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A review by ntembeast
The Only Purple House in Town by Ann Aguirre
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don't normally read romance books, but the cover drew me in immediately, and then the premise sounded charming and unusual enough to be my cup of tea, and man, I'm so so happy I wasn't disappointed with this book.
This book is like You Can't Take It With You (Movie 1938) meets queer found family with a modern world touched with the supernatural and it just was so freaking good.
I'm an absolute sucker for really good found-family anythings but this was done so damn well! I loved every single character and they were all hilarious and wonderful and moving in their own ways. They lived, they breathed, the oozed life off the pages of the book and I was sucked right into it from the get go. Even though this book is a romance, the romance happened gradually and naturally and was paced so well! I loved the steady slow development and the hilarious premise that got Iris and Eli together in the first place, but I was completely engrossed in the day-to-day life so much that the romance was just an added bonus to getting to meet all these diverse characters and see how they interacted with each other, how they found their place in the house, how everything came together just in the best and most fulfilling way.
Speaking of diversity-- THANK YOU ANN AGUIRRE! I have never seen a romance pull off diversity in such a natural, casual way and make it so fantastic. Even though the main relationship in this book is a straight one, the trans rep, the bi/pan/poly drops, the nonbinary and gender-nonconforming moments, the queerness everywhere, the aro/ace rep, the ability to see older queer and questioning people on the page living outside of the constraints of monogamy and leaving marriages that didn't work for them?! I am living for every single ounce of goodness that was constantly being found with such natural and comfortable and easy familiarity in a world where it all is and makes sense! What a flawless way to portray SO MANY wonderful things! Absolute hats off to the author, because this was so SO well done! With such heart and soul, and such clear love. I can't thank the author enough for it.
What an honestly delightful, comforting, joyful, hilarious, and fantastic read. Not only am I buying this book now, but I absolutely have to read everything else this author has written, because I loved this so much. Highly, highly recommend if anything I've said here sparked any amount of interest. It took me a few pages to be sold, because again, I don't normally read in this genre, but man... what a wonderful book. I'm so damn happy I gave this a shot, because I absolutely loved it.
This book is like You Can't Take It With You (Movie 1938) meets queer found family with a modern world touched with the supernatural and it just was so freaking good.
I'm an absolute sucker for really good found-family anythings but this was done so damn well! I loved every single character and they were all hilarious and wonderful and moving in their own ways. They lived, they breathed, the oozed life off the pages of the book and I was sucked right into it from the get go. Even though this book is a romance, the romance happened gradually and naturally and was paced so well! I loved the steady slow development and the hilarious premise that got Iris and Eli together in the first place, but I was completely engrossed in the day-to-day life so much that the romance was just an added bonus to getting to meet all these diverse characters and see how they interacted with each other, how they found their place in the house, how everything came together just in the best and most fulfilling way.
Speaking of diversity-- THANK YOU ANN AGUIRRE! I have never seen a romance pull off diversity in such a natural, casual way and make it so fantastic. Even though the main relationship in this book is a straight one, the trans rep, the bi/pan/poly drops, the nonbinary and gender-nonconforming moments, the queerness everywhere, the aro/ace rep, the ability to see older queer and questioning people on the page living outside of the constraints of monogamy and leaving marriages that didn't work for them?! I am living for every single ounce of goodness that was constantly being found with such natural and comfortable and easy familiarity in a world where it all is and makes sense! What a flawless way to portray SO MANY wonderful things! Absolute hats off to the author, because this was so SO well done! With such heart and soul, and such clear love. I can't thank the author enough for it.
What an honestly delightful, comforting, joyful, hilarious, and fantastic read. Not only am I buying this book now, but I absolutely have to read everything else this author has written, because I loved this so much. Highly, highly recommend if anything I've said here sparked any amount of interest. It took me a few pages to be sold, because again, I don't normally read in this genre, but man... what a wonderful book. I'm so damn happy I gave this a shot, because I absolutely loved it.