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ellejaoy's review against another edition
5.0
FABULOUS!
Oh. My. God.
It was like, EVERYTHING, I love about reading fanfiction but in novel form. (I'm sorry if that is offensive Maxfield but seriously, take it as a compliment!!!)
The story was brilliant, the character was just darling and the other bits where just HOT. Wonderful!
Oh. My. God.
It was like, EVERYTHING, I love about reading fanfiction but in novel form. (I'm sorry if that is offensive Maxfield but seriously, take it as a compliment!!!)
The story was brilliant, the character was just darling and the other bits where just HOT. Wonderful!
bhookjunkhie's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic!! I'll be reading more from this author for sure!!
drez80's review
3.0
I liked this book, but I just didn't really feel mcuh chemistry between Rory and Yamane.
gatun's review
5.0
I loved Drawn Together by Z.Z. Maxfield! The story was a wonderful rollercoaster of suspense, thriller, and romance. Rory was very likable from the beginning. I had to get to know Yamane before I truly liked him. It kept my interest. The narration by Greg Boudreaux was amazing. His southern Louisiana accent was perfect (and no it is not the same as a generic southern accent). The voices of both characters expressed their emotional feelings well. This is not the first Z.A. Maxfield book or Greg Boudreaux audiobook I have listened to. They are both on my TBR list often.
tinkcourtney's review against another edition
4.0
This was great on audio. I'm not generally a fan of Southern accents, but Rory was just charming, and it made a good counterpoint to Yamane's quick, higher voice.
So I didn't realize from the blurb how much of this story centers around dealing with the stalker. I thought this was going to be a cute, bumbling story with the guy meeting his idol he'd thought was a girl - and that IS in there - but it's also crime and mystery and being on the run.
I feel like it dragged a *little* too long. At three hours left, I felt like the story could wrap up soon. At an hour and a half left, the main bad guy had been dealt with, and I was baffled. Turns out that there's then a whole section where the guys are stubborn and don't talk things through. SIGH. That is not one of my favorite things. But, of course, they eventually work things out, and the ending was very sweet.
So I didn't realize from the blurb how much of this story centers around dealing with the stalker. I thought this was going to be a cute, bumbling story with the guy meeting his idol he'd thought was a girl - and that IS in there - but it's also crime and mystery and being on the run.
I feel like it dragged a *little* too long. At three hours left, I felt like the story could wrap up soon. At an hour and a half left, the main bad guy had been dealt with, and I was baffled. Turns out that there's then a whole section where the guys are stubborn and don't talk things through. SIGH. That is not one of my favorite things. But, of course, they eventually work things out, and the ending was very sweet.
shandra's review against another edition
5.0
Every Hero Has A Hero Of Their Own
Artists speak to some people the way writers speak to me; I loved reading about Rory's adoration for Ran Yamane's work as an artist because I could understand how something another person created could transcend your consciousness to a place you never imagined you could go. There are some talents which burn bright enough to light up all the stars in the sky for even the dimmest of eyes. I truly believe Yamane was that talent for Rory.
I expected to find this a very meet-cute type story since the premise is basically Rory thinks he's going to be all heroic Southern gentleman and sexy Cajun charm for a shy Japanese maiden only to find out Yamane is no maiden in need of saving. I was surprised by how Yamane had a sudden about-face when he realized Rory was determined to give him the flowers he'd brought for his fantasy maiden. I wasn't quite sure where the story was going from there in terms of their connection to each other. I think that's what made this such an enjoyable read for me.
There was a new surprise around every corner.
Amelia was a fabulous villain. I loved how she brought out the best in Rory and, in a way, allowed him to embrace who he had been all along since it was her threats which drove him to trying desperately to save Yamane from her. Ethan brought me insane joy with his casual dude-talk with Rene the Sheriff. I thought the entire stalker arc was handled very well on the whole.
I also liked they didn't immediately rush back into one another's arms for an easy Happy-Ever-After. They were both reluctant to be in a relationship. They both had their own hang-ups and insecurities about being together. I liked that the author gave both men a chance to make a real informed decision before trying to make a go of a relationship together. I thought the Epilogue was icing on the cake, to be honest, and now all I want to know are two things:
1. What's Rory's real first name?
2. Why hasn't everyone I know read this already?
Artists speak to some people the way writers speak to me; I loved reading about Rory's adoration for Ran Yamane's work as an artist because I could understand how something another person created could transcend your consciousness to a place you never imagined you could go. There are some talents which burn bright enough to light up all the stars in the sky for even the dimmest of eyes. I truly believe Yamane was that talent for Rory.
I expected to find this a very meet-cute type story since the premise is basically Rory thinks he's going to be all heroic Southern gentleman and sexy Cajun charm for a shy Japanese maiden only to find out Yamane is no maiden in need of saving. I was surprised by how Yamane had a sudden about-face when he realized Rory was determined to give him the flowers he'd brought for his fantasy maiden. I wasn't quite sure where the story was going from there in terms of their connection to each other. I think that's what made this such an enjoyable read for me.
There was a new surprise around every corner.
Amelia was a fabulous villain. I loved how she brought out the best in Rory and, in a way, allowed him to embrace who he had been all along since it was her threats which drove him to trying desperately to save Yamane from her. Ethan brought me insane joy with his casual dude-talk with Rene the Sheriff. I thought the entire stalker arc was handled very well on the whole.
