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alecashlark's reviews
28 reviews
Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
A story about family, friendship, and young love and how messy it all gets when a teenager navigates them in the wake of a dream-shattering and life-changing accident. But mess aside, it's a story that reminds you how wonderful it is to have beautiful people in your life who love you even when don't always deserve them.
Book Boyfriend by Kris Ripper
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
Funny, delightful, and well-written, Book Boyfriend tells readers that romance isn’t always… uhm, romantic— sometimes it can be a painfully awkward, fumbling mess —and that you don’t need a grand romantic gesture— not a successful one, anyway —to get your happily ever after.
If You Change Your Mind by Robby Weber
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
A sweet and funny story about chasing dreams and finding love without losing sight of what really matters, If You Change Your Mind leaves you with a mental supercut of heart-melting moments that’ll keep you feeling all warmed up inside, long after the fade out.
*This is a completely spoiler-free review.
Harry wants to escape Citrus Harbor and go to USC to become an academy award winning screenwriter. But he had botched his SATs, thanks to a broken heart. And so he’s left with winning a writing competition as his last chance in putting together an impressive college application, and he only has about three weeks to finish his submission. It’s already hard enough coming up with a great plot twist, he doesn’t need the distractions caused by the return of his still charming ex and meeting the cute new guy to make it even harder. And though he’s determined not to let them divert him from his goals or risk his heart getting broken again, both boys are definitely not making it easy.
The perfect summer read, indeed. I loved the cast of characters: Harry, Grant and Logan, of course, but especially Harry’s little sister, Lottie. She was such an adorable little hellion. Also, there’s a minor character named Foster that I would really love to read more about.
Now what makes a young adult book great is good character development. These kids are still figuring things out, and they’re bound to make mistakes and sometimes even repeat them. But that’s all right. What matters is that they learn from their mistakes and become better people as a result. And Robby Weber did a good job of doing that to these characters.
When it comes to love triangles, I always pick a team, so I always end up disliking the romance or even the story as a whole because, of course, the main character would still spend time with the other team, and I’d be gritting my teeth throughout the scene. But surprise, surprise! The love triangle here wasn’t like that at all, and I didn’t dislike it one bit.
I couldn’t pick a team, even if I wanted to. I liked both love interests and I was equally drawn to both of them, Grant with his charm and confidence and Logan with his sweetness and sincerity. And Robby Weber kept me guessing and invested about who it was going to be for Harry upto practically the very end. I didn’t have to experience the comedown from the climax, and I loved that!
Also, there’s Harry’s screenplay, the story of which is told alongside his own. It was such a lovely addition to the book.
I would have given If You Change Your Mind a solid 5-star rating if it weren’t competing against my life-changing favorites. Nonetheless, I had a great time reading this book and I really liked the characters. It’s highly recommended, and I’m excited to read Robby Weber’s future works.
The ARC was provided by HarperCollins via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 3 May 2022.
*This is a completely spoiler-free review.
Harry wants to escape Citrus Harbor and go to USC to become an academy award winning screenwriter. But he had botched his SATs, thanks to a broken heart. And so he’s left with winning a writing competition as his last chance in putting together an impressive college application, and he only has about three weeks to finish his submission. It’s already hard enough coming up with a great plot twist, he doesn’t need the distractions caused by the return of his still charming ex and meeting the cute new guy to make it even harder. And though he’s determined not to let them divert him from his goals or risk his heart getting broken again, both boys are definitely not making it easy.
The perfect summer read, indeed. I loved the cast of characters: Harry, Grant and Logan, of course, but especially Harry’s little sister, Lottie. She was such an adorable little hellion. Also, there’s a minor character named Foster that I would really love to read more about.
Now what makes a young adult book great is good character development. These kids are still figuring things out, and they’re bound to make mistakes and sometimes even repeat them. But that’s all right. What matters is that they learn from their mistakes and become better people as a result. And Robby Weber did a good job of doing that to these characters.
