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worldroamer's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
tparris2's review
3.0
Love the representation and the ideas this book explores.
Nevertheless, I thought the relationships (friendships & romantic) seemed a bit too instant and convenient.
(And none of the CAKE members ever felt fully actualized except Emery.) The writing took a while to draw me in, and in the end I was left somewhat confused about the overall message.
Spoilers: At the end, Torrey talks about battling gentrification by “any means necessary” and helps to orchestrate a protest, using others’ fear as a weapon in the fight. Then in the epilogue, he envisions a world in which he only has to focus on today, and love, and the world isn’t “pressuring me to fight a thing I am helpless to win.”
I don’t think this was meant to sound defeatist or lessening of his previous actions, but sounded strange after emphasizing (at least as I interpreted it) that fighting for the cause is not, in fact, hopeless or “helpless to win.” And the move to, in the epilogue, solely focus on how his world is so much brighter because of Gabe seemed too much like love as a cure all.
IDK, the dynamic between their romantic relationship and the book’s message of battling gentrification just felt disjointed and unbalanced at times. The parts were all there (I loved their love story for the most part), but the parts just didn’t come together in the right way for me.
Nevertheless, I thought the relationships (friendships & romantic) seemed a bit too instant and convenient.
(And none of the CAKE members ever felt fully actualized except Emery.) The writing took a while to draw me in, and in the end I was left somewhat confused about the overall message.
Spoilers: At the end, Torrey talks about battling gentrification by “any means necessary” and helps to orchestrate a protest, using others’ fear as a weapon in the fight. Then in the epilogue, he envisions a world in which he only has to focus on today, and love, and the world isn’t “pressuring me to fight a thing I am helpless to win.”
I don’t think this was meant to sound defeatist or lessening of his previous actions, but sounded strange after emphasizing (at least as I interpreted it) that fighting for the cause is not, in fact, hopeless or “helpless to win.” And the move to, in the epilogue, solely focus on how his world is so much brighter because of Gabe seemed too much like love as a cure all.
IDK, the dynamic between their romantic relationship and the book’s message of battling gentrification just felt disjointed and unbalanced at times. The parts were all there (I loved their love story for the most part), but the parts just didn’t come together in the right way for me.
kaylac15's review
5.0
I loved this book! It was great going on this journey with Torrey. He was stuck between wanting to be at home to save the apiary and going to college. I'm glad that he had family in his Aunt Lisa because his grandpa, Theo, was the pits. Torrey also had family back at his college, SFSU, in CAKE (you'll understand once you read the book.) and his roomate, Desh. I'm glad that Torrey was able to reconnect and start a relationship with Gabriel. Torrey deserved that happiness. Even though Torrey lost the apiary I can tell that his life was moving in the right direction.
natachahp's review
UM???? THIS COMES OUT A FEW DAYS BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY. I KNOW WHAT I'M WISHING FOR. BECAUSE I NEED THIS. DESPERATELY. DESPERATELY!!!!!!
brokebybooks's review
5.0
I received this book for free from Fantastic Flying Book Club in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Happy Friday Eve ya'll! Today I get to share my review of tear-jerking, heart-soaring life changing novel, By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery. It's queer. Black. Queer and black AF. It's a love letter to so many communities and those among their intersections. It's beautiful. And necessary.
Trigger Warning: Homophobic uncle & community, police encounter, talk of murder by police,
Here's the thing. I loved every single part of this in a way I'm finding hard to express. I'm literally tearing up right now just thinking about this again. I don't want to sell it short or turn anyone off. I really truly think all ya'll need to read this NOW.
It's just...beautiful. So.
Prize: Win a copy of By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery (US/CAN Only)
Starts: October 8th 2019
Ends: October 22nd 2019
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This review was originally posted on The Layaway Dragon
About By Any Means Necessary:
IMHO: By Any Means Necessary
Trigger Warning: Homophobic uncle & community, police encounter, talk of murder by police,
Here's the thing. I loved every single part of this in a way I'm finding hard to express. I'm literally tearing up right now just thinking about this again. I don't want to sell it short or turn anyone off. I really truly think all ya'll need to read this NOW.
It's just...beautiful. So.
Here's a non-exhaustive list of all the things I loved about it:
- Quickly swept up & away
- Didn’t want to put it down.
- Genuinely sweet & funny moments
- Didn’t have any issues keeping up with the narrative, flash backs, transitions. (This has been an issue in other books lately)
- Torrey’s VOICE. Holy Forking Shirtballs!
- Love the straight roommate that doesn’t make it weird having a gay roommate, it just is! Just a big ol’ teddy bear.
