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willoughby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Cancer and Homophobia
Minor: Eating disorder and Toxic relationship
livlamentloathe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Pro’s:
- When they were actually being semi-serious boyfriends, post-dinner with the two rich dummies, Oliver and Luc were super cute and sweet
- I appreciated the idea of the bathroom door and Luc vocalizing his fear/longing for intimacy
- Luc’s mom and Judy — who totally should’ve been in love but oh well
- James Royce Royce and James Royce Royce (spelling? I listened to the audiobook so who’s to say?) — at first this annoyed me but by the end, I found the whole bit hilarious
- Luc’s friends helping him clean
- Bridgette’s work emergencies and terminal lateness
- I cried for a bit in the middle when Oliver and Luc were super cute and boyfriendy and so caring for one another at the gala! Luc’s need for support mirrored my own there so it was personal watching him be cared for in just the way he needed.
- The realism of Luc’s absentee father being shit still and not deserving Luc. I also liked that Luc didn’t let him off lightly at any point despite “having cancer.”
Con’s:
- But on the other hand: Luc’s dad. First because, it was unnecessary for him not to have cancer in the end! I’d have preferred an explanation like the doctor misread an X-Ray, or some meds were working and he’d be okay, or there was a surgery option with a high success rate! Anything but “oh that was an overdramatic lie”
- And further: his whole bit was so random. Somehow despite never being in Luc’s life, and Luc being more or less a random, the paps cared about Luc like he was a dang Kardashian. Instead of like… idk I pictured Howard Stern but if Stern was a narcissist rocker Lennon-type who lived to have a sad pithy comeback on The Voice. And he cares aww, then shows time and time and time and time again he doesn’t care, then ghosts again. If it looks like a duck…
- Tom????? No proper explanation for the status of Luc’s relationship with him, what it had been, why it ended, how he picked Luc’s friend over Luc? And the lack of proper understanding for Luc’s feelings post-relationship! Of course he’s bitter and sad!!!! Who wouldn’t be in that situation?! (That said, he seemed to be the only character with his head on “straight”)
- The ending, the ending, the fucking ending!!!!
- How defensive and snappy and mean Oliver was at and after Luc met his family! Especially after Oliver had practically begged for a game plan and Oliver hadn’t said anything to warn him!!
- The rude guy at the pub in the first scene being overly offended by Luc making the REALISTIC assumption a journalist would want to write about him! Then Luc was in so much mental conflict and dragging himself through the mud for being anxious and not wanting to be exposed again and said journalist acted like Luc was a narcissist for even making a joke about it! THEN having the fucking GALL to write about it!!!!!!!!!!! You can’t fucking act offended when someone thinks you’re using them for a story and then turn around and use them for a fucking story!!! What a fucking jackass.
- Oliver’s awful friends and awful awful family!!! The family were sincerely fucked up people, but how could Oliver let them talk about Luc like that??! It’s one thing that he let them tear into him, that’s a personal issue based on clear trauma and toxic familial abuse, but it bothered me that he was okay with Luc being the back-up target for defending Oliver!
- The idiots Oliver worked with! They were characatures of people! Reese (Rhys?) was one thing. He was a believable older man who shouldn’t be in charge of socials and was bumbling his way through it. But the other guy was such a fucking idiot that it’s beyond me how he even had a job! How can you be both that inept and so up and up with society-folk???????? Was this an obvious metaphor I missed? All in all, the only good bit of them for me was when Luc told the joke about the interrupting cow.
- THE HOMOPHOBIA!!! I could not connect with Luc’s desire to work at that company. It’d have been one thing if there was a micro-aggression and he needed the job. But he didn’t seem to need the work considering his rich dad, and mom living off royalties!! There was too much homophobia and him wanting to work there was beyond me. He should’ve quit. He should’ve sued them.
- I hated how all the homophobes got away with it. Like the queer characters would acknowledge it was homophobic after the fact (or mentally during) but rarely did anyone answer for their own ignorance! And this is re: cis white gay men. They were the first group of lgbtq+ to be palatable to the public, so there’s no real excuse! Luc stayed at and actively helped his homophobic boss. And bent over backward to make a bunch of other rich homophobes happy! Gross af.
- Luc’s self-awareness was frustrating. He’d think the right thing and say something bananas or just not say anything at all! It was so frustrating.
- Their communication was just bad. Most of the problems could’ve been solved with one honest conversation. How are we supposed to believe in the romantic ending when they broke up like 5 times during the book??
- The intensity of Oliver’s breakup with Luc. It floored me cause it seemed out of nowhere! Beyond their clear communication issues and the family thing, Oliver had not been anything less than loving and all in, and then he just up and decides it’s over? Sorry but it felt forced. It wasn’t organic enough to be believable.
- And THEN: Luc was made to jump through hoops and run an entire obstacle course (by his friends who were not being helpful kind nudgers trying to match make, but instead were brutal, harsh, and way too overly-involved. Good outside intervention would've been Bridge (?) giving Oliver a scolding or trying to help them communicate. Not kidnapping Luc and locking him out of the car to force him to beg Oliver back!! Oliver DUMPED Luc. Oliver should be the grand-gesture-er. Not Luc. I was so frustrated by the whole thing at that point. Much too frustrated to think the ending was romantic. I cannot believe they won’t just break up for good post-book.
