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teajay_'s review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing
sakeriver'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? No
5.0
The love story in this one is very sweet and often funny, and the dialogue sparkles throughout the book. But I think what really pulls me in with this one is the fantasy of what America and American politics could be. It reminded me a little bit of the movie The American President in that way, where we ultimately have a story in which the better angels of our nation actually win. And isn’t that what we would all truly love to see for a change?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Outing
Minor: Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
whenskiesaregrey's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I loved this romantic, steamy, gay novel! A great read of two political icons falling in love and the kind of hope we can have for a better future.
While at times this novel appeared cheesy or overzealous and too idealistic on the real hate and obstacles that queer people face, it was still a charming read full of optimism.
I only wish the other supporting characters were more deeply explored! I felt they were relatively flat and one note in comparison to our main love interests.
While at times this novel appeared cheesy or overzealous and too idealistic on the real hate and obstacles that queer people face, it was still a charming read full of optimism.
I only wish the other supporting characters were more deeply explored! I felt they were relatively flat and one note in comparison to our main love interests.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Outing
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Drug abuse and Sexual harassment
carlyjoann's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-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
4.0
This was very cute. I enjoyed the build up of the friendship to lovers. I liked most of the supporting characters a lot as well. I think Alex figuring out his sexuality felt very honest and real. I love their relationship and how Alex and Henry support each other fully. I want to live in this world where this could work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Outing
Minor: Sexual harassment
lemonix_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-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
Even better than the first time ive read it 🤭🫣
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing
sshaw86's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Outing
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault
carterlovestowrite's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, and Classism
infusionofviolets's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Slavery, Death of parent, Outing, and Sexual harassment
jess_always_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
Wow. WOW.
I read this after N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth series and it was the perfect palate cleanser. A wonderful lighthearted and fun story with a cast of deeply lovable characters and a backdrop setting of hope, passion, and community. The character development is well done, the sass hilarious, heavy topics are handled without avoidance, and the depiction of that time in our lives when we're figuring out who we will be and who we are is done with care. Another wonderful bisexual story to add to the collection! I will definitely be buying a copy of this one and revisiting it many times in the years to come.
10/10 would recommend
I read this after N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth series and it was the perfect palate cleanser. A wonderful lighthearted and fun story with a cast of deeply lovable characters and a backdrop setting of hope, passion, and community. The character development is well done, the sass hilarious, heavy topics are handled without avoidance, and the depiction of that time in our lives when we're figuring out who we will be and who we are is done with care. Another wonderful bisexual story to add to the collection! I will definitely be buying a copy of this one and revisiting it many times in the years to come.
10/10 would recommend
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Racism, and Outing
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual harassment
azileotulp's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is the second time I've tried to read this book. The first time I stopped about 100 pages in. While I made it through this time, it was still definitely a struggle to get into it. As a whole, I would say I liked the book, but it has a few issues that are definitely holding it back for me.
First big issue: POV. I genuinely cannot fathom why this book was written in the third person. Don't get me wrong, I can really appreciate a third person book (although I typically prefer first person). In fact, two of my favorite books of all time are in the third person. However, it just did not work in this book. I just feel like third person perspectives in romances don't work for me at all. (Do you know how many times I had to read the words "Alex" and "Henry" on each page because the word "he" couldn't be used?) I think the novel would have worked a lot better and been easier to get into if it had been in the first person. It would be even better if it had been dual POV. I'm not just saying that because I love a good dual POV book, but I think it also would have prevented the book from dragging, which it did in a lot of places.
Second big issue: Characters. My favorite part of romance is falling in love with the characters, which I usually find very easy to do. By the end of this book, I only really loved one character (Henry <3) and liked two others (June and Alex). I don't really hate any of the other characters (except Richards, of course), but I'm just totally neutral on them. I feel like there were just too many of them to be honest. There were multiple instances where the book was discussing certain characters that I had to really rack my brain to try to remember. I feel like this is another reason the first person POV would have worked better for me. I feel like it's a lot easier to love characters when you're inside the mind of someone who does.
