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urmominmybed69's review
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.25
it was genuinely such a lovely book, i loved the small town vibes and hector and ari themselves were just so sweet. the art is beautiful and really was the cherry on top of a great story.
i have to say one of my favorite parts of the story was that although it was a queer romance, it didn't focus so much on being queer. there was no big coming out scene or anything like that-- they just were. normally, i'd be bothered by the fact that a book so very queer didn't use the word "gay" or even "queer" once, but in this case, it felt as though they never had to. extremely well done, and i was willing to suspend reality for this. queer people should be allowed to just be.
this being said, i do have a couple critiques of this book. the ptsd jokes were a little strange and overall i found it difficult to be super attached to the characters at the pace the story was moving-- though i suppose this could be a personal issue i typically have with graphic novels. at some parts, i had issues with determining certain details in the story, such as the relationship between hector and his friends when they were first introduced. it also seemed as if some plot points were left unsatisfyingly resolved and still had a couple loose ends.
overall, i did like this book lots and it was very refreshing and just a pleasant quick read. super enjoyable, and i'd definitely read it again!! my advice is to set aside a couple hours to just read this book in its entirety and enjoy it in all its glory, because this book deserves it.
i have to say one of my favorite parts of the story was that although it was a queer romance, it didn't focus so much on being queer. there was no big coming out scene or anything like that-- they just were. normally, i'd be bothered by the fact that a book so very queer didn't use the word "gay" or even "queer" once, but in this case, it felt as though they never had to. extremely well done, and i was willing to suspend reality for this. queer people should be allowed to just be.
this being said, i do have a couple critiques of this book. the ptsd jokes were a little strange and overall i found it difficult to be super attached to the characters at the pace the story was moving-- though i suppose this could be a personal issue i typically have with graphic novels. at some parts, i had issues with determining certain details in the story, such as the relationship between hector and his friends when they were first introduced. it also seemed as if some plot points were left unsatisfyingly resolved and still had a couple loose ends.
overall, i did like this book lots and it was very refreshing and just a pleasant quick read. super enjoyable, and i'd definitely read it again!! my advice is to set aside a couple hours to just read this book in its entirety and enjoy it in all its glory, because this book deserves it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcohol
emily_mh's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The only thing I ended up liking about this graphic novel was the art style; it is the only reason why I'm not rating this one star. Ari was impossible to like as a main character because he was so selfish and self-centred. This only changed within the last 10 pages and was proceeded by absolutely no development to back it up. He was so horrible to Hector (and so is nearly every other character to be honest) so I couldn't root for their romance, despite it being the main point of the book.
Aside from this, there were tons of underdeveloped areas. Nothing came from Hector's grief and issues with attachment. Nothing happened with Ari's self-discovery and issues with attachment. There was no actual confrontation of Cameron, and nothing came of the weird conversation about Ari's sister's marriage at the beginning of the book. This last isn't a fundamental issue, I'm just including it as an example of how narrative threads are picked up and then unceremoniously dropped.
There were also lots of other minor things that I can't be bothered to list here. So yeah, not a great read.
Aside from this, there were tons of underdeveloped areas. Nothing came from Hector's grief and issues with attachment. Nothing happened with Ari's self-discovery and issues with attachment. There was no actual confrontation of Cameron, and nothing came of the weird conversation about Ari's sister's marriage at the beginning of the book. This last isn't a fundamental issue, I'm just including it as an example of how narrative threads are picked up and then unceremoniously dropped.
There were also lots of other minor things that I can't be bothered to list here. So yeah, not a great read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexism, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Ableism, Cursing, Car accident, Physical abuse, and Violence
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