Anyway, most of my thoughts are specific to spoilers. But my tldr/you haven’t read the book review is: The romantic relationship of the two central characters was plagued by poor communication, assumptions, and a desperate need to see a therapist (3 therapists—one each for them as individuals and another for them as a couple). The background characters are such bananas caricatures of humans, that they read as cartoonishly mean, dumb, and self-obsessed. I think they were meant to be jovially mean with the implication that Luc isn’t good to them so it’s mutual, but in my opinion, they just sucked. Sorry that was very mean.
If you want a simple book with stereotypical relationship problems, gay romance (that feels written by a str8 despite that very much not being the case??), and a sweet if not dragged out plot, this may be for you. Oh an actual selling point is that if you want a romance that’s entire plot is about the romance, and the subplot is so sub that it’s barely plot, read this! We’ve all been there. Sometimes you read SJM for the dreamy str8 faeries and sometimes you read a fluff romance book without a plot—escapism is escapism!
I’m mean.
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Cancer, Abandonment, and Homophobia
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, and Eating disorder
tinkeringcheck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
So.
The main character is insufferable, unlikeable, and his narrative voice is annoying. It's a bad rom-com that happens to be gay, except the leads have no chemistry and the humour is painfully unfunny. The plot's driven by the main character trying to appease his homophobic boss, who wants him to get a respectable, straight-passing boyfriend to be a "good gay." And that's supposed to be... funny and light-hearted instead of an HR nightmare.
So what made the main character so difficult for me? Luc's POV reads like a stereotypically sarcastic, insecure teenager but since he's supposed to be almost 30 it makes him come off really poorly. I'm almost 30 and can confidently say nobody has their life together at almost 30, but at least my inner monologue doesn't sound like an angsty 2010 YA protag. He isn't a lovable, quirky disaster gay. He's just rude and emotionally immature, especially to his own friends.
His queer friends, by the way, are huge stereotypes and not in the fun way. Like two indistinguishable married guys named James Royce-Royce who are literally only ever referred to as "James Royce-Royce" (yes, first name and surname) so you never know who's talking kind of way. I actually can't believe this was published recently - and by a queer writer!! - because overall it was really giving vaguely homophobic early 00s rom-com vibes.
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Cancer
The whole premise of the book is the main character experiencing casual homophobia at work (he needs to get a boyfriend to be a "good gay" in the eyes of his boss) and it's not really challenged - he goes along with it. Cancer warning refers to a parent of the main character. Also themes about dealing with an estranged father.what_karla_reads's review against another edition
- 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
1/5 spice
Such a fun and swoon worthy read. I loved how Oliver and Luc worked together.
This is my second read by Alexis Hall, and I loved it! I had a lot of girly giggly moments that had me swooning, just like Luc. I loved how both characters are flawed and relatable. Luc is publicly a mess and is constantly putting his foot in his mouth, but he comes across as likable because he's not an arrogant asshole. He just wants to be stable... so, of course, relatable. Oliver, on the other hand, had the appearance of someone who is put together with all their ducks in a row. However, as the story progresses, you get a glimpse of all the ways he's very much NOT ok and how much he needs help.
I didn't expect this to be single POV so I found myself craving Oliver's POV a few times. I always love seeing how the MCs see different interactions.
Overall, highly recommend for fans of opposites attract and fake dating with swoony moments.
Trigger/Content warnings:
Moments of homophobia, bigotry, body shaming, gaslighting, and emotional abuse. Mentions cancer and mental health issues.
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cancer and Homophobia
Minor: Sexual content
gooseboy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
general+ending spoilers
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Addiction and Racism
athenathestorier's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
I'm all for these valuable messages, especially in the way that they wove together throughout the book. I also loved the reoccurring scenes where Luc tries to tell his literal-minded coworker(s) jokes, before having to give up with promises to do better next time. It was a quirk that I surprisingly enjoyed, and reminded me of the energy found in old sitcoms. It was all relatable and humorous, and sometimes I even laughed out loud. Also, did I spot a QPR in there?
But the same sarcasm and wit that Luc used to keep people from getting too close, also kept us readers from getting too emotionally attached. It made the moments of conflict, climaxes, and even romantic moments felt rather muted. In fact, I feel like I was more consistently onboard with the friendships and mother-son moments than the romance. But that might also be because of the pacing: the first climax happened around 50% into the book, and was resolved quickly. The final climax happened at 90% of the book and, on behalf of being so close to the end, felt rather easily resolved as well.
In another old sitcom-like gesture, we also get some supporting characters who had about 1/4 of a functioning braincell - so much so that they struggled to follow simple lines of conversations. This is a particular character archetype that I've personally never been fond of and rather forgot that it existed.
Memorable Quotes:
"I've never seen the point of fancy dress parties. You have two choices: either you make a massive effort and wind up looking like a disk, or you make no effort and wind up looking like a dick. And my problem, as always, was not knowing what kind of dick I wanted to be."
"Someone else's actions may affect you. But what other people choose to do is about them."
"Will it ever stop hurting?"
"Non." Mum shook her head. "But it will stop mattering."
"Are we really bad at this?" I asked. "We've been fake broken up once."
"Yes, but we fake resolved our difficulties and fake got back together, and I'm hoping it's made us fake stronger."
"Awkward as this is, I like to feel that 'slightly more friends than you can fit around your table' is exactly the right number of friends to have."
Moderate: Cursing, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Abandonment
Minor: Eating disorder, Alcohol, and Sexual content
frenchpants's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Homophobia
offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Alcohol, Cancer, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
evelynyle_88's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Sexual content
eidal's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cancer, and Cursing
Moderate: Homophobia, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Minor: Eating disorder and Sexual harassment