Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
3.5*
I’m nothing if not gone for celebrity behind-the-scenes discussion books and when you add boyband to the mix I don’t even need to know the synopsis to immediately pick it up. I liked that Kiss & Tell didn’t have romance as it’s main focus and instead mainly discussed life in the spotlight as a queer person, with a lot of side characters of color which started really good discussions. I also liked that the 17-year-old characters actually read as 17 with all of the mistakes and immaturity that come with it. In the first half of the book Hunter really reminded me of Louis from 1d which made me feel for him even more
I’m nothing if not gone for celebrity behind-the-scenes discussion books and when you add boyband to the mix I don’t even need to know the synopsis to immediately pick it up. I liked that Kiss & Tell didn’t have romance as it’s main focus and instead mainly discussed life in the spotlight as a queer person, with a lot of side characters of color which started really good discussions. I also liked that the 17-year-old characters actually read as 17 with all of the mistakes and immaturity that come with it. In the first half of the book Hunter really reminded me of Louis from 1d which made me feel for him even more
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Oooo I loved this. This was my first book from Adib Khorram (although I own [b:Darius the Great Is Not Okay|37506437|Darius the Great Is Not Okay (Darius The Great, #1)|Adib Khorram|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520460519l/37506437._SX50_.jpg|58014975] and [b:Darius the Great Deserves Better|49025767|Darius the Great Deserves Better (Darius the Great, #2)|Adib Khorram|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576517046l/49025767._SY75_.jpg|73514089]). Kiss & Tell follows a Canadian boy band on their North American tour. One of the members, Hunter Drake, has broken up with his boyfriend and is thrust into the spotlight when his ex-boyfriend leaks their sexts.
I don't know what I was expecting with this book. I thought it might be a little like [b:If This Gets Out|54738255|If This Gets Out|Sophie Gonzales|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610723548l/54738255._SY75_.jpg|85387795] but they were completely different and I loved that.
Hunter was dealing with so much, and honestly, I still feel so bad for him. The pressure from The Label, his friends, the public, his fans, and his love interests... Everything was just piling on top of him until he snapped. Honestly, everyone got off easy imo. I did like how Hunter took what his friends were saying to heart; but I felt as though they still kind of brushed him off. Idk, I think it's just me, but I would've dropped the lot of them and went to live my best life with Masha Patriarki tbh.
I DO NOT like Kaivan. I just think there wasn't enough done to redeem him for me. I was suspicious of his motives the whole book and honestly, still sus. Also don't like Aidan either. I'm #TeamHunter. You do you, boo. Love yourself first. <3
Oooo I loved this. This was my first book from Adib Khorram (although I own [b:Darius the Great Is Not Okay|37506437|Darius the Great Is Not Okay (Darius The Great, #1)|Adib Khorram|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520460519l/37506437._SX50_.jpg|58014975] and [b:Darius the Great Deserves Better|49025767|Darius the Great Deserves Better (Darius the Great, #2)|Adib Khorram|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576517046l/49025767._SY75_.jpg|73514089]). Kiss & Tell follows a Canadian boy band on their North American tour. One of the members, Hunter Drake, has broken up with his boyfriend and is thrust into the spotlight when his ex-boyfriend leaks their sexts.
I don't know what I was expecting with this book. I thought it might be a little like [b:If This Gets Out|54738255|If This Gets Out|Sophie Gonzales|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610723548l/54738255._SY75_.jpg|85387795] but they were completely different and I loved that.
Hunter was dealing with so much, and honestly, I still feel so bad for him. The pressure from The Label, his friends, the public, his fans, and his love interests... Everything was just piling on top of him until he snapped. Honestly, everyone got off easy imo. I did like how Hunter took what his friends were saying to heart; but I felt as though they still kind of brushed him off. Idk, I think it's just me, but I would've dropped the lot of them and went to live my best life with Masha Patriarki tbh.
I DO NOT like Kaivan. I just think there wasn't enough done to redeem him for me. I was suspicious of his motives the whole book and honestly, still sus. Also don't like Aidan either. I'm #TeamHunter. You do you, boo. Love yourself first. <3
Good but a little disappointing. Was less of a romance than I was expecting.
2.5 stars. The most interesting and exciting things the book brings is in the between chapters. In these intersections we are shown media interviews, articles, fan fiction, and even emails between management. The story itself felt like I was reading a sequel and missed the first book. I would have been interested in reading about the context we are only teased with. Overall it was not a bad book, I just wasn’t interested in the characters for some reason.
