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20sidedbi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, Addiction, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Homophobia
pawtory's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I thought this was a really solid romance and one of the best audiobooks I've heard, loved the incorporation of actual music. I do hope it gets a stage musical version some day. Appreciated the diversity - AAPI & neurodivergent MCs, Black trans best friend. It was written to be a romcom tho (according to author coda) and I didn't really find myself laughing much. Also the MC could be randomly critical of (unimportant) things that made me dislike him a bit. He was flawed but not really given much character growth for addressing the flaws? And there was enough sad stuff in it (mind the triggers) that it really didn't feel like a romcom. Overall well written and I think more people should check it out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, and Sexual assault
Minor: Infidelity
schweibertsm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was so good, I love Quito's father so much and the flashbacks to how Emmett and Quito's friendship and relationship developed. This book had so many lovely moments, but there were also some moments I just wanted to skip past, mainly anything with Mark. I love that the audiobook had actual singing. This also would have been great have dual perspective. Definitely a favorite for this year.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Outing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death of parent, Car accident, and Transphobia
itsinthewords's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
I find that the stories I tend to really enjoy are the ones where the MCs don't start off as perfect. And I don't mean the kind of imperfect that is cute, or meant to be a little twee. I mean people who let their anxiety get the better of them, whose prejudices are on display to us, the audience, but not to them.
The story is a single person POV, flashing back between the past and the present in Quito Cruz's life and his relationship with Emmett Aoiki when they were teenagers, through the incident that caused a rift between them in college, and then their reuniting as adults. Quito felt like someone I knew, like I had met him before. Lim does a great job of giving us hints about the flaws in Quito's POV while still having us love him. The story has a meddling father, some wonderful sweet and tender moments between the two MCs, and a really profound and wonderful message at the end about sticking true to who you are. I am very excited for the next book in the series, but this one was precious and will hold a place in my heart.
The story is a single person POV, flashing back between the past and the present in Quito Cruz's life and his relationship with Emmett Aoiki when they were teenagers, through the incident that caused a rift between them in college, and then their reuniting as adults. Quito felt like someone I knew, like I had met him before. Lim does a great job of giving us hints about the flaws in Quito's POV while still having us love him. The story has a meddling father, some wonderful sweet and tender moments between the two MCs, and a really profound and wonderful message at the end about sticking true to who you are. I am very excited for the next book in the series, but this one was precious and will hold a place in my heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, and Infidelity
onlyonebookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Homophobia
Minor: Infidelity
kshertz's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It was cute! I don’t know if movie star falling in love with a regular guy is a trope that’s hard for me, even though they are childhood friends but it was! But otherwise, this is an adorable book about falling in love and what it means. They grow up together and navigate together. It’s sweet and a must for musical fans
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Bullying, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Outing
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
[Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a gifted copy for review!]
Rating: 4/5 stars
Quito Cruz is forced to reconnect with his high school friend (and crush) Emmett Aoki when Quito’s father insists the two perform together in his retirement concert.
I chose to listen to this one on audio and I am SO glad I did because the audio production was one of my favorites of all time. The narration was phenomenal, and because it is narrated by an actual Broadway actor, it also features real music and (incredible) singing, which really helped bring the story to life.
I was not necessarily expecting the emotional gut punch that this book had, but, yes, I definitely cried. Even though I don’t share any of the “main” characteristics of the MCs (I’m straight, I’m white, I’m a woman, etc) I still found so many aspects of the story to be relatable, and I really really loved the characters and the message it delivered. If this one sounds good to you, I wholeheartedly recommend it (especially on audio!)
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: second chance romance; dynamic audiobooks; books about music/theater
CW: Death of parent; grief; mentions of sexual assault
Rating: 4/5 stars
Quito Cruz is forced to reconnect with his high school friend (and crush) Emmett Aoki when Quito’s father insists the two perform together in his retirement concert.
I chose to listen to this one on audio and I am SO glad I did because the audio production was one of my favorites of all time. The narration was phenomenal, and because it is narrated by an actual Broadway actor, it also features real music and (incredible) singing, which really helped bring the story to life.
I was not necessarily expecting the emotional gut punch that this book had, but, yes, I definitely cried. Even though I don’t share any of the “main” characteristics of the MCs (I’m straight, I’m white, I’m a woman, etc) I still found so many aspects of the story to be relatable, and I really really loved the characters and the message it delivered. If this one sounds good to you, I wholeheartedly recommend it (especially on audio!)
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: second chance romance; dynamic audiobooks; books about music/theater
CW: Death of parent; grief; mentions of sexual assault
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Infidelity, and Outing
imstephtacular's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Rape, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Drug use, Blood, Medical content, Body shaming, Racism, Outing, Car accident, Vomit, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Death
noellelovesbooks's review
5.0
Content Warnings: Homophobia, transphobia, outing, cheating, sexual assault, death, death of parent, toxic relationships, sexual content [not graphic but not fade to black either...kind of in the middle?], anxiety, and bullying.
***I received access to an E-Arc through the Forever Influencer program, all thoughts are my own***
OMG, how to start talking about this beautiful book. I loved that we got to see Emmett and Quito from their very first meeting to their reunion as adults.
As someone who lived in the East Bay for...almost 10 years? I loved all the bay references, when it started and they mentioned Martinez I was like, "WHAT! I LIVED THERE!" haha
I also loved all the little Filipino references, especially the lip pointing...if you know...you know haha
This was an absolutely beautiful story about love, family, found family, and acceptance. There are some tear-jerking moments, like my vision was obscured until I could get a tissue 😅
Anyways, this book came out the 6th and I highly recommend reading it 💜
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Outing, Death, Bullying, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Medical content
readwithcaitlyn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
REVIEW: All The Right Notes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I would watch them, during choir rehearsal, you know? Or at our house for dinner. When they would work on music together. Emmett would watch Quito. All the time. That look on his face. I’ll never forget it. As if there was no better thing in the world than to be near my son.”
This. Book. I loved it. The narrator was everything, he just brought the story to life. Have you ever loved a book so much that you can’t even put into words why? Because that’s what’s happening here.
For Fans Of:
🎶 musical theater & choir
⭐️ celebrity x non-celebrity
👨❤️👨 m/m romance
💕 friends-to-lovers second-chance romance
🏠 accepting, close family dynamic
🇵🇭 Filipino-American Rep
🎧 amazing audiobooks
I think my favorite character was Quito’s father. I love that he saw Emmett and Quito’s relationship for what it really was all the way from the beginning, and that he loved both of them enough to bring them back together 🥲
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Transphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Outing, and Death of parent