Scan barcode
siggyo's review against another edition
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Alcohol, Racism, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Grief
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
its_vendetta's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
3.75
Loved the conversation about how fan culture treats celebrities, especially younger kids and adults, in the spotlight. The discussion on how that further affects queer people and people of color was amazing and needs to be said more.
However the plot felt a little all over the place sometimes, and the inclusion of so many side characters felt overwhelming.
Maybe if the book was dual POV so we could see how Hunter handled being criticized and then switched to Kaivan so he could discuss the struggles that he faces. It felt very competitive whenever Hunter had his meltdown, like a “who has it worse” contest. I wish the book was longer or gave more space to work through all the very serious topics Hunter, Kaivan, and the other band members were dealing with; instead of rushing through the ending in Hunters POV.
Overall, loved how flawed Hunter is as a character. It felt very realistic. However, I wished the side characters were more developed and the plot and struggles they go through were looked at more closely instead of just brushing by them. I also wish that the romance was more developed as well. My enjoyment with this book was about 4.5 stars, but with all my notes and the problems i’d put it at a 3.25.
However the plot felt a little all over the place sometimes, and the inclusion of so many side characters felt overwhelming.
Overall, loved how flawed Hunter is as a character. It felt very realistic. However, I wished the side characters were more developed and the plot and struggles they go through were looked at more closely instead of just brushing by them. I also wish that the romance was more developed as well. My enjoyment with this book was about 4.5 stars, but with all my notes and the problems i’d put it at a 3.25.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol and Bullying
Minor: Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Cultural appropriation, and Death of parent
donttellmomwhatimreading's review against another edition
3.5
Hunter’s life is a mess. He’s on his first North American tour with his bandmates/friends, recently out of a relationship with his best friend’s twin brother, and said ex just leaked text about their sex life. So having the whole world know details about his sex life isn’t great, but the label trying to market him as “a bottom” means a look that doesn’t feel like himself and constant questions about being queer. Kaivan Is the drummer for their opener and being with him feels great, he’s determined not to make the same mistakes from his prior relationship, unfortunately he’s 17 and has an immense amount of pressure on him that he refuses to share.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia
tkhenry99's review
3.0
the book explores some important themes and the format is cool, but i think it tries to tackle too much and there’s poor balance between the scenes of hunter, hunter and kaivan, and hunter and everyone else. the other characters don’t feel important to the story, it’s almost like they’re just there for convenience. so much happens before the book takes place and i felt like i didn’t have a good understanding of why things happened bc it was just summarized for the reader later (literally summarized in the form of interviews). i was disappointed that kaivan’s brothers actually never appear on page (that one 2-line interaction doesn’t count). i also felt like being in the band wasn’t even integral to the story, they could’ve been any other kind of celebrity, bc most of them being a band also happens off-page. also, why did hunter just literally never talk to his friends about anything ever?
tbh it feels like the author set out to write a boyband!AU without making it fanfic and somehow fanfic concepts don’t seem to translate well to regular fiction.
tbh it feels like the author set out to write a boyband!AU without making it fanfic and somehow fanfic concepts don’t seem to translate well to regular fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Racism
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Bullying
libby_i_guess's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
3.75
Definitely enjoyed it. I liked the style, with all the press junkets and even fanfiction summaries mixed in. It is a little crushing to read about being 17 and wanting to save the world and being expected to somehow, and still not be doing enough. But I do feel like it captured how hard that is, while also making sure to have these hard conversations about how being a white gay man does not mean you have it the worst.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
Minor: Sexual content
evelynyle_88's review against another edition
challenging
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Adult/minor relationship
hobbithopeful's review
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
4.25
I never thought a book about a diverse boy band would have so much depth and discussions on race, sexuality, and what it means to be gay. I thoroughly enjoyed this way more than I thought I would, even though I did have trouble at time differentiating characters who didn't get as much on page time. There isn't a single topic that gets brought up in the book that misses the mark, everything about the way boy bands are weirdly expected to be pure and get stereotyped, and how being queer is treated in the entertainment industry. (and really everywhere!)
I do have some sus theories about the queer country artist that Hunter meets, I wish we had seen a little more of him. There were a few other threads that seemed to kind of just get dropped with how the seemingly quickly the book ended, I wish we had more from some of the characters.
A short read about the the importance of staying true to who you are, and not being ashamed.
I recommend this book!
