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callmejillian's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jagochmincirkus's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
layla87's review against another edition
4.0
*****Spoiler Free Review*****
Audiobook narrated by Joel Leslie Froomkin
Why read this book….
- YA… the innocence and genuineness of teenagers. #Real
- Enemies to lovers. #HateToLoveYou
- Tommy, who is grieving the death of his best friend and first love. #INeverKnewINeededYou
- Nick, who even closeted, is the breath of fresh air. #ICanBeMeWithYou
- All the feels… grief, sadness, sweetness, hope, love, healing and more. #YouBringItAllOut
- HFN… which is logical for their age. #JustTheBeginning
- The Audiobook is nothing short of stellar. Mr. Leslie brings Nick and Tommy to life, with all their nuances. The accents, the tones, the feelings.... they all came together to produces an amazing performance. #NarratorExtraordinaire
PS… This is a no steam book… kissing and the mentions of sex, but nothing graphic, which again fits the overall mood of the story and its characters.
Audiobook narrated by Joel Leslie Froomkin
Why read this book….
- YA… the innocence and genuineness of teenagers. #Real
- Enemies to lovers. #HateToLoveYou
- Tommy, who is grieving the death of his best friend and first love. #INeverKnewINeededYou
- Nick, who even closeted, is the breath of fresh air. #ICanBeMeWithYou
- All the feels… grief, sadness, sweetness, hope, love, healing and more. #YouBringItAllOut
- HFN… which is logical for their age. #JustTheBeginning
- The Audiobook is nothing short of stellar. Mr. Leslie brings Nick and Tommy to life, with all their nuances. The accents, the tones, the feelings.... they all came together to produces an amazing performance. #NarratorExtraordinaire
PS… This is a no steam book… kissing and the mentions of sex, but nothing graphic, which again fits the overall mood of the story and its characters.
ryanpfw's review against another edition
3.0
Spoilers for Ghosting You.
This is my third read by the author, the other two of which got 5 stars. I can have an issue with a narrative, but if the author makes it up by the end, it can wipe away any lasting issue. I also try not to let my overall mood reading a book hurt or improve upon the rating, even though that’s really hard to do.
I feel like the author threw the kitchen sink at this one. Some landed. Some didn’t. The narration could have been tighter as well.
We meet Tommy, who lost his best friend Chase to an accident a year ago, starting a job in a coffee shop, joined by out of towner Nick, who stays to spend time with Tommy and also pay for his new burner phone out of pocket, after his original was smashed when Tommy pushed him during an argument.
Tommy has survivor’s guilt, is a teenager, and vents all of his anger at Nick. Understandable? Sure. Enjoyable for the reader? Not so much. Tommy was over the top, scene after scene, putting Nick down. Was it a reaction to his budding feelings? Outsider versus insider? There were lots of reasons thrown out there, but none of them really stuck. I’m sorry his friend died, but he was being a dick for wide stretches of the story, and it annoyed me.
Let’s also put aside the ridiculous advice of his therapist. Tommy’s friend dies, so he texts the deactivated phone number as a way to deal with the loss. Okay, I’m down with it. When the number is repurposed and a stranger, potentially a criminal or child molester answers, his therapist encourages Tommy to talk to this person and work his problems out with a complete stranger only qualified because they happened to inherit a dead boy’s phone number. WTF.
Of course, it turns out to be Nick, who a few chapters in, realizes he’s talking to Tommy. Of course we know at this point that Tommy and Nick will get close, Tommy will discover that Nick was lying to him, and things will blow up. And of course that’s what happens. It was like waiting for a slow moving train wreck that didn’t kick in for 30% of the book. And while we’re waiting, Nick continues to manipulate Tommy by answering in the guise of the stranger. There were far better ways to handle that situation, and Nick’s character should have known that.
The reveal at the end of the book is that the homophobic senator Tommy’s mother is working for is none other than Nick’s father, who is an awful character who joyfully gets a bit of comeuppance when Nick and Tommy kiss in front of him and the press, and Nick’s mother puts him in his place, but I would have liked to have seen the boot dig in a bit deeper. I mentioned things could have been tighter? In addition to waiting chapter after chapter for Tommy to be less of a jerk and for the stranger texting plot line to resolve, Nick’s father and Chase’s father both are homophobic parental figures who don’t get a lot of lot resolution, and we never get any resolution as to how the kiss impacts Tommy’s mother’s employment, as she was very concerned about the episode beyond being a great mom.
Ancillary characters were great. Mel came around, and Claudine and the diner ladies were perfect, as was Reese, whose late night drive kept her well away from the one-dimensional camp. I just didn’t feel this one as much as the others, but I see another release just came out. I’m definitely going to continue reading.
This is my third read by the author, the other two of which got 5 stars. I can have an issue with a narrative, but if the author makes it up by the end, it can wipe away any lasting issue. I also try not to let my overall mood reading a book hurt or improve upon the rating, even though that’s really hard to do.
I feel like the author threw the kitchen sink at this one. Some landed. Some didn’t. The narration could have been tighter as well.
We meet Tommy, who lost his best friend Chase to an accident a year ago, starting a job in a coffee shop, joined by out of towner Nick, who stays to spend time with Tommy and also pay for his new burner phone out of pocket, after his original was smashed when Tommy pushed him during an argument.
