I received an advance review copy through Netgalley; all opinions are my own and honest.

2.5 stars.

I don’t regret reading through to the end to give this a “fair chance,” but it certainly didn’t make me like the characters any more than I initially did. As a social commentary, I can see this book’s merits; as an engaging story, I’m not a big fan.

While it's not inherently a problem that I actively disliked pretty much every single character, they felt like caricatures rather than people. So their relationships didn't ring true, and I just wasn't emotionally invested. The drama was interesting to observe, but I didn't really care about them.

content warnings:

Spoiler

ableism, on-page attempted suicide, mentioned statutory rape, infidelity, suicidal ideation, terminal illness, explicit sexual content, queerphobia (homophobia, transphobia, acephobia), outing, terminal illness, violence, mugging

rep:

Spoiler

socioeconomic, Black gay major character, Russian gay major character, major character with depression