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ruthiedr89's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Ableism
lizacorn's review against another edition
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, and Violence
nickoliver's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
So, I went to bed yesterday at nine p.m. already because *gestures vaguely* hello, depression and exhaustion, but I didn't really want to go to sleep just yet and decided I might as well get a head start on this book. Maybe read two or three chapters and then call it a night.
Ahem, yeah, that didn't really work out; before I knew it, it was two in the morning and I realised I had finished the entire novel in one sitting. And it was exactly what I needed!
I adored all the characters, but especially Theo, the main character. He was funny, sassy, lively, and very messy and chaotic. He really had "chaotic energy" written all over him. I took a liking to him almost immediately and was barely ever annoyed with him (I think there was like, one scene where he said something that bothered me, but that was about it.) Theo was also dense and oblivious to an extreme , which was really entertaining, but it was also a bit depressing if you thought about it too hard (compulsory heterosexuality is a bitch . I'm still mad I didn't get to be a useless lesbian in high school).
The other characters were a fucking delight too, and the relationships they had with each other gave me a a lot of joy. They would tease each other, banter with each other, comfort each other in times of need ... man, a bitch was soft. The relationships were, apart from the greatness that was Theo, the main reason why I couldn't stop reading. They were just so much fun . The humour was outstanding and made me chuckle out loud and smile at my phone like an idiot several times over. And the romance itself was a bit of a slow burn, with a lot of pining from both sides, but especially from Jamie's. I loved it.
I liked that there was smut in the book, but not enough for me to get annoyed or uncomfortable. I'm ace and never particularly care about sex, so if there's too much of it in a book, I usually just feel frustrated that it takes away from the plot (given there is one to begin with). Which wasn't the case here. Plus, the smut in here was written very straightfoward and not flowery at all , which is the way I prefer it. No weird euphemisms for genitals for me, please.
Lastly, the book also had some unexpected representation? Leone, Theo's twin sister, was legally blind, and I liked the way that was portrayed. She was a fully fleshed-out character who had more traits than just "blind girl", but at the same time, the story never makes you forget that she is blind? Like, it's not just a thing that gets mentioned once and then completely forgotten about for the rest of the story? You do see her struggles, they're just not the only thing that define her. Which is nice.
The second unexpected representation was a side character who mentioned he was demisexual, and obviously, ace rep in books always makes me happy. Though I do feel they insinuate that you can't be a "thing" if you've never had sex with each other, which feels ... wrong? Also, this actually is a thing that gets mentioned once and never again. The character shows up several times, he's friends with Theo, but his demisexuality is a one-time comment.
There are things that I didn't like about the book, though. First and foremost, I didn't like how it completely ignored the existence of bisexuality and pansexuality? As someone who thought he was straight at first, Theo should have had the opportunity to think about who he really likes, but it was always either a gay or a straight thing. No one even mentioned bisexual and pansexual people, ever. Obviously, just because Theo exclusively dated girls before doesn't mean he couldn't be gay, but it rubbed me the wrong way that there was never any discussion between any of the characters about this.
Plus, I felt like the relationship between Theo and Jamie progressed a little bit too quickly? (Like, their relationship in general, not the romance, obviously.) It wasn't all so bad that I started to find it unbelievable, obviously, but I was confused at the start of the story because I didn't know what they were to each other. You're led to believe at first that Jamie didn't particularly like Theo, but they moved on from that so fast that I got confused.
Overall, this was just a cute and humourous story that made a very dark day a little bit brighter for me. The characters had great chemistry and made me laugh a lot, and the romance was so full of pining (a lot of it thought to be unrequited) that I couldn't help but be highly entertained by it.
Ahem, yeah, that didn't really work out; before I knew it, it was two in the morning and I realised I had finished the entire novel in one sitting. And it was exactly what I needed!
I adored all the characters, but especially Theo, the main character. He was funny, sassy, lively, and very messy and chaotic. He really had "chaotic energy" written all over him. I took a liking to him almost immediately and was barely ever annoyed with him (I think there was like, one scene where he said something that bothered me, but that was about it.) Theo was also dense and oblivious to an extreme , which was really entertaining, but it was also a bit depressing if you thought about it too hard (compulsory heterosexuality is a bitch . I'm still mad I didn't get to be a useless lesbian in high school).
The other characters were a fucking delight too, and the relationships they had with each other gave me a a lot of joy. They would tease each other, banter with each other, comfort each other in times of need ... man, a bitch was soft. The relationships were, apart from the greatness that was Theo, the main reason why I couldn't stop reading. They were just so much fun . The humour was outstanding and made me chuckle out loud and smile at my phone like an idiot several times over. And the romance itself was a bit of a slow burn, with a lot of pining from both sides, but especially from Jamie's. I loved it.
I liked that there was smut in the book, but not enough for me to get annoyed or uncomfortable. I'm ace and never particularly care about sex, so if there's too much of it in a book, I usually just feel frustrated that it takes away from the plot (given there is one to begin with). Which wasn't the case here. Plus, the smut in here was written very straightfoward and not flowery at all , which is the way I prefer it. No weird euphemisms for genitals for me, please.
Lastly, the book also had some unexpected representation? Leone, Theo's twin sister, was legally blind, and I liked the way that was portrayed. She was a fully fleshed-out character who had more traits than just "blind girl", but at the same time, the story never makes you forget that she is blind? Like, it's not just a thing that gets mentioned once and then completely forgotten about for the rest of the story? You do see her struggles, they're just not the only thing that define her. Which is nice.
The second unexpected representation was a side character who mentioned he was demisexual, and obviously, ace rep in books always makes me happy. Though I do feel they insinuate that you can't be a "thing" if you've never had sex with each other, which feels ... wrong? Also, this actually is a thing that gets mentioned once and never again. The character shows up several times, he's friends with Theo, but his demisexuality is a one-time comment.
There are things that I didn't like about the book, though. First and foremost, I didn't like how it completely ignored the existence of bisexuality and pansexuality? As someone who thought he was straight at first, Theo should have had the opportunity to think about who he really likes, but it was always either a gay or a straight thing. No one even mentioned bisexual and pansexual people, ever. Obviously, just because Theo exclusively dated girls before doesn't mean he couldn't be gay, but it rubbed me the wrong way that there was never any discussion between any of the characters about this.
Plus, I felt like the relationship between Theo and Jamie progressed a little bit too quickly? (Like, their relationship in general, not the romance, obviously.) It wasn't all so bad that I started to find it unbelievable, obviously, but I was confused at the start of the story because I didn't know what they were to each other. You're led to believe at first that Jamie didn't particularly like Theo, but they moved on from that so fast that I got confused.
Overall, this was just a cute and humourous story that made a very dark day a little bit brighter for me. The characters had great chemistry and made me laugh a lot, and the romance was so full of pining (a lot of it thought to be unrequited) that I couldn't help but be highly entertained by it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism
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