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rellimreads's review against another edition
1.0
6/4/2022 - DNF @50%
Soooo… I was really looking forward to this, especially since Kirt Graves was narrating. Unfortunately, it isn’t working for me.
I’m not sure if it was overhyped in my circles and I expected too much. Or if as a cishet woman in her 40s I just can’t connect in any way to the experiences of a non-binary gay college freshman.
I really enjoyed the humor and banter, but it got old fast. There’s a punchline in every conversation. Feeling like every stereotype was on crack. There were also a lot of jokes and references that *I* got that my older teens would not have. It seemed odd that these catch phrases were thrown around as if all 18-22yo would know exactly what they meant.
I also felt like the MC wasn’t having typical internal thoughts, instead they spent a significant amount of time in what felt like vocabulary lessons for the reader. Maybe occasionally have a character ask a question and another answer or something. Having every possible word/concept defined via internal monologue killed the pacing of the story and made me feel like I was reading “LGBTQIA+ for dummies”.
Narration:
I enjoyed Kirt Graves narration. He’s the only reason I got as far as I did. He does an amazing job with giving all the characters unique sounding voices and keeping them consistent throughout the book.
This book desperately needs a content warning for having so many potentially triggering things in it. I have mixed feelings about how they were handled. (possible spoilers). This list is NOT exhaustive:
3/2022 - I want the audio - Kirt Graves!!!!
Soooo… I was really looking forward to this, especially since Kirt Graves was narrating. Unfortunately, it isn’t working for me.
I’m not sure if it was overhyped in my circles and I expected too much. Or if as a cishet woman in her 40s I just can’t connect in any way to the experiences of a non-binary gay college freshman.
I really enjoyed the humor and banter, but it got old fast. There’s a punchline in every conversation. Feeling like every stereotype was on crack. There were also a lot of jokes and references that *I* got that my older teens would not have. It seemed odd that these catch phrases were thrown around as if all 18-22yo would know exactly what they meant.
I also felt like the MC wasn’t having typical internal thoughts, instead they spent a significant amount of time in what felt like vocabulary lessons for the reader. Maybe occasionally have a character ask a question and another answer or something. Having every possible word/concept defined via internal monologue killed the pacing of the story and made me feel like I was reading “LGBTQIA+ for dummies”.
Narration:
I enjoyed Kirt Graves narration. He’s the only reason I got as far as I did. He does an amazing job with giving all the characters unique sounding voices and keeping them consistent throughout the book.
This book desperately needs a content warning for having so many potentially triggering things in it. I have mixed feelings about how they were handled. (possible spoilers). This list is NOT exhaustive:
Spoiler
eating disorders, fat phobia, fat shaming, homophobia, misgendering, divorce, parental homophobia,3/2022 - I want the audio - Kirt Graves!!!!
murderpigeonsgobump's review
1.0
i think this is my first dni in like two years. anyway fuck this book
rainree's review
the fairytale love story who all deserve.. loved it so much. JackChase <3
arlo_____'s review
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
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
4.75
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review
2.0
2.5/5
I was really excited about the plot but I found that it was slow in some places but the main focus was the romance which was off and on for me in terms of enjoyment. In the end it was a nice book though, just wish there was more.
I was really excited about the plot but I found that it was slow in some places but the main focus was the romance which was off and on for me in terms of enjoyment. In the end it was a nice book though, just wish there was more.
bethany6788's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Hello and welcome to my pain and joy in book form. If you’ve watched my stories between today and yesterday, you’ve seen my journey with this book. Emotionally. I was put through the wringer. But oh my gosh was it worth it. Side note thank you to @stevensalvatorebooks for being so gracious with my many DMs and tags while I read this beautiful story.
Chase is a college freshman looking for his love story and he wants to be more secure in his identify. He doesn’t feel tied to a gender. He goes to college hoping to help grow and learn about himself while also falling in love. He ends up finding friendship, found family, and himself. <<< this is an extremely simple breakdown of this story but let’s get to the nitty gritty here!
This is not an easy book to read. It forced me to look inside myself and some of the feelings I have toward my body. Toward myself. Feeling like I’m not worthy of love and I’ll never be enough for someone else. Definitely felt like I was punched in the gut. Cause, ouch. Hiding within myself? Check. Holding pillows in front of my stomach? Check. Not wanting to be undressed in front of anyone else, even someone I want to be intimate with? Check. There were parts of this book where I was crying so hard because I’ve been Chase.
My god, Jack… where do I even start? His journey was complicated and made even more so by his upbringing. His growth and finding his way... Even when he was making mistakes, you were still rooting for him to figure things out. His poetry was beautiful but it was definitely a way to hide.
