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imme_van_gorp's Reviews (778)
Hmm, there were times I thought I really liked this book, and there were times I just wasn't feeling it at all. I think the reason for this is that the concept and premise is right up my alley, especially with the long-term friends having a fall-out after one of them has been in love with the other for like forever, buuuuuuut it sadly just wasn't executed all that well. I mean, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. It's very.. average.
I also feel like these characters weren't super interesting or were developed all that properly. After all, there was plenty of angst and drama, and a lot of difficult situations they had to deal with, but.. I just didn't really care.. Oops.
There were also a lot of sex scenes and that got incredibly boring incredibly fast.
I did like how in love Denver was with Mason, and I am always a sucker for pining, so that was probably my favourite part of their story, but I don't think that's enough to create a truly good romance.
This series has really been giving me a different vibe and storyline every single book, which is interesting I guess, but I unfortunately think this one was my least favourite. The worst part about that is that this one definitely had the potential to be my favourite, but just did not live up to it, so yea... Sad.
Here's to hoping the final book will be a true banger, because so far, all the other three books have been entertaining, but nothing special.
I also feel like these characters weren't super interesting or were developed all that properly. After all, there was plenty of angst and drama, and a lot of difficult situations they had to deal with, but.. I just didn't really care.. Oops.
There were also a lot of sex scenes and that got incredibly boring incredibly fast.
I did like how in love Denver was with Mason, and I am always a sucker for pining, so that was probably my favourite part of their story, but I don't think that's enough to create a truly good romance.
This series has really been giving me a different vibe and storyline every single book, which is interesting I guess, but I unfortunately think this one was my least favourite. The worst part about that is that this one definitely had the potential to be my favourite, but just did not live up to it, so yea... Sad.
Here's to hoping the final book will be a true banger, because so far, all the other three books have been entertaining, but nothing special.
Nahhh, I'm sorry, but this book just wasn't it. I'm a bit disappointed, actually. I was really expecting it to be better than this.
Right off the bat, I just did not like how Jordan was constantly comparing Blake to his past hook-ups, and how he was constantly thinking that Blake was basically no different from them. This whole thing would have maybe been fine if we eventually at least got to understand why Blake was in fact different on a deeper level, but it really ended up feeling like the only reason Blake was "different" was because he didn't leave Jordan and wanted to stick it out. It literally might have well been any other guy, as long as that guy didn't leave. I mean.... No, thank you. That's not very romantic.
There just wasn't a deeper connection between Blake and Jordan. At first that wasn't too bothersome, because, after all, nobody has that connection instantly, but it also never came later in the book, so that sucked.
Blake is a sweet guy, don't get me wrong, but his characters definitely fell a bit flat. There wasn't much about him that made him stick out, and I find it hard to describe him as anything other than a pretty nice guy.
Jordan (who we already briefly met in the 'Fake Boyfriend' series with It's Complicated) was kind of sweet as well, but also super insecure, and sometimes it was a bit annoying, because honestly.. If you're that insecure about being with guys who labelled themselves as "straight" before you came along, then... WHY is that what you continue to go for??? Literally just get with someone who is already bisexual or gay, what is so hard about that? I genuinely couldn't feel sorry for Jordan's insecurities because of this, as I honest to God felt like he did it to himself. If it happens once: okay, sure, you don't pick who you fall in love with. Twice? Yea, of course, can happen. Three times? Hmm.. Maybe picking up on an unhealthy pattern.. But every single guy you have ever been with???? No, sorry, but that is on you.
There was also quite a bit of focus on the rest of the guys from Eleven in this story, and although I did like that, I do have to admit that I never quite found their friendship to be all that great. I'm not really picking up on a lot of love between them, and their banter also isn't that fun. This was honestly something that I found lacking throughout the entire series, not just with this final book.
It's really too bad, because I think it could have been cool to play more with their band-dynamic in a fun and interesting way. Unfortunately, it just didn't really work out all that well.
Right off the bat, I just did not like how Jordan was constantly comparing Blake to his past hook-ups, and how he was constantly thinking that Blake was basically no different from them. This whole thing would have maybe been fine if we eventually at least got to understand why Blake was in fact different on a deeper level, but it really ended up feeling like the only reason Blake was "different" was because he didn't leave Jordan and wanted to stick it out. It literally might have well been any other guy, as long as that guy didn't leave. I mean.... No, thank you. That's not very romantic.
There just wasn't a deeper connection between Blake and Jordan. At first that wasn't too bothersome, because, after all, nobody has that connection instantly, but it also never came later in the book, so that sucked.
Blake is a sweet guy, don't get me wrong, but his characters definitely fell a bit flat. There wasn't much about him that made him stick out, and I find it hard to describe him as anything other than a pretty nice guy.
Jordan (who we already briefly met in the 'Fake Boyfriend' series with It's Complicated) was kind of sweet as well, but also super insecure, and sometimes it was a bit annoying, because honestly.. If you're that insecure about being with guys who labelled themselves as "straight" before you came along, then... WHY is that what you continue to go for??? Literally just get with someone who is already bisexual or gay, what is so hard about that? I genuinely couldn't feel sorry for Jordan's insecurities because of this, as I honest to God felt like he did it to himself. If it happens once: okay, sure, you don't pick who you fall in love with. Twice? Yea, of course, can happen. Three times? Hmm.. Maybe picking up on an unhealthy pattern.. But every single guy you have ever been with???? No, sorry, but that is on you.
There was also quite a bit of focus on the rest of the guys from Eleven in this story, and although I did like that, I do have to admit that I never quite found their friendship to be all that great. I'm not really picking up on a lot of love between them, and their banter also isn't that fun. This was honestly something that I found lacking throughout the entire series, not just with this final book.
It's really too bad, because I think it could have been cool to play more with their band-dynamic in a fun and interesting way. Unfortunately, it just didn't really work out all that well.
Okay… This story was honestly just completely unhinged.
I think it is safe to say that Zoe as well as Agnes are absolutely bat-shit crazy. Zoe is crazy in a malicious and evil way, while Agnes is crazy in your stereotypical 'i'm literally just utterly insane' way. Both of them creeped me out. How these people even find one another, I cannot for the life of me understand.
Anyway, yea, it was weird as hell, but alsoo... maybe it could have been even creepier? I don't know, maybe that's an odd request as I'm sure a lot of people were already put off by the level of creepiness present, but I kind of feel like if you're going to write something as deranged as this, you might as well scare the living hell out of me. That didn't happen here. It was uncanny, but not something that made me tremble out of fear for sick minds like this.
I don't think this necessarily means that the story needed more extravagance and weirdness in the stuff that happened, but more so give more insight into the minds of these two individuals, specifically Zoe. I understand that she's aloof for a reason: she's a sick psychopath, who probably doesn't remotely care aside from getting to mess with yet another person, but then.. that ending.. was so weird and out of character. It seemed strange to me that Zoe was put off by Agnes for being too insane, and if that was indeed the case, then I don't think we got to understand Zoe's mind well enough.
In my perception, Zoe was happily awaiting the destruction of Agnes’ autonomy and mind, and would have gladly watched it all unravel. I figured that that was what all her manipulation was leading up to. But, apparently that wasn’t the case?? And that honestly confused me quite a bit. So, yea, the development and understanding of Zoe as a character could have definitely used some improvement in my opinion.
I do think that this story had an interesting concept, and I was definitely intrigued while reading it. It also used quite a distinctive format with the emails and online messaging, which I could appreciate, but maybe also resulted in the disconnect with Zoe's mind.
I also want to say that this whole thing definitely made me scrunch up my nose in disgust more times than a lot of people will probably find pleasant while reading a story.
I think it is safe to say that Zoe as well as Agnes are absolutely bat-shit crazy. Zoe is crazy in a malicious and evil way, while Agnes is crazy in your stereotypical 'i'm literally just utterly insane' way. Both of them creeped me out. How these people even find one another, I cannot for the life of me understand.
Anyway, yea, it was weird as hell, but alsoo... maybe it could have been even creepier? I don't know, maybe that's an odd request as I'm sure a lot of people were already put off by the level of creepiness present, but I kind of feel like if you're going to write something as deranged as this, you might as well scare the living hell out of me. That didn't happen here. It was uncanny, but not something that made me tremble out of fear for sick minds like this.
I don't think this necessarily means that the story needed more extravagance and weirdness in the stuff that happened, but more so give more insight into the minds of these two individuals, specifically Zoe. I understand that she's aloof for a reason: she's a sick psychopath, who probably doesn't remotely care aside from getting to mess with yet another person, but then.. that ending.. was so weird and out of character. It seemed strange to me that Zoe was put off by Agnes for being too insane, and if that was indeed the case, then I don't think we got to understand Zoe's mind well enough.
In my perception, Zoe was happily awaiting the destruction of Agnes’ autonomy and mind, and would have gladly watched it all unravel. I figured that that was what all her manipulation was leading up to. But, apparently that wasn’t the case?? And that honestly confused me quite a bit. So, yea, the development and understanding of Zoe as a character could have definitely used some improvement in my opinion.
I do think that this story had an interesting concept, and I was definitely intrigued while reading it. It also used quite a distinctive format with the emails and online messaging, which I could appreciate, but maybe also resulted in the disconnect with Zoe's mind.
I also want to say that this whole thing definitely made me scrunch up my nose in disgust more times than a lot of people will probably find pleasant while reading a story.
Holy Hell.. I don't think this book could be any more dramatic even if it really tried. There is a constant string of bad things happening here, and it definitely started to feel a little bit oppressive.
The story deals with death, abuse, addiction, mental health, war, abandonment, cheating, homophobia, sexual assault, financial issues, and that still wouldn't be all of it. It's truly a lot of drama and angst.
This story follows the lives of Deacon and Crick for about 14 years. They meet when Crick is 9 and Deacon is 14, which was immediately a little bit icky for me, since Deacon claims to have loved Crick for a way longer time than I would think is appropriate, since they were so young and so many years apart. I think it was cute that Crick had been totally in love with Deacon from the start, but I don't think those feelings should have been reciprocated until both of them were of legal age. I don't care that they didn't kiss until Crick was 20, it's just weird to me that Deacon even saw him in that light when Crick was merely a kid. He doesn't have to act on it for it to still be creepy. But okay, I think I have probably focused on this plenty now, so I'm going to let it slide for the rest of my review.
The first part of the book focuses on Crick and Deacon's childhood years. We only get to see these years from Crick's perspective, which I think was a good choice. It was cute to see how pure his love for Deacon was and I adored the little 'found family' thing they had going on. I really felt for the hardships Crick had to endure as a kid, and I was really happy that he at least had Deacon and Parish to have his back.
After this first part though, I do think the book started to go downhill. First of all, we are let in on the little secret that Deacon was in love with Crick all this time (which, I won't get into again, but still; yikesss), but the story also became a little bit too depressing. There was just too much shit going on, and I started to feel like their later issues were kind of.. their own fault. Or at least, some of their issues were. They were being so whiny, so stupid and so bad at communicating. It grated on me and was actually annoying.
Whereas the book started out with a childhood love, it eventually grew into one of the unhealthiest relationships I have ever seen. Crick and Deacon were terrible together.
Deacon is quite literally the most passive person in the world, and this guy would not ever communicate properly. He seemed inhuman to me, as he didn't appear to have any of the appropriate emotions and reactions when it came to Crick’s actions. He did have some moments where he would just snap, but usually he just let everything happen to him and not even show any signs of anger.
He honestly let Crick get away with horrible things, such as joining the Army for two years due to a hissy fit, but also literally SLEEPING WITH SOMEONE ELSE because he was 'lonely'. I'm sorry, but what? That bugged the hell out of me. Why on earth did Crick have to sleep with some random dude? And why would he even want to? Nope. Sorry. I couldn't take his love for Deacon seriously after that, and I couldn't respect Deacon as a person anymore. Deacon literally told Crick that him cheating was okay and that he still loves him. He didn't even get angry for one second. WTF.
And the worst part perhaps is that Crick never even feels apologetic or guilty for all the things he does. When they were kids, Crick was desperate to always make Deacon happy and never let him down, but as they grew older, he didn't seem to care about Deacon and his feelings as much anymore. It was disappointing and kind of sad.
I can also honestly say that I find every single character in this book completely insane, except one. They all act erratic, obsessed, dumb, and just flat-out weird for most of the time. The only one who didn't frustrate me to no end was Benny. I actually really liked her.
All in all, this review makes it sound like I hated the book. But, the thing is, I didn't. I actually rather enjoyed it. Yes, this relationship is toxic as hell. Yes, the angst is literally never-ending. Yes, these people are absolutely deranged. Yes. Yes. Yes, and a whole bunch of more yeses to all these types of questionable things. BUT I still felt bad for these characters and I was still intrigued by the story. I was still connected to the book and eager to read on. Ergo, I didn't hate it. I liked it.
I liked it more than enough for me to want to read the second book in the series. However, if that book will be anything like the first, I don't think I am quite ready for it yet, as I still need to calm down from this emotional rollercoaster and drama-fest. I'm sure I'll want to read the next book in the future after some more fluffy or different kind of reads. We'll see.
The story deals with death, abuse, addiction, mental health, war, abandonment, cheating, homophobia, sexual assault, financial issues, and that still wouldn't be all of it. It's truly a lot of drama and angst.
This story follows the lives of Deacon and Crick for about 14 years. They meet when Crick is 9 and Deacon is 14, which was immediately a little bit icky for me, since Deacon claims to have loved Crick for a way longer time than I would think is appropriate, since they were so young and so many years apart. I think it was cute that Crick had been totally in love with Deacon from the start, but I don't think those feelings should have been reciprocated until both of them were of legal age. I don't care that they didn't kiss until Crick was 20, it's just weird to me that Deacon even saw him in that light when Crick was merely a kid. He doesn't have to act on it for it to still be creepy. But okay, I think I have probably focused on this plenty now, so I'm going to let it slide for the rest of my review.
The first part of the book focuses on Crick and Deacon's childhood years. We only get to see these years from Crick's perspective, which I think was a good choice. It was cute to see how pure his love for Deacon was and I adored the little 'found family' thing they had going on. I really felt for the hardships Crick had to endure as a kid, and I was really happy that he at least had Deacon and Parish to have his back.
After this first part though, I do think the book started to go downhill. First of all, we are let in on the little secret that Deacon was in love with Crick all this time (which, I won't get into again, but still; yikesss), but the story also became a little bit too depressing. There was just too much shit going on, and I started to feel like their later issues were kind of.. their own fault. Or at least, some of their issues were. They were being so whiny, so stupid and so bad at communicating. It grated on me and was actually annoying.
Whereas the book started out with a childhood love, it eventually grew into one of the unhealthiest relationships I have ever seen. Crick and Deacon were terrible together.
Deacon is quite literally the most passive person in the world, and this guy would not ever communicate properly. He seemed inhuman to me, as he didn't appear to have any of the appropriate emotions and reactions when it came to Crick’s actions. He did have some moments where he would just snap, but usually he just let everything happen to him and not even show any signs of anger.
He honestly let Crick get away with horrible things, such as joining the Army for two years due to a hissy fit, but also literally SLEEPING WITH SOMEONE ELSE because he was 'lonely'. I'm sorry, but what? That bugged the hell out of me. Why on earth did Crick have to sleep with some random dude? And why would he even want to? Nope. Sorry. I couldn't take his love for Deacon seriously after that, and I couldn't respect Deacon as a person anymore. Deacon literally told Crick that him cheating was okay and that he still loves him. He didn't even get angry for one second. WTF.
And the worst part perhaps is that Crick never even feels apologetic or guilty for all the things he does. When they were kids, Crick was desperate to always make Deacon happy and never let him down, but as they grew older, he didn't seem to care about Deacon and his feelings as much anymore. It was disappointing and kind of sad.
I can also honestly say that I find every single character in this book completely insane, except one. They all act erratic, obsessed, dumb, and just flat-out weird for most of the time. The only one who didn't frustrate me to no end was Benny. I actually really liked her.
All in all, this review makes it sound like I hated the book. But, the thing is, I didn't. I actually rather enjoyed it. Yes, this relationship is toxic as hell. Yes, the angst is literally never-ending. Yes, these people are absolutely deranged. Yes. Yes. Yes, and a whole bunch of more yeses to all these types of questionable things. BUT I still felt bad for these characters and I was still intrigued by the story. I was still connected to the book and eager to read on. Ergo, I didn't hate it. I liked it.
I liked it more than enough for me to want to read the second book in the series. However, if that book will be anything like the first, I don't think I am quite ready for it yet, as I still need to calm down from this emotional rollercoaster and drama-fest. I'm sure I'll want to read the next book in the future after some more fluffy or different kind of reads. We'll see.
Awww, this was so sweet! I did not expect that at all. I was hoping it’d be an okay read, but I definitely didn’t expect to like this novella as much as I did.
In fact, I wish this wasn’t a novella at all, but rather a full-length novel. I could have spent plenty more hours with this story and these characters.
Locke and Cash fell in love when they were 17 years old, but had to break up when Locke went to college while Cash went to L.A. to make it big in the music industry. Now, at 28, they finally meet again, and it was everything you want from a second-chance romance.
Cash had been pining for Locke all this time, and I swear, this man is truly desperately IN LOVE with Locke. He seems to adore the ground he walks on and wants nothing more than to be with him. You can’t tell me that that is not absolutely adorable, because it is.
These two also have great chemistry and banter together. They just felt natural as a couple. Oh, and there were some pretty hot scenes between them as well, which I wasn’t complaining about.
Of course, there aren’t ever any highly emotional moments and every conflict is resolved entirely too fast, but seeing how short this story was, I think it did the best it could and it did it well.
The content was absolutely great, and for a novella it’s honestly about as good as it can be. It's just that I'm personally more of a fan of longer stories that can truly suck you in and keep you there.
Therefore, I definitely wish Locke and Cash got more time. I just know they could have completely knocked it out of the park then.
In fact, I wish this wasn’t a novella at all, but rather a full-length novel. I could have spent plenty more hours with this story and these characters.
Locke and Cash fell in love when they were 17 years old, but had to break up when Locke went to college while Cash went to L.A. to make it big in the music industry. Now, at 28, they finally meet again, and it was everything you want from a second-chance romance.
Cash had been pining for Locke all this time, and I swear, this man is truly desperately IN LOVE with Locke. He seems to adore the ground he walks on and wants nothing more than to be with him. You can’t tell me that that is not absolutely adorable, because it is.
These two also have great chemistry and banter together. They just felt natural as a couple. Oh, and there were some pretty hot scenes between them as well, which I wasn’t complaining about.
Of course, there aren’t ever any highly emotional moments and every conflict is resolved entirely too fast, but seeing how short this story was, I think it did the best it could and it did it well.
The content was absolutely great, and for a novella it’s honestly about as good as it can be. It's just that I'm personally more of a fan of longer stories that can truly suck you in and keep you there.
Therefore, I definitely wish Locke and Cash got more time. I just know they could have completely knocked it out of the park then.
This story is so raw and manages to cut incredibly deep. It felt real and is nothing short of heartbreaking. Absolutely. Heartbreaking.
The way this book is written... I have no words. It’s done flawlessly.
Emma Scott somehow manages to grip you tight and not let go, forcing you to experience everything in this story; really truly feeling it.
Nothing is glossed over, and we don’t skip in time when things get tough. The story is detailed and unapologetically intense.
The way the flashbacks and trauma of Silas’ physical and emotional torture in conversion therapy was handled really got me. I genuinely felt his pain, confusion, anger and hopelessness. It was devastating to witness Silas trying to battle his horrifying experience, even all these years later, but it was beautiful to see Max trying to help him the best he could. It was even more beautiful to see Silas eventually win out over his own inner demons. I felt his victory and empowerment to my core.
My heart bled for Silas, but also for Max, because let’s definitely not forget all the heart wrenching stuff he has had to go through as well: The abandonment and rejection of his parents, the drug addiction, the prostitution.. and to now see him be so strong and still so kind-hearted.. He was an amazing character and I loved him so much. He was inspirational to say the least.
Another amazing character whom I wholeheartedly adored was Silas’ brother, Eddie. He had such an innocent and sweet soul. He was funny, caring, smart and he had Aspergers. He honestly deserved the world, and to see him instead get crushed by his father just for being a little different... Ugh. I could cry for him as well. Yet, he also made me smile. He just lit up every scene he was in; he was such a lovable character.
Now, let’s talk about the big bad man: Silas and Eddie's father. God, how I wanted to smack this man repeatedly until he would feel the same pain he inflicted. I hated him with a fiery passion, and I honestly think he got off way too easy. I wanted him to experience more heartache, agony and rejection. He didn't deserve anything positive; he deserved only negativity for the rest of his life.
Same thing with Max's parents, honestly. They got off way too easy as well, even way more easy than Silas' father. I mean, don't get me wrong, I wish Max all the best, which apparently includes the belated acceptance of his parents, but for me... I wanted them to stay gone.
I actually think the way things were handled with Max and Silas' family situations was all a bit too 'happily ever after'. It was all way too good to be true, and I personally think the novel would have been more powerful if the story had ended with these two men finding their happiness without the people who wronged them so horrendously. Instead, finding happiness with each other and their true friends and family. It would have given the message that you don't need homophobic arseholes to be successful and happy in life, you know?
I have to say that I think the first half of the book was a lot better than the second, and I think the fact that everything became unrealistically happy and easy-going played a big part in that.
The reason I particularly loved this book so much to begin with was because of its authenticity and rawness, and because it wasn't afraid to show the rough parts of dealing with serious situations. Seeing how that part of the novel slowly subsided and faded away, I'm not surprised I didn't nearly enjoy it as much after. That's not to say I didn't still love it, just not as much.
I think the novel could have had the potential to be absolutely perfect, if it had decided to follow the same path it had from the beginning. The change in tone was not the best decision, in my opinion. But, perhaps, others would disagree, and maybe they were craving that perfect, sugar-sweet happy ending. That's very much possible, of course. I just wasn't one of them.
The way this book is written... I have no words. It’s done flawlessly.
Emma Scott somehow manages to grip you tight and not let go, forcing you to experience everything in this story; really truly feeling it.
Nothing is glossed over, and we don’t skip in time when things get tough. The story is detailed and unapologetically intense.
The way the flashbacks and trauma of Silas’ physical and emotional torture in conversion therapy was handled really got me. I genuinely felt his pain, confusion, anger and hopelessness. It was devastating to witness Silas trying to battle his horrifying experience, even all these years later, but it was beautiful to see Max trying to help him the best he could. It was even more beautiful to see Silas eventually win out over his own inner demons. I felt his victory and empowerment to my core.
My heart bled for Silas, but also for Max, because let’s definitely not forget all the heart wrenching stuff he has had to go through as well: The abandonment and rejection of his parents, the drug addiction, the prostitution.. and to now see him be so strong and still so kind-hearted.. He was an amazing character and I loved him so much. He was inspirational to say the least.
Another amazing character whom I wholeheartedly adored was Silas’ brother, Eddie. He had such an innocent and sweet soul. He was funny, caring, smart and he had Aspergers. He honestly deserved the world, and to see him instead get crushed by his father just for being a little different... Ugh. I could cry for him as well. Yet, he also made me smile. He just lit up every scene he was in; he was such a lovable character.
Now, let’s talk about the big bad man: Silas and Eddie's father. God, how I wanted to smack this man repeatedly until he would feel the same pain he inflicted. I hated him with a fiery passion, and I honestly think he got off way too easy. I wanted him to experience more heartache, agony and rejection. He didn't deserve anything positive; he deserved only negativity for the rest of his life.
Same thing with Max's parents, honestly. They got off way too easy as well, even way more easy than Silas' father. I mean, don't get me wrong, I wish Max all the best, which apparently includes the belated acceptance of his parents, but for me... I wanted them to stay gone.
I actually think the way things were handled with Max and Silas' family situations was all a bit too 'happily ever after'. It was all way too good to be true, and I personally think the novel would have been more powerful if the story had ended with these two men finding their happiness without the people who wronged them so horrendously. Instead, finding happiness with each other and their true friends and family. It would have given the message that you don't need homophobic arseholes to be successful and happy in life, you know?
I have to say that I think the first half of the book was a lot better than the second, and I think the fact that everything became unrealistically happy and easy-going played a big part in that.
The reason I particularly loved this book so much to begin with was because of its authenticity and rawness, and because it wasn't afraid to show the rough parts of dealing with serious situations. Seeing how that part of the novel slowly subsided and faded away, I'm not surprised I didn't nearly enjoy it as much after. That's not to say I didn't still love it, just not as much.
I think the novel could have had the potential to be absolutely perfect, if it had decided to follow the same path it had from the beginning. The change in tone was not the best decision, in my opinion. But, perhaps, others would disagree, and maybe they were craving that perfect, sugar-sweet happy ending. That's very much possible, of course. I just wasn't one of them.
This really peeked my interest with its sweet and fun characters. The beginning truly had me hooked and practically swooning already.
Unfortunately, I do think the novella went downhill pretty fast. The moment Rossi and Tyson got together for real, it all became a bit boring, repetitive and timid. I still thought Rossi was an absolute sweetheart, and he was definitely my favorite of the two, but the chemsitry between him and Tyson just wasn't as present anymore.
Tyson went from fawning all over Rossi, to literally wanting to break up with him if they had to be long-distance with only one hour between them. That was truly such a sucky thing, as it made Tyson's feelings no longer feel that prominent, deep or authentic.
However, the novella going downhill wasn't just because of that, though; I honestly thought their relationship became strained, unoriginal and uneventful the second they threw caution to the wind and got together.
It's really quite sad since these two started out so promising. Their meeting, for one, was just incredibly cute and swoon-worthy. I wish it had stayed that way :(
Unfortunately, I do think the novella went downhill pretty fast. The moment Rossi and Tyson got together for real, it all became a bit boring, repetitive and timid. I still thought Rossi was an absolute sweetheart, and he was definitely my favorite of the two, but the chemsitry between him and Tyson just wasn't as present anymore.
Tyson went from fawning all over Rossi, to literally wanting to break up with him if they had to be long-distance with only one hour between them. That was truly such a sucky thing, as it made Tyson's feelings no longer feel that prominent, deep or authentic.
However, the novella going downhill wasn't just because of that, though; I honestly thought their relationship became strained, unoriginal and uneventful the second they threw caution to the wind and got together.
It's really quite sad since these two started out so promising. Their meeting, for one, was just incredibly cute and swoon-worthy. I wish it had stayed that way :(
This book was thoroughly underwhelming, and somehow manages to execute everything badly, thus being completely unsatisfactory as a whole.
When it comes to the two main characters of this book, I could honestly never seem to get a good grip on them. They appeared to constantly suffer from severe mood swings, and they even seemed to have a complete personality transplant ever so often.
It was annoying as hell, and made it impossible for me to ever feel connected to them, or see some sort of character development. After all, you need to know what a character is even like for you to see if they've underwent any kind of progress or development.
As it is, I have no idea who these characters really are: What makes them tick? How do they feel deep deep inside? How do they interact with others and the world around them? Hell, I didn't even have a full grasp on something as simple as what they look like.
All in all, we definitely needed more information and depth, because what we did get just didn't cut it.
Something I think contributed to the shallow feel to these characters, was how often we switched POV. It's as if we couldn't stay in one person's head for longer than a few pages, and it honestly became incredibly jarring.
This POV hopping makes it really difficult to truly get settled and get a feel for what a character is thinking and feeling. It makes it all very.. superficial.
And don't get me wrong, I usually love dual POV, but it just wasn't done right in this particular situation.
My favourite part about this book was probably the whole obsessed stalker plot, but this was hardly given enough detail, thought or attention.
The wrap-up was honestly entirely anticlimactic, and kind of pissed me off for being so lacklustre. Minor spoiler: The stalker turns out to be someone we quite simply just do not know. We've never met him, he's never interacted with Xander. He's just some random dude. And when he makes his 'attack' it's literally the most pathetic attempt ever, and is wrapped up in a few sentences. I thought he was supposed to be smart? *sigh* Guess not.
Oh and speaking of this whole life threatening situation Xander and Sean seemed to be in: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE TWO??? They do not have their priorities straight at all.
I could frankly not cope in any way with the fact that they were continually lusting after each other when they should actually be concerned about their literal lives.
Imagine this: two people are scared about some psycho stalker, threatening to murder them both, but instead of, I don't know, be more concerned about that, they are entirely preoccupied with fantasizing about each other or thinking of how incredibly sexy the other is. Like, helloooo? I would imagine you have sliiiiiiiightly more important things going on right now. But no. No no no no. They apparently do not. They only have eyes for each other and be damned with any kind of rationality or logic!
Xander and Sean be like:
Homicidal stalker? Hmmm, inconvenient, but mwah, whatever.
Having a crush on someone? OMG OMG OMG, HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?? OMGGG, HOW CAN I HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM??? OMG OMG. NO WAY!!! OMG
*face palm*
When it comes to the two main characters of this book, I could honestly never seem to get a good grip on them. They appeared to constantly suffer from severe mood swings, and they even seemed to have a complete personality transplant ever so often.
It was annoying as hell, and made it impossible for me to ever feel connected to them, or see some sort of character development. After all, you need to know what a character is even like for you to see if they've underwent any kind of progress or development.
As it is, I have no idea who these characters really are: What makes them tick? How do they feel deep deep inside? How do they interact with others and the world around them? Hell, I didn't even have a full grasp on something as simple as what they look like.
All in all, we definitely needed more information and depth, because what we did get just didn't cut it.
Something I think contributed to the shallow feel to these characters, was how often we switched POV. It's as if we couldn't stay in one person's head for longer than a few pages, and it honestly became incredibly jarring.
This POV hopping makes it really difficult to truly get settled and get a feel for what a character is thinking and feeling. It makes it all very.. superficial.
And don't get me wrong, I usually love dual POV, but it just wasn't done right in this particular situation.
My favourite part about this book was probably the whole obsessed stalker plot, but this was hardly given enough detail, thought or attention.
The wrap-up was honestly entirely anticlimactic, and kind of pissed me off for being so lacklustre. Minor spoiler: The stalker turns out to be someone we quite simply just do not know. We've never met him, he's never interacted with Xander. He's just some random dude. And when he makes his 'attack' it's literally the most pathetic attempt ever, and is wrapped up in a few sentences. I thought he was supposed to be smart? *sigh* Guess not.
Oh and speaking of this whole life threatening situation Xander and Sean seemed to be in: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE TWO??? They do not have their priorities straight at all.
I could frankly not cope in any way with the fact that they were continually lusting after each other when they should actually be concerned about their literal lives.
Imagine this: two people are scared about some psycho stalker, threatening to murder them both, but instead of, I don't know, be more concerned about that, they are entirely preoccupied with fantasizing about each other or thinking of how incredibly sexy the other is. Like, helloooo? I would imagine you have sliiiiiiiightly more important things going on right now. But no. No no no no. They apparently do not. They only have eyes for each other and be damned with any kind of rationality or logic!
Xander and Sean be like:
Homicidal stalker? Hmmm, inconvenient, but mwah, whatever.
Having a crush on someone? OMG OMG OMG, HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?? OMGGG, HOW CAN I HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM??? OMG OMG. NO WAY!!! OMG
*face palm*
The premise of this was right up my alley, so I was actually kind of excited going into it. And, although, this novella was a total disappointment in its execution, its basic premise was definitely enjoyable, just like I thought it would be.
This novella features a whole lot of pining and a best friends to lovers trope, which I both absolutely adore. The problem, however, is that there is no real starting, middle or end point. It all feels rushed and underdeveloped.
There's no true feel to these characters or their relationship, and their history is a complete mystery to me.
Their untold history only makes it all the more annoying why these two aren't together yet, as, right off the bat, this whole novella is just a big misunderstanding between both the MCs, who principally refuse to have a basic conversation together: Both of them are head over heels in love with the other, and it's entirely unclear why they wouldn't just tell each other or at least try to come clean about their feelings. It was so stupid, honestly.
So, yea, good premise, bad execution. Maybe it could have been better if this had been a full-length novel, although I'm sure the dumb communication would have still been a problem for me then. I also think the MCs are a little bit too old for my liking, which doesn't have to be a dealbreaker, but a story has to be really damn good for me to still like it.
Oh, and also, off-topic, but the whole chocking during sex was so random and really came right out of left field. I was like 'whoa, okaaaay', as it felt so off compared to the rest of their dynamic. It was weird.
This novella features a whole lot of pining and a best friends to lovers trope, which I both absolutely adore. The problem, however, is that there is no real starting, middle or end point. It all feels rushed and underdeveloped.
There's no true feel to these characters or their relationship, and their history is a complete mystery to me.
Their untold history only makes it all the more annoying why these two aren't together yet, as, right off the bat, this whole novella is just a big misunderstanding between both the MCs, who principally refuse to have a basic conversation together: Both of them are head over heels in love with the other, and it's entirely unclear why they wouldn't just tell each other or at least try to come clean about their feelings. It was so stupid, honestly.
So, yea, good premise, bad execution. Maybe it could have been better if this had been a full-length novel, although I'm sure the dumb communication would have still been a problem for me then. I also think the MCs are a little bit too old for my liking, which doesn't have to be a dealbreaker, but a story has to be really damn good for me to still like it.
Oh, and also, off-topic, but the whole chocking during sex was so random and really came right out of left field. I was like 'whoa, okaaaay', as it felt so off compared to the rest of their dynamic. It was weird.
This is exactly what you want and wish for with a college romance.
The plot surrounds a lot of pranks and rivalries, which should feel childish, but it kind of fits with the whole frat dynamic this novel has.
The behaviour is also not annoying, because they never take their bullshit too far. It's not like the pranks go overboard or as if the rivalry contains any serious hate. It's just some innocent, "fun" college stuff.
I actually quite liked that one of the two MCs is super into the whole frat dynamic, whereas the other one thinks it's slightly stupid, yet doesn't look down on it or anything. It made for an interesting and entertaining vibe between these two.
Speaking of the two MCs, I genuinely liked both of them a lot.
At first, I thought Chad might not be my cup of tea, perse, but I almost immediately shoved that aside, as he was definitely way more than met the eye, and he actually ended up being my favourite. He wasn't just some dude-bro. No. He was actually super sweet, and shy, and caring. I was honestly kind of obsessed with how much he showed his affection towards Bailey, willing to not only fight for him, but also thinking Bailey was like the most perfect person alive. It was super cute.
When it comes to Bailey, I liked him from the very beginning, although his indecision did make me think he was a bit difficult for no reason sometimes. I didn't really hold this against him, though, as his reasonings for it made sense to me. I don't have a lot to say about him, as he's kind of just your straight-up good guy, but I just really liked him.
I have to say that I did like the first half of this novel a lot more than I did the second, as the story and chemistry did simmer down quite a bit after Bailey and Chad seemed to be sort of officially together.
I just really liked the chase and the pining, and that was almost perfectly executed, so the second half really didn't stand a chance in comparison. It was still fun, just not as extraordinary as the beginning.
Luckily, the chase actually goes on for quite a long time, longer than I expected, so a big chunk of this book was perfect to me. Even if you do find the rest a little bit boring (which I didn't, by the way), the chase is definitely 100% worth it.
Their meet-cute was also absolutely amazing and gave me all kinds of butterflies.
Aside from some minor jealousies and issues, there is zero drama or angst here. I actually often crave a bit of drama in my books, but I didn't find it particularly necessary here, and although I think I would have liked a little bit more of it, I also kind of enjoyed the easy-going nature this novel had.
I am super excited about this series, and I can't wait for the next book. If I had to place any bets, I would imagine that Brandon and Robbie are definitely gonna get their own book, but I can also maybe see Zeke and Charles be a thing. I hope we'll get books for both of these couples, as they seem very fun to me. I can’t wait!
The plot surrounds a lot of pranks and rivalries, which should feel childish, but it kind of fits with the whole frat dynamic this novel has.
The behaviour is also not annoying, because they never take their bullshit too far. It's not like the pranks go overboard or as if the rivalry contains any serious hate. It's just some innocent, "fun" college stuff.
I actually quite liked that one of the two MCs is super into the whole frat dynamic, whereas the other one thinks it's slightly stupid, yet doesn't look down on it or anything. It made for an interesting and entertaining vibe between these two.
Speaking of the two MCs, I genuinely liked both of them a lot.
At first, I thought Chad might not be my cup of tea, perse, but I almost immediately shoved that aside, as he was definitely way more than met the eye, and he actually ended up being my favourite. He wasn't just some dude-bro. No. He was actually super sweet, and shy, and caring. I was honestly kind of obsessed with how much he showed his affection towards Bailey, willing to not only fight for him, but also thinking Bailey was like the most perfect person alive. It was super cute.
When it comes to Bailey, I liked him from the very beginning, although his indecision did make me think he was a bit difficult for no reason sometimes. I didn't really hold this against him, though, as his reasonings for it made sense to me. I don't have a lot to say about him, as he's kind of just your straight-up good guy, but I just really liked him.
I have to say that I did like the first half of this novel a lot more than I did the second, as the story and chemistry did simmer down quite a bit after Bailey and Chad seemed to be sort of officially together.
I just really liked the chase and the pining, and that was almost perfectly executed, so the second half really didn't stand a chance in comparison. It was still fun, just not as extraordinary as the beginning.
Luckily, the chase actually goes on for quite a long time, longer than I expected, so a big chunk of this book was perfect to me. Even if you do find the rest a little bit boring (which I didn't, by the way), the chase is definitely 100% worth it.
Their meet-cute was also absolutely amazing and gave me all kinds of butterflies.
Aside from some minor jealousies and issues, there is zero drama or angst here. I actually often crave a bit of drama in my books, but I didn't find it particularly necessary here, and although I think I would have liked a little bit more of it, I also kind of enjoyed the easy-going nature this novel had.
I am super excited about this series, and I can't wait for the next book. If I had to place any bets, I would imagine that Brandon and Robbie are definitely gonna get their own book, but I can also maybe see Zeke and Charles be a thing. I hope we'll get books for both of these couples, as they seem very fun to me. I can’t wait!