Tommy has survivor’s guilt, is a teenager, and vents all of his anger at Nick. Understandable? Sure. Enjoyable for the reader? Not so much. Tommy was over the top, scene after scene, putting Nick down. Was it a reaction to his budding feelings? Outsider versus insider? There were lots of reasons thrown out there, but none of them really stuck. I’m sorry his friend died, but he was being a dick for wide stretches of the story, and it annoyed me.
Let’s also put aside the ridiculous advice of his therapist. Tommy’s friend dies, so he texts the deactivated phone number as a way to deal with the loss. Okay, I’m down with it. When the number is repurposed and a stranger, potentially a criminal or child molester answers, his therapist encourages Tommy to talk to this person and work his problems out with a complete stranger only qualified because they happened to inherit a dead boy’s phone number. WTF.
Of course, it turns out to be Nick, who a few chapters in, realizes he’s talking to Tommy. Of course we know at this point that Tommy and Nick will get close, Tommy will discover that Nick was lying to him, and things will blow up. And of course that’s what happens. It was like waiting for a slow moving train wreck that didn’t kick in for 30% of the book. And while we’re waiting, Nick continues to manipulate Tommy by answering in the guise of the stranger. There were far better ways to handle that situation, and Nick’s character should have known that.
The reveal at the end of the book is that the homophobic senator Tommy’s mother is working for is none other than Nick’s father, who is an awful character who joyfully gets a bit of comeuppance when Nick and Tommy kiss in front of him and the press, and Nick’s mother puts him in his place, but I would have liked to have seen the boot dig in a bit deeper. I mentioned things could have been tighter? In addition to waiting chapter after chapter for Tommy to be less of a jerk and for the stranger texting plot line to resolve, Nick’s father and Chase’s father both are homophobic parental figures who don’t get a lot of lot resolution, and we never get any resolution as to how the kiss impacts Tommy’s mother’s employment, as she was very concerned about the episode beyond being a great mom.
Ancillary characters were great. Mel came around, and Claudine and the diner ladies were perfect, as was Reese, whose late night drive kept her well away from the one-dimensional camp. I just didn’t feel this one as much as the others, but I see another release just came out. I’m definitely going to continue reading.
mesy_mark's review against another edition
3.0
In this story, we have native to small-town Tommy and Nick the local city slicker. Both have issues that are pretty heavy and both might be seeing the light in one another.
I listened to this book on via audiobook. It did take a while to have the voice not grate on my ears. The only reason I kept listen cause I had a glimpse of Chase being trans and I love stories with trans characters.
So the voice of the actor was a no so let's move onto the text. The text is slow to get into, another reason why I did;t want to continue but at this point, I devoted time to this book and I continue with the book and then we get the pick-up, and then I am devoted to the book till the end. Yay!
The book has interesting points but I was hoping for more on how Chase and Tommy interacted and how that affected Tomy trying to relate to Nick. I know there were some points but there just needed to be more.
I listened to this book on via audiobook. It did take a while to have the voice not grate on my ears. The only reason I kept listen cause I had a glimpse of Chase being trans and I love stories with trans characters.
So the voice of the actor was a no so let's move onto the text. The text is slow to get into, another reason why I did;t want to continue but at this point, I devoted time to this book and I continue with the book and then we get the pick-up, and then I am devoted to the book till the end. Yay!
The book has interesting points but I was hoping for more on how Chase and Tommy interacted and how that affected Tomy trying to relate to Nick. I know there were some points but there just needed to be more.
daenknight's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
unseelier's review
3.0
This book went pretty cute and sweet but becoming a little bit heavy in the middle of the story. Despite of all the cuteness between our two mc, the ending feel a little bit rushed for me with the fact that Tommy has been dealing with a lot of depressing moment since his beloved bestfriend died. I literally didn't really care about the ending. Feels like all the things Tommy has been trough was just never exist.
Anyway I love how Tommy and Nick's relationship develop troughout the book and how patience Nick was. (since Tommy was really annoying in the beginning).
3/5 stars because Tommy and Nick was ssoo sssoo cute!!! and there are also a lot of those really cute scenes that will make you squel.
Anyway I love how Tommy and Nick's relationship develop troughout the book and how patience Nick was. (since Tommy was really annoying in the beginning).
3/5 stars because Tommy and Nick was ssoo sssoo cute!!! and there are also a lot of those really cute scenes that will make you squel.
sarful's review
4.0
3.5 There was so much about this book that I absolutely adored. Nick and Tommy were so adorable together and I couldn’t get enough of these two.
However, the lead up to the two was too long, it slowed the book down a bit.
The ending was pretty great I loved Nick taking his own life back. I loved that Nick’s mom finally pushed back on the expectations of his dad. And I loved Tommy finding peace and love in Nick and his photography.
I really like this author’s writing.
However, the lead up to the two was too long, it slowed the book down a bit.
The ending was pretty great I loved Nick taking his own life back. I loved that Nick’s mom finally pushed back on the expectations of his dad. And I loved Tommy finding peace and love in Nick and his photography.
I really like this author’s writing.
maria_elisabeth's review
3.0
Fun and light read, but a little boring..
Audiobook was not good, it sounded like the characters might cry at any point, and it was hard to concentrate on.
Audiobook was not good, it sounded like the characters might cry at any point, and it was hard to concentrate on.
norastar's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0