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azelius's review against another edition
3.0
I had never read a book with a character with ocd and it was pretty nice especially the fact that love doesn't magically resolve everything but what I loved most is the side effects talk!
In the mental health books ive read medication it's kind of magic (even when they say it isn't).
What was a big ass disappointment though was the fact that Cedric wasn't black I hoped so much in the beginning but then "he paled" and I must say I kinda lost interest in the book (it took me like a half days to finish it). A white guy with cornrows and a thug look was just... I mean he wore a durag at some point... It would have been great to have him dressing this way but still being soft and successful. Now it's just another rich white boy doing cultural appropriation.
In the mental health books ive read medication it's kind of magic (even when they say it isn't).
What was a big ass disappointment though was the fact that Cedric wasn't black I hoped so much in the beginning but then "he paled" and I must say I kinda lost interest in the book (it took me like a half days to finish it). A white guy with cornrows and a thug look was just... I mean he wore a durag at some point... It would have been great to have him dressing this way but still being soft and successful. Now it's just another rich white boy doing cultural appropriation.
achillespatroclus's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
shelbanuadh's review against another edition
4.0
I've read more than a few books with characters suffering from some kind of mental illness and it never ceases to frustrate when everything is cured through the power of love. Thankfully, that isn't the case in this book. Sure, a supportive partner helps Cedric a lot, but he also has a doctor, a therapist, does group therapy, takes medication and has coping mechanisms. Cedric's OCD isn't treated as something that can cured.
Kevin's coming out experiences were slightly less realistic seeming. Everyone was either extremely accepting or a raging homophobe.
Kevin was a little harder to like than Cedric. The test he sid with Cedric was a douche move. He said a couple low blows out of frustration while going on about how supportive he is. And then getting pissed off at Cedric for "rubbing Kevin's gayness in the faces of people he'd known most of his life", which he certainly wasn't doing at the time when that thought crossed Kevin's mind. And it was 3rd parties who outed Kevin, aside from when he outed himself, not Cedric.
I did think the whole 300 day visa drama was ridiculous considering 4 chapters prior to that, Cedric mused that he's lawyers could easily extend it as long as he wanted.
The few issues I had with this aside, I just really liked the flow of the writing and I would have gladly read this in one sitting if time had allowed it.
Kevin's coming out experiences were slightly less realistic seeming. Everyone was either extremely accepting or a raging homophobe.
Kevin was a little harder to like than Cedric. The test he sid with Cedric was a douche move. He said a couple low blows out of frustration while going on about how supportive he is. And then getting pissed off at Cedric for "rubbing Kevin's gayness in the faces of people he'd known most of his life", which he certainly wasn't doing at the time when that thought crossed Kevin's mind. And it was 3rd parties who outed Kevin, aside from when he outed himself, not Cedric.
I did think the whole 300 day visa drama was ridiculous considering 4 chapters prior to that, Cedric mused that he's lawyers could easily extend it as long as he wanted.
The few issues I had with this aside, I just really liked the flow of the writing and I would have gladly read this in one sitting if time had allowed it.
galinette's review
3.0
3*? 3.5*? 4*? Don't know because there were moments in this book that were wonderful and then there were some rather WTF moments.
One of the things that totally threw me off every single time were the fingerless gloves. If you're avoiding germs, go for normal gloves - fingerless gloves, that's just asking for trouble. That and other annoying things, yeah, I guess that brings it down to 3*.
One of the things that totally threw me off every single time were the fingerless gloves. If you're avoiding germs, go for normal gloves - fingerless gloves, that's just asking for trouble. That and other annoying things, yeah, I guess that brings it down to 3*.