I do have some sus theories about the queer country artist that Hunter meets, I wish we had seen a little more of him. There were a few other threads that seemed to kind of just get dropped with how the seemingly quickly the book ended, I wish we had more from some of the characters.
A short read about the the importance of staying true to who you are, and not being ashamed.
I recommend this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Animal death, Racism, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content
bookwormbi's review
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I really really hate to give authors of color negative reviews, esp queer authors of color, but I just cannot express enough how upset this book made me. I never believed in Hunter and Kaivan as a couple. There was not a lot of development in their relationship and honestly I don’t think I know enough about Kaivan to really say whether I think they’d be good together. It all felt very instalovey, ESPECIALLY WHEN we saw those interviews where Kaivan was repeatedly insulting Kiss & Tell for no reason </spolier> I was also really surprised at how underutilized most of the characters of color are? I could barely tell Ethan, Ian, and Owen apart (their similar names did not help) and I don’t believe that these 5 are each other’s best friends. I believe Ashton and Hunter’s friendship, but it really doesn’t seem like he even knows the other 3 that well. And honestly, I would have loved to hear from Kamran and Karim!!! I think that could have helped develop Kaivan a little more in addition to just fleshing out the world. I don’t know, the whole thing felt underdone at best and legitimately harmful at worst. like I’m so sorry what MESSAGE does it send to teenagers that Hunter ends up forgiving Aidan? That’s honestly so messed up. Overall, while I could definitely see what Khorram was trying to do with this, I ultimately wasn’t compelled by it. Also, literally BEGGING YA authors to discover the new adult genre and age up their characters to fit the plotlines.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Racism
pucksandpaperbacks's review
Content Warnings: Queer and racial microaggressions, racism, f-slur on page, homophobia, sexual content, mention of dieting and calorie counting, underage drinking, sports injury, alcoholism.
I devoured this book like I was eating a plate of poutine. Kiss & Tell is an excellent commentary on sports injuries, kids being thrown into the public eye with no support or resources, and the way the public scrutinizes young queer celebrities; especially gay men. But it doesn’t shy away from the important topics of the way POC are treated in the music industry.
Our main character, Hunter Drake is a 17-year-old boy from Vancouver, BC, a Canucks fan, and a drummer. While on tour with his band, Kiss & Tell, made up of his best friends; Ian, Ashton, Ethan, and Owen, and grieving the loss of his dead and fresh heartbreak, Hunter quickly realizes he’s taking on too much. As he agrees to stage a fake dating with Kaivan, a boy in their opener, PAR-K; an Iranian-American band of brothers, in an attempt at damage control after a controversy strikes.
Hunter is in over his head when The Label demands he dress a certain way and act more feminine to sell the image. The book is a great commentary on how intense the music industry can be. Hunter is a messy character who is self-centered but as his racial biases are checked, he begins to grow. I love how Khorram shows Hunter as a messy boy who holds in his feelings until he explodes and doesn’t give him a pass when his privilege is showing.
Kiss & Tell hit all the right chords and doesn’t shy away from the reality of being a teenage boy. The book is sex positive and open about gay sex and men’s mental health. I had such a fun time reading this book. I highly recommend it! I do hope this isn’t the last we see of Kiss & Tell because I would love to read more books about the other characters because the boys were so much fun to read.
As a hockey fan and someone who grew up in the One Direction fandom era, this was such a treat!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Homophobia
Queer and racial microaggressions, racism, f-slur on page, homophobia, sexual content, mention of dieting and calorie counting, underage drinking, sports injury, alcoholism.shybookstagramer's review against another edition
4.0
gay boy band romance, what else is there to say? I really enjoyed this book and I loved the characters and the storyline. I thought that all the difficult topics that were brought up throughout the story were tackled beautifully. There was definitely a lot of passion and thought put into this story and it really shows.
I thought the addition of different format styles was great, besides the normal story, there was documentary transcripts, interview transcripts, articles, texting chat logs. It was a unique way to tell the story and I liked it.
content warning: mention of the death of a parent, cyberbullying/online harassment, homophobia, racism, sexual content, toxic relationship
I thought the addition of different format styles was great, besides the normal story, there was documentary transcripts, interview transcripts, articles, texting chat logs. It was a unique way to tell the story and I liked it.
content warning: mention of the death of a parent, cyberbullying/online harassment, homophobia, racism, sexual content, toxic relationship
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent