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tjalexandernyc's review
This is a very sweet and light poly romance where three lovely nerds end up together. There's an established m/f couple, lots of queerness, one of the wildest meet-uncutes I've ever seen (though it ends up pretty cute), road trip shenanigans, and the opposite of slut shaming. Slut supporting? SLUT SUPPORTING. A fun time that made me crave a music festival in the great outdoors.
scrow1022's review
5.0
Loved. This.
All the characters, individual hopes/fears, and then how they are with each other.
All the characters, individual hopes/fears, and then how they are with each other.
emeliestegbornblixt's review
4.0
Fun comfort read that I flew through. As in the previous romances I've read by Kilaen the characters are all so incredibly kind to each other it's almost sweet enough to give you cavities.
This story starts with Noelle arriving home early after getting laid off only to find her boyfriend cheating with Allie. Since both these women are adults with decent levels of intelligence they are in agreement about who is at fault in this scenario, and they hit it off as they're packing up Noelles stuff. Allie and her boyfriend Matt then invite Noelle to stay with them, and then to come along on a road trip. The story then centers on the transformation of Allie and Matts open relationship into a polyamorous one, and Matts wrestling with the possibility that maybe he's not as straight as he's previously thought. The central romance is between Allie and Noelle, although there is some fun tension between Noelle and Matt as well.
I loved the representation of Allie and Matts relationship - how well they knew each other and how secure they were in their relationship. This provided a very comforting counterpoint to the exploration of new possibilites and change. And I absolutely loved how they were so supportive of each other exploring different relationships and experiences. Also the communication between the characters in this book is great in a very specific way: they are proactively kind to each other, checking in in different ways but without pushing too much or crossing each others boundaries. It's very... aspirational?
If there is a weakness here it might be that the wholesomeness of the story isn't really countered by enough tension for some readers. Of course, the plot has a conflict that needs to be solved for the happy ending to arrive, but it never felt like the stakes were super high for me. Right now that really worked for me, as I'm already stressed out enough as it is, but I also think that this might be why this novel isn't getting 5 stars. If I compare this with another of Kilaens books, Tell Me Anything, that book had the same kind of wholesomeness but with much higher stakes in the conflict of the story. Because the conflict of that story was so much more stressful the sickeningly sweet ways the characters interacted was much more impactful, resulting in a story that punched me in the gut in the best way. I don't mean to imply that Shake Things Up lacks tension and conflict, just that the comfort weighs a lot heavier than the stress in this particular story - which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you're looking for.
I received an Arc of this book from the author.
This story starts with Noelle arriving home early after getting laid off only to find her boyfriend cheating with Allie. Since both these women are adults with decent levels of intelligence they are in agreement about who is at fault in this scenario, and they hit it off as they're packing up Noelles stuff. Allie and her boyfriend Matt then invite Noelle to stay with them, and then to come along on a road trip. The story then centers on the transformation of Allie and Matts open relationship into a polyamorous one, and Matts wrestling with the possibility that maybe he's not as straight as he's previously thought. The central romance is between Allie and Noelle, although there is some fun tension between Noelle and Matt as well.
I loved the representation of Allie and Matts relationship - how well they knew each other and how secure they were in their relationship. This provided a very comforting counterpoint to the exploration of new possibilites and change. And I absolutely loved how they were so supportive of each other exploring different relationships and experiences. Also the communication between the characters in this book is great in a very specific way: they are proactively kind to each other, checking in in different ways but without pushing too much or crossing each others boundaries. It's very... aspirational?
If there is a weakness here it might be that the wholesomeness of the story isn't really countered by enough tension for some readers. Of course, the plot has a conflict that needs to be solved for the happy ending to arrive, but it never felt like the stakes were super high for me. Right now that really worked for me, as I'm already stressed out enough as it is, but I also think that this might be why this novel isn't getting 5 stars. If I compare this with another of Kilaens books, Tell Me Anything, that book had the same kind of wholesomeness but with much higher stakes in the conflict of the story. Because the conflict of that story was so much more stressful the sickeningly sweet ways the characters interacted was much more impactful, resulting in a story that punched me in the gut in the best way. I don't mean to imply that Shake Things Up lacks tension and conflict, just that the comfort weighs a lot heavier than the stress in this particular story - which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you're looking for.
I received an Arc of this book from the author.
ourxstorybegins's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cleansetolovers's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
dodothebookbitch's review
1.0
i don’t have any nice things to say about this book.
it was very boring.
there’s like no romance in this??? like i was fully expecting a full romance plot and that is entirely nonexistent.
the characters has ZERO chemistry and i was shocked to read about them “developing feelings” when every single interaction and conversation was awkward.
it was very boring.
there’s like no romance in this??? like i was fully expecting a full romance plot and that is entirely nonexistent.
the characters has ZERO chemistry and i was shocked to read about them “developing feelings” when every single interaction and conversation was awkward.
merlesstorys's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a very fast read, with me starting the book just three hours ago and already be done with it.
I liked the different POVs from every part of the triangle, and also the fact that it didn’t directly happened at once between all of them, but rather the love built slowly with every chapter passing by.
I liked the different POVs from every part of the triangle, and also the fact that it didn’t directly happened at once between all of them, but rather the love built slowly with every chapter passing by.
bookshelvesandtealeaves's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I just KNEW I was gonna love this book. Polyamory with characters I already like written by an author whose style I know I like??? What’s not to love?!
I adored this story so much. I definitely, definitely need more throuple/polyamory stories in my life because between this and Iron Widow, I’m utterly obsessed.
Allie, Matt and Noelle are all such beautiful, loveable characters and watching both Allie and Matt fall for Noelle and Noelle fall for them just made my heart all soft and gooey. I got exactly what I wanted from this trio and then some.
I loved that it wasn’t just easy and immediate. I loved that Matt took longer than Allie to be ready even though he fell just as hard and fast. I loved that they discussed the logistics, asked how each other was feeling, checked in with each other every step of the way. Communication is SO DANG SEXY and I was so here for that.
I also loved Matt’s little side journey discovering, exploring and accepting his sexuality. I liked seeing a story like that with someone who has loads of queer people in his life already and knows he’ll be accepted, but is still scared and uncertain anyway.
Definitely recommend this one!
ladylothlorien's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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
4.0
Super sweet book! Sometimes a little more telling than showing but I very much appreciated that the tension wasn’t about miscommunications or a ham fisted obstacle.; it was about people figuring things out about themselves and what they wanted. And of course it was all going to work itself out so it was just a cozy queer blanket tagging along with these characters. Definitely going to read more by this author and in this series!
lacewing's review
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0