Those friends! I loved them. Benny was so sassy and fun. Rae was great and protective. Sofia and Chloe were wonderful mentors. X was a great friend. Rhett even came around!
Now for some of my favorite things in the book: the first day at the river. Chase’s art. The instructor. The story he told. The lighting and thunder. The concert. That epic first kiss. The first time mishaps. The first time with everything. That incredibly intimate drawing scene. The slam poetry. Chase’s confidence. Therapy!! The breakup was so well done. The reunion was too. Jack’s grand gesture at the end I mean swooooon!
If you can’t tell, I loved it so much.
Chase is a college freshman looking for his love story and he wants to be more secure in his identify. He doesn’t feel tied to a gender. He goes to college hoping to help grow and learn about himself while also falling in love. He ends up finding friendship, found family, and himself. <<< this is an extremely simple breakdown of this story but let’s get to the nitty gritty here!
This is not an easy book to read. It forced me to look inside myself and some of the feelings I have toward my body. Toward myself. Feeling like I’m not worthy of love and I’ll never be enough for someone else. Definitely felt like I was punched in the gut. Cause, ouch. Hiding within myself? Check. Holding pillows in front of my stomach? Check. Not wanting to be undressed in front of anyone else, even someone I want to be intimate with? Check. There were parts of this book where I was crying so hard because I’ve been Chase.
My god, Jack… where do I even start? His journey was complicated and made even more so by his upbringing. His growth and finding his way... Even when he was making mistakes, you were still rooting for him to figure things out. His poetry was beautiful but it was definitely a way to hide.
Those friends! I loved them. Benny was so sassy and fun. Rae was great and protective. Sofia and Chloe were wonderful mentors. X was a great friend. Rhett even came around!
Now for some of my favorite things in the book: the first day at the river. Chase’s art. The instructor. The story he told. The lighting and thunder. The concert. That epic first kiss. The first time mishaps. The first time with everything. That incredibly intimate drawing scene. The slam poetry. Chase’s confidence. Therapy!! The breakup was so well done. The reunion was too. Jack’s grand gesture at the end I mean swooooon!
If you can’t tell, I loved it so much.
uzername's review
3.0
2.6 stars. okay gripes aside the story itself was okay, simple coming of age type which was fine for what it was. my problem was that it was too long for that, i liked the beginning and the end but it drug on so much in the middle that i was forcing myself to push through it because ion like dnfing books. which also is odd because it still felt rushed despite being so long.
it was also very corny in some parts, like it felt like this was written by an out of touch middle aged white person who was searching up any and all slang to throw in.
these complaints are usually something i wouldn’t mind if i liked the characters, but i didn’t really fuck with anybody in this book besides maybe chase sometimes. Rae was ok just there, jack was boring, the ex best friend was boring and her motivations for doing what she did felt lack luster and benny felt too much of a gay stereotype.
I did tear up towards the end with the conflict but that was less about caring for the characters and writing and more about the situation in theory.
All in all it was okay, felt very wattpad fanfic-y but it wasn’t a terrible read, definitely didn’t need to be 400 pages though.
it was also very corny in some parts, like it felt like this was written by an out of touch middle aged white person who was searching up any and all slang to throw in.
these complaints are usually something i wouldn’t mind if i liked the characters, but i didn’t really fuck with anybody in this book besides maybe chase sometimes. Rae was ok just there, jack was boring, the ex best friend was boring and her motivations for doing what she did felt lack luster and benny felt too much of a gay stereotype.
I did tear up towards the end with the conflict but that was less about caring for the characters and writing and more about the situation in theory.
All in all it was okay, felt very wattpad fanfic-y but it wasn’t a terrible read, definitely didn’t need to be 400 pages though.
marieintheraw's review
4.0
I am convinced Steven Salvatore has one mission in life and it is to make me think so deeply every time I read one of their books. Their work is magical and brutal in a way that is clearly not for everyone, but in a way that just makes so much sense.
I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
dantanian_noir's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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
3.5
sweetrosegirl76's review against another edition
4.0
4-4.5! I really liked it! It's a pretty good book! I love the rep. Talks about body dysmorphia, eating disorders, gender identity. Body diversity. Idk if I'd reread it which is why I'm giving a 4. Maybe I would if I wanted to revist the gender identity discussion. It wasn't that prevalent in this book, I kinda hoped it would be bc I thought maybe it would help me with some questions I've been having lately but it didn't.
I like it, it's just harder for me to rate contemporary books higher bc even though that's all I'm reading lately, I don't really like contemporary
I like it, it's just harder for me to rate contemporary books higher bc even though that's all I'm reading lately, I don't really like contemporary