If vampires, biblical/mythological creatures, an aroace neurodivergent MC, queer found family, and a dark academia setting sound like something you miIf vampires, biblical/mythological creatures, an aroace neurodivergent MC, queer found family, and a dark academia setting sound like something you might love, you should read FALLEN THORNS.
Arlo struggles to fit in. He's tall and awkward and nervous and doesn't really understand how to connect with people. The only person in his life who he can be himself with is his best friend Rani. But one day, he finds himself being asked on a date. And though he doesn't really get the whole relationship thing, he decides to give it a go. But branching out doesn't seem to work too well for Arlo, especially when his dating life meets a fatal end. Quite literally. Who knew one kiss could change someone so fundamentally?
After finding himself rescued and taken in by a family of vampires, Arlo has to learn how to live all over again. His body has changed, his appetite has changed, his perspective has changed, but most of all, his physical ability to support himself has changed. He finds himself needing to open up and rely on those around him, forcing him out of his shell and forcing him to confront parts of himself that he's been too scared to look at directly. But along with his unexpected rapid coming-of-age, Arlo finds something else growing inside of him. Another voice that's been a part of him for longer than he's known.
This is a book that sneaks up on you in more ways than one. The characters just worm their way into your heart, nestling themselves inside crevices when you're not looking. They were so easy to love and relate to, and I felt like I was just as wrapped up in the arms of this precious and ferocious found family as Arlo. And the pacing follows this path as well, as it eases you into a steady and consistent pace, the motions of the story gliding comfortably along until you're deep into the thick of it before you know it. I would definitely call the majority of this book leisurely-paced or quiet, until suddenly it’s not. Without even realizing, the stakes become suddenly high and you're screaming and crying and clutching your chest with anticipation.
There's so many fascinating moving parts to this world and to these characters and I'm left with the perfect amount of questions and confusion and desperation. I cannot WAIT to see where Harv takes us for book 2.
CW: blood & gore, death, murder, self-inflicted wounds, dismemberment (off-page), torture, mutilation, eye horror, character death, grief, suicide (mention), panic attacks, death of parents (past), death of sibling (past), sexual harrassment, alcohol consumption, emesis...more
Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy and a PR package of this book! These are my honest opinions!
Caraway of the Sea is a sweet self-pThank you so much to the author for sending me a copy and a PR package of this book! These are my honest opinions!
Caraway of the Sea is a sweet self-published pirate story featuring a diverse cast and found family. I enjoyed the writing, and for a self-pub book, I found the work to be quite polished and readable! I loved our MC, Caraway, who is so incredibly snarky and stubborn and guarded, and her journey throughout the story was really compelling.
Though this isn't a fault of Burget's writing, as this is a pirate book, I was expecting more of a plot-heavy fast narrative with lots of swashbuckling adventure and sailing action, but the majority of the story takes place on land (and the parts that are on a boat are just mostly in contained rooms below cabin, so we don't get much of a feel for the ship itself) and is driven by slow-burn interpersonal conflict. I think that for folks who aren't super into pirate-y content but want the general vibe, or people who want to dip their toes into pirates but prefer more intimate dynamics, this book may be up your alley. But because I pick up pirate books to be immersed in the pirate ship ambience, the sailing lingo, and gritty action, I felt this one wasn't quite as much up mine.
I also want to mention that this book is marketed as fantasy but it isn’t. It’s a second world book, but without any actual fantasy elements or world building, this just seems like a tool to avoid handling any historical elements. It takes away rather than adds imo.
I'm really grateful I was sent a copy and got to have a little taste of a pirate story this summer (no summer is complete without one pirate book imo), and I'm happy to see on here that this book seems like it's found its audience!
“My tables—meet it is I set it down That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain— At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark.” -Hamlet
SMILE AND BE A V“My tables—meet it is I set it down That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain— At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark.” -Hamlet
SMILE AND BE A VILLAIN is a self-published historical fantasy that reimagines the story of Hamlet, starting with the young prince’s departure to Wittenberg prior to the plot of Shakespeare’s play and following both Hamlet and Ophelia. Featuring rich fantastical lore and a diverse cast, and informed by a historical landscape of violence, religion, and politics, SABAV serves as a stunning debut from Yves Donlon.
Especially for an indie title, the prose is fairly tight and has a beautiful flow. The imagery is vivid, the characterization is clear, and it has an original style and rhythm without taking away from legibility. The world building is really well-informed. The political climate of Hamlet isn’t often heavily emphasized in adaptations or retellings, especially when it comes to complex religious dynamics, the treatment of marginalized communities, and (surprisingly) the trauma of war. So for Donlon to bring these factors–and their impressions on the world and the characters–to the forefront is wonderfully refreshing and adds a fascinating lens to a story I thought I already knew so well.
But the thing I really want to gush about here is the representation. Bisexual Hamlet, aspec Ophelia, trans Rosencrantz, Black Guildenstern, and even queer Jewish Horatio! (I absolutely did cry about queer Jewish Horatio.) I really appreciated not only the presence of these identities, but the way they shape the characters’ choices and alliances. I especially appreciate the queer-platonic relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. The way this story utilizes the constraints and expectations of their genders in this society as a complication on their dynamic (for better or for worse) is so clever.
One of my favorite elements of the original story of Hamlet is its ambiguous perspective, and I felt like this is well represented in the use of magic in this world. Throughout the story, we–as the audience–witness characters’ different opinions on and relationships to magic and are left unsure what to believe in a way that is really intriguing. I’m really curious whether this intentional ambiguity will continue in book two or solidify into a clearer message.
I do think that the second half of this book is better than the first half, but mostly because that second half’s structure is INCREDIBLE. Donlon’s crafting genius really shines in their ability to end this book and prepare us for the next. SMILE AND BE A VILLAIN starts with the beginnings of Hamlet’s threads, and slowly but surely, they are pulled and strung this way and that, seemingly at random, until all of a sudden they snap into place. Suddenly, the stage is set, the actors are in the wings, and the curtain is rising.
I can’t wait to see how all of these pieces fit together in the next installment. Based on the way they handled this first book, I have no doubt Donlon will provide a masterful narrative payoff of the themes and discussions they’ve set up for the sequel.
So if you’re wanting to read a Hamlet retelling centering a queer and diverse cast, political intrigue, a mysterious magic system, and lovely writing, I highly recommend SMILE AND BE A VILLAIN.
Thank you to the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
CW: war, violence, illness, death by illness, blood & gore, alcohol, homophobia, misogyny, emesis infidelity, antisemitism (mention), death of mother (past), death of sibling (past), slavery (mention)...more
SHADOW AND BONE meets FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST but make it Jewish and about sexual trauma in this new queer, Jewish, dark fantasy (NOT a romantasy!).
Our stSHADOW AND BONE meets FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST but make it Jewish and about sexual trauma in this new queer, Jewish, dark fantasy (NOT a romantasy!).
Our story takes place in a post-war world, like a sea after a rough storm, residual debris floating to the surface and now adrift. Dimitri, the self-exiled Tsar, is struggling as he copes with the loss of his husband, Alexey, in more ways than one. He's surrounded by his friends who all want to support and love him the best they can, but his violent past with Alexey makes it hard for him to accept tenderness. Alexey is now the acting Tsar, furious at his husband's betrayal and hungry for power. With the help of the Holy Science, he intends to remake the world as he remade himself, as the Chosen One of the Lord, a vessel between realms. Vasily watches Dimitri ache, determined to take down Alexey and provide Dimitri with the happiness and freedom he deserves. But in order to make that happen, he'll have to craft an elaborate plan. One that involves risking his life and getting incredibly close to the enemy.
This violent yet resilient story wonderfully explores the effects of trauma, especially from abusive relationships, and how we write our scars deep into the bones of our identity, carrying the blame of a fault that was not our own.
My only critique of this book is less of a critique, but more something that if I was editing this book, I would suggest as a way to elevate the narrative. The story begins in the aftermath of a war, with most of the present stakes and circumstances informed by a complex backstory. With that in mind, I wish information about what exactly occurred in the past was divulged slowly in small, intentional moments. This post-war environment could have had a stronger impact and helped with pacing if the audience had been kept stewing in obscurity for longer, gathering up the shattered pieces bit by bit to make a full picture. Especially if Alexey had been kept vague, with only hints at his POV up until a certain point in the story. These changes definitely would have allowed for a stronger balance of intrigue and drama.
But other than that, I really enjoyed this story and found it full of such vivid and nuanced commentary about trauma and abuse.
