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netslummer's review
4.0
I resisted reading this series for a very long time because the cover model looks like Chad Michael Mudface (Murray) and I hate him. After nearing the end of the entirety of the Klune Catalogue I figured it was finally time to get on with it.
Paul is a slightly overweight gay man about to turn 30. Of course that means he has terrible insecurity because the gay community can be vicious. He sees a hot guy at the bar, hits him with his car, and falls in love.
This book was an entire miss at the start and then a pretty solid end. Vince's entire personality started as "hot" and "kinda dumb".
Paul is terribly insecure because he's a little chubby.
I dunno. Putting aside my own upset at being personally victimized by Regina George as a 30-something chubby gay man and having Paul be a media poster child for that experience, the book was...cute.
I love all the characters (ish) which is standard of a Klune. He's really good at making fun characters. Paul and Vince are great about 80% of the time and everyone else is super fun. So maybe the rest of the books in the series will be better. I know I'm eager to see Corey/Kori again from BOATK.
Paul is a slightly overweight gay man about to turn 30. Of course that means he has terrible insecurity because the gay community can be vicious. He sees a hot guy at the bar, hits him with his car, and falls in love.
This book was an entire miss at the start and then a pretty solid end. Vince's entire personality started as "hot" and "kinda dumb".
Paul is terribly insecure because he's a little chubby.
I dunno. Putting aside my own upset at being personally victimized by Regina George as a 30-something chubby gay man and having Paul be a media poster child for that experience, the book was...cute.
I love all the characters (ish) which is standard of a Klune. He's really good at making fun characters. Paul and Vince are great about 80% of the time and everyone else is super fun. So maybe the rest of the books in the series will be better. I know I'm eager to see Corey/Kori again from BOATK.
tinkcourtney's review against another edition
5.0
The audio of this was everything. I woke my husband up laughing in bed. What a wonderful, wonderful book.
ankysbookbubble's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first TJ Klune book and I'll definitely be reading more. This book made me almost choke with laughter too many times.
My favourite character was probably Helena Handbasket, which is why I'm eager to read the next book since it's her story. I loved Paul and Vince too, but Helena stole my heart.
My favourite character was probably Helena Handbasket, which is why I'm eager to read the next book since it's her story. I loved Paul and Vince too, but Helena stole my heart.
larinda_booksandanxiety's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this one, even more than the series it's a spin off of. This was just fun.
joy4u's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.0
thebookworm777's review against another edition
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
gabs93's review
funny
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
4.0
sil_the_lobster's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this one up right after finishing ‘The lightning-struck heart‘ because I wanted to see how TJ Klune’s style transports in a contemporary scenario. Which is a strange thing to say because it should be the other way around…how does his style fit into a fantasy setting?
Anyway. I read it and liked it. Liked it a lot but not quite as much as the other one. Maybe because Sam and Ryan swept, no, knocked me off my feet? And because Helena Handbasket—brilliant though she is—is no match for Gary? Then again, there’s Wheels who is awesome in his own right although he is a rather little dog. But…no Gary. And certainly no Kevin.
Still, it’s a very, very enjoyable read, massively entertaining and well-written and while it didn’t make me snort quite as disgracefully, I laughed a lot.
There’s only one thing I came to dislike fairly quickly: Vince is not stupid at all and I wonder why that’s being said again and again. I understand how one might say something negative about oneself simply because one’s been told time and again, but the book keeps rubbing it in and you keep expecting some sort of illiterate klutz which Vince isn’t. So he doesn’t talk as much and as fast as Paul does and doesn’t use all of Paul’s multi-syllable words, but he’s anything but slow-witted.
Other than that: much fun to read!
Four out of five stars.
Anyway. I read it and liked it. Liked it a lot but not quite as much as the other one. Maybe because Sam and Ryan swept, no, knocked me off my feet? And because Helena Handbasket—brilliant though she is—is no match for Gary? Then again, there’s Wheels who is awesome in his own right although he is a rather little dog. But…no Gary. And certainly no Kevin.
Still, it’s a very, very enjoyable read, massively entertaining and well-written and while it didn’t make me snort quite as disgracefully, I laughed a lot.
There’s only one thing I came to dislike fairly quickly: Vince is not stupid at all and I wonder why that’s being said again and again. I understand how one might say something negative about oneself simply because one’s been told time and again, but the book keeps rubbing it in and you keep expecting some sort of illiterate klutz which Vince isn’t. So he doesn’t talk as much and as fast as Paul does and doesn’t use all of Paul’s multi-syllable words, but he’s anything but slow-witted.
Other than that: much fun to read!
Four out of five stars.
kp_khera's review against another edition
3.0
3,5 Stars
Because the first time I started reading this it made me laugh.
But then I stopped because it was actually difficult to continue reading because Paul got himself in the weirdest situations.
Because even though some of the jokes make me laugh out loud - there also those that make me cringe, and situations where I just role my eyes because it seems as though the author is trying too hard... Or it's just Paul, sometimes. But then he's kind of awesome too so...
Vince I loved. As did everyone else. Even the homophobic parrot named Johnny Depp.
Anyways, I really loved Paul and Vince together and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Because the first time I started reading this it made me laugh.
But then I stopped because it was actually difficult to continue reading because Paul got himself in the weirdest situations.
Because even though some of the jokes make me laugh out loud - there also those that make me cringe, and situations where I just role my eyes because it seems as though the author is trying too hard... Or it's just Paul, sometimes. But then he's kind of awesome too so...
Vince I loved. As did everyone else. Even the homophobic parrot named Johnny Depp.
Anyways, I really loved Paul and Vince together and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
jacehan's review
2.0
I can’t recommend it. There’s an enjoyable story there, but the weirdly racist and misogynistic “jokes” that kept popping up really dragged it down. (I say weirdly because I’ve read a lot of Klune’s other books and they aren’t like that, but then again he has a lot more I haven’t read. Maybe that’s just supposed to be Paul’s character, but then that makes him a character I don’t like or want to root for.) I could imagine a revised version with a few edits that would be much better.