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kjnrose's review
4.0
This book was a little different from what I normally read, but I am so excited that I did. If you have any triggers you definitely need to pay attention to the trigger warning, it's there for a reason. This story is a story of discovery and survival after trauma. I loved the dual POV letting us meet and get to know both MC's. The book is well written and has a great storyline and the author shows a real knowledge of how to get through some delicate topics with sensitivity.
tratiezone's review
5.0
I was provided with a review copy of this book by NetGalley.
I wasn't expecting what this book gave to me, and it made me happily surprise with how much responsibility delicate themes were talked about. We have a main character that is openly gay, don't struggle with his sexuality and don't waste a second breath about it, but at the same time he's biphobic and has a lot of prejudices that most of the times are not treated how they should be. This character is real, has flaws and grows with time, he at first don't understand why he's wrong on his prejudice, but chapter after chapter you can see that he's trying to be better and do better.
At the other side we have a guy who all his life though he was straight, until he wasn't? And that's were most people hate this kind of "gay-for-you" trope, but here's the thing: this is also acephobic. The gay-for-you, even if some times is terrible written, can be also a very good way to represent the demisexuality, like on this book. Another thing that I loved about this is that the character is demisexual AND bisexual. There's a lot of misunderstandings about asexuality, like it's this exclusive sexuality, when it's actually a espectrum that coexist with the sexual orientation of the person. Awesome representation, I highlighted so many quotes that looked like it was my diary and not a book about a fictional character.
Another delicate plot was the sexual assault and the toxic masculinity that the victim had to deal with. It's really hard to see this point of the stories being retracted on books, but the way he felted like he was the defect one before realizing his sexuality espectrum was so relatable that hurts. It's probably something that most assexual people lived through life, the pressure and the confusion and the bitter aftertaste of doing something you didn't wanted too but can't actually explain why you didn't. It's also awesome how it shows that even if someone ace is in a relationship with someone who's allo they can make it work with talking and listening. Really refreshing to read a book where I can see myself and my relationship and be happy with it.
Last but not less, the therapy! Thank. God. I love when characters look for ACTUAL, PROFESSIONAL help. It's so important, and the prejudice against it still makes so hard to people look for it, even when they need it the most. It was very accurate too, nothing out of line no miracle, just the help the character needed to straight his thoughts and have a clean mind to think about solutions that would make him happier.
Overall this book made me absolutely happy and I couldn't sleep before finish it. If it has flaws and couldn't see it, to me all the characters were painful relatable, the problems they had were real and I'm thrilled to read everything else J.R. brings out to us.
I wasn't expecting what this book gave to me, and it made me happily surprise with how much responsibility delicate themes were talked about. We have a main character that is openly gay, don't struggle with his sexuality and don't waste a second breath about it, but at the same time he's biphobic and has a lot of prejudices that most of the times are not treated how they should be. This character is real, has flaws and grows with time, he at first don't understand why he's wrong on his prejudice, but chapter after chapter you can see that he's trying to be better and do better.
At the other side we have a guy who all his life though he was straight, until he wasn't? And that's were most people hate this kind of "gay-for-you" trope, but here's the thing: this is also acephobic. The gay-for-you, even if some times is terrible written, can be also a very good way to represent the demisexuality, like on this book. Another thing that I loved about this is that the character is demisexual AND bisexual. There's a lot of misunderstandings about asexuality, like it's this exclusive sexuality, when it's actually a espectrum that coexist with the sexual orientation of the person. Awesome representation, I highlighted so many quotes that looked like it was my diary and not a book about a fictional character.
Another delicate plot was the sexual assault and the toxic masculinity that the victim had to deal with. It's really hard to see this point of the stories being retracted on books, but the way he felted like he was the defect one before realizing his sexuality espectrum was so relatable that hurts. It's probably something that most assexual people lived through life, the pressure and the confusion and the bitter aftertaste of doing something you didn't wanted too but can't actually explain why you didn't. It's also awesome how it shows that even if someone ace is in a relationship with someone who's allo they can make it work with talking and listening. Really refreshing to read a book where I can see myself and my relationship and be happy with it.
Last but not less, the therapy! Thank. God. I love when characters look for ACTUAL, PROFESSIONAL help. It's so important, and the prejudice against it still makes so hard to people look for it, even when they need it the most. It was very accurate too, nothing out of line no miracle, just the help the character needed to straight his thoughts and have a clean mind to think about solutions that would make him happier.
Overall this book made me absolutely happy and I couldn't sleep before finish it. If it has flaws and couldn't see it, to me all the characters were painful relatable, the problems they had were real and I'm thrilled to read everything else J.R. brings out to us.
robynthereader's review
5.0
Is it too much to call this perfection in a book?! "Getting Off" starts out spicy ... very spicy. It quickly morphs into a gorgeous MLM romance, filled first-love tropes and misunderstanding tropes that made my heart quicken. This novel also comes with a very important trigger warning, and I was grateful for it, even if I'm not one who needed it. Dealing with forced outing, sexual assault, gay bashing ... unfortunately all of these are all-too-real in the queer community, and I love that this book tackles them alongside such a tender romance. This is a novel many younger queer folks should add to their shelves immediately!
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