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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
After reading the first book, I was quite eager to get to the second so I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t get into it. We start from where the first book ended and follow Arizona to college, where he struggles to fit in with boys who have lived a privileged existence from the time of their birth – nothing at all like him.
I picked this up and put it down numerous times, before finally determining that I was going to bull through. And I finally realised why I couldn’t get into the book. I don’t like Arizona – like, at all. In the first book, I sympathised with his plight and supported many of his decisions – or at least, understood them. In this book, I found Arizona to be reckless, uncaring and selfish. Even the things that were happening to his ‘siblings’ all seemed to be based on how it made him feel – little about what they were suffering through.
His behaviour at school – the lack of empathy for what his actions could cause – really annoyed me. Admittedly, he’s a young man and there were times when he tried to show maturity and responsibility like when he and his friends went out to clubs, etc, but I just couldn’t find anything about him to like. And that meant that my investment in the story dwindled until I finished it because I felt like I should rather than because I wanted to.
It is a very well written story, evokes the era extremely well, and the writing style is engaging, but my feelings towards the MC, how he treated Preston, some of how he behaved at school meant that I lost any inclination to read further. I completely understand that this is a ‘me’ problem rather than anything to do with the book, and perhaps it was written intentionally to create this feeling. Either way, for me this book was a 3/5 and I’m not sure if I care enough to read the third and final book.
I received an ARC from Gay Romance Reviews.
I picked this up and put it down numerous times, before finally determining that I was going to bull through. And I finally realised why I couldn’t get into the book. I don’t like Arizona – like, at all. In the first book, I sympathised with his plight and supported many of his decisions – or at least, understood them. In this book, I found Arizona to be reckless, uncaring and selfish. Even the things that were happening to his ‘siblings’ all seemed to be based on how it made him feel – little about what they were suffering through.
His behaviour at school – the lack of empathy for what his actions could cause – really annoyed me. Admittedly, he’s a young man and there were times when he tried to show maturity and responsibility like when he and his friends went out to clubs, etc, but I just couldn’t find anything about him to like. And that meant that my investment in the story dwindled until I finished it because I felt like I should rather than because I wanted to.
It is a very well written story, evokes the era extremely well, and the writing style is engaging, but my feelings towards the MC, how he treated Preston, some of how he behaved at school meant that I lost any inclination to read further. I completely understand that this is a ‘me’ problem rather than anything to do with the book, and perhaps it was written intentionally to create this feeling. Either way, for me this book was a 3/5 and I’m not sure if I care enough to read the third and final book.
I received an ARC from Gay Romance Reviews.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
RTC but I enjoyed this one. I really like the premise of the series and I liked following the same character on a journey through a lot of exploration and life experiences, but this one was just a little too dramatic for me. I just prefer less dramatic books, so this book didn't fully work for me.
I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest opinion
I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest opinion
This is an ongoing story. Arizona is now dealing with finding out things about himself and trying to adjust to his new life. He is trying to do something about his siblings but things just don’t work. He is only seventeen and really has no authority over them. As he looks at his relationship with Pres he makes a major decision that changes both of their lives.
At school he starts to really enjoy life until as a senior the group start having opinions and actions that break them up. At this point Arizona makes more than a few mistakes that make his life nothing he wants. As graduation approaches, he has plenty to deal with and a whole summer before he starts college at Columbia. I really didn’t like Arizona in this part of the story. He seems hot headed and focused on his opinions and actions regardless of who he hurts. He is pretty much living a life he can make what he wants it to be yet he seems to push people around him. I’m looking forward to the next book.
At school he starts to really enjoy life until as a senior the group start having opinions and actions that break them up. At this point Arizona makes more than a few mistakes that make his life nothing he wants. As graduation approaches, he has plenty to deal with and a whole summer before he starts college at Columbia. I really didn’t like Arizona in this part of the story. He seems hot headed and focused on his opinions and actions regardless of who he hurts. He is pretty much living a life he can make what he wants it to be yet he seems to push people around him. I’m looking forward to the next book.
RTC but I enjoyed this one. I really like the premise of the series and I liked following the same character on a journey through a lot of exploration and life experiences, but this one was just a little too dramatic for me. I just prefer less dramatic books, so this book didn't fully work for me.
I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest opinion
I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest opinion