When it comes to love triangles, I always pick a team, so I always end up disliking the romance or even the story as a whole because, of course, the main character would still spend time with the other team, and I’d be gritting my teeth throughout the scene. But surprise, surprise! The love triangle here wasn’t like that at all, and I didn’t dislike it one bit.
I couldn’t pick a team, even if I wanted to. I liked both love interests and I was equally drawn to both of them, Grant with his charm and confidence and Logan with his sweetness and sincerity. And Robby Weber kept me guessing and invested about who it was going to be for Harry upto practically the very end. I didn’t have to experience the comedown from the climax, and I loved that!
Also, there’s Harry’s screenplay, the story of which is told alongside his own. It was such a lovely addition to the book.
I would have given If You Change Your Mind a solid 5-star rating if it weren’t competing against my life-changing favorites. Nonetheless, I had a great time reading this book and I really liked the characters. It’s highly recommended, and I’m excited to read Robby Weber’s future works.
The ARC was provided by HarperCollins via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 3 May 2022.
Getting Off by JR Hart
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
3.0
A story about a jock’s struggles as he navigates through the hardships of dealing with sexual confusion and discovery, Getting Off bravely and commendably draws focus not only on the problematic issues from outside the LGBTQ+ community but also from within.
The ARC/DRC was provided by NineStar Press via
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 15 February 2022. Full and honest review was emailed to the publisher.
The ARC/DRC was provided by NineStar Press via
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 15 February 2022. Full and honest review was emailed to the publisher.
The Long Game by Rachel Reid
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
A beautiful, heartwarming story about two men fighting the enormity of their feelings for each other to keep their relationship a secret, The Long Game tests the limits of a reader’s capacity to contain so much love. Sequel to Heated Rivalry, it lives up to hard-core fans’ expectations and delivers so much more.
*This is a completely spoiler-free review.
The writing is so good. It’s concise and quick and smooth. But the best thing about it are the dialogues. The ones here are some of the best I’ve ever read. They’re sharp and fluid and so on point. It’s like the story could be written in screenplay format, just the dialogues and the occasional three-liner narrations, and you wouldn’t mind at all.
It’s just so satisfying to be on a journey with Shane and Ilya again. And what a ride it has been. You get to see them in different lights and discover new depths to their character. You get to witness them develop in many aspects, both apart and together, and how those developments affected the hard-won, memorable evolution of their relationship. You also get delicious tidbits from characters of the previous books and also new characters that you might have to look out for in the next ones.
The romance just fills you up with love and makes you feel so many strong emotions. It’s already profound and intense all in itself, but the thing is: when you read a story about characters that you already care about on a deeper level, you are more emotionally invested and you root for them so much harder. And that amplifies the effect of the book on you, your reactions and feelings, that sometimes it gets too much to contain, but always in a good way.
I don’t want to reveal anything at all, so I won’t talk much about the plot. It’s definitely not a walk in the park, but there is no unnecessary drama or far-fetched plot devices. You have to work for the ending, but it’s worth it because it’s so rewarding once you get there. You’ll have the happily-ever-after plus the other things that you’ve always wanted for Shane and Ilya.
There are readers who simply love Shane and Ilya so much you will read this book regardless of what advance readers say. And if I have not gotten an ARC I’d be one of you. But there are readers who also love Shane and Ilya but doubt that those two have any more to offer you story-wise and worry that this book will ruin them for you. I’m here to tell you to please throw away your doubts and worries and read this book because you’re definitely going to love it.
The ARC was provided by Carina Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 26 April 2022.
*This is a completely spoiler-free review.
The writing is so good. It’s concise and quick and smooth. But the best thing about it are the dialogues. The ones here are some of the best I’ve ever read. They’re sharp and fluid and so on point. It’s like the story could be written in screenplay format, just the dialogues and the occasional three-liner narrations, and you wouldn’t mind at all.
It’s just so satisfying to be on a journey with Shane and Ilya again. And what a ride it has been. You get to see them in different lights and discover new depths to their character. You get to witness them develop in many aspects, both apart and together, and how those developments affected the hard-won, memorable evolution of their relationship. You also get delicious tidbits from characters of the previous books and also new characters that you might have to look out for in the next ones.
The romance just fills you up with love and makes you feel so many strong emotions. It’s already profound and intense all in itself, but the thing is: when you read a story about characters that you already care about on a deeper level, you are more emotionally invested and you root for them so much harder. And that amplifies the effect of the book on you, your reactions and feelings, that sometimes it gets too much to contain, but always in a good way.
I don’t want to reveal anything at all, so I won’t talk much about the plot. It’s definitely not a walk in the park, but there is no unnecessary drama or far-fetched plot devices. You have to work for the ending, but it’s worth it because it’s so rewarding once you get there. You’ll have the happily-ever-after plus the other things that you’ve always wanted for Shane and Ilya.
There are readers who simply love Shane and Ilya so much you will read this book regardless of what advance readers say. And if I have not gotten an ARC I’d be one of you. But there are readers who also love Shane and Ilya but doubt that those two have any more to offer you story-wise and worry that this book will ruin them for you. I’m here to tell you to please throw away your doubts and worries and read this book because you’re definitely going to love it.
The ARC was provided by Carina Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 26 April 2022.
Husband Material by Alexis Hall
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Reading the five-chapter preview of Husband Material feels like hugging tight a very dear friend after not having seen them in a while. And within just a few minutes of reconnecting, you’re reminded again— as if you could ever forget —that said friend is hilarious but sincere, sweet but uncompromising, romantic but real. You're reminded of all the reasons why you became very good friends in the first place.
Gods, how I have missed insecure, self-deprecating, endearingly awkward Luc; supportive, overly reasonable, and charmingly stoic Oliver; and all their adorably crazy and quirky friends. I’m just so happy to be with them again that I just can’t stop smiling. To say that I can’t wait to read the entirety of the Husband Material would be an understatement.
The preview ARC was provided by SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 2 August 2022.
Gods, how I have missed insecure, self-deprecating, endearingly awkward Luc; supportive, overly reasonable, and charmingly stoic Oliver; and all their adorably crazy and quirky friends. I’m just so happy to be with them again that I just can’t stop smiling. To say that I can’t wait to read the entirety of the Husband Material would be an understatement.
The preview ARC was provided by SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 2 August 2022.
Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
A promising start to a well-loved series, Captive Prince is a daring and excellently-written tale of betrayal, deceit, and manipulation, set against a backdrop of moral ambiguity and ambivalence, with a whispered vow to deliver an epic, memorable romance in the following installments.
Writing: Told in third-person limited narrative, the point of view is slightly more distant that I prefer. But that didn’t take away from the skillfully descriptive writing style.
Character: I wanted a little more depth and strength to Damen’s character development, but I liked him nonetheless. I loved Laurent; I couldn’t not. I disliked most of the rest, but I was intrigued by all of them.
Plot: The story, with its many deceitful maneuvers, didn’t really surprise me; a book rarely does. I simply knew what it would deliver and was satisfied and very impressed when it did.
Romance: There wasn’t really any romance here, but it was obvious that there would be one in the next books, and that it would be challenging, slow-burn, and hard-won in the end.
To conclude: Captive Prince is a clever and attention-grabbing setup for the series, and I am excited to see more of the characters and how their story will further unfold. 3.5/5 stars.
Writing: Told in third-person limited narrative, the point of view is slightly more distant that I prefer. But that didn’t take away from the skillfully descriptive writing style.
Character: I wanted a little more depth and strength to Damen’s character development, but I liked him nonetheless. I loved Laurent; I couldn’t not. I disliked most of the rest, but I was intrigued by all of them.