Kiss & Tell
Adib Khorram
Whoa! I missed a book. I read this about a month ago but forgot to log it. This is the same author as the Darius the Great series and I LOVED those two books. This one….was good. But it was so different than that series and I found myself comparing. I knoooowwww. It’s not always right to compare books within the same author, but alas, here we are.
The author continues to touch on important topics in a relatable way. Did I think I would relate to a queer teenage boy in a boy-band?? Absolutely not. But he was genuinely relatable.
There were a few storylines that felt strange to me, but I also can’t really question what happens on the road of a famous tour!
An ounce more of character development of the secondary characters and I would have been much happier.
Probably a 3 or a 4 star, but I’m generous and always round up.
4/5
Adib Khorram
Whoa! I missed a book. I read this about a month ago but forgot to log it. This is the same author as the Darius the Great series and I LOVED those two books. This one….was good. But it was so different than that series and I found myself comparing. I knoooowwww. It’s not always right to compare books within the same author, but alas, here we are.
The author continues to touch on important topics in a relatable way. Did I think I would relate to a queer teenage boy in a boy-band?? Absolutely not. But he was genuinely relatable.
There were a few storylines that felt strange to me, but I also can’t really question what happens on the road of a famous tour!
An ounce more of character development of the secondary characters and I would have been much happier.
Probably a 3 or a 4 star, but I’m generous and always round up.
4/5
TW: homophobic slurs, underage drinking, implied underage sexual activity, racism, slut-shaming
3.5 stars.
I think this could have been a really great book, but something about it just didn’t work for me. Once I got to the 40% mark, I struggled to continue reading because I just wasn’t rooting for the couple anymore.
1. Hunter was just…completely oblivious to the shit everyone else puts up with. Granted, people were being very overt in their homophobia, but like micro aggressions exist?? Biases exist?? And to act like being a white gay cis man is the peak of oppression. Ain’t it.
2. Kaivan was a complete asshole about traditional boy bands. To be honest, the way he talked about Kiss & Tell specifically should have disqualified PAR-K from being the opener to Kiss & Tell’s tour.
3. Aidan was…I don’t even know my thoughts on him. I would like to say that the whole leaking of texts shouldn’t have even been included, but I think it was somewhat necessary to the plot. It just made me feel icky!! Like first you’re not gonna trust your boyfriend when he say’s he’s not cheating, then you’re gonna enthusiastically engage in sex with him, then you’re gonna publicly shame him for liking sex??? But then he’s basically forgiven by the end. Nuh uh, that is grounds for a forever grudge.
3.5 stars.
I think this could have been a really great book, but something about it just didn’t work for me. Once I got to the 40% mark, I struggled to continue reading because I just wasn’t rooting for the couple anymore.
1. Hunter was just…completely oblivious to the shit everyone else puts up with. Granted, people were being very overt in their homophobia, but like micro aggressions exist?? Biases exist?? And to act like being a white gay cis man is the peak of oppression. Ain’t it.
2. Kaivan was a complete asshole about traditional boy bands. To be honest, the way he talked about Kiss & Tell specifically should have disqualified PAR-K from being the opener to Kiss & Tell’s tour.
3. Aidan was…I don’t even know my thoughts on him. I would like to say that the whole leaking of texts shouldn’t have even been included, but I think it was somewhat necessary to the plot. It just made me feel icky!! Like first you’re not gonna trust your boyfriend when he say’s he’s not cheating, then you’re gonna enthusiastically engage in sex with him, then you’re gonna publicly shame him for liking sex??? But then he’s basically forgiven by the end. Nuh uh, that is grounds for a forever grudge.
from the cover, i thought this was going to read like a ya contemporary romance but it really surprised me.
it was a quick read but touched on a lot of topics of how to present yourself as queer, what is considered diverse and the intersectionality of the queer experience and the POC experience.
it was a quick read but touched on a lot of topics of how to present yourself as queer, what is considered diverse and the intersectionality of the queer experience and the POC experience.
This was a pretty cute YA queer romance about a boy in a boy band. There are lots of deep rooted themes that this book covers in a way that's easy to take in. I thought the characters were cute and sweet but some of them felt like they were kind of flat. I felt like there could have been a little more character development to make them a little more dynamic, but all in all it was an entertaining read that I got through fairly quickly. I really loved the way the audiobook was constructed because it was performed with a full cast. Some of the text message conversations and emails were a little clunky in that format, but I still found it satisfyingly entertaining.