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thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
My takeaways:
• Unnecessarily dumb (like DUMBBBB, like it’s not even funny it’s just annoying) and insufferable characters like Alex Twaddle
• Takes every chance it can to remind you it’s set in the UK, like every other page. If there’s one thing I’ll never forget about this book it’s that it’s set in England and everything is very British, so British, so silly quirky British all of the time (I love the UK setting and British men are top tier but come on?????)
• The blatant homophobic comments and themes that are glossed over even when one of them is fairly central to the plot? The main dilemma that requires the “fake boyfriend” trope revolves around the fact that Luc is AND THIS IS QUOTED FROM THE BOOK “the wrong kind of gay” and he must find a partner to help clean up his act and thus become “the right kind of gay” in order to save his job. Like????
• The lack of chemistry. Luc was okay but hard to find appealing or connect with. I understand his caveats but they didn’t make sense enough to be believable that he would be with Oliver. Oliver was the saving grace of the story, I enjoyed him and his personality, unfortunately though he didn’t save the whole story. Needed more development, would’ve rather read from Oliver’s POV tbh!!!
Idk. I kinda skimmed through the last half of the book because I lost interest. I wish Luc and Oliver all the best in the other two books but I will not be reading them. Thank you don’t hate me byeeeee
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Alcohol
cady_sass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Also, Lucien makes him a **bacon sandwich** after they make a point the WHOLE book to clearly say that Oliver doesn’t consume meat for moral/ethical reasons, and Oliver is just like “yeah gimme that bacon” ???? What is happening
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
headinthepages's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
traceyanderson's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
valpuri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Racism
ludmireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
it looked so promising at the beginning (when you don’t question the fact that Luc might get fired for being „the wrong kind of gay“) but it gradually got worse and worse.
my main problem was the main character Luc, he was selfish and whiny and just not a good person in general. he was mean to everyone and didn’t respect anyone’s choices and opinions. i was gonna blame it on his trauma and was sure we would get a great character development but that somehow didn’t happen, even though he was trying to convince us otherwise. and don’t get me started on him boasting how mature he is literally ten seconds after he shouted at his fake boyfriend’s parents (they were shit and deserved it, but common) and forcing Oliver to eat a bacon sandwich even though he knew very well that he is a vegetarian. as a vegetarian myself i was so excited to finally read about a vegetarian character but Luc’s inconsiderateness to this matter and a slight shaming towards vegetarians and vegans made me sick and that bacon scene was honestly my last straw. suggesting that Oliver has an eating disorder was very insensitive and felt a bit too much (I'm definitely not one to judge if the claim is right or not, the problem is that it wasn't handled in a more gentle way and rather served as a punchline).
Oliver seemed like the mature one at the beginning but it turned out he’s was not mentally okay (which we didn’t really learn until the third act break up yay. i think that a dual pov would make the book a bit better). he’s unable to call out homophobes and speak out for himself on this matter. and on one hand, i get it. his friends weren't exactly treating him well and his parents are just awful homophobes who use his queerness as a joke and a way to make fun of him a bit.
both of them were emotionally unavailable and not in a right place mentally and they probably should’ve tried going to therapy:)
the two stars are for Luc’s mother because she’s an icon, she’s a legend and she is the moment. she was the only character who was bearable.
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship
thebookraiders's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Blir ändå 3,5 stjärnor eftersom den var både mysig och rolig + otroligt bra inläst!
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Cursing and Homophobia
Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Classism
otbval's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Minor: Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Alcohol
annahamburger's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, and Classism
Minor: Death and Death of parent
merryfaith's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Abandonment