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bellarinabookworm's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
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
melonreads's review against another edition
2.0
Wow, this book had so many issues, I hardly know where to start.
I was initially very excited by this book based on the cover and blurb. A m/m book with 2 Asian MCs sounded very promising and based on the blurb, it was a brother’s best friend trope, which I personally love. However, that’s also where the good news begins AND ends.
I never really got a very good read on Tobin and his desperate need for independence and to stand on his own two feet. I get that he’s the baby of the family and everyone sort of hovers and he feels a little claustrophobic. But he grew up in a wealthy family, went off to college, and spurred his parents financial assistance with college and I...didn’t really understand that.
Daniel, I actually had a better read on - he grew up poor, with a single mom who worked hard to make ends meet, he basically became the 3rd de facto son in Tobin’s family, and I got his need to be financially independent and well off, his incessant need to “repay” Tobin’s family for all that they’d given him. Bu it really pissed me off how he treated Tobin for the bulk of the book.
I don’t recall the age gap between the two characters but sometimes, they really treated Tobin so young and it just felt really weird.
Next - the corporate business-y part of the book, which is how Tobin and Daniel end up back in each other’s orbit after hooking up 7 years earlier at Tobin’s brother (also Daniel’s best friend) Wei’s bachelor party. They were at cross purposes and I totally get that but I do thing too much of this book focused on that and the inclusion of Cyrus, the owner of the struggling company Daniel’s company is trying to takeover and Tobin’s company is trying to save, added nothing but extraneous complications. Cyrus is a transphobic, homophobic asshole and possibly a pedophile. No, seriously. There’s a plot line in the book where it’s thought that he’s engaging in sex trafficking and basically everyone knows and decides to not turn him in but instead, use it as leverage to get him to sell the business to Daniel’s company and I was like WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING??? It was such a bizarre part of the story that really went nowhere so I’m not sure what the point of including it in the book even was.
Tobin also lives with his lesbian roommate and her girlfriend and I have to say, I felt some of the language he used to describe her and her girlfriend was really offensive AF.
It’s too bad that there were so many problems with this book because based on the cover and the trope, there was a potential for this book to be amazing. There was also an accident where Daniel, while driving, is distracted and hits a cyclist and...again, why? Based on what followed (a scene where Tobin takes care of Daniel and their emotional intimacy and physical intimacy is furthered) I can kind of see why it was in the book but surely there were better ways to do it. It just all felt a little too much.
CW: transphobic, homophobic side character, possibly a pedophile, sex trafficking, car accident, I don’t know if i covered all of it, there was so much that happened that felt unnecessary to the central romance.
I received an ARC, the review is all mine.
I was initially very excited by this book based on the cover and blurb. A m/m book with 2 Asian MCs sounded very promising and based on the blurb, it was a brother’s best friend trope, which I personally love. However, that’s also where the good news begins AND ends.
I never really got a very good read on Tobin and his desperate need for independence and to stand on his own two feet. I get that he’s the baby of the family and everyone sort of hovers and he feels a little claustrophobic. But he grew up in a wealthy family, went off to college, and spurred his parents financial assistance with college and I...didn’t really understand that.
Daniel, I actually had a better read on - he grew up poor, with a single mom who worked hard to make ends meet, he basically became the 3rd de facto son in Tobin’s family, and I got his need to be financially independent and well off, his incessant need to “repay” Tobin’s family for all that they’d given him. Bu it really pissed me off how he treated Tobin for the bulk of the book.
I don’t recall the age gap between the two characters but sometimes, they really treated Tobin so young and it just felt really weird.
Next - the corporate business-y part of the book, which is how Tobin and Daniel end up back in each other’s orbit after hooking up 7 years earlier at Tobin’s brother (also Daniel’s best friend) Wei’s bachelor party. They were at cross purposes and I totally get that but I do thing too much of this book focused on that and the inclusion of Cyrus, the owner of the struggling company Daniel’s company is trying to takeover and Tobin’s company is trying to save, added nothing but extraneous complications. Cyrus is a transphobic, homophobic asshole and possibly a pedophile. No, seriously. There’s a plot line in the book where it’s thought that he’s engaging in sex trafficking and basically everyone knows and decides to not turn him in but instead, use it as leverage to get him to sell the business to Daniel’s company and I was like WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING??? It was such a bizarre part of the story that really went nowhere so I’m not sure what the point of including it in the book even was.
Tobin also lives with his lesbian roommate and her girlfriend and I have to say, I felt some of the language he used to describe her and her girlfriend was really offensive AF.
It’s too bad that there were so many problems with this book because based on the cover and the trope, there was a potential for this book to be amazing. There was also an accident where Daniel, while driving, is distracted and hits a cyclist and...again, why? Based on what followed (a scene where Tobin takes care of Daniel and their emotional intimacy and physical intimacy is furthered) I can kind of see why it was in the book but surely there were better ways to do it. It just all felt a little too much.
CW: transphobic, homophobic side character, possibly a pedophile, sex trafficking, car accident, I don’t know if i covered all of it, there was so much that happened that felt unnecessary to the central romance.
I received an ARC, the review is all mine.
ingloriousgigi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
Honestly I loved it. This book had all of my favorite tropes and it was nice to see it done from an Asian perspective. Daniel and Tobin so cute together and the whole family drama made me anxious but the ending totally made it worth it!
hungryandhappy's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
3.5
If there's one thing I don't like is characters not talking to each other, not looking for clarification to something they know they want to understand. And they go days, weeks sometimes months ignoring each other, being mad for reasons that maybe a serious talk could've solved way sooner.
Danny and Tobin took their time. They crashed soon and hard, and they had way too many stops along the way, they made my head spin.
I didn't get much the finance part of the story but maybe it was supposed to be that way. I liked their interactions and chemistry and I enjoyed feeling the love blooming. I didn't enjoy them ruining everything constantly by not communicating. TALK!!
I liked how it was written, the story flows nicely and it keeps you interested enough to keep going until the end. It was emotional and cute, maybe a tad too angsty.
Danny and Tobin took their time. They crashed soon and hard, and they had way too many stops along the way, they made my head spin.
I didn't get much the finance part of the story but maybe it was supposed to be that way. I liked their interactions and chemistry and I enjoyed feeling the love blooming. I didn't enjoy them ruining everything constantly by not communicating. TALK!!
I liked how it was written, the story flows nicely and it keeps you interested enough to keep going until the end. It was emotional and cute, maybe a tad too angsty.
anniekslibrary's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It started off so strong that I thought it might be a 5 star read, but then it didn't end up living up to its potential for me. This was mostly two-fold: I thought I would love the main characters, but I didn't really end up doing so, because I don't feel like I got to know them that well beyond the few characteristics they're given. Then I also feel like the conflicts weren't developed enough to fit seamlessly into the story - they felt a little forced. There were parts I really liked though - mostly the dynamic between the main characters - and I think I'll still want to read the sequel. I was just hoping to love this instead of just liking it.
lucyreads's review against another edition
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
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