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kaiiribou 's review for:
The Love Interest
by Cale Dietrich
The premise is so excellent that any actual book would've struggled to live up to it. Things mostly hold together through the first 2/3rds, then fall apart in the last third for Surprise!Grimdark that doesn't necessarily...mesh. Tonally. Nonetheless, there's a lot to be said about the ways this deconstructs and interrogates ideas of masculinity in YA.
Also, behold my bitterness about the ending:
I get not ascribing Happy Ever After, but...maybe at least having a "we don't know where this is going but we're happy for now" instead of a "we're going to stick together forever because we can't not after all the fucked up shit we did to get together." Especially considering that twelfth hour heel face turn regarding Dyl's emotions/motivations. Jfc.
Also, behold my bitterness about the ending:
Spoiler
The ending essentially implies that the two male leads only get together because "they sacrificed too much to get together" and literally cannot ever break up because of those sacrifices. It's just fucked up, okay? I did not sign up for some shady af ending that implies these characters aren't necessarily happy together, they're just codependent, or it's going to blow up in their faces soon.I get not ascribing Happy Ever After, but...maybe at least having a "we don't know where this is going but we're happy for now" instead of a "we're going to stick together forever because we can't not after all the fucked up shit we did to get together." Especially considering that twelfth hour heel face turn regarding Dyl's emotions/motivations. Jfc.