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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
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
This was a really sweet book and focuses a lot on the characters mental health and wellness as well as various other characters queer identities. I like seeing the asexual representation, especially one of the coworkers who is a sex repulsed asexual in a long-term relationship. The book was a little slow in parts but overall well written and different from the usual. I found the whole thing very sweet.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Kajshdhdksksksks I love them so much and the ocd rep is so so good
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Just a lovely read with a good take on mental health, anxiety and sexuality.
4.5 I LOVED this book. Charlie and Dev have so much of my heart now. The characterization and growth throughout the story is so cute and I love how much they care for each other. You’d think I’d get used to the third act in romance books but I read the last few chapters in public and was aggressively blinking back tears. Lost me in some parts but other than that, everything about this book was Amazing:)
I enjoyed this one a lot for the mental health representation--it felt like a quite accurate portrayal of characters with depression and OCD (maybe autism?), especially characters trying to figure out what it means to take care of themselves and manage their mental health in high-pressure situations and both alone and in a romantic relationship. I like how Charlie and Dev took care of each other, but also lines were drawn when they needed to figure things out on their own. Generally it was a cute love story and I appreciated how coming out/coming to terms with sexuality was handled, especially in context of the mental health issues. The Bachelor setting was also (generally) fun.
However, I found a lot of other parts of the story to fall into some very lackluster contemporary romance tropes that are some of the reasons I don't read the genre very much. The secondary characters were incredibly 2D and felt like caricatures of people, particularly people of diverse backgrounds. And tbh that was my biggest gripe with the book. One of the main characters was described as a man of color, but there was almost zero attempt to actually flesh out that part of his character. If you changed his name, removed descriptions of his skin as brown, and took out a few offhand mentions of racism he experienced, there would be no way to know this character was Desi at all. It was really frustrating because the author took so much care to develop Dev's mental health issues and make them complex and believable, but his racial identity was relegated to a few throw away lines. Also the setting is a thinly disguised version of the Bachelor, which is in general a very white, Christian, and conservative show and you're trying to tell me a Desi gay man would not have some complicated experiences related to his identities working there?? If you're a white author writing a story with a main character is POC, actually do your due diligence and make their racial identity an actually relevant and fleshed out part of their characterization. This was a fun and in some ways very thoughtful story, but these issues really detracted from my overall enjoyment and appreciation.
However, I found a lot of other parts of the story to fall into some very lackluster contemporary romance tropes that are some of the reasons I don't read the genre very much. The secondary characters were incredibly 2D and felt like caricatures of people, particularly people of diverse backgrounds. And tbh that was my biggest gripe with the book. One of the main characters was described as a man of color, but there was almost zero attempt to actually flesh out that part of his character. If you changed his name, removed descriptions of his skin as brown, and took out a few offhand mentions of racism he experienced, there would be no way to know this character was Desi at all. It was really frustrating because the author took so much care to develop Dev's mental health issues and make them complex and believable, but his racial identity was relegated to a few throw away lines. Also the setting is a thinly disguised version of the Bachelor, which is in general a very white, Christian, and conservative show and you're trying to tell me a Desi gay man would not have some complicated experiences related to his identities working there?? If you're a white author writing a story with a main character is POC, actually do your due diligence and make their racial identity an actually relevant and fleshed out part of their characterization. This was a fun and in some ways very thoughtful story, but these issues really detracted from my overall enjoyment and appreciation.
Wasn’t my cup of tea but it was a cute little love story
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
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
3.5 ⭐️
idk how to explain it, i LOVED the characters (Dev altered my brain’s chemistry, he’s literally me i felt ATTACKED when it was explained how he felt and during the description of his depression
idk how to explain it, i LOVED the characters (Dev altered my brain’s chemistry, he’s literally me i felt ATTACKED when it was explained how he felt and during the description of his depression
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
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