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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
internationalreads's review against another edition
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: Grief, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Racism, Homophobia, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
betweentheshelves'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
4.5
While very different in style from Khorram's previous books, there's still the same heart and emotion pulsing behind this story. Apparently I've been on kind of a boy band kick lately, and I'm happy to say this book didn't disappoint. From the beginning, I didn't want to put this book down!
One of the things that works so well for this book is the news articles, blog posts, email chains, and text conversations between chapters. Not only does it help provide context for Kiss and Tell's success as a band, but it also provides the reader with what's happening in the broader pop culture elements of their world. We also get character growth in these articles, and they're just so clever.
And the characters! If there's one thing that Khorram excels at it's writing characters. Yes, Hunter is messy and a bit self-centered and a boy who thinks he has to take everything on by himself. The dynamic he has with Kaivan evolves and it's quite adorable, honestly. They had great chemistry as a couple.
Underneath the boy band drama of the book, Khorram also touches on important issues, like society's expectations for gay people in the spotlight, racism in the music industry, and the tolls of a public persona. While I do wish that some of the race stuff was explored a little more, Hunter does grow a lot in this aspect. By the end, I do feel like he realizes he has privilege in ways that his band members do not.
I do wish that there were maybe like 30 more pages in the story? I just wanted a bit more resolution at the end, to see a little more after all that goes down with Hunter and the band. Plus, I wanted to see Hunter and Kaivan's relationship expand a little more there at the end.
All in all, this is a fantastic addition to Khorram's already fantastic books, and I can't wait to see what he does next!
One of the things that works so well for this book is the news articles, blog posts, email chains, and text conversations between chapters. Not only does it help provide context for Kiss and Tell's success as a band, but it also provides the reader with what's happening in the broader pop culture elements of their world. We also get character growth in these articles, and they're just so clever.
And the characters! If there's one thing that Khorram excels at it's writing characters. Yes, Hunter is messy and a bit self-centered and a boy who thinks he has to take everything on by himself. The dynamic he has with Kaivan evolves and it's quite adorable, honestly. They had great chemistry as a couple.
Underneath the boy band drama of the book, Khorram also touches on important issues, like society's expectations for gay people in the spotlight, racism in the music industry, and the tolls of a public persona. While I do wish that some of the race stuff was explored a little more, Hunter does grow a lot in this aspect. By the end, I do feel like he realizes he has privilege in ways that his band members do not.
I do wish that there were maybe like 30 more pages in the story? I just wanted a bit more resolution at the end, to see a little more after all that goes down with Hunter and the band. Plus, I wanted to see Hunter and Kaivan's relationship expand a little more there at the end.
All in all, this is a fantastic addition to Khorram's already fantastic books, and I can't wait to see what he does next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Body shaming, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, and Fatphobia
kayladaila's review
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Dysphoria, Homophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Sexual harassment, Fatphobia, Cultural appropriation, Car accident, Abandonment, Death of parent, Hate crime, and Racial slurs
foreverinastory's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
4.5/5
This was really great! I feel like it could've been longer to really explore some of the discussions presented. Kiss & Tell follows the incredibly popular boy band "Kiss & Tell" and Hunter Drake, the only gay member in the band. Hunter has been an icon for queer youth everywhere, but after his breakup with his boyfriend and texts are leaked, his image is put into question. Hunter never wanted to be the Label's perfect queer kid, but navigating the line between keeping the Label appeased and being himself is hard enough without thousands of fans and parents talking about his actions like they know him.
Then there's Kaivan, the drummer of PAR-K, the opener for Kiss & Tell on their North American tour. Hunter and Kaivan start a flirty friendship when Kaivan comes out to him. Hunter thinks this could develop into something romantic, but when the Label gets involved, Hunter doesn't know what to do.
This was such a great story about the pressure of being in the spotlight and how that affects people. Hunter is a white cis gay boy and he has a lot of privilege. It was very interesting to see all the things he dealt with and how he centers himself. Three members of Kiss & Tell are BIPOC, but when Hunter finally talks to them, he realizes that he's not the only one dealing with stereotypes and microaggressions. Hunter is a bit selfish and closed off in the beginning of this, but we see him start to come out of his shell and begin to listen. I wish this book was longer so we could've seen more action from Hunter as he comes to all these realizations.
I do wish Hunter had taken a bigger role in educating himself. Maybe it's because he's Canadian, but I think it stems more from being white. But Hunter is constantly educated by the people of color in his life and I can't imagine how tiring that was for them. I do like that by the end he's finally more receptive to what their saying and how racism is different from queermisia, but is still just as damaging.
I did like Hunter's character. He's only a teenager and he doesn't have everything figured out. Plus with private texts leaked by his ex, he's dealing with a lot. His image and reputation are in question and Hunter doesn't know how to navigate this, especially as a gay boy. The Label wants him to become more of a femme/twink persona even though that's not him. He spends a lot of time internally debating how to navigate this and what he should do.
I really enjoyed Hunter and Kaivan's friendship/relationship. Kaivan was so cute and I wanted more of him. The past interviews with him definitely made me worried. I liked how he did eventually talk to Hunter about all of it. There was so much interesting presence about heteronormativity, and toxic masculinity. We do get some discussions of it and I was glad for that. I would've loved more, but ultimately, I really enjoyed this book.
Last thing I'll say is that this cover is RUDE and screams pansexual vibes and then there was no pan characters and I was sad. Oh well :(
Rep: white Canadian gay cis male MC, Iranian-American gay cis male side character, white Canadian gay cis male side character, white Canadian cishet male side character, Vietnamese-Canadian cishet male side character, Brazilian-Canadian cishet male side character, Indian-Canadian cishet male side character, Black queer nonbinary drag monarch side character, white American gay cis male side character, various queer & BIPOC side characters briefly mentioned.
CWs: Body shaming, slut shaming, homophobia/homomisia, racism, sexual harassment. Moderate: alcohol consumption, sexual harassment, sexual assault, outing, consensual sexual content, grief, past death of parent. Minor: Car accident.
4.5/5
This was really great! I feel like it could've been longer to really explore some of the discussions presented. Kiss & Tell follows the incredibly popular boy band "Kiss & Tell" and Hunter Drake, the only gay member in the band. Hunter has been an icon for queer youth everywhere, but after his breakup with his boyfriend and texts are leaked, his image is put into question. Hunter never wanted to be the Label's perfect queer kid, but navigating the line between keeping the Label appeased and being himself is hard enough without thousands of fans and parents talking about his actions like they know him.
Then there's Kaivan, the drummer of PAR-K, the opener for Kiss & Tell on their North American tour. Hunter and Kaivan start a flirty friendship when Kaivan comes out to him. Hunter thinks this could develop into something romantic, but when the Label gets involved, Hunter doesn't know what to do.
This was such a great story about the pressure of being in the spotlight and how that affects people. Hunter is a white cis gay boy and he has a lot of privilege. It was very interesting to see all the things he dealt with and how he centers himself. Three members of Kiss & Tell are BIPOC, but when Hunter finally talks to them, he realizes that he's not the only one dealing with stereotypes and microaggressions. Hunter is a bit selfish and closed off in the beginning of this, but we see him start to come out of his shell and begin to listen. I wish this book was longer so we could've seen more action from Hunter as he comes to all these realizations.
I do wish Hunter had taken a bigger role in educating himself. Maybe it's because he's Canadian, but I think it stems more from being white. But Hunter is constantly educated by the people of color in his life and I can't imagine how tiring that was for them. I do like that by the end he's finally more receptive to what their saying and how racism is different from queermisia, but is still just as damaging.
I did like Hunter's character. He's only a teenager and he doesn't have everything figured out. Plus with private texts leaked by his ex, he's dealing with a lot. His image and reputation are in question and Hunter doesn't know how to navigate this, especially as a gay boy. The Label wants him to become more of a femme/twink persona even though that's not him. He spends a lot of time internally debating how to navigate this and what he should do.
I really enjoyed Hunter and Kaivan's friendship/relationship. Kaivan was so cute and I wanted more of him. The past interviews with him definitely made me worried. I liked how he did eventually talk to Hunter about all of it. There was so much interesting presence about heteronormativity, and toxic masculinity. We do get some discussions of it and I was glad for that. I would've loved more, but ultimately, I really enjoyed this book.
Last thing I'll say is that this cover is RUDE and screams pansexual vibes and then there was no pan characters and I was sad. Oh well :(
Rep: white Canadian gay cis male MC, Iranian-American gay cis male side character, white Canadian gay cis male side character, white Canadian cishet male side character, Vietnamese-Canadian cishet male side character, Brazilian-Canadian cishet male side character, Indian-Canadian cishet male side character, Black queer nonbinary drag monarch side character, white American gay cis male side character, various queer & BIPOC side characters briefly mentioned.
CWs: Body shaming, slut shaming, homophobia/homomisia, racism, sexual harassment. Moderate: alcohol consumption, sexual harassment, sexual assault, outing, consensual sexual content, grief, past death of parent. Minor: Car accident.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Grief, Outing, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident
armontheroad's review
emotional
funny
informative
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
5.0
I was given an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I finished reading KISS & TELL in roughly ten hours, which should tell you just how enthralled and in love with this story I was. Adib Khorram, once again, writes a fantastic novel with amazing characters and vital conversations. I cried several times whilst reading this, excitedly screamed my head off, and mourned the fact it ended. I want more books with these characters! This book is going to be so important to so many people and the conversations had will, no doubt, positively impact the young readers this book gets into the hands of. This is worth so much of your time!!
Content Warnings: Racism, slut shaming, fetishization, homophobia, infantilization, outing, sexual harassment, sexual assault, parental death, grief, burnout, alcohol, car accident.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Outing, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident
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