Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Served Hot by Annabeth Albert

5 reviews

chambersaurusrx's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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aus10england's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

This novella did what it set out to do. Steamy, great Portland references, quick read!

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kj468's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I think this book (novella) had a lot of promise, but ultimately fell a bit flat for me. On the positive notes, it was a good, (mostly) lighthearted rom-com, kept my interest, and had pretty good spice. I read the entire thing in an afternoon/evening, and didn't want to stop until I was finished.

However, I did have a few qualms with this story, several of which probably stem from it being a novella (although, having read other novellas by this author, I know the author is capable of not falling into this pitfalls).

Things I didn't love
  • A lot of the relationship happens off-page. For example, the storyline jumps straight from them agreeing to go out on their first date to Robby (the MC) showing up to their sixth or seventh Sunday brunch date -- meaning the first six-ish weeks of their relationship is completely glossed over. The early relationship is one of my favorite parts to read, so this was a big bummer for me. Also, this means that there is a sudden level of closeness and an established dynamic between Robby and David (LI) that the reader is expected to buy into, without actually seeing the evidence for.
  • There's very little conversation between Robby & David that isn't central to the plot. This results in not really knowing why they are attracted to each other and what they like about each other, or what their relationship looks like when they aren't addressing Major Life Problems. I was gobsmacked halfway through the book when they talked about both liking video games. This seemed like a surprising character trait for both of them -- not because it clashed with their established personalities, but because I didn't really have much of a handle on their personalities at all. 
  • For me, I found Robby's sexualization of David really uncomfortable. For a decent chunk of the book, David is pretty reticent around PDA, kissing, and sex; he's clearly navigating his own journey around these topics and at times seems uncomfortable or uninterested in them. So, it's jarring when Robby is commenting on how sexy David is, how much he wants David to fuck him, etc every third sentence (even when David is doing completely non-sexual things). As a note, I'm asexual, so I'm often fairly sensitive to the tone of sexualization, particularly when it seems to be one-sided. David does end up being into sex, and particularly sex with Robby, but the early portions before this is established were still uncomfortable to me.

rep: MLM, gay MC, gay LI, half-korean MC, vegetarian MC

content warnings:
internalized homophobia:
David's ex, who died, had a LOT of internalized homophobia. David reflects on this and processes it throughout the book, and the ex's internalized homophobia clearly has a lasting impact on David that he has to work through.

racism:
David is hesitant to bring Robby (who is half Korean) home to meet his family because they "are a little racist". But (to my memory) there's no explicit depictions of racism.

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piperclover's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

We didn't really get to know either character much and the mc was a little more pushy than I would hope given the issues discussed in this story. Definitely a good read though and I really enjoyed. Short, sweet, and fairly poignant 

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hanbanane's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

quick & cute read

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