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rachelelouise's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
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
4.75
I LOVED this book. If you like Casey McQuiston’s other books you’ll like this, but I thought it was even better than Red, White, and Royal Blue. I found it to be much more real and compelling, and the characters were much more relatable to me: they’re capital Q Queer, they’re radicals, they’re service workers, they have mom trauma, etc. This book made me swoon, laugh, cry, and long to go to a drag show.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Grief, Abandonment, Blood, Confinement, Police brutality, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Car accident, Cursing, Death, and Racism
laurenleigh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
Oh this was so so good! What a truly delightful queer love story full of heart. I enjoyed McQuiston’s Red, White, and Royal Blue, but this was even better to me! I adored the whole cast, and I like how much we got to explore all the characters, not just the two love interests. I really want to be friends with August’s roommates! There are certainly moments the characters and the plot can border on cheesy (especially with the whole “let’s throw a fundraiser to save our local diner” subplot lol), but it never fully crossed over that line for me. Just the right amount of camp. One of the love interests is stuck in time from the 1970’s, so reading this at the same time as Tinderbox was so perfect, giving me even more appreciation for the comparison of what it meant to be queer for Jane in the 70’s vs. for August now in 2020. I will definitely be on the lookout for more McQuiston novels in the future!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia
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