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biss7's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
4.25
I loveddddd it. Charlie has my whole heart and his journey was so amazing and I loved he was able to stand up for his ownself at the end even if he was heartbroken. I was haply to ready about them ,about their struggles ,their love. I love that there are many representations, sometimes dev was annoying with his never ending ever after but I do get why. I loved that he chose himself and left but I do hate that he couldn't imagine charlie choosing him, them planning something, i do get that it's coz he couldn't imagine he deserves love and with charlie but yeah. I love that it was like a reality show etc , i rlly don't mind 3rd pov writings ,i like them and there were many cute , funny ,emptional scenes. The only thing i did not like ,kinda was irritated was how charlie OCD was written ,i liked that we got to know how feels ,struggles and that he was sharing it with dev , learning etc but after some pages it felt like it kinda disappeared? Coz of dev and their love ? And it sounds stupid but it felt like that to me . I once read someone who had ocd too and while I do not have ,I do not think it will just go away coz you're close with someone or in love ? Or maybe there are Times like that etc but idk it felt so sudden for me and it was such an important thing for charlie too and finally he was starting to open someone and you could see some struggle at the beginning but after nothing ? He was ready for anything with him ? Idk i mean it's good he was evolving ,more confident etc but it felt empty sometimes. I know it's a book ,not enough time, especially here to develop it more ,but I was excited to read more about him, his process ,how he would handle ,struggle and be able to touch dev and it just felt so easy ig it's coz they're meant to be . Anyway it was good ,I will think about them fondly:)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Homophobia
longestflight's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Vomit
froukjemelenhorst's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Homophobia
archiveofrasa's review
funny
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
4.25
needed something light before I delve into more literary stuff, and this is exactly what I needed! I devoured this in just over a day and really loved it. it was actually funny, suited my humour so well, the cast was so loveable and well crafted and the romance?? me when romcom book characters actually have chemistry because these two hit it right off the bat I genuinely believed it when they said they loved each other at the end
that tends to be my gripe with the romance books I've been reading beforehand, I don't really believe they're in love (sometimes I don't even understand why they like each other aside from either being hot or each other's shoulder to cry on lol) but Dev and Charlie have it. it was really refreshing to see. their chemistry was what kept me reading.
I think I wasn't entirely wowed by the representation because I'm from the generation that is aware of all this stuff already, but it was really nice to see the discussion of not only sexuality (in all the queer sense, including asexuality) but mental health in an empathetic and realistic way in a book and not just on online spaces. I've seen this resonate with a lot of adults who didn't have the progressive adolescence that I had, so I'm very glad that's the case for them!
I do have some meh's. I see where people are coming from with Dev as an Indian-American written by a white author; as a child of desi (British) immigrants, I felt the slight distance between Dev and his Indian-ness but I kinda chalked that up to the fact that it's written by a white woman. I don't want to entirely call it out because the Desi Immigrant experience isn't a monolith and is very wide in its range – plus if not careful, Cochrun could've ended up writing someone else's story. But personally I'm all right with it as long as it wasn't offensive, which this book wasn't! I'd say if you want more accurate rep, try to find books written by Indians 😭 this book wanted to focus on mental health and a cute romance and it delivered pretty well.
Going into spoiler territory here for a neutral point but,at first, I rolled my eyes at Dev's very naïve perception of the show and then I sat on it and realised the subtext (or maybe it was text, I don't know). Dev clings onto happily ever afters because when he can't, he has depressive episodes. It's harder to know if that was intended in a romance book compared to literary novels, but it really made sense. he clings onto Fun Dev so he doesn't fall into that pit of despair, he clung onto these kinda childish views of love to distract himself from his depression. I do really like that aspect of this book honestly, but maybe it could've been done in a way that's more realistic to someone Dev's age perhaps 😭
if you want a fun, lighthearted read like Red White & Royal Blue (but less political) then do check this out!
that tends to be my gripe with the romance books I've been reading beforehand, I don't really believe they're in love (sometimes I don't even understand why they like each other aside from either being hot or each other's shoulder to cry on lol) but Dev and Charlie have it. it was really refreshing to see. their chemistry was what kept me reading.
I think I wasn't entirely wowed by the representation because I'm from the generation that is aware of all this stuff already, but it was really nice to see the discussion of not only sexuality (in all the queer sense, including asexuality) but mental health in an empathetic and realistic way in a book and not just on online spaces. I've seen this resonate with a lot of adults who didn't have the progressive adolescence that I had, so I'm very glad that's the case for them!
I do have some meh's. I see where people are coming from with Dev as an Indian-American written by a white author; as a child of desi (British) immigrants, I felt the slight distance between Dev and his Indian-ness but I kinda chalked that up to the fact that it's written by a white woman. I don't want to entirely call it out because the Desi Immigrant experience isn't a monolith and is very wide in its range – plus if not careful, Cochrun could've ended up writing someone else's story. But personally I'm all right with it as long as it wasn't offensive, which this book wasn't! I'd say if you want more accurate rep, try to find books written by Indians 😭 this book wanted to focus on mental health and a cute romance and it delivered pretty well.
Going into spoiler territory here for a neutral point but,
if you want a fun, lighthearted read like Red White & Royal Blue (but less political) then do check this out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Ableism
Moderate: Vomit, Homophobia, Biphobia, and Sexual content
joensign's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content, Biphobia, Vomit, and Homophobia
Minor: Sexual assault and Alcoholism
skienight's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Vomit
pucksandpaperbacks's review against another edition
CW: ableism and ableist language (challenged), panic attack, vomiting, alcohol, intoxication, mentions of anxiety, depression, OCD, intrusive thoughts, sexual content, and a depressive episode.
A sweet romance showing two queer, neurodivergent men - demisexual & gay - falling in love on a reality TV show. This had me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I was filled up with tears, smiling, and laughing as I read Dev and Charlie's love story. As a neurodivergent person and specifically someone with generalized & social anxiety, I wholeheartedly enjoyed the kindness each character showed to each other.
A sweet romance showing two queer, neurodivergent men - demisexual & gay - falling in love on a reality TV show. This had me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I was filled up with tears, smiling, and laughing as I read Dev and Charlie's love story. As a neurodivergent person and specifically someone with generalized & social anxiety, I wholeheartedly enjoyed the kindness each character showed to each other.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, and Alcohol
Ableism and ableist language (challenged), panic attack (on page), vomiting, alcohol, intoxication, mentions of anxiety, depression, OCD, intrusive thoughts, sexual content, and a depressive episode.adotzam's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit
pbeeandj's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.75
As much as I loved this story, I removed .25 stars to account for how many times characters vomited in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Alcohol, Biphobia, and Mental illness
moonyreadsbystarlight's review
emotional
hopeful
- 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
4.75
This was a cute romance with some really great representation of mental illness. There was also some really neat discussion about reality TV and representation at large.
If I wanted to nitpick, I could find things that weren't believable about parts of this, but I was so engrossed with the story and characters that I didn't want to - any of it didn't break my reading experience (and certainly any gripes that I could search for to have are well within the norm for this genre anyways). I stayed up way too late reading this because I was so invested. I'm excited to read more from this author!
If I wanted to nitpick, I could find things that weren't believable about parts of this, but I was so engrossed with the story and characters that I didn't want to - any of it didn't break my reading experience (and certainly any gripes that I could search for to have are well within the norm for this genre anyways). I stayed up way too late reading this because I was so invested. I'm excited to read more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Ableism, and Mental illness
Moderate: Vomit