- Love CAKE, collectively and individually, with or without Torrey
- All the bee facts sprinkled throughout
- Aunt Lisa
- Fuck you Theo.
- Good for you Torrey!
- Torrey drinks for the first time
- Protesting
- the Collective
- I sees you literary references!! re: Lilly Anderson and Amal Unbound
- London!
- Gabriel!
- That glorious mane gets a whole line to itself
- And so does all the dancing
- And all the little things Torrey loves about him & describes so wonderfully.
- The breaking the fourth wall like moments re: white readers & privilege.
- That cop interaction left me cold and sweating when reading, and every time I think about it afterwards *shudder*
- Afro-latinx characters rep!
- BLACK AF
- Black woman love and recognition!!
- I love how there’s no sympathizing with the slimy fuckers, never, not once. Not after Torrey retaliates. There’s no moralizing or hand wringing about what he did. Just caring about Torrey and how the consequences will affect him.
- Really handles so many intersections and issues so well, in an organic everyday way. It’s fucking hard to live it, and to write it.
- There’s no one way or right way to juggle things personally and it doesn’t fall into the trap of presenting itself as the only correct way
- Tender and careful about the delicate way these factors all weave together, without pulling how hard those punches land.
- Totally want more of this crew, maybe a bit of that queer CAKE next?
Stop making me cry and just go read it already, damn.
FYI: Here's a helpful tip I found on the internet long ago to remember how to spell necessary: one collar, two sleeves.
Some Favorite Quotes:
Up yours sign. You’re written in Comic Sans, nobody likes you anyway.
Which isn’t a sentiment I’m opposed to, so much as the train it arrives on.
He presses into me and his lips meet mine, and I become a whisper of a boy.
“Your lies only hurt me because they are so poorly crafted.”
Obligations isn’t so bad when you choose it for yourself.
Two masc dudes kiss to express feelings that homophobia tried to rob them of. Write that tell-all.
The city hasn’t taught them that Black and brown people get fined for expressing emotions at a volume white people find to be too much.
“Nothing beats a failure but a try.”
He would be the most beautiful Icarus, I think. Dancing a little too closely to the sun all his life.
About the Author:
Giveaway:
Prize: Win a copy of By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery (US/CAN Only)
Starts: October 8th 2019
Ends: October 22nd 2019
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Schedule:
This review was originally posted on The Layaway Dragon
inkorkeys's review
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this one.
I thought the writing was okay, though there were some formatting and grammatical issues, which I don’t know whether they are limited to ARC copies. For instance, the first letter of the start of each chapter was missing.
The plot itself was relatively interesting and I was really interested by the romance. However, it felt at times as though we were missing some information. For instance the introduction of the side characters and love interest didn’t really feel like an ‘introduction’, more like a second book introduction to them. And along with that the depiction of university life just didn’t seem real or accurate, like maybe there wasn’t enough research done? Now I didn’t attend an American uni but I did 4 years at university and I know for certain that no lecturer would A) know students at the beginning of term by name and B) call students out for being late and forcing them to arrive to lectures earlier. It just doesn’t happen. Lecturers and even tutors have too much on their plate to care about individual students like that. At a university level it becomes up to the student to do the work. If they’re not there, they aren’t there. Simple. So that was really quite annoying to read, a small thing but for me, an important setting aspect.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking for more queer, new adult romances.
I was given an ARC copy of By any means necessary via Netgalley for an honest review.
I thought the writing was okay, though there were some formatting and grammatical issues, which I don’t know whether they are limited to ARC copies. For instance, the first letter of the start of each chapter was missing.
The plot itself was relatively interesting and I was really interested by the romance. However, it felt at times as though we were missing some information. For instance the introduction of the side characters and love interest didn’t really feel like an ‘introduction’, more like a second book introduction to them. And along with that the depiction of university life just didn’t seem real or accurate, like maybe there wasn’t enough research done? Now I didn’t attend an American uni but I did 4 years at university and I know for certain that no lecturer would A) know students at the beginning of term by name and B) call students out for being late and forcing them to arrive to lectures earlier. It just doesn’t happen. Lecturers and even tutors have too much on their plate to care about individual students like that. At a university level it becomes up to the student to do the work. If they’re not there, they aren’t there. Simple. So that was really quite annoying to read, a small thing but for me, an important setting aspect.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking for more queer, new adult romances.
I was given an ARC copy of By any means necessary via Netgalley for an honest review.
lisastein's review
4.0
3 1/2 stars. This was a good book, written in a unique style with a unique voice. I'm blanking on a real review, will come back later.
librandian's review
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5