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simonlorden 's review for:
Play It Again
by Aidan Wayne
3.5 stars
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Play It Again is a M/M romance by a nonbinary author that involves YouTubers and social media, and one of the main characters is blind - at least that was how much I found out based on the blurb and the author's bio. As the story went on, I was very happy to find out that Dovid and Rachel are Jewish, along with Rachel being (aro)ace and Sam being ace. (Rachel is only called sex-repulsed ace in the book as far as I remember, but it's implied she's not interested in romance either.)
Overall, Play It Again is a sweet, low-conflict romance that deals with internet fame, as well as living while disabled, or having emotionally abusive parents. If you are looking for a comforting read and aren't too bothered by the toxic parents, this could be a good pick. I also loved how Dovid and Rachel review restaurants and venues based on accessibility as well as their food, taking into consideration not only blind people, but wheelchair users as well. Dovid also mentions a wheelchair user friend at one point, although disappointingly she doesn't actually appear.
I admit that I didn't always enjoy this book, although you might have guessed this from the fact that I didn't give it 5 stars. There were some scenes that gave me intense second hand embarrassment, and sometimes the long discussions about how to handle internet fame and YouTubing were just boring to me. I also admit I have no experience with similar matters, but Sam becoming a sensation and actually getting PAID enough to be able to leave his job so fast felt unrealistic to me. I know realism isn't the most important, but it was still a little frustrating.
Dovid and Sam are also in a long-distance relationship, with all the troubles that brings - including that most of their scenes aren't physically together, but through phone or chat conversations. There is a lot of discussion of consent and boundaries, which I really appreciated.
I also couldn't figure out how old the characters are, but I'm guessing early twenties, which would actually put this as New Adult? It's definitely not YA, although it doesn't have explicit scenes.
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Play It Again is a M/M romance by a nonbinary author that involves YouTubers and social media, and one of the main characters is blind - at least that was how much I found out based on the blurb and the author's bio. As the story went on, I was very happy to find out that Dovid and Rachel are Jewish, along with Rachel being (aro)ace and Sam being ace. (Rachel is only called sex-repulsed ace in the book as far as I remember, but it's implied she's not interested in romance either.)
Overall, Play It Again is a sweet, low-conflict romance that deals with internet fame, as well as living while disabled, or having emotionally abusive parents. If you are looking for a comforting read and aren't too bothered by the toxic parents, this could be a good pick. I also loved how Dovid and Rachel review restaurants and venues based on accessibility as well as their food, taking into consideration not only blind people, but wheelchair users as well. Dovid also mentions a wheelchair user friend at one point, although disappointingly she doesn't actually appear.
I admit that I didn't always enjoy this book, although you might have guessed this from the fact that I didn't give it 5 stars. There were some scenes that gave me intense second hand embarrassment, and sometimes the long discussions about how to handle internet fame and YouTubing were just boring to me. I also admit I have no experience with similar matters, but Sam becoming a sensation and actually getting PAID enough to be able to leave his job so fast felt unrealistic to me. I know realism isn't the most important, but it was still a little frustrating.
Dovid and Sam are also in a long-distance relationship, with all the troubles that brings - including that most of their scenes aren't physically together, but through phone or chat conversations. There is a lot of discussion of consent and boundaries, which I really appreciated.
I also couldn't figure out how old the characters are, but I'm guessing early twenties, which would actually put this as New Adult? It's definitely not YA, although it doesn't have explicit scenes.