Third big issue: Smut. I swear this book has some of the most confusing smut I've ever read. Now, it's not like I actively wanted there to be super graphic smut. I'm really not a huge fan of it in general, so I won't seek out books that contain it, but I also won't avoid it if it's there. My real issue is that it seemed like this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be Young Adult or New Adult, and the smut teeters on the line between those two. It just frustrates me that it was far too explicit to actually be a Young Adult book, but not explicit enough for it to be understandable. It felt like every action that happened was stated so vaguely that I couldn't even imagine the scene. Every time I got to a smut scene, I had to read it at least three times before I could at least kind of form a picture of what was going on, and eventually I just stopped trying.
Those are the main things I would say hold the book back. There are definitely others,like the lack of resolution for June's storyline with either Pez or Nora and the very dumb reason Alex hated Henry but none of them were as bad as the three I listed above. But of course, I didn't hate this book: I gave it a 3.5. (Anything higher than a 3 is a book I consider to be at least okay.) So, what did it have going for it that made up for the previously mentioned issues?
First big strength: Humor. This is actually one of the funniest romances I've ever read. Other romance books usually get an exhale out of me, but very rarely an actual laugh. This book made me genuinely laugh twice. That might not sound like a lot to other people, but it definitely is for me. I feel like the characters played off of each other really well, and there were just a lot of scenarios that led to some really funny moments.My favorite moment is after Alex comes out to his mom (which includes telling her about him and Henry) and she makes a whole presentation about it. I actually died.
Second big strength: The last quarter. So, you know how I said this book was really hard to get into? That includes a lot of the middle section unfortunately. However, when there were about 100 pages left, theouting storyline really caught my attention. It had me really questioning how the emails got out. Did Rafael actually betray Alex? How would Ellen deal with the aftermath? How would Queen Mary? It was totally captivating and made up for a lot of the boredom I felt during the rest of the book.
Overall, this definitely isn't one of the best books I've read. It's not even close. That being said, it's very charming in a lot of ways and I can definitely see why so many people love it. If you think you can get past the issues I talked about, then this could very well be a great book for you.
First big issue: POV. I genuinely cannot fathom why this book was written in the third person. Don't get me wrong, I can really appreciate a third person book (although I typically prefer first person). In fact, two of my favorite books of all time are in the third person. However, it just did not work in this book. I just feel like third person perspectives in romances don't work for me at all. (Do you know how many times I had to read the words "Alex" and "Henry" on each page because the word "he" couldn't be used?) I think the novel would have worked a lot better and been easier to get into if it had been in the first person. It would be even better if it had been dual POV. I'm not just saying that because I love a good dual POV book, but I think it also would have prevented the book from dragging, which it did in a lot of places.
Second big issue: Characters. My favorite part of romance is falling in love with the characters, which I usually find very easy to do. By the end of this book, I only really loved one character (Henry <3) and liked two others (June and Alex). I don't really hate any of the other characters (except Richards, of course), but I'm just totally neutral on them. I feel like there were just too many of them to be honest. There were multiple instances where the book was discussing certain characters that I had to really rack my brain to try to remember. I feel like this is another reason the first person POV would have worked better for me. I feel like it's a lot easier to love characters when you're inside the mind of someone who does.
Third big issue: Smut. I swear this book has some of the most confusing smut I've ever read. Now, it's not like I actively wanted there to be super graphic smut. I'm really not a huge fan of it in general, so I won't seek out books that contain it, but I also won't avoid it if it's there. My real issue is that it seemed like this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be Young Adult or New Adult, and the smut teeters on the line between those two. It just frustrates me that it was far too explicit to actually be a Young Adult book, but not explicit enough for it to be understandable. It felt like every action that happened was stated so vaguely that I couldn't even imagine the scene. Every time I got to a smut scene, I had to read it at least three times before I could at least kind of form a picture of what was going on, and eventually I just stopped trying.
Those are the main things I would say hold the book back. There are definitely others,
First big strength: Humor. This is actually one of the funniest romances I've ever read. Other romance books usually get an exhale out of me, but very rarely an actual laugh. This book made me genuinely laugh twice. That might not sound like a lot to other people, but it definitely is for me. I feel like the characters played off of each other really well, and there were just a lot of scenarios that led to some really funny moments.
Second big strength: The last quarter. So, you know how I said this book was really hard to get into? That includes a lot of the middle section unfortunately. However, when there were about 100 pages left, the
Overall, this definitely isn't one of the best books I've read. It's not even close. That being said, it's very charming in a lot of ways and I can definitely see why so many people love it. If you think you can get past the issues I talked about, then this could very well be a great book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment