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A review by madamepincers
Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really enjoyed Be Dazzled and found it a quick, engaging read. The book is split between two timelines: the first is "now" which is over the course of a weekend at a major convention with cosplay and the second begins from 13 months prior to "now" and goes until the break up of the main character and his partner (his competition for the cosplay contest-- thus the premise of the book).
This is marked as light hearted and funny, and it was. It was funny and made me smile often and the alternating timelines made the pacing really interesting. However, as someone with various issues with panic and anxiety, I was slightly triggered by the constant anxiety and compulsions that Raffy, our main character, experiences throughout the course of the book. It was written so well into the book that it was like getting a second-hand panic attack-- which of course means it was compelling writing and also, that I was panicking, which I did not like so much. XD.
<Spoiler>I also felt a bit frustrated by the ending, which gave us a lot of hope for the future of our main character and his beau, along with their friends, but also, some of the major issues throughout the book were just conveniently discarded as a result. Suddenly, the need to prove himself and the constant compulsions to tick off to do lists and get so lost in his work that he forgets to check his phone are seemingly forgotten because he's "having fun" again. This, along with the fact that they never really address the serious violations by certain friends (who lied to the MC, stole a cosplay idea and made it came to life, gave the MC's ex-beau a whole complex about not being able to do anything and being a "drain" on energy and work, etc etc) and go out to karaoke with her at the end really frustrated me... her competitiveness, in my mind, didn't give her an excuse for that level of repeated violation.
This is marked as light hearted and funny, and it was. It was funny and made me smile often and the alternating timelines made the pacing really interesting. However, as someone with various issues with panic and anxiety, I was slightly triggered by the constant anxiety and compulsions that Raffy, our main character, experiences throughout the course of the book. It was written so well into the book that it was like getting a second-hand panic attack-- which of course means it was compelling writing and also, that I was panicking, which I did not like so much. XD.
<Spoiler>I also felt a bit frustrated by the ending, which gave us a lot of hope for the future of our main character and his beau, along with their friends, but also, some of the major issues throughout the book were just conveniently discarded as a result. Suddenly, the need to prove himself and the constant compulsions to tick off to do lists and get so lost in his work that he forgets to check his phone are seemingly forgotten because he's "having fun" again. This, along with the fact that they never really address the serious violations by certain friends (who lied to the MC, stole a cosplay idea and made it came to life, gave the MC's ex-beau a whole complex about not being able to do anything and being a "drain" on energy and work, etc etc) and go out to karaoke with her at the end really frustrated me... her competitiveness, in my mind, didn't give her an excuse for that level of repeated violation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Biphobia, Drug use, and Homophobia
Toxic friendship.