Reviews

This story is told more in a movie montage-like format, where we are being told everything rather than shown. We zoom through time (several years worth), stopping along the way to see key scenes in Frankie and Diego’s friendship and relationship. I think it’s a fun way to get through time, but I do feel like character development suffered because we rarely saw Frankie and Diego when it wasn’t in regard to each other. We don’t see a ton of their interactions with other people, making it a bit harder to understand who they are outside of the relationship dynamic.

That said, it is a great story about found family, acceptance, and understanding. Diego is a trans man, and a significant portion of his character arc is going through different stages of self-acceptance as he reaches different milestones of his gender euphoria. He certainly receives the most characterization between the two main characters and this was to the story’s benefit. Frankie’s POVs are usually filled with internal dialogue that goes a mile a minute, and as someone who also has that, it was nice to see that in a book.

elle_c_writes's review

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Although the story idea is beautiful, it’s all told and not not shown which means we’re only getting a taste of how Diego and Frankie’s feelings unfurl and develop. The massive time hops (at least one a chapter) do not help this. I want to live the story with the characters, not view it from afar.

book_loser's review

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emotional informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

thisboricuareader's review

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4.0

I think this was a very cute book. I liked the pacing, I like the story.

I will warn people to read the TW before reading this book.

bookobsessedmommy's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Queer love stories are my catnip, and this one checked a ton of boxes on my favorite kind of books lists. Frankie and Charlie have friends to lovers semi-slow burn relationship, the 3rd act conflict actually made sense, the banter was top notch, and the spice struck the perfect balance of hot and emotional. The way they bump into each other's buttons while growing together is so raw and honest and relatable. The mix of openness, apprehension, and curiosity they show while learning and trying new things is truly inspiring. This is such a beautiful love story with so much queer representation and I absolutely loved it! I'm excited to read more of Dawn's work!

Content Warnings

widowrites's review

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emotional funny reflective sad slow-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

3.25

The pacing in this book felt really weird to me and it kept dragging me out of the story. It was like watching a movie and fast forwarding through the boring parts. The main story though was sweet. It was very interesting to see the characters growth and D’s acceptance and love of his body.

Content Warnings

abbeyroad98's review

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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

5.0

chiarob's review

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

3.75

The good
- The trans representation felt very real. Some people might find Diego a bit unlikable in certain parts of the story, but personally I found his struggles realistic
- The (queer) found family was amazing
- The first part of the book with the two MCs getting to know each other was very lovely

The neutral
- There are various time jumps in the story

The bad
- Because of the time jumps, there was a lot of telling instead of showing, which I think made me feel less connected to the MCs in the second half of the story

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