I thought that was messed up).
The next "section" of this book was a lot of being locked in hotel rooms and being cute together over a vague time frame. I didn't mind that time was being skipped, my biggest gripe was just the lack of things the boys got to do. They're celebrities and I understand different labels have different restrictions on their singers but they only went out with permission once in the whole book. I think this section started bringing our other unofficial main character to the center stage to set up what would be the apex of this story. Angel and his spiraling addiction.
Though the book is a love story, I think Angel stole the spotlight in a way I think could have been executed better. Everyone knew he had a problem, and didn't or couldn't do much to help. The book foreshadowed his downfall repeatedly over the 200 pages leading up to the accident. Obviously I'm no pro writer; just a girl with a lot of opinions, but with the current way it was written I almost wish I was getting Angel and Jon's POV the whole time too. Because this book felt equally about them as it did about the romance. I think talking about the band is important because they are with those people all day everyday, but I wish we got to see more of them trying to make do with not being allowed to come out. Like having a cute indoor picnic, or movie night, or literally anything else from the making out.
My last major critique is about how things that should have been messy weren't and things that shouldn't have were. I briefly covered some of this when I went into the 100 page long miscommunication trope, but I wanted to expand on it more because I feel like them dating wasn't a big deal to the label. They were doing a lot of microaggressions to Ruben well before Zach and Ruben began dating. So it was odd that the only person who expressed concerns was Jon (and it was a sentence). Hooray for no homophobia, but realistically I feel like everyone should have been way more concerned about them dating since they had a fight not even 30 pages into the book that almost broke the band up.
Not only that but Angels recovery was a big deal and the book glossed over it too much. Him going to rehab definitely breaks the internet and creates this perception about the band. As the reader, all we got to see were snippets of how the band members felt. I'm not sure if that was an artistic choice since the boys weren't allowed to talk to Angel much while he was in the hospital, but I'm surprised there wasn't more depth in how the boys interactions with each other changed due to this. Like they talk to Angel on the phone, Jon and Angel get in an argument, and boom they're on a plane back home and they're all saying their goodbyes. I was also surprised how laid back seeing Angel for the first time after his hospital release was. Like I thought we would see more excitement or catching up. It just felt like it was being brushed over. Lastly I feel like Ruben's mom randomly switching to supporting him was the most bizarre part of the story. As someone who knows crazy, it is quite literally impossible for someone on that wavelength to pull their head out of their ass and realize that their actions and opinions are harmful in 10 minutes. There is no way you can convince me that after Ruben's walk she suddenly realized that she needed to be a supporting mother when the whole book she's built up to be his number one hater. It would have been more believable if they had shown a slow arch of her changing and trying to be the better.
Maybe I'm being harsh, but to me it just felt like everything the book was striving to do it just half-heartedly did it. I agree with the acknowledgments I definitely think this book does draw more awareness to the pressure on celebrities. I hope anyone who reads this book at least takes that away from it. I personally just couldn't stay invested. If you read this far congratulations, maybe I should get you a trophy.
The first thing I want to say is don't read the summary before reading this book. The summary talks about the boys wanting to come out to the world as if that's the primary plot, but they don't even start dating until 160 pages in.
This book reminded me a lot of when I was hyperfixated on boy-bands and my whole world revolved around my ship and knowing as much information as I could about the boys. So reading this with that previous knowledge of how fans can hold a group of celebrities to weird tropes was very interesting.
[Spoilers]
[Spoilers]
[Spoilers]
[Spoilers]
Early on we learn of Rubens crush for Zach and how tightly controlled the boys are by their management. We also get a sense of who each of the boys really are, and get a crash course in Angels substance abuse. At this point, I was excited to read about how Ruben and Zach fall in love; especially with their impending European leg of the tour. However, my excitement dwindled to confusion and then frustration very quickly.
I was a little thrown off in chapter five when Angel said he was Asian and Jon made the comment about his dad possibly being racist even though he has a black wife. One, I had no idea until that chapter that Jon was supposed to be mixed and Angel Asian. I could have made a assumption with Angel's last name, but I didn't. So learning that 64 pages in felt odd to me. Second, Zack and Rubens miscommunication tropes kicked off three pages later and I felt like my hair was going to fall out of my hair from the stress.
