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A review by lizshayne
Beautiful boy by Grace R. Duncan
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I skimmed the last third of this book because I was getting so tired.
It is possible that I'm just the wrong audience, but this went from enjoyable for about a third to boring but like maybe it'll pick up to just...why.
1) The complete lack of plot. Just like absolute PWP for the entire book and most fanfiction this length trips over the plot at some point. Not this book.
2) Characters have described traits, but they don't like actually act like they've had the experiences they had. Particularly the one where Blake is killed a certain way and that's consuming Mal at the beginning of the book and then he does the exact same thing to Kyle and, like, NO MENTION IS MADE OF BLAKE?? But it's pretty constant.
3) Form recapitulates content. There's a lot of edging the reader to think that there might be narrative satisfaction in this book but NOPE. Unlike Kyle, who eventually gets off, this book doesn't pay off the vast majority of plot points or character arcs.
4) This is mild but like, what the hell was up with Kyle's parents? Like, it felt like a very shallow depiction of people who care very strongly about appearances and also this might be the gap between 2015 and now in terms of how extremely wealthy conservatives present themselves. They struck me as the type to fix Kyle rather than immediately disown. Whatever, again, window dressing not people makes it hard for the events of the book to feel real.
Anyway. 1.5 stars for a book that is ostensibly about caring about both relationship dynamic and the people in it and only succeeds in doing the former in print.
This is the second time this year I've been burnt by picking up a romance novel by an author who wasn't recommended by someone whose taste I trust. We'll see how long it takes me to learn...
It is possible that I'm just the wrong audience, but this went from enjoyable for about a third to boring but like maybe it'll pick up to just...why.
2) Characters have described traits, but they don't like actually act like they've had the experiences they had. Particularly the one where Blake is killed a certain way and that's consuming Mal at the beginning of the book and then he does the exact same thing to Kyle and, like, NO MENTION IS MADE OF BLAKE?? But it's pretty constant.
3) Form recapitulates content. There's a lot of edging the reader to think that there might be narrative satisfaction in this book but NOPE. Unlike Kyle, who eventually gets off, this book doesn't pay off the vast majority of plot points or character arcs.
4) This is mild but like, what the hell was up with Kyle's parents? Like, it felt like a very shallow depiction of people who care very strongly about appearances and also this might be the gap between 2015 and now in terms of how extremely wealthy conservatives present themselves. They struck me as the type to fix Kyle rather than immediately disown. Whatever, again, window dressing not people makes it hard for the events of the book to feel real.
Anyway. 1.5 stars for a book that is ostensibly about caring about both relationship dynamic and the people in it and only succeeds in doing the former in print.
This is the second time this year I've been burnt by picking up a romance novel by an author who wasn't recommended by someone whose taste I trust. We'll see how long it takes me to learn...