I don't recommend this book lightly, as I found myself often nauseous from the violence and gore or deeply upset by the graphic sexual abuse. A third of the narration is told from the mind of an abuser, and witnessing his cruelty in high definition is not the easiest feat, nor is that of witnessing the other characters sacrifice their all in the name of their country's freedom and safety. But if these contents are something you're able to handle, it really is all worth it in the end. I can't wait to see how the story continues in the sequel.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
CW: sexual violence, abusive relationship, blood & gore, violence, injury detail (graphic), body horror, human experimentation, trauma, sexual content, character death, gun violence, drug use, war (past), torture (mention), child death (mention), death of father (past), emesis, alcohol...more
Through the perspective of a nonbinary siren, this book takes us through the mental and physical journey of gaining a disability and learning to live with it.
Our main character, Perle, travels the path of mourning a life once loved in order to adjust to a completely new way of living. They find themself relying on those they would once consider enemies and having to redefine their understanding of freedom, independence, and strength. Over the course of this book, they learn to not only accept, but thrive, in their new reality, and through this are able to pave the way to a future that is better than one they could’ve ever imagined before their disability.
The characters were enjoyable, I thought the pacing was fairly well done, and I think the length was just perfect for the story that needed to be told. I will say, the high intensity moments were quite a bit repetitive, and after the third time the LI got knocked unconscious, the "is he alive??" moment we were meant to have as an audience lost its power. It just needed a bit of variety. I also felt that the romance element could've been a bit more cathartic towards the end, as I felt there was quite a bit of build and then just a brief little discussion about it in the final moments. But I did love the clarification of the quality of their relationship.
It's a really sweet story of healing, second chances, and creating support systems one can call family.
Thank you Bloomsbury for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Samantha Shannon has absolutely outdone herself in this return to the woThank you Bloomsbury for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Samantha Shannon has absolutely outdone herself in this return to the world of Priory of the Orange Tree. Her skill has undoubtedly sharpened, offering clear, concise, and intentional prose. She imbues the themes of this work with such a nuance and subtlety that the reading experience can be, at times, overwhelming (complementary). The whole painting may tell a glorious tale, but each singular brushstroke contains myriads of meaning.
My biggest—and really only—issue in Priory was that I felt the characters were imbalanced. I could easily rank the POV’s from my favorite to least favorite without a second thought, and I was all too aware of the time spent with each character (constantly feeling like we were not getting enough of one story or too much of another). This flaw is patched over entirely in A Day of Fallen Night. Every single character is a favorite of mine in their own unique way, and the flow between their perspectives was so polished. I found myself feeling torn away from each chapter, just to dig my nails even deeper into the next. Shannon also utilized sensory transitions throughout the book, bridging the excitement and the world between the chapters.
I’m also incredibly impressed with how many themes were juggled throughout this book. I do feel that there were a couple of narrative elements that dropped off without closure, but more often than not, I found myself getting teary-eyed just from the brilliance of this book’s parallels and full-circle moments. This book is about motherhood, family, the passing of a legacy, duty, innocence, and reaching over a gaping precipice in the hopes of finding an arm outstretched on the other side. There’s genuinely too much to talk about, and not enough I can talk about without spoiling the experience of this work, but I can say that A Day of Fallen Night is a sweeping, epic tour de force, and I can not wait to see what Shannon molds out of this world next.
CW: war, violence, death, plague, blood & gore, parental death, child death, character death, grief, childbirth, pregnancy, injury detail, medical content, animal death, poison, fantasy xenophobia, religious bigotry, suicide (off-page), sexual content (not explicit), alcohol consumption...more
Y’all know I love a good story about stories. Built out of vignettes strung across time and space like constellations across a night sky, Sailing By OY’all know I love a good story about stories. Built out of vignettes strung across time and space like constellations across a night sky, Sailing By Orion’s Star weaves lives and moments and little pockets of history into a tale of piracy in its truest form.
This was a epic and expansive historical fiction with influences of Les Mis, Pirates of the Caribbean, and historical truth. It covers the POV of multiple generations of characters over the course of 10 years. Despite its extensive reach, I dare say the book felt a little scared of itself at times and could’ve dared to be quite a bit more self-indulgent. With complex multi-generational stories like Les Mis or War and Peace or even London by Edward Rutherford (which in some ways this book reminded me of?), I expect - as a reader - to do a little brainwork to remember all the characters and the plot points, often needing a character guide or timeline, and generally enjoy doing that little bit of extra thinking for the payoff of the world building. But with this book, I could feel the author paring the elements down for ease of consumption. As I said, it’s very much in the style of vignettes, highlighting individual moments like stars in the black curtain of space. But that space felt too… spacious. You could almost feel the sort of empty vacuum of it between chapters. It just needed to be fleshed out more. (Like I’d love some more minor characters, for example. At times it felt like the main players were the only ones inhabiting the world at the end. Even some vague sailor names would’ve been good.)
The historical element is done incredibly, using bits of history and facts as touchstones to make it feel grounded and well-informed. It really is able to show off the history of piracy from a perspective that isn’t often granted, and does so REALLY well. By contrasting the oppressive, harmful court life with the freedom of the pirates, it reveals an undiscussed moral code to the pirate life. It shows that piracy is more than just adventure and leans into its benefits as a lifestyle of righteousness and creating forceful equality in an unjust world. We see the irony of the higher society’s treatment of pirates: calling pirates “violent” when the rest of society is the ones treating human beings as property, calling pirates “greedy” or “selfish” when the rest of society is hurting others for the sake of their own reputations, etc. It’s all very rightfully tied into the actual sociopolitical climate of its setting.
I do want to give a disclaimer here that this book features many characters of different marginalizations (Black, Romani, sapphic, achillean, aromantic, and more) and therefore discusses the struggles they would face in this place and time. And I want to say that I am not a member of most of these communities and do not feel I can properly speak on how well they are represented. Within my limited scope, the scenes featuring the oppression of these characters/marginalizations felt mostly appropriately timed and handled. I think the inclusion of these experiences and the harmful nature of this society feels relevant, well-researched and necessary to the plot and development. I will say, the use of the g-slur could’ve been spoken about rather than said directly, but as someone who isn’t Romani, I can’t say for sure if it should’ve been removed entirely. I say all this so that other folks go in with a critical eye just as I did, not taking my word as gospel.
Back to my thoughts on the book: I don’t think this had an editor based on how it read, with the flow being a bit stilted at times and the language being repetitive rhythmically. The dialogue lacked a lot of nuance (trying to read the lines out loud felt weird, because it was just very expositional and lacked a certain emotional subtext) and often caused the stakes of the moment to sometimes not appropriately saturate the language. It’s essentially a brilliant manuscript, but desperately needs a professional pair of eyes to help with some slight tweaking. (I have so many notes that are just simple fixes and I wish I could just edit it myself lol.) For a book that doesn’t have an editor (as far as I’m aware. If it does… they’re not a very good one.), and that is the author’s first published novel, I’m actually pretty impressed. It’s in fairly good shape considering those factors!
Truly, I think this would normally be a 3 star read (good! but not great!) but the thing is, there’s just nothing else out there quite like this (and again, I think for a debut without an editor, it's really not bad). There’s nothing else (at least that I’ve seen) that really looks at the history of piracy through the lens of how it relates to oppression, discussing how piracy became an escape for queer people, people of color, and Jewish people (did y’all know there were Jewish pirates? because I didn’t before this book). I hope to live in a world where I have much to compare this to, but for now I kind of have to love this book despite its flaws. (I don’t literally have to of course) It’s filling a crucial hole in the wold of storytelling, and is doing so with proper research and care. And for that I think it should be celebrated. It really just needs a couple more drafts with an editor and I think this would be nothing short of a masterpiece.
The pieces are all there for a brilliant puzzle and I hope that the writing becomes more graceful and smooth as the series goes on, because the foundation here is something really promising. (And fucking obviously I’m excited for more Jewish pirates!!!)
Also I know what you all want to know: is this filling the OFMD void? The answer is no, not really, but it's very piratey and very queer and I think fits the assignment (that I gave it) well enough.
CW/TW: slavery, racism, abusive parental figure (graphic: physical, emotional), xenophobia, colonialism, homophobia, parental death (on page), death of loved one, character death, grief, trauma, Romani slur, anti-Indigenous sentiments (brief), coming out scene, emesis, imprisonment ...more
CW: torture, fictional racism/xenophobia, loss of parent (father and mother, a character finds out about the passing of their mother during the plot oCW: torture, fictional racism/xenophobia, loss of parent (father and mother, a character finds out about the passing of their mother during the plot of the book), emotionally abusive parents, death of grandparents (past), alcohol, drug use, bullying, violence, death, murder, blood, sexual content, gore, body horror, vomit, suicide (brief, onscreen), nonconsensual medical procedure
Thank you to Angry Robot for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
What a whimsical story! Like a mixture of City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, but make it adult!
This story follows Jes, an asexual panromantic mixed-race empath escaping from a life of torture and experimentation. It has diverse representation, found family, heists, and an adult coming-of-age narrative. Jes's personal growth was extremely well-done, from the self-discovery of his powers to his journey through experiencing a romantic relationship for potentially the first time.
I will say, the book as a whole didn't blow me away, but I found the story engaging and the characters easy to love.
A few nit picks: -The writing was written in third person but in the style of first person, which made it a bit difficult to read at times. (Like the way it was written, I kept expecting to see the pronouns "I/me" rather than the "he/him" pronouns on the page.) -The book as a whole could've just been 100 pages shorter. With the amount of heist and action, the pace could've been a lot faster and started a lot earlier. It took me a bit to really get into the narrative and it made the stakes feel unearned at times. -The word "suss" or "susses" used as the ONLY word for Jes's empath abilities....more
Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
A thrilling retelling of classic fairytales Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
A thrilling retelling of classic fairytales filled with twists, magic, and just the right amount of darkness. Think Disney Princesses turned dark academia.
The first two-thirds of this book really struggled with the pacing. It dragged SO MUCH and I don't know if it was an attempt to counteract the feeling of over-exposition or in order to build tension, but either way it made it hard to read and made me almost DNF this read a few times.
HOWEVER, the last third of this book was SO MUCH FUN! It was riveting, properly gorey and spooky and magical in the way I was expecting this entire book to be. It just sucked that I had to get through so much of the text before I was able to experience it.
This book was promised with a lot of diversity, however, there was quite a bit of problematic representation which I will explain below.
(Minor spoilers ahead) The Asian character struggles with parental pressure to be the very best and have perfect grades and be the perfect daughter. There is a character who is very clearly the "mean masc lesbian" type. The half-Native, half-Black character's entire plot line is that she has an absent Black father who abandoned her. She is also stereotyped as a "mean lesbian." One character has OCD and it is introduced by one of the other characters questioning if she had taken her meds. Her opinions and experiences were also constantly doubted or questioned due to her OCD. The character that is meant to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast has a trans girl as a love interest (insinuating that the trans woman is a beast). On that note, the trans girl's fairytale retelling is that she is The Ugly Duckling, explicitly stating that as a trans girl, she has become a swan.
Especially seeing a book written by a queer author, it was sad to see the lack of care put into the quality of the diversity.
TW: (view spoiler)[mentions of suicide, parental physical and emotional abuse, self-harm, and parental death. depictions of anxiety, OCD, blood, and gore. (hide spoiler)]...more
(DNF at page 160) One of those cases of right book, wrong person. I absolutely thought it was wonderfully diverse, exciting and emotional, and I absol(DNF at page 160) One of those cases of right book, wrong person. I absolutely thought it was wonderfully diverse, exciting and emotional, and I absolutely understand why I have so many friends that love it. It just wasn't for me. The distance between myself and the target audience of this book was a little too tangible, but I’d highly recommend this for LGBTQ+ teens, especially teens who immerse themselves in queer spaces online or in person.
Thank you to Bold Stokes Books and NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Before I get into my revDNF at 42%
Thank you to Bold Stokes Books and NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Before I get into my review, the reason why I DNF'd: an entire chapter was essentially dedicated to referencing Harry Potter. It didn't even add anything relevant to the story. Instant pass.
This book was one of my most anticipated of the year. A sapphic Julius Caesar retelling? I mean, sign me up! Especially since I really enjoyed the author's previous Shakespeare retelling, Two Winters (A Winter's Tale).
But this book was just a complete and utter failure. The story was set during the Trump election era, yet was set at a school reminiscent of the school in Faking It - where it is shameful to not be gay, trans, etc. - which confused the atmosphere. It leaned so heavily on both the Trump era and this school culture to reason out every single plot point, but their competing qualities just completely cancelled out the stakes. Like we're supposed to believe that you were scared to go to school after the Trump election when your school is mostly queer and non-men? As a queer and Jewish person who went to school in the Christian South that day, I could just not get behind this. Yet despite this school's so-called "progressive" culture, it was wildly biphobic, lesbophobic, and generally toxic. The setting felt specially designed to be as oppressive to bisexual characters, which is appalling considering the dedication is to the bisexual readers.
The JC character is a lesbian who bullies the Brutus character for "cheating on her identity" when she dates a boy. Yet the JC character isn't even a lesbian herself, apparently having had crushes on boys, and so the Brutus character decides to try to out her as bisexual by catfishing her as a boy. This book also contains a lot of rhetoric that seems to imply that young people nowadays don't use the word "lesbian," which felt a little too close to some TERF rhetoric I've seen on the internet for comfort.
The writing seemed to be INCREDIBLY hesitant and insecure. Plot points and backstories were reiterated time and time again, almost as if in fear that the audience had already forgotten everything that had happened. It caused the story to drag, the already non-existent stakes to drop, and the characters to feel exhaustive.
I can't emphasize how disappointed I was by this read, especially because it was something I had genuinely been looking forward to for quite some time. Julius Caesar deserves better. Queer people deserve better.
CW: sexual assault (graphic)*, self harm (graphic)*, mental illness, anxiety, biphobia, bullying, sexual content (implied), f-slur (used to refer to oneself), alcoholism (mention), drug use (mention), underage drinking (brief), parental abandonment, potential outing, takes place during Trump era and discussed often.
*these are CWs I found from other reviews since I didn't finish the book....more
There's promise in tales that are yet to be spoken.
I wish I could put into words just how much I loved this book, but I don't think I'll be able to. There's promise in tales that are yet to be spoken.
I wish I could put into words just how much I loved this book, but I don't think I'll be able to. I have been craving so much sapphic adult high fantasy this year and, as most people are, was nervous to crack into this beast of a book. But the only disappointing thing about this book was that it had to end.
The prose constantly rendered me speechless, the world-building was just an absolute marvel to experience, the characters were so multi-faceted and compelling and perfectly rounded out the story.
This is the blueprint.
TW: miscarriage, infertility, violence, blood, injury, death, amputation, beheading, grief, religious bigotry (fictional), murder, pregnancy, gore, torture, war, child death, death of parent, alcoholism, animal cruelty, confinement, body horror, gun violence, sexual content (brief), suicidal thoughts ...more
So I'm fairly new to the horror genre and therefore don't have a lot to compare this to but...
I really liked this! I thought it was a fun feminist friendship story framed within a horror concept. I thought the characters were incredibly interesting, complex, and likeable, and the intimate world-building was strong.
I will say, the horror aspects of this book slowly fell away to reveal more of a fantasy plot to the story which caused the different pieces to be a little messy and unable to be be tied together as neatly as I would've liked, but I didn't mind it too greatly. It was entertaining, and for me that's a much more important factor!
If you're intrigued by the horror genre but are worried about getting too scared or uncomfortable, I would say this is a pretty easy and gentle start, almost more of a fantasy thriller than anything else....more
Y'all... this book was SO CUTE and SO GOOD, I had to pry myself away from it last night so as to not pull an all-nighter, and even so, it was the first thing I picked up when I woke up this morning. And I thought I wouldn't love it that much because I'm personally not really a fan of reality dating shows and have a personal vendetta against film sets but this book captured my heart regardless.
The characters were so lovable and their relationship was so perfect and so flawed in a way that really aided the story. Dev suffers from depressive states, Charlie struggles with anxiety and OCD and both of them have personal backstories that affect the way they view themselves and the world and love and relationships and it was just so nuanced and made the characters feel so real and grounded and offered them so much room for growth. I also love seeing late bloomers positively represented in media! I'm tired of seeing 17 y/os for being shamed for not being sexually experienced!
I also LOVED that this book held SO MUCH space for conversation about the corruption and toxic environments that take place behind the scenes of the entertainment industry. As someone who has dealt with this type of circumstance firsthand, I thought this was well-portrayed and provided me with a lot of hope for the way that the entertainment world could be.
And all of these aspects were seamlessly tied in to the story. All in all, it was a beautiful love story and an incredibly addicting book. I can not believe this was a debut and I can NOT recommend this enough....more