I also liked they didn't immediately rush back into one another's arms for an easy Happy-Ever-After. They were both reluctant to be in a relationship. They both had their own hang-ups and insecurities about being together. I liked that the author gave both men a chance to make a real informed decision before trying to make a go of a relationship together. I thought the Epilogue was icing on the cake, to be honest, and now all I want to know are two things:
1. What's Rory's real first name?
2. Why hasn't everyone I know read this already?
ktpie85's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this. Fantastic contemporary fiction. Entertaining, HEA, spice, drama. All the things that make for an entertaining read
lezreadalot's review against another edition
1.0
Gonna make this quick because this book is very much a bad taste that I want to wash out of my mouth. Already wasted 5 of the 10 minutes I said I would give to this review by watching other ratings and wondering what in the world people saw in this book. True: the first hour or so was iffy, but not totally bad. But then it steadily devolved.
- Blah blah crazy people are out to get you blah blah. I'M TIRED OF IT. All the writing was lazy. Stalking is a serious issue and I mean a good mystery/thriller could potentially be written about it? But this ain't it.
- So much of the plot didn't make sense. It started not making sense from the minute the Jenkins told Yamane and Rory: "Welp I can't protect you, here lemme break the law to let you slip away and go on the run from a stalker."
- You have to know when white people write people of colour. Rory describes a situation where his grandmother might react negatively to him bringing home a Japanese man, and Yamane... apologises??? Ooooooh boy.
- Hey actually everything about Rory's obsession with Yamane is bad, he's a fucking weeb and I'm going to knife him.
- We gonna talk about Rory assaulting Yamane or nah? Because it was definitely assault: he knew what he was doing, he knew Yamane was drunk and half asleep, he did it anyway and ends by thinking 'huh if he ever finds out I'm gonna have some explaining to do'. THAT AIN'T ROMANCE.
- Also I just remembered: Rory punched Yamane in the face one time because he was 'so worried' after someone else almost attacked Yamane and he ran off. And Rory couldn't find him. And was worried. So when he found him, he punched him. ?_?
- Rory's actually just a really awful person wrapped up in a Nice Guy TM package!
- This story drifted and went absolutely nowhere. They were just on a prolonged roadtrip. Sometimes we got some useless insight from one of Emilia's henchman (why keep thinking that you don't trust her; DO something about it). Sometimes someone got stabbed. No one in this story is as clever as they think and it was super tiresome.
- Talking about loving each other after a few days is the surest way to get me to roll my eyes.
- This isn't important but... why are so many people calling this book 'gay for you'? Rory says multiple times that Yamane isn't the only man he's ever been attracted to, just the first he's been with. Lol.
Two good things about this book: the narrator, Greg Boudreaux, was quite good. Loved his voices, especially for all the Southern people.
The other good thing about this book is that it's fucking over. I hate abandoning books once I get far enough into them but oh man, this one tested me.
- Blah blah crazy people are out to get you blah blah. I'M TIRED OF IT. All the writing was lazy. Stalking is a serious issue and I mean a good mystery/thriller could potentially be written about it? But this ain't it.
- So much of the plot didn't make sense. It started not making sense from the minute the Jenkins told Yamane and Rory: "Welp I can't protect you, here lemme break the law to let you slip away and go on the run from a stalker."
- You have to know when white people write people of colour. Rory describes a situation where his grandmother might react negatively to him bringing home a Japanese man, and Yamane... apologises??? Ooooooh boy.
- Hey actually everything about Rory's obsession with Yamane is bad, he's a fucking weeb and I'm going to knife him.
- We gonna talk about Rory assaulting Yamane or nah? Because it was definitely assault: he knew what he was doing, he knew Yamane was drunk and half asleep, he did it anyway and ends by thinking 'huh if he ever finds out I'm gonna have some explaining to do'. THAT AIN'T ROMANCE.
- Also I just remembered: Rory punched Yamane in the face one time because he was 'so worried' after someone else almost attacked Yamane and he ran off. And Rory couldn't find him. And was worried. So when he found him, he punched him. ?_?
- Rory's actually just a really awful person wrapped up in a Nice Guy TM package!
- This story drifted and went absolutely nowhere. They were just on a prolonged roadtrip. Sometimes we got some useless insight from one of Emilia's henchman (why keep thinking that you don't trust her; DO something about it). Sometimes someone got stabbed. No one in this story is as clever as they think and it was super tiresome.
- Talking about loving each other after a few days is the surest way to get me to roll my eyes.
- This isn't important but... why are so many people calling this book 'gay for you'? Rory says multiple times that Yamane isn't the only man he's ever been attracted to, just the first he's been with. Lol.
Two good things about this book: the narrator, Greg Boudreaux, was quite good. Loved his voices, especially for all the Southern people.
The other good thing about this book is that it's fucking over. I hate abandoning books once I get far enough into them but oh man, this one tested me.
kay_slayerofbooks's review
5.0
I LOVED THIS STORY!!!
I could NOT put this down. Literally pulled me in from beginning to end. I was entranced. This so far is my favorite LGBTQIA+ book of the year. Now I must pick up more books by Z.A. Maxfield.
5 stars
I could NOT put this down. Literally pulled me in from beginning to end. I was entranced. This so far is my favorite LGBTQIA+ book of the year. Now I must pick up more books by Z.A. Maxfield.
5 stars
layla87's review against another edition
DNF ~ No rating
Not a fan of MCs sleeping with other people.
ETA: also... the story wasn't that great to begin with.
Not a fan of MCs sleeping with other people.
ETA: also... the story wasn't that great to begin with.