Reviews with content warning for Blood - Be Dazzled

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala

7 reviews

jerrysaywhaaa's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

This book was cute, funny, and unapologetically gay and nerdy. Another book by Ryan de Sala that I couldn’t put down, even when certain chapters had me crying. It was a great story about self expression and living in the moment, despite factors that might hinder those things (anxiety, parents expectations, etc). I can’t wait to read more from this author, I love their storytelling ability.

Side note: Luca is precious and must be protected at all costs!

Content Warnings

evelynyle_88's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

Content Warnings

anxiousrainbows's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Such a great book to pull me out of a reading slump. This book is fun, a little dorky in a lovable way; the best way I can describe it is camp, very camp. I loved reading Raffy and Luca fall in love, both at first and then again, and I think this book really reminds you that teenagers are constantly changing as they figure themselves out, in a way that I think YA romance tends to forget in favor of the story.

The only thing I didn't really like about the book is the placement of the flashbacks. They're an important piece of the story and I think the book really would've suffered without them, but as you get farther into the "now" timeline, they start to feel like commercial breaks and totally kill the pacing. Putting them all in the front and splitting the book into two parts I think would've served each story better by allowing them to have room to breathe and tell their part.

All in all, this is a great story, one that I will absolutely be recommending to friends who are cosplayers (I myself am not, I misread the summary and thought that "cosplay" was "costume", and coming from a theatre background, my interest was piqued, but the book does a great job of being accessible to readers who don't really know a whole lot about cosplay).

Content Warnings

zoepagereader's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I did feel slightly disappointed by this. From the whole “Project Runway goes to Comic Con” deal, I was expecting more time in the actual making portion of the competition that was promised in the summery on Goodreads. And while yes, I did appreciate the happy ending feel good stuff, Luca and Raffy’s mothers’ character developments both felt too fast. Not like it extremely sucked or anything, still a decent read.

Content Warnings