anitalouise's review
4.0
I had loads of different feelings about this book, first of which was outrage. Why is someone with cornrows immediately thought of as a thug?!! Talk about stereotyping! Kevin refers to Cedric as "pretty thug." As I read the book, I've realized that this was a point the book wished to make. That appearances are not what they seem and Cedric's clothing gave him a way to keep people away. Also felt frustration - the angst was off the charts but I wanted to punch Kevin in the nose. But understood - here he was in this little relationship bubble with Cedric. No one knows he's gay. He can love up Cedric to his heart's content. His family and friends are unaware. But when shit hits the fan, damn it was ugly. His small town friends and some of his family were awful. Just made me sad. And his ex-wife, oh I wanted to jump into the book and just strangle her. Was dismayed also because I thought the author took the easy way out to make the woman such a harridan. But cleverly, my impression about her was changed. Funnily enough, what saved the book for me was Kevin's kids! When Kevin tells them, his oldest, TK says “Well, that was stupid.” TK’s words were followed by another eye roll. “It ain’t like you coulda changed it. People say so on TV and sh—everywhere.” Some Goodreaders were unhappy at the book's conclusion. Well to me, it made perfect sense. Given Cedric's ongoing mental health issues, he and Kevin are never going to go tra-la-la-ing off into the sunset. It will be hard but with love and some focus, they'll find their own version of happiness.
samanatha's review
4.0
3.75/5
This is not (as my partner would say) a ‘lovey-dovey’ book, but rather a book about a relationship. The primary focus of the book is how Kevin and Cedric manage to have a relationship in the midst of Cedric’s very serious OCD and Kevin’s coming-out.
This is a well-written book and touches on a lot of important points with honesty and wisdom. As a counselor, I am always delighted to see mental illness and therapy represented in a real ways and not just the E! tv drama version.
The book is fairly long. This ended up being one of my biggest struggles. There’s a lot of inner-monologuing that goes on. And it gets boring. The book follows a fairly good pace and there are enough events to make it interesting, but I was looking for more lovey-dovey and never really got it. In exchange I got some awesomely cute kid scenes and some truly interesting characters.
I strongly wish the scene wherein Vaughn and Cedric met was included. That would have likely raised my review to a true 4 outta 5.
This is not (as my partner would say) a ‘lovey-dovey’ book, but rather a book about a relationship. The primary focus of the book is how Kevin and Cedric manage to have a relationship in the midst of Cedric’s very serious OCD and Kevin’s coming-out.
This is a well-written book and touches on a lot of important points with honesty and wisdom. As a counselor, I am always delighted to see mental illness and therapy represented in a real ways and not just the E! tv drama version.
The book is fairly long. This ended up being one of my biggest struggles. There’s a lot of inner-monologuing that goes on. And it gets boring. The book follows a fairly good pace and there are enough events to make it interesting, but I was looking for more lovey-dovey and never really got it. In exchange I got some awesomely cute kid scenes and some truly interesting characters.
I strongly wish the scene wherein Vaughn and Cedric met was included. That would have likely raised my review to a true 4 outta 5.
bakarena's review
3.0
In the beginning, it was all exciting and fun, but then I grew tired and annoyed with both of them.
mearias's review
I don't know how to rate this book.
I was intrigued by Cedric and his struggles (and his triumphs), but not as interested in Kevin. Cedric was definitely the more compelling character in the book, but felt the author made his struggles so much more difficult than required. I was sad, frustrated and anxious about Cedric and his myriad of issues.
I'm sure there are real people with many of these same real issues; but in this instance, I think it took my attention from the romance and made me focus more on Cedric. This book for me was all about Cedric and how he coped; what he was capable of doing to have this relationship.
Also the "thug" dressing and the people's reaction to it? Annoying... all of it, from the way he's described as dressing, to the ex-wife's reaction... annoying and over the top.
Anwyho, I'll leave the rating alone and say that if you're looking for a different type of read, this is definitely different.
I was intrigued by Cedric and his struggles (and his triumphs), but not as interested in Kevin. Cedric was definitely the more compelling character in the book, but felt the author made his struggles so much more difficult than required. I was sad, frustrated and anxious about Cedric and his myriad of issues.
I'm sure there are real people with many of these same real issues; but in this instance, I think it took my attention from the romance and made me focus more on Cedric. This book for me was all about Cedric and how he coped; what he was capable of doing to have this relationship.
Also the "thug" dressing and the people's reaction to it? Annoying... all of it, from the way he's described as dressing, to the ex-wife's reaction... annoying and over the top.
Anwyho, I'll leave the rating alone and say that if you're looking for a different type of read, this is definitely different.
calila's review
4.0
Really liked this. I loved how Cedric's OCD was handled and respected, and when it wasn't respected it was addressed appropriately. Kevin's struggle was equally interesting to see. I love that they weren't afraid to call each other out when it was needed.
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