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parasolcrafter's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
this book SUCKED you guys dont even know how glad i am to be finished with it. my god.
the characters are underdeveloped and some hinge solely on stereotypes, a couple are barely there (like why were owen and especially ian there so scarcely??? makes no sense!!!) despite the fact that the book focuses on a boy band who are all, seemingly, best friends, and overall none of them are all that likeable. hunter is a self-obsessed boy who seems to think the world revolves around the fact that hes a bottom (did the author think if he didnt mention the fact that hunter is a bottom in every chapter that we'd forget??? made me so mad. shut up about it.), kaivan is okay but has almost no personality, aidan is the stereotypical bitter ex, and ashton is just...there. nothing of note really happens in the book either...? like it doesnt break any ground. doesnt do anything new. doesnt really pose any questions about society. it was all so shallow
the characters are underdeveloped and some hinge solely on stereotypes, a couple are barely there (like why were owen and especially ian there so scarcely??? makes no sense!!!) despite the fact that the book focuses on a boy band who are all, seemingly, best friends, and overall none of them are all that likeable. hunter is a self-obsessed boy who seems to think the world revolves around the fact that hes a bottom (did the author think if he didnt mention the fact that hunter is a bottom in every chapter that we'd forget??? made me so mad. shut up about it.), kaivan is okay but has almost no personality, aidan is the stereotypical bitter ex, and ashton is just...there. nothing of note really happens in the book either...? like it doesnt break any ground. doesnt do anything new. doesnt really pose any questions about society. it was all so shallow
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Fatphobia and Death of parent
this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition
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
3.0
I don't remember a whole lot about this book seeing as I read it months ago, so here's what I do remember based on a conversation I had with my friend about it immediately after:
- It was cute, but I struggled throughout the entire book with something that irked me and I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.
- I think part of the reason I didn't love this book is that everything felt very surface level. We didn't really dig deep into the feelings or situations present.
- It was never really explained why Hunter was into Kaivan, other than he was the only other gay guy in the vicinity. He was defensive the entire book about it NOT being a rebound when it so clearly was.
- The book just...ended. Like, there was no closure or explanation about everything that happened. It just ended.
- Hunter experienced a literal breakdown and the story glossed over it like, "he had a lot of bottled up emotions." Like what he experienced is entirely normal and a healthy part of growing up.
- The author himself is Iranian-American but the book is written from the perspective of the white guy in the relationship. Now, I'm not saying that just because the author is of this particular identity he has to write from the perspective of the other POC in the relationship - but there were so many instances of veiled racism in the text that were simply not explored BECAUSE it was from Hunter's perspective. I feel this is a missed opportunity.
- Basically this read as very surface-level One Direction fanfiction.
If this is the kind of story you're looking to read, I would suggest reading If This Gets Out instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual harassment
Minor: Fatphobia and Death of parent
infinitefandomstrash's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
love_bookswillbetheendofme's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
Hunter is a fairly self absorbed character, but that isn't unexpected considering he's 17 and has spent the last few years in the spotlight. I feel that a lot of the news articles consistently forgot the fact that he's still a child. That said, I do feel like he was able to grow up a bit during this story.
Kaivan didn't seem to do as much growing, but I felt that his relationship with Hunter was genuine and sweet.
Kaivan didn't seem to do as much growing, but I felt that his relationship with Hunter was genuine and sweet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming
jeanniea's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A fun read! Rly spoke to the teenage me. Felt that the ending and character conflicts were a bit rushed, but enjoyed the format of the story telling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol
bookhoarderbea's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Outing
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Death of parent
internationalreads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
criticalgayze's review
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I will start by saying that this one got lost at the bottom of the barrel of me trying to get through the fact that I had taken on one too many romance books at one time. I binge-finished four different romance novels this weekend, and I think this one being the one I did on audio gave it short shrift.
I think all the kids here are really sweet, and I think the novel is much kinder than December's If This Gets Out by Cale Dietrich and Sophie Gonzalez. I think the situations are very believable that the characters are placed into, maybe even more so than the aforementioned title, and I like that this one had more moments of levity in the romance and more support for the love interests.
But I also think that this book tried to be kind and tough at the same time. I think the choice to tell this from a "nice white gay" point-of-view was maybe the wrong choice as it leads to too much equivocating by and forgiveness for this white lead. I also don't think that either of these two very similar books quite get at what a fully fleshed out performance of Queer + youth fame would look like, and I would love a novel like this from someone who was a Queer musician with some novel writing prowess. (Sivan? Lil Nas X? Are either of you good authors as well as musical artists?)
I will say that some of the more interesting parts of this for me that I think really got to something worth having a conversation about were the media interstitials Khorram weaved in, and he once again proves himself to have very interesting things to say.
I think all the kids here are really sweet, and I think the novel is much kinder than December's If This Gets Out by Cale Dietrich and Sophie Gonzalez. I think the situations are very believable that the characters are placed into, maybe even more so than the aforementioned title, and I like that this one had more moments of levity in the romance and more support for the love interests.
But I also think that this book tried to be kind and tough at the same time. I think the choice to tell this from a "nice white gay" point-of-view was maybe the wrong choice as it leads to too much equivocating by and forgiveness for this white lead. I also don't think that either of these two very similar books quite get at what a fully fleshed out performance of Queer + youth fame would look like, and I would love a novel like this from someone who was a Queer musician with some novel writing prowess. (Sivan? Lil Nas X? Are either of you good authors as well as musical artists?)
I will say that some of the more interesting parts of this for me that I think really got to something worth having a conversation about were the media interstitials Khorram weaved in, and he once again proves himself to have very interesting things to say.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
dododenise's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
This book was really fun! It tackles all the bits one would expect from a book about gay singer in a boyband: expectations of fame, pressure, homophobia, loneliness, stereotypes and being formed into something you’re not.
Next to it blossomed a beautiful romance. Those were the bits I enjoyed most with great dialogues that were so much fun and could get into some other themes. Really enjoyed the conversation about racism and privilege throughout.
I would have wished the other characters to be more fleshed out. I feel like I barely know anyone but Hunter and Kaivan. There were just glimpses of the others. Ashton and Ethan a bit more, but I really wanted to get to know the band a bit better.
Overall a really enjoyable read!
Next to it blossomed a beautiful romance. Those were the bits I enjoyed most with great dialogues that were so much fun and could get into some other themes. Really enjoyed the conversation about racism and privilege throughout.
I would have wished the other characters to be more fleshed out. I feel like I barely know anyone but Hunter and Kaivan. There were just glimpses of the others. Ashton and Ethan a bit more, but I really wanted to get to know the band a bit better.
Overall a really enjoyable read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
theromanticace's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent