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A review by so_many_books
Out of the Blue by Jason June
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5⭐️ rounded up to 4.
This book is okay and fun up until the end.
It's a queer merfolk YA story with an adorable pairing. Crest/Ross is a merperson who goes on their month-long journey to experience life on land and help a human to complete their quest. Sean is a chubby, heartbroken guy who's determined to get his ex back.
The story leans heavily on the fake dating and rom-com tropes. It tries to recreate the vibes of every slightly shallow teen movie ever created with queer representation. Which is actually a nice idea. The characters are very relatable to hormone-fuelled teenagers with emotional burst, feeling like a heartbreak will ruin their lives, being horny all the time, and just generally figuring themselves out.
The story has a good concept, though diving deeper into details and comparisons between life in the sea and on land would've been nice. It would have made the story less shallow.
What I didn't like much was the toxicity of Sean's ex. I know it was part of the character growth of Sean to move past a shitty relationship, but come on. There were so many signs.
And the other thing that was a ig miss is the ending. Up until the 70-80% mark, there was a vague but definite direction the story was going. Where Crest was heading in their journey. Where their relationship with Sean was headed. But in the end , it was just a jumbled up mess of emotions, mistakes, hurtful acts, and don't even get me started on the very end. Instead of explaining how both of them came to their decisions at the end of their month together, it was a moment and then puff. End.
I don't like these types of endings (and I'm not gonna go into detail what I mean because of spoilers). But there was so much potential to make it satisfying. And yet it left me WTF.
The best thing about this book is definitely the representation. It is set in a queernormative world and has some interesting thoughts about gender and gender expression. Crest/Ross is non-binary, Sean is gay, Kavya and Miguel are bi.
I liked it.
All in all, I think this is an okay story with some really great aspects and some mistakes. I enjoyed it because of the characters, but it left me unsatisfied at the end.
This book is okay and fun up until the end.
It's a queer merfolk YA story with an adorable pairing. Crest/Ross is a merperson who goes on their month-long journey to experience life on land and help a human to complete their quest. Sean is a chubby, heartbroken guy who's determined to get his ex back.
The story leans heavily on the fake dating and rom-com tropes. It tries to recreate the vibes of every slightly shallow teen movie ever created with queer representation. Which is actually a nice idea. The characters are very relatable to hormone-fuelled teenagers with emotional burst, feeling like a heartbreak will ruin their lives, being horny all the time, and just generally figuring themselves out.
The story has a good concept, though diving deeper into details and comparisons between life in the sea and on land would've been nice. It would have made the story less shallow.
What I didn't like much was the toxicity of Sean's ex. I know it was part of the character growth of Sean to move past a shitty relationship, but come on. There were so many signs.
And the other thing that was a ig miss is the ending. Up until the 70-80% mark, there was a vague but definite direction the story was going. Where Crest was heading in their journey. Where their relationship with Sean was headed. But in the end , it was just a jumbled up mess of emotions, mistakes, hurtful acts, and don't even get me started on the very end. Instead of explaining how both of them came to their decisions at the end of their month together, it was a moment and then puff. End.
I don't like these types of endings (and I'm not gonna go into detail what I mean because of spoilers). But there was so much potential to make it satisfying. And yet it left me WTF.
The best thing about this book is definitely the representation. It is set in a queernormative world and has some interesting thoughts about gender and gender expression. Crest/Ross is non-binary, Sean is gay, Kavya and Miguel are bi.
I liked it.
All in all, I think this is an okay story with some really great aspects and some mistakes. I enjoyed it because of the characters, but it left me unsatisfied at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity