Take a photo of a barcode or cover
simonlorden's Reviews (1.38k)
you: but where are the manic pixie dream boys??
me, tearing up a little: here
tw for parental and homophobic abuse
me, tearing up a little: here
tw for parental and homophobic abuse
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have mixed feelings about this one. Dealing with serious topics is important, but sometimes I just want a light, fluffier queer contemporary, and this is another book where I think I'm getting that and then I get blindsided by something heavy that ruins it a little.I was rooting for the Aunt, damnit.
This book is a romance between two teenage boys - it has a happy ending (no, I don't think that's a spoiler in a romance, and it's especially important to know for queer books), but it also deals with the cancer treatment of a family member, as well as being closeted and having to deal with homophobic jokes from your friends.
Pros:
- Gay/bi M/M romance
- MLM/WLW solidarity!
- Focus on family, with a lot of adorable, domestic and believable scenes and pop culture references.
- I liked how Ollie didn't pressure Will to come out, but he also realised he doesn't have to put up with Will acting shitty.
- Big dramatic coming out!
- There was a line about how public proposals can be really shitty if you're not 100% secure in your relationship, which I really appreciated. I know most people think they are romantic, but I know I'd die if someone put me on the spot like that, especially if I wasn't certain in my answer.
Cons:
- I really don't like a trope where there's a friend group and one of the friends is pretty obviously toxic and almost constantly putting the others down. Like, sure, she has her own issues and she gets somewhat better, but she never really apologises or acknowledges that she's been intentionally hurting her friends for who knows how long.
Overall, this is a good book, it just wasn't really what I was expecting or looking for at the moment.
content warnings:cancer treatment of a family member, death of a family member, accidental outing (with no negative reactions), some homophobia including homophobic jokes from friends
I have mixed feelings about this one. Dealing with serious topics is important, but sometimes I just want a light, fluffier queer contemporary, and this is another book where I think I'm getting that and then I get blindsided by something heavy that ruins it a little.
This book is a romance between two teenage boys - it has a happy ending (no, I don't think that's a spoiler in a romance, and it's especially important to know for queer books), but it also deals with the cancer treatment of a family member, as well as being closeted and having to deal with homophobic jokes from your friends.
Pros:
- Gay/bi M/M romance
- MLM/WLW solidarity!
- Focus on family, with a lot of adorable, domestic and believable scenes and pop culture references.
- I liked how Ollie didn't pressure Will to come out, but he also realised he doesn't have to put up with Will acting shitty.
- Big dramatic coming out!
- There was a line about how public proposals can be really shitty if you're not 100% secure in your relationship, which I really appreciated. I know most people think they are romantic, but I know I'd die if someone put me on the spot like that, especially if I wasn't certain in my answer.
Cons:
- I really don't like a trope where there's a friend group and one of the friends is pretty obviously toxic and almost constantly putting the others down. Like, sure, she has her own issues and she gets somewhat better, but she never really apologises or acknowledges that she's been intentionally hurting her friends for who knows how long.
Overall, this is a good book, it just wasn't really what I was expecting or looking for at the moment.
content warnings:
I just read this in one sitting because I had to know what would happen askldhskj
I mean I kinda guessed one of the big twists 70 pages in, but there was still so much to discover
also it was strange to see Romy shipping Jayden and his female partner from the show after reading An Unathorised Fan Treatise
I mean I kinda guessed one of the big twists 70 pages in, but there was still so much to discover
also it was strange to see Romy shipping Jayden and his female partner from the show after reading An Unathorised Fan Treatise
Masterfully crafted, and often far too clever for me. My subjective enjoyment is lower than 5 stars, but objectively I think it deserves a full rating, because wow. Red and Blue, opposing and together, one so far from the nature and the other born from it. They're just so good. Also, kind of has Good Omens vibes in a way.
This was really interesting. Despite having dragons, it had a really realistic historical fiction feel. The dragons were the only fantastical element and even they were treated as just another wild animal that has always been there and had to be studied.
I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought, but The Congregation was awesome
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Gosh, I loved this one. A cute M/F high school rom-com where the two main characters get into a Twitter war through their respective families' restaurants, while unknowingly becoming friends on an anonymous messenger app.
They both have parents and siblings with complicated relationships, and there's a lot of tension, but also a lot of love, both for each other and for what they are doing. I loved that none of the characters are really shitty people, they are just people who make mistakes and overreact or let their emotions control them for a short time.
Books about social media tend to make me cringe sometimes, but I feel like this one handled the cringy sides well, like the real life shipping and the personified corporate accounts. It was also really funny, and while it did have some angst and tension, it wasn't heavy enough to change the mood of the entire book, which is a problem I've had with some other contemporaries. Overall, this was a lighthearted romcom that I loved.
Gosh, I loved this one. A cute M/F high school rom-com where the two main characters get into a Twitter war through their respective families' restaurants, while unknowingly becoming friends on an anonymous messenger app.
They both have parents and siblings with complicated relationships, and there's a lot of tension, but also a lot of love, both for each other and for what they are doing. I loved that none of the characters are really shitty people, they are just people who make mistakes and overreact or let their emotions control them for a short time.
Books about social media tend to make me cringe sometimes, but I feel like this one handled the cringy sides well, like the real life shipping and the personified corporate accounts. It was also really funny, and while it did have some angst and tension, it wasn't heavy enough to change the mood of the entire book, which is a problem I've had with some other contemporaries. Overall, this was a lighthearted romcom that I loved.
I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this a lot! The main F/F ship between the half-fae private investigator and the murderous vampire prince was awesome, and surprisingly sweet at times. I also loved that pretty much every character is queer, and you have all kinds of complicated relationships where everyone is everyone's ex-girlfriend. The side characters were varied and interesting, but Julian is still my absolute favourite, along with Elise, whom I really hope to see more of in the sequel. I admit the fight scenes bored me a little sometimes, but nothing is perfect.
I loved this a lot! The main F/F ship between the half-fae private investigator and the murderous vampire prince was awesome, and surprisingly sweet at times. I also loved that pretty much every character is queer, and you have all kinds of complicated relationships where everyone is everyone's ex-girlfriend. The side characters were varied and interesting, but Julian is still my absolute favourite, along with Elise, whom I really hope to see more of in the sequel. I admit the fight scenes bored me a little sometimes, but nothing is perfect.
okay. no.
I knew from the blurb that the POV character would originally be ableist towards the autistic future love interest before the LI makes him change his mind, but I wasn't prepared for the EXTENT of it. within 7% of this book, Grant has stated that autistic people 1) don't know what sex and sexuality is, 2) are helpless and can't defend themselves, 3) aren't "normal", 4) have to have a family member care for them even when they are adults because they clearly can't live or make decisions on their own. those are prejudices that this guy should be sorting out far, far away from any neurodiverse or disabled people, NOT during a budding romance with one.
also: oh, I see. so Morgan is not normal and doesn't know what sex or sexuality is, but fantasizing about his lips around your cock is TOTALLY FINE, RIGHT? MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND, DUDE.
one positive thing: Morgan doesn't take any of Grant's shit, and the scene where he trolls Grant with the toothpicks was actually funny - but even if Grant changes his mind, I just can't root for their romance. why would you date someone who thought you were a helpless child a month ago?
I knew from the blurb that the POV character would originally be ableist towards the autistic future love interest before the LI makes him change his mind, but I wasn't prepared for the EXTENT of it. within 7% of this book, Grant has stated that autistic people 1) don't know what sex and sexuality is, 2) are helpless and can't defend themselves, 3) aren't "normal", 4) have to have a family member care for them even when they are adults because they clearly can't live or make decisions on their own. those are prejudices that this guy should be sorting out far, far away from any neurodiverse or disabled people, NOT during a budding romance with one.
also: oh, I see. so Morgan is not normal and doesn't know what sex or sexuality is, but fantasizing about his lips around your cock is TOTALLY FINE, RIGHT? MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND, DUDE.
one positive thing: Morgan doesn't take any of Grant's shit, and the scene where he trolls Grant with the toothpicks was actually funny - but even if Grant changes his mind, I just can't root for their romance. why would you date someone who thought you were a helpless child a month ago?