Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Darius le Grand mérite mieux by Adib Khorram

63 reviews

decklededgess's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

trigger warnings: depression, suicide mention, homophobia, racism, bullying, transphobia mention, body dysmorphia, fat shaming, sexual content mention, refugee mention, death of family member, cancer mention, grief

I didnt expect the second book to hit has hard as the first one did but here I am driving to work crying over the last few chapters. 

Such an incredible duology and a strong follow up to a stunning first book. 
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tyyne's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A nice YA story. The nerdy references were fun but got repetitive. Somehow got more boring as it went on, which was a bummer.
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addyson_raelynn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad 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

5.0

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q17's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

3.75

While some the best gay representation I've seen, I found the pace of the book a bit slow and the plot difficult to summarise.
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taelights's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

4.0

First of all I need a third book so badly. If we do not get book three I will be deeply disappointed. Also I need Darius x Sohrab to be endgame because they are the couple I want and need. 

This series is so beautiful. The themes of family and friends are so wonderful and make me so emotional. I loved seeing Darius' relationship with his father strengthen as a result of the events of last book. I loved seeing all the themes explored in this sequel - family, Darius being gay and exploring his feelings for boys, body image, boundaries in romance and with sex, and mental health.

I honestly hated both of the possible love interests in this story and think neither of them should be with Darius. Landon was a selfish asshole who kept trying to guilt trip and pressure darius into sex every other chapter. Darius would keep saying no and that he wanted to take things slow and that he wasn't ready to lose his virginity yet. So it was just really annoying that he kept bringing up sex and trying to pressure Darius in pretty much every interaction they had. Including once
in his grandmothers' car right after a memorial service for Darius' grandfather which was really icky to me.

Then Chip is also a horrible option. Bully to lovers is literally the worst trope ever to me. So, ex-bully and current friend with a crush on Darius was just not it. Especially seeing as Chip is still best friends throughout the book with Darius' other bully who is still actively bullying him and calling him homophobic and racist things. Even if Chip is no longer the one bullying Darius and being prejudice against him it doesn't change the fact that 1) he did it in the past and 2) that he is still best friends with a racist homophobic bully. He never defends Darius despite seeing the way his friend treats this boy he claims to like and he's always making excuses for the bully as well. So in my opinion he didn't actually change and is still just as bad.
And no, him finally defending Darius in literally the last chapter doesn't make up for it especially because it was only after Darius had an argument with him about it. 

Anyways please give me book 3 and also make Darius and Sohrab get together in it thanks. 
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e_flah's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad 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

4.25

It's always very nerve-wracking to pick up an unexpected companion novel to a book I really loved. There's a fear that it won't be as good as I hope it will be or will somehow tarnish my view of the first book. It definitely helped that Darius the Great Deserves Better picks up a few months after book 1 left off. There's a good blend of new and old characters as well as the continuation of some threads from Darius the Great is Not Okay. I loved getting to see a more confident Darius who is able to put himself out there to connect with others.

Darius the Great Deserves Better didn't quite have the magic of book 1 for me but was still a highly enjoyable companion novel that gave me the chance to spend some more time with characters I really care about.
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gardenofroses's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

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kaabtik's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

"Why come back to Darius?

That's the question I kept asking myself. But the answer ended up being fairly simple: because he had more to say."

I can't begin to explain how much I love this book. It reads like a diary of someone you know so well that you're unsure whether you're reading your own. Thank you, Adib Khorram, for writing these books and for letting me meet Darius. Thank you.
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caidyn's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

4.25

This was such a sweet follow up and I'm glad that Adib wrote it. It, again, explores the complexities of growing up, complete with talking about family changes, parental mental health, grief and death, and relationship strains. Was this sequel needed? Not necessarily. But I'm so glad it was published.
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megj23's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring 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

5.0

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