Reviews with content warning for Religious bigotry - Felix Ever After

But creating our own world, not just for ourselves in our bubble, but one that can spread to those who need it most—one filled with our stories, our history, our love and pride—that’s just as beautiful. That’s just as necessary. Without that, we forget ourselves

When Felix, a trans boy, steps into his school lobby one day, he is shocked to see a galley - of photos stolen from his instagram archive, photos of him before his transition, and his dead name plastered on the wall. Suspecting his rival classmate Declan, he creates a fake instagram account to catfish him and hopefully learn some of his secrets, too, so he can get his revenge.

Queer romance? Check. Great characters? Check. Unexpected attraction? We love to see it.

But it’s not all fluff. Felix Ever After deals with some deep issues, issues that may even be triggering to some, issues like transphobia, deadnaming, homophobia. Felix, despite knowing he’s definitely not the gender he was born, still doesn’t feel like a guy all the time, and struggles to find an identity that fits him. He has to work on his relationship with his father who, despite paying for her gender-confirmation surgery and hormones, still calls him kid instead of his true name, Felix. He has insecurities about whether he is worthy of love, whether he’s even allowed to still be questioning his identity after all that he’s done to prove to the world he is a guy.

This book told a great story, but… personally, everything felt very on the nose; long speeches about privilege, about trans acceptance, about transphobia and racism within the gay community. Of course, these are all things that need to be addressed, especially in this story, but I would have preferred not to have the messages of the book spelled out for readers in paragraphs of dialogue.

There were also some editing things I noticed that made this book feel a little unpolished for me. For instance:

It’s easier, I think, to love someone you know won’t love you—to chase them, knowing they won’t feel the same way—than to love someone who might love you back. To risk loving each other and losing it all.

Is virtually the same thing Felix’s dad says a few chapters later:

It can be easier, sometimes, to choose to love someone you know won’t return your feelings. At least you know how that will end. It’s easier to accept hurt and pain, sometimes, than love and acceptance. It’s the real, loving relationships that can be the scariest.

Or when Felix is worried Declan will recognize his voice after speaking to him on the phone as his catfish persona:

Declan stares straight ahead, listening to Jill. I’m almost too afraid to answer Marisol. If I speak and he hears me, will he suddenly recognize my voice—realize that I’m Lucky?

But then a few pages later, we get this line:

And it hits me—of course, only now does it hit me—that if I speak, he might just recognize my voice.

It’s like Callender forgot they’d already written those specific passages a few pages / chapters before, and added them again. I guess I just feel the novel could have used a few more pass-throughs with an editor.

In any case, I still loved the characters. I loved Felix’s dad, how much he so clearly loved his son and just wanted to get things right for him. I loved Ezra and his fierce defence of Felix against ANYONE who wronged him, I loved Leah and her quiet loyalty, I even enjoyed Declan and his frosty exterior (and his grandpa <3) There were so much more to these characters than meets the eye.

I was especially happy with the turn this love story took! I can honestly say, I was not expecting it. I’m a huge enemies-to-lovers fan, but there was so much more to it than that.

Thank you, Kacen Callender, for bringing me on this journey with Felix.

Content Warnings

stevielynne's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful tense 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? No

3.5

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