I was very grateful the book took the time to show Zach's process to understanding his sexuality. I think there's a lot of internalized homophobia we can harbor. And it's even more confusing when you're raised in a hyper religious family, have LGBTQ friends, or both because you have a perception of what it looks like to know your gay. And sometimes it's hard to see that your emotions fall into that spectrum so you live in constant denial.
Zach needed time to really think through what his feelings meant. HOWEVER, I spent a hundred pages ripping my hair out because Zach didn't tell Ruben the reason he needed space. We know Ruben has been with guys who used him to figure themselves out and has had struggles in the romance department. So I'm glad Zach realized later how bad not communicating hurt him. And I'm glad Ruben got a reality check on how his actions were actually coming across (though I think people were harder on Ruben than on Zach and I thought that was messed up).
The next "section" of this book was a lot of being locked in hotel rooms and being cute together over a vague time frame. I didn't mind that time was being skipped, my biggest gripe was just the lack of things the boys got to do. They're celebrities and I understand different labels have different restrictions on their singers but they only went out with permission once in the whole book. I think this section started bringing our other unofficial main character to the center stage to set up what would be the apex of this story. Angel and his spiraling addiction.
Though the book is a love story, I think Angel stole the spotlight in a way I think could have been executed better. Everyone knew he had a problem, and didn't or couldn't do much to help. The book foreshadowed his downfall repeatedly over the 200 pages leading up to the accident. Obviously I'm no pro writer; just a girl with a lot of opinions, but with the current way it was written I almost wish I was getting Angel and Jon's POV the whole time too. Because this book felt equally about them as it did about the romance. I think talking about the band is important because they are with those people all day everyday, but I wish we got to see more of them trying to make do with not being allowed to come out. Like having a cute indoor picnic, or movie night, or literally anything else from the making out.
My last major critique is about how things that should have been messy weren't and things that shouldn't have were. I briefly covered some of this when I went into the 100 page long miscommunication trope, but I wanted to expand on it more because I feel like them dating wasn't a big deal to the label. They were doing a lot of microaggressions to Ruben well before Zach and Ruben began dating. So it was odd that the only person who expressed concerns was Jon (and it was a sentence). Hooray for no homophobia, but realistically I feel like everyone should have been way more concerned about them dating since they had a fight not even 30 pages into the book that almost broke the band up.
Not only that but Angels recovery was a big deal and the book glossed over it too much. Him going to rehab definitely breaks the internet and creates this perception about the band. As the reader, all we got to see were snippets of how the band members felt. I'm not sure if that was an artistic choice since the boys weren't allowed to talk to Angel much while he was in the hospital, but I'm surprised there wasn't more depth in how the boys interactions with each other changed due to this. Like they talk to Angel on the phone, Jon and Angel get in an argument, and boom they're on a plane back home and they're all saying their goodbyes. I was also surprised how laid back seeing Angel for the first time after his hospital release was. Like I thought we would see more excitement or catching up. It just felt like it was being brushed over. Lastly I feel like Ruben's mom randomly switching to supporting him was the most bizarre part of the story. As someone who knows crazy, it is quite literally impossible for someone on that wavelength to pull their head out of their ass and realize that their actions and opinions are harmful in 10 minutes. There is no way you can convince me that after Ruben's walk she suddenly realized that she needed to be a supporting mother when the whole book she's built up to be his number one hater. It would have been more believable if they had shown a slow arch of her changing and trying to be the better.
Maybe I'm being harsh, but to me it just felt like everything the book was striving to do it just half-heartedly did it. I agree with the acknowledgments I definitely think this book does draw more awareness to the pressure on celebrities. I hope anyone who reads this book at least takes that away from it. I personally just couldn't stay invested. If you read this far congratulations, maybe I should get you a trophy.
Please please please can we cut back on the slang? Let’s just tone down the use of words like ‘vibes, squad, low-key’ etc.
This book was WAY better than I expected. I'm not a boy band fan, and I thought the premise of this would be something that I couldn't really relate to at all, but it was actually really good. The characters were well developed and the plot was well paced. Everything that focused on the boy band aspect was done in a way that was accessible to pretty much any reader, and it covered lots of important topics about coming out and mistreatment (borderline emotional abuse?) that were well done. Not anything revolutionary, but I would recommend it.
It’s just too cringy and not believable for me. And the narration adds to the cringiness.