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sofisuns's review against another edition
3.0
i have very mixed feelings on this book. at first i assumed it would just be a cute romantic comedy but that wasn't the case. i loved the romance and thought the main couple was very sweet but i hadn't expected all that came with it.
positives!
- diverse cast, there are many queer characters as well as people of color. this doesn't feel forced or tokenized which is great to see.
- exploration of queer identities!! the lgbt+ representation in this novel was wonderful and definitely a highlight.
- the adorable romance. i already mentioned them but < harper & margot 3
negatives, (mostly just things i personally didn't love.)
- the political aspect of it all. there are some scenes where this is well done but it felt very unneeded. her mom being dean and the dad running for president just felt very over the top.
- the writing style was too simple? i don't really know how to explain it but it did
- the forgive and forget trope was very annoying and most of the people in this book are utter assholes for no reason.
overall, i mostly enjoyed this book so if you're looking for a quick and easy sapphic book (and don't mind some frustrating side characters) definitely pick this up!
thank you for page street ya for sending an arc for my honest review!
content warnings: anxiety, depression, mentions of self harm, alcoholism, being outed.
positives!
- diverse cast, there are many queer characters as well as people of color. this doesn't feel forced or tokenized which is great to see.
- exploration of queer identities!! the lgbt+ representation in this novel was wonderful and definitely a highlight.
- the adorable romance. i already mentioned them but < harper & margot 3
negatives, (mostly just things i personally didn't love.)
- the political aspect of it all. there are some scenes where this is well done but it felt very unneeded. her mom being dean and the dad running for president just felt very over the top.
- the writing style was too simple? i don't really know how to explain it but it did
- the forgive and forget trope was very annoying and most of the people in this book are utter assholes for no reason.
overall, i mostly enjoyed this book so if you're looking for a quick and easy sapphic book (and don't mind some frustrating side characters) definitely pick this up!
thank you for page street ya for sending an arc for my honest review!
content warnings: anxiety, depression, mentions of self harm, alcoholism, being outed.
mnaza01's review against another edition
3.0
As someone with asthma, I kind of feel like I'm being gaslit by the media with what asthma is because they all portray it as being triggered always and only by anxiety. All I want to say when I finished the book is I'm getting tired of how people portray asthma as basically panic attacks. Asthma triggers are usually things like dust, animal dander, temperature changes, perfume, exercise, smoke, etc, not solely anxiety. It was a big part of the plot that everytime she was anxious she needed her inhaler and I just..I'm so tired of that idea. It would have made so much more sense for her to need her inhaler before rehearsal as preventative or after rehearsal. And the one time her lips go blue and she gets hospitalized they literally call it a panic attack. Her dad says her asthma trigger is stress, which would be okay if it wasn't the only portrayal anyone ever did ever in media, or if they showed her reacting to literally any other normal asthma trigger.
zbrarian's review against another edition
4.0
A book about marching band? Yes please. Being a certified Band Nerd, this book spoke to my heart. There were places I laughed out loud and places that made me sad and cringe. It was a interesting take on a young girl who’s father is in the running for the President of the United States. the pressure of being the daughter who cannot post on social media, needs to keep in line because of the brother who left long ago. The slow burn love story was sweet, Margot not pushing Harper into a relationship or outing herself until she is ready, only to have “friends” blow it all up. Learning from a teacher that she needs to forward march her own path truly brought the story home for me.
TW: bullying, asthmatic/panic attacks, dysfunctional family
TW: bullying, asthmatic/panic attacks, dysfunctional family
misha_ali's review
4.0
Sapphic, ace AND band nerd representation? Sold!
I really enjoyed this. Really great representation of a sex-repulsed asexual coming-of-age story and bonus points for the representation. It's something that is ignored a lot because for an ace person, it's hard to read the common indicators of affection and that can lead to frustration and not great actions. It's great to see that very relatable trope realised.
Around 40% of the way in there is an email that made me cry. If it is engaging and well done enough to make me cry, it gets five stars, that's the rule.
I really enjoyed this. Really great representation of a sex-repulsed asexual coming-of-age story and bonus points for the
Spoiler
best friend who is secretly in love with her ace best friendAround 40% of the way in there is an email that made me cry. If it is engaging and well done enough to make me cry, it gets five stars, that's the rule.
allisanto's review against another edition
5.0
oh my god it was so good. i read this in like 3 hours and didn’t put it down a single time. it made me wish i was in band even though i can’t play an instrument to save my life.
shewwimonster's review against another edition
4.0
This book has Ace rep!!!! Yay! The plot is maybe a little messy and I wish there was more marching band. Also SO many characters are the absolute worst. This wasn’t love for me but it was a fun little read.
mel_muses's review against another edition
4.5
When band nerd Harper learns about a gay dating profile made of her, she freaks out. Partly because her mom is the school dean, partly because she doesn't know her sexuality, partly because her parents are hardcore Republicans, and partly because her dad is running for the presidential election. It's really a huge mess.
And wow, did this book take turns I was not expecting!! I read it in the span of a few days, on audio (thank you, Jenn, for letting me use your library card LOL). It was addicting, and in such a good way. I loved the way the romance developed. It was so cute and while at times I wanted to scream at Harper, MARGOT FOR THE WIN! I also really loved the way Quinlan explored Harper's asexuality. It was beautifully done, and felt incredibly authentic. More aspec lesbians, PLEASE. My favorite part and characters of the book were actually people who were on page for like .5 seconds bUT I don't want to spoil who it was. SO: Skye Quinlan, please give me a whole spin-off of just THEM. My DMs are always open :)
Overall, a wild ride. A book that felt real and passionate, loving and authentic, scary and empowering. Also, please read my friend Jenn's review of this book. I encapsulated only a fraction of what they wrote about.
Content Warnings: anxiety, depression, homophobia, mentions of self harm, alcoholism, public outing
And wow, did this book take turns I was not expecting!! I read it in the span of a few days, on audio (thank you, Jenn, for letting me use your library card LOL). It was addicting, and in such a good way. I loved the way the romance developed. It was so cute and while at times I wanted to scream at Harper, MARGOT FOR THE WIN! I also really loved the way Quinlan explored Harper's asexuality. It was beautifully done, and felt incredibly authentic. More aspec lesbians, PLEASE. My favorite part and characters of the book were actually people who were on page for like .5 seconds bUT I don't want to spoil who it was. SO: Skye Quinlan, please give me a whole spin-off of just THEM. My DMs are always open :)
Overall, a wild ride. A book that felt real and passionate, loving and authentic, scary and empowering. Also, please read my friend Jenn's review of this book. I encapsulated only a fraction of what they wrote about.
Content Warnings: anxiety, depression, homophobia, mentions of self harm, alcoholism, public outing
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Mental illness, and Outing
Moderate: Alcoholism
sophierenee's review against another edition
4.0
Such a fun but also frustrating book mainly the being outed part… love that the marching band is meshed in with the story! Ahhh
thindbooks's review against another edition
4.0
*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*
This was a great read! This book is about Harper who is a band geek and someone makes a fake Tinder account of her which could ruin her life. The author has amazing writing in this book and she features an asexual main character which I don't think I have read before in a book other then the character being a side character. The plot was very well done with the perfect amounts of conflicts being thrown into the story as there the MC is dating in secret with there being political scandals and drama. I do have to say that the pacing was a little slow for my liking but the story was still great. Overall the storyline was amazingly love and I enjoyed all the representations in this book.
The main character is Harper and I enjoyed her character. I feel as though so many readers can relate to her in some way because I felt connected to her. I enjoyed her character development in the book and how the side character helped her improve it. Our main side character is Margot who is more out there in the world ready to have fun. There are many other side characters in the book and I enjoyed how there was a diversity and representation of characters involved though I loathed Harper's best friends. The romance trope in this book is fake dating which is one of my favorite tropes just because you can see the love development but in this read I kind of felt that the romance was forced a little. It was sweet but I couldn't feel the slow burn feel to it.
The ending was well done with a happily ever after. Even though this book mentioned politics, I enjoyed how it wasn't heavily in the book where it just took over. Usually I run away from it but it was great in this book. This book was very well done but there are some things that were iffy about it. I totally recommend reading this book if you are fans of Love & Other Disasters and Red, White and Royal Blue.
This was a great read! This book is about Harper who is a band geek and someone makes a fake Tinder account of her which could ruin her life. The author has amazing writing in this book and she features an asexual main character which I don't think I have read before in a book other then the character being a side character. The plot was very well done with the perfect amounts of conflicts being thrown into the story as there the MC is dating in secret with there being political scandals and drama. I do have to say that the pacing was a little slow for my liking but the story was still great. Overall the storyline was amazingly love and I enjoyed all the representations in this book.
The main character is Harper and I enjoyed her character. I feel as though so many readers can relate to her in some way because I felt connected to her. I enjoyed her character development in the book and how the side character helped her improve it. Our main side character is Margot who is more out there in the world ready to have fun. There are many other side characters in the book and I enjoyed how there was a diversity and representation of characters involved though I loathed Harper's best friends. The romance trope in this book is fake dating which is one of my favorite tropes just because you can see the love development but in this read I kind of felt that the romance was forced a little. It was sweet but I couldn't feel the slow burn feel to it.
The ending was well done with a happily ever after. Even though this book mentioned politics, I enjoyed how it wasn't heavily in the book where it just took over. Usually I run away from it but it was great in this book. This book was very well done but there are some things that were iffy about it. I totally recommend reading this book if you are fans of Love & Other Disasters and Red, White and Royal Blue.
harper_tales's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5