Plot: The story, with its many deceitful maneuvers, didn’t really surprise me; a book rarely does. I simply knew what it would deliver and was satisfied and very impressed when it did.
Romance: There wasn’t really any romance here, but it was obvious that there would be one in the next books, and that it would be challenging, slow-burn, and hard-won in the end.
To conclude: Captive Prince is a clever and attention-grabbing setup for the series, and I am excited to see more of the characters and how their story will further unfold. 3.5/5 stars.
The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A bleak but hopeful story about the struggles of coping up and moving on in the wake of a loved one’s death, Mason Deaver’s The Ghost We Keep reminds us how finite and prescious time is and that we should make the most out of it with the people we love. Recommended.
Despite the story being generally sad, the narrative was so easy to read. I can’t pinpoint the reason for this. The narrative jumps between before and after the accident happened, the chapters are shorts, the language simple, and the point of view deep enough. I guess it had to do with the fact that it was so easy empathize and relate to what the main character was going through.
Liam, the main character, is a sixteen-year-old enby whose brother, Ethan, was killed in a hit-and-ran accident. I have no strong feeling toward them except sympathy. And that’s because their character development wasn’t as strong as the story demanded.
I know that the death of their brother affected and changed them but I’m not sure as to what extent, how much their characters had to bend and break as a result of what happened. I mostly only know them in the pocket of time around their brother’s death as this grieving, in-denial, depressed, and angry teen. And not much of what they’re like aside from those due to lack of a solid point of reference.
The plot is what I liked the least about the book. I was always ahead of it. In fact, three chapters in and I already knew how the story was going go. I was never surprised. But that might be a case of “it’s me, not the book”. Also, my opinion wasn’t improved by the fact it was Ethan, despite being already dead, that move the plot along more instead of Liam, the main character.
The theme is what I liked the most. Grief and regret, to an extent, is universally resonant. We’ve all lost something or someone, in one way or another, that we wish we haven’t. The theme made me feel the most because it was so easy to imagine myself being in Liam’s situation, and it’s what kept me thinking about the book long after the end.
Obviously the The Ghost We Keep isn’t perfect, far from it actually. But it’s a meaningful and hopeful story that re-taught me an important lesson that preoccupation made me forget. Life is short, so live and love.
Despite the story being generally sad, the narrative was so easy to read. I can’t pinpoint the reason for this. The narrative jumps between before and after the accident happened, the chapters are shorts, the language simple, and the point of view deep enough. I guess it had to do with the fact that it was so easy empathize and relate to what the main character was going through.
Liam, the main character, is a sixteen-year-old enby whose brother, Ethan, was killed in a hit-and-ran accident. I have no strong feeling toward them except sympathy. And that’s because their character development wasn’t as strong as the story demanded.
I know that the death of their brother affected and changed them but I’m not sure as to what extent, how much their characters had to bend and break as a result of what happened. I mostly only know them in the pocket of time around their brother’s death as this grieving, in-denial, depressed, and angry teen. And not much of what they’re like aside from those due to lack of a solid point of reference.
The plot is what I liked the least about the book. I was always ahead of it. In fact, three chapters in and I already knew how the story was going go. I was never surprised. But that might be a case of “it’s me, not the book”. Also, my opinion wasn’t improved by the fact it was Ethan, despite being already dead, that move the plot along more instead of Liam, the main character.
The theme is what I liked the most. Grief and regret, to an extent, is universally resonant. We’ve all lost something or someone, in one way or another, that we wish we haven’t. The theme made me feel the most because it was so easy to imagine myself being in Liam’s situation, and it’s what kept me thinking about the book long after the end.
Obviously the The Ghost We Keep isn’t perfect, far from it actually. But it’s a meaningful and hopeful story that re-taught me an important lesson that preoccupation made me forget. Life is short, so live and love.
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
I’ve never seen words used in such an effective and evocative way. And it was incredible how the author never seemed to run out of imageries and that each one was as good as the rest. He’s indeed a truly exceptional writer.
The characters are authentic beyond any I’ve encountered. They are not just fictional characters; they are real people. They can exist not only in the space between the beginning and the ending of the book with the sole purpose of acting out the story. They feel as though you can actually pull them out of the pages into the world, and they will breathe and live.
Oh, my dear Mungo. Him alone, forget about the story and everything else, can break your heart. He’s such a gentle soul with a precious heart and a vulnerable innocence. The mere thought of someone like him growing up and changing in any way is saddening. He did break my heart, and he wedged himself between the cracks. And there Mungo will stay with me forever.
I see plot elements as moving chess pieces. I constantly predict where they’re going, and I’m always, to a certain extent, right about where I’ll find them when the story ends. But my experience with this book was nothing like that. I almost never had to predict, but not because the plot was easily predictable. No, it’s because for me it was rarely about what was going to happen next and almost always about what was happening now.
The evocative scenes have a way of rooting you to the present. It makes you put aside your reactions to what has already happened and your worries to what might happen next and just experience the now in its full force and magnificence. And experience I did, and it was profound and unforgettable.
You know when you get something good but for a limited time only, and you can’t help but want more. That’s how I felt about the romance; I wanted just a little more of Mungo and James. I also felt like the romance was a bit underdeveloped, but that’s probably due to the author’s precise depiction of the “too fast, too deep” nature of young love. And the fact that it was young love didn’t make the tribulations of their relationship any less valid. It’s actually all those challenges that they had to face together that gave so much strength to their love and made me deeply invested.
The theme is constantly gloomy with the occasional darkening of clouds and the piercing ray of light. This is the reason why the book isn’t something you read in one sitting, or two, or even twenty for that matter. It eventually gets a bit too heavy to bear and a little tight in the chest. But no matter how many times I eventually stopped reading, I always soon jumped back in, looking for that somber magic that made me feel all those big, real emotions.
Indeed, there’s a lot of bleak content here, but there are also enough bright, happy, loving moments that warm the heart, and they’re the ones that stay with you long after the end and the ones that will make you want to come back someday.
So to conclude: It’s goes without saying that Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart is highly, highly, recommended.
The ARC was provide by Grover Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 5 April 2022.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
With sublime, masterful writing, exceptionally authentic characters, and ruthlessly heartbreaking story of love, family and survival, Young Mungo by award-winning author Douglas Stuart will take you to a whole new landscape of reading experience, one that you will not soon forget.
The writing is alive. It’s vividly descriptive, but not because of those big, pretentious adjectives that don’t fully register in the mind. Instead, it’s the similes, metaphors, and analogies to the simplest things that make it so easy to envision the scenes and make your head burst with colors.
The writing is alive. It’s vividly descriptive, but not because of those big, pretentious adjectives that don’t fully register in the mind. Instead, it’s the similes, metaphors, and analogies to the simplest things that make it so easy to envision the scenes and make your head burst with colors.
“He was her one flattering mirror, and her teenage diary, her electric blanket, her doormat. He was her best pal, the dog she hardly walked and her greatest romance. He was her cheer on a dreich morning, the only laughter in her audience.”
I’ve never seen words used in such an effective and evocative way. And it was incredible how the author never seemed to run out of imageries and that each one was as good as the rest. He’s indeed a truly exceptional writer.
The characters are authentic beyond any I’ve encountered. They are not just fictional characters; they are real people. They can exist not only in the space between the beginning and the ending of the book with the sole purpose of acting out the story. They feel as though you can actually pull them out of the pages into the world, and they will breathe and live.
“She hoped for someone who would be grateful for his good looks and reticent ways. Someone who would feel blessed by his quiet attention, who would take all his love and keep it safe.”
Oh, my dear Mungo. Him alone, forget about the story and everything else, can break your heart. He’s such a gentle soul with a precious heart and a vulnerable innocence. The mere thought of someone like him growing up and changing in any way is saddening. He did break my heart, and he wedged himself between the cracks. And there Mungo will stay with me forever.
I see plot elements as moving chess pieces. I constantly predict where they’re going, and I’m always, to a certain extent, right about where I’ll find them when the story ends. But my experience with this book was nothing like that. I almost never had to predict, but not because the plot was easily predictable. No, it’s because for me it was rarely about what was going to happen next and almost always about what was happening now.
The evocative scenes have a way of rooting you to the present. It makes you put aside your reactions to what has already happened and your worries to what might happen next and just experience the now in its full force and magnificence. And experience I did, and it was profound and unforgettable.
You know when you get something good but for a limited time only, and you can’t help but want more. That’s how I felt about the romance; I wanted just a little more of Mungo and James. I also felt like the romance was a bit underdeveloped, but that’s probably due to the author’s precise depiction of the “too fast, too deep” nature of young love. And the fact that it was young love didn’t make the tribulations of their relationship any less valid. It’s actually all those challenges that they had to face together that gave so much strength to their love and made me deeply invested.
The theme is constantly gloomy with the occasional darkening of clouds and the piercing ray of light. This is the reason why the book isn’t something you read in one sitting, or two, or even twenty for that matter. It eventually gets a bit too heavy to bear and a little tight in the chest. But no matter how many times I eventually stopped reading, I always soon jumped back in, looking for that somber magic that made me feel all those big, real emotions.
Indeed, there’s a lot of bleak content here, but there are also enough bright, happy, loving moments that warm the heart, and they’re the ones that stay with you long after the end and the ones that will make you want to come back someday.
So to conclude: It’s goes without saying that Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart is highly, highly, recommended.
The ARC was provide by Grover Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 5 April 2022.
Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Kiss & Tell talks about a lot of relevant issues, from white supremacy to sex positivity and many others in between. But basically it’s a story about a gay musician who’s suffocating inside this hetero-respectable box that his label has shoved him in, while also grappling with the pitfalls of fame, the downsides of young love, and his desire to make a positive difference. Recommended for anyone looking for a meaningful, thought-provoking read.
The writing has an authenticity to it, in the finer details like typos in text messages, misspelled names in articles, and the main character’s over-repetitive word choice. It was refreshing. Another thing that the writing has is a subtle, effortless humor. I believe there aren’t any real jokes in the book. There is simply a lot of factual information that just happens to be funny. I find this kind of humor the best brand of comedy.
Hunter, the main character, is thoughtful, considerate, and sensitive. He’s an easily likable character and also relatable once I got to see his less admirable traits. But he didn’t really undergo much of a development. He was struggling for most of the book, but at the end he just no longer was. He got what he wanted, but it wasn’t hard-earned because he didn’t really fight for it. He didn’t triumph; he just survived.
As with Kaivan, the love interest: I believe he has a lot of depths, with him being a gay American musician of Iranian heritage who’s trying to establish an independent artistic identity. But sadly, those depths weren’t really explored.
The minor characters are culturally diverse but they weren’t fleshed-out on the page. The other band members were interchangeable in my head, as well as their manager with their tutor and other crew of the tour. They have different identities, of course, but they practically had the same mental register to me, not physically but characteristically. I liked them; I'm just not sure whether individually or collectively.
I was never really sold on the romance, but I did enjoy the many romantic scenes. They were sometimes awkward but also sweet, funny, and intimate. The reason why I wasn’t fully on board with the Hunter-Kaivan ship was because there were a lot of red flags popping up every now and again against Kaivan’s sincerity and intention. I was suspicious and, in consequence, simply never fully warmed up to him.
The plot is the weakest point of the book. The conflict didn’t start right away; it was nicely eased into the story. But the higher the plot rose toward the climax, the more the conflict was weakened, made less significant, by the Hunter’s inaction. And then the plot peaked, and suddenly there was a lot of action. It was basically an explosion of bottled-up emotions. But what’s most disappointing is that the mess made by said explosion was casually and briefly resolved— the end, happily ever after.
Although the theme didn’t completely succeed in what the author obviously wanted to accomplish with it, the theme is still the book’s strongest suit, and one that resonated most with me, a young gay man of color.
Everything was tied to the theme and the issues it tackled, like hetero-patriarchy and respectability, sex positivity, homophobia and racism, and gender conformity. There is a lot of extra content in the book separate from the narrative, like interviews and news articles, and many of them got away from the story. But on the upside, they brought the theme more into focus, which made them just as important, if not more, to the book as a whole. In fact, it’s the theme that gives this book worth.
Given the number of less impressive parts of Kiss & Tell, I’m surprised that I enjoyed reading it as much as I did. I smiled and laughed; I swooned and got excited; and I rooted for the main character. And not the least, I made personal reflections regarding the relevant issues presented. So yes, I do recommend this book.
The ARC was provided by Dial Books via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 22 March 2022
The writing has an authenticity to it, in the finer details like typos in text messages, misspelled names in articles, and the main character’s over-repetitive word choice. It was refreshing. Another thing that the writing has is a subtle, effortless humor. I believe there aren’t any real jokes in the book. There is simply a lot of factual information that just happens to be funny. I find this kind of humor the best brand of comedy.
Hunter, the main character, is thoughtful, considerate, and sensitive. He’s an easily likable character and also relatable once I got to see his less admirable traits. But he didn’t really undergo much of a development. He was struggling for most of the book, but at the end he just no longer was. He got what he wanted, but it wasn’t hard-earned because he didn’t really fight for it. He didn’t triumph; he just survived.
As with Kaivan, the love interest: I believe he has a lot of depths, with him being a gay American musician of Iranian heritage who’s trying to establish an independent artistic identity. But sadly, those depths weren’t really explored.
The minor characters are culturally diverse but they weren’t fleshed-out on the page. The other band members were interchangeable in my head, as well as their manager with their tutor and other crew of the tour. They have different identities, of course, but they practically had the same mental register to me, not physically but characteristically. I liked them; I'm just not sure whether individually or collectively.
I was never really sold on the romance, but I did enjoy the many romantic scenes. They were sometimes awkward but also sweet, funny, and intimate. The reason why I wasn’t fully on board with the Hunter-Kaivan ship was because there were a lot of red flags popping up every now and again against Kaivan’s sincerity and intention. I was suspicious and, in consequence, simply never fully warmed up to him.
The plot is the weakest point of the book. The conflict didn’t start right away; it was nicely eased into the story. But the higher the plot rose toward the climax, the more the conflict was weakened, made less significant, by the Hunter’s inaction. And then the plot peaked, and suddenly there was a lot of action. It was basically an explosion of bottled-up emotions. But what’s most disappointing is that the mess made by said explosion was casually and briefly resolved— the end, happily ever after.
Although the theme didn’t completely succeed in what the author obviously wanted to accomplish with it, the theme is still the book’s strongest suit, and one that resonated most with me, a young gay man of color.
Everything was tied to the theme and the issues it tackled, like hetero-patriarchy and respectability, sex positivity, homophobia and racism, and gender conformity. There is a lot of extra content in the book separate from the narrative, like interviews and news articles, and many of them got away from the story. But on the upside, they brought the theme more into focus, which made them just as important, if not more, to the book as a whole. In fact, it’s the theme that gives this book worth.
Given the number of less impressive parts of Kiss & Tell, I’m surprised that I enjoyed reading it as much as I did. I smiled and laughed; I swooned and got excited; and I rooted for the main character. And not the least, I made personal reflections regarding the relevant issues presented. So yes, I do recommend this book.
The ARC was provided by Dial Books via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 22 March 2022