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laurenkester's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
big_m54's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
meghanlpickett's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
dockoala's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Pure unadulterated fun.
And hope.
And hope.
cprince99's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
yaramightbereading's review against another edition
4.0
Alright, I have some complicated thoughts about this book.
I really really enjoyed it when I first started reading. I thought the premise was interesting, and I had high hopes. I thought the beginning of the book was great, but then I felt there were some issues with the pacing.
How the romance begins- aka the fake friendship, was barely set up and established before we got the confession scene. I felt like it happened way too fast, but I am a big fan of slow burn, so I thought, maybe it's just me and the rest of the pacing will be alright.
However, the middle of the book felt like a big bunch of nothing, really. It was a lot of fluff that I think the book would be stronger without. Also, I felt as though those pages were not used to create any sort of emotional depth or intimacy between Alex and Henry. The scenes where they're actually having conversations of depth to develop the feelings they have for another are rare and short.
Reaching the final climax of the book, I was pretty discouraged by the middle being so dragged out. But I will say, the final 100 or so pages of the book were a good read. The high-stakes of it all was built up pretty well, and kept me on the edge of my seat (although I could ultimately predict how it was going to end). I felt like these pages had the most emotional depth of the entire novel, and we really got to explore Alex and Henry as characters, although I also thought it was a bit too long. The end felt like it came too late, and it was dragging on a lot. I wish there was a bit more development before Henry confessed, and a bit less filler before the conflict happened.
I do have some other, random qualms though:
1. Henry was a MUCH more captivating character than Alex, and we barely got to see how he dealt with everything. I get this book is from Alex's perspective, but Alex felt so one dimensional that I found myself wishing I could be reading what Henry was doing, and how he was handling everything that happened. I also just didn't like him much as a character, although he was more bearable during the last arc of the story.
2. The politics. It's very VERY millennial, with an incredibly optimistic view on American government and the Monarchy. I don't think this book needed as much politics as it had, because it came off as erasing the history of corruption. There were some points that talked about how fucked up politics and everything is, but it felt shadowed by how the rest of the book talked about it.
3. Sometimes the writing confused me. Sentences that attempted to be poetic came off wordy and hard to understand, but maybe that's just me. I enjoyed the prose for the most part, especially when it was Henry's emails.
At the end of the day, despite all my issues, I did enjoy this book. I thought the romance and the ensemble was cute! I'm excited to watch the movie and see how it compares.
I really really enjoyed it when I first started reading. I thought the premise was interesting, and I had high hopes. I thought the beginning of the book was great, but then I felt there were some issues with the pacing.
How the romance begins- aka the fake friendship, was barely set up and established before we got the confession scene. I felt like it happened way too fast, but I am a big fan of slow burn, so I thought, maybe it's just me and the rest of the pacing will be alright.
However, the middle of the book felt like a big bunch of nothing, really. It was a lot of fluff that I think the book would be stronger without. Also, I felt as though those pages were not used to create any sort of emotional depth or intimacy between Alex and Henry. The scenes where they're actually having conversations of depth to develop the feelings they have for another are rare and short.
Reaching the final climax of the book, I was pretty discouraged by the middle being so dragged out. But I will say, the final 100 or so pages of the book were a good read. The high-stakes of it all was built up pretty well, and kept me on the edge of my seat (although I could ultimately predict how it was going to end). I felt like these pages had the most emotional depth of the entire novel, and we really got to explore Alex and Henry as characters, although I also thought it was a bit too long. The end felt like it came too late, and it was dragging on a lot. I wish there was a bit more development before Henry confessed, and a bit less filler before the conflict happened.
I do have some other, random qualms though:
1. Henry was a MUCH more captivating character than Alex, and we barely got to see how he dealt with everything. I get this book is from Alex's perspective, but Alex felt so one dimensional that I found myself wishing I could be reading what Henry was doing, and how he was handling everything that happened. I also just didn't like him much as a character, although he was more bearable during the last arc of the story.
2. The politics. It's very VERY millennial, with an incredibly optimistic view on American government and the Monarchy. I don't think this book needed as much politics as it had, because it came off as erasing the history of corruption. There were some points that talked about how fucked up politics and everything is, but it felt shadowed by how the rest of the book talked about it.
3. Sometimes the writing confused me. Sentences that attempted to be poetic came off wordy and hard to understand, but maybe that's just me. I enjoyed the prose for the most part, especially when it was Henry's emails.
At the end of the day, despite all my issues, I did enjoy this book. I thought the romance and the ensemble was cute! I'm excited to watch the movie and see how it compares.
rsheraden's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5