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A review by kaitmary
How to Speak Boy by Tiana Smith
2.0
Apparently I am THAT GUY because lots of other people seemed to like this one, but for me, the characters were dry, the pacing was off, and it used popular tropes in all the wrong ways. Let's dive in:
- I picked up this book at YALLfest because it was described as enemies-to-lovers, a trope I will die for. It's really not, though. Grayson is smitten with Quinn from the beginning. She finds him a little pompous and sees him as her competition, but they never truly dislike each other. In fact, their mutual attraction is established very early on.
- There's also a secret admirer angle. The reader knows Quinn and Grayson are writing to each other, they think they're writing to other people. But even their letters aren't particularly flirtatious or endearing. I wanted to get swept up in them, but I didn't feel the chemistry.
- Characters repeatedly do things for the sake of plot rather than the sake of sense. For instance, Quinn repeatedly lies to one specific friend about her not-at-all-controversial college of choice for NO PARTICULAR REASON other than for it to become a point of contention later. Grayson lets someone spread an ugly rumor about him and never speaks in his own defense because "It's just not worth the trouble." Yeah, ooookay.
- Quinn and Grayson are hardcore speech and debate club kids, yet we never see a single speech nor debate, even in their personal lives. But fear not! There's plenty about ordering food for an event and coordinating volunteer judges-- ya know, the fun stuff readers really care about. As far as school activities go, speech and debate is a tame option, but there's a chance to use it for storytelling flair that's completely squandered.
- Overall, what it comes down to is I just didn't feel a connection to the characters and the plot dragged on. Nothing endeared me. Nothing surprised me. No one has a struggle of any significant value. Everything in this one is just super cut and dry.
- I picked up this book at YALLfest because it was described as enemies-to-lovers, a trope I will die for. It's really not, though. Grayson is smitten with Quinn from the beginning. She finds him a little pompous and sees him as her competition, but they never truly dislike each other. In fact, their mutual attraction is established very early on.
- There's also a secret admirer angle. The reader knows Quinn and Grayson are writing to each other, they think they're writing to other people. But even their letters aren't particularly flirtatious or endearing. I wanted to get swept up in them, but I didn't feel the chemistry.
- Characters repeatedly do things for the sake of plot rather than the sake of sense. For instance, Quinn repeatedly lies to one specific friend about her not-at-all-controversial college of choice for NO PARTICULAR REASON other than for it to become a point of contention later. Grayson lets someone spread an ugly rumor about him and never speaks in his own defense because "It's just not worth the trouble." Yeah, ooookay.
- Quinn and Grayson are hardcore speech and debate club kids, yet we never see a single speech nor debate, even in their personal lives. But fear not! There's plenty about ordering food for an event and coordinating volunteer judges-- ya know, the fun stuff readers really care about. As far as school activities go, speech and debate is a tame option, but there's a chance to use it for storytelling flair that's completely squandered.
- Overall, what it comes down to is I just didn't feel a connection to the characters and the plot dragged on. Nothing endeared me. Nothing surprised me. No one has a struggle of any significant value. Everything in this one is just super cut and dry.