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joanna1905's review against another edition
1.0
TW: SO SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH CHEATING, Outing of MC.
Warning - This is not a love story at all, just a bunch of toxic relationships that are never explored or unpacked, toxic behaviour is never addressed and just depicted as totally okay.
Wow, talk about one of the biggest letdowns of my reading life. From the time it came out I was so hyped to read this book but held out for the release of the paperback (like 2 years after publication) but boy was it not worth it.
I hate being harsh on books but I want to warn other readers as unbeknownst to me this book has a lot of tropes I generally hate but their poor execution made it even worse.
Firstly, cheating SO MUCH CHEATING BASICALLY EVERYONE CHEATING ON EACH OTHER AT ALL TIMES WITH NO RAMIFICATIONS. Cheating is something I really hate in romances but I think there can be ways for it to be worked into a story in a good way (i.e. having a character be jaded by a past relationship that involved cheating).
But in this book, it's so much worse than that, Nate and his best friend/ex-girlfriend Flo have an incredibly toxic relationship. Flo cheated on Nate when they were together but then expects Nate to forgive her 100% so she can keep him on a leash and have the same touchy-feely friendship she had with him. She never once shows any genuine remorse for this or any of her other appalling behaviour.
She also gushes about her sex life with the girl she cheated on him with (off-page) to Nate and does everything possible to shove this new relationship in his face. Including repeatedly demanding he becomes friends with her girlfriend despite the fact that that would obviously incredibly hard for him to watch them be all in love.
But it doesn't stop there, oh no. When it starts to become clear Nate and Ollie are becoming close again (before it was even romantic) Flo cracks it at Nate for daring to make another friend and has the audacity to start a fight over it despite the fact she should just be grateful for any small crumb of friendship Nate gives her. Flo also knows full well that Nate still has feelings for her but she still kisses him and hints about wanting him back whenever she and her girlfriend get into a fight.
She continues to act even more possessive when he begins a relationship with Ollie (oh and she outs him), and oh my god she's such a horrible friend.
I was waiting and waiting for the moment Nate ended his friendship with Flo and called her out for being such a self-centred, selfish, horrible person that cares only about herself. But no he just forces himself to forgive her because he doesn't really have a choice since she weaponises his fear of losing people.
Also, the girl she leaves Nate for is also totally horrible to Nate and has the audacity to go off at him for participating in one of the weird hangouts Flo forced them to have as if she didn't know full well Flo forced him to be involved.
Next onto Nate, who isn't quite as bad as Flo but is still a real crap person when it comes to Ollie. Despite just lived through his girlfriend cheating on him he still kisses Ollie twice (without consent) knowing that Ollie has a boyfriend. Nice. He also plays with Ollie's feelings constantly, while I understand his fear of abandonment he's so cruel to Ollie multiple times to protect himself instead of just having a proper conversation with him. The relationship is toxic if too and I wish they didn't end up together.
Nate is also a complete doormat when it comes to Flo, she treats him so bad all the time but he always forgives her (even when most of the time she doesn't even ask for forgiveness she just expects it without making amends). Despite how much it clearly torments him to pretend he's okay with it he pretends it's fine, which is so damn unhealthy. But then at the end, he's miraculously fine once he and Ollie get back together for the 98th time.
Gidon? is a very minor character but he's also a giant asshole who's so self-centred (Flo's perfect man probably).
The ONLY good thing about this book is that pretty much the whole cast of characters are POC and the HOH rep which is fantastic in a (queer) ya book. But then all the characters are so insufferable with basically no redeeming qualities or character development for them to learn to be better people so I found it impossible to actually root for any of them.
Wouldn't recommend to anyone, especially if you hate cheating plotlines (with zero ramifications) as much as I do, would have DNF'd if I hadn't already paid for my copy.
Warning - This is not a love story at all, just a bunch of toxic relationships that are never explored or unpacked, toxic behaviour is never addressed and just depicted as totally okay.
Wow, talk about one of the biggest letdowns of my reading life. From the time it came out I was so hyped to read this book but held out for the release of the paperback (like 2 years after publication) but boy was it not worth it.
I hate being harsh on books but I want to warn other readers as unbeknownst to me this book has a lot of tropes I generally hate but their poor execution made it even worse.
Firstly, cheating SO MUCH CHEATING BASICALLY EVERYONE CHEATING ON EACH OTHER AT ALL TIMES WITH NO RAMIFICATIONS. Cheating is something I really hate in romances but I think there can be ways for it to be worked into a story in a good way (i.e. having a character be jaded by a past relationship that involved cheating).
But in this book, it's so much worse than that, Nate and his best friend/ex-girlfriend Flo have an incredibly toxic relationship. Flo cheated on Nate when they were together but then expects Nate to forgive her 100% so she can keep him on a leash and have the same touchy-feely friendship she had with him. She never once shows any genuine remorse for this or any of her other appalling behaviour.
She also gushes about her sex life with the girl she cheated on him with (off-page) to Nate and does everything possible to shove this new relationship in his face. Including repeatedly demanding he becomes friends with her girlfriend despite the fact that that would obviously incredibly hard for him to watch them be all in love.
But it doesn't stop there, oh no. When it starts to become clear Nate and Ollie are becoming close again (before it was even romantic) Flo cracks it at Nate for daring to make another friend and has the audacity to start a fight over it despite the fact she should just be grateful for any small crumb of friendship Nate gives her. Flo also knows full well that Nate still has feelings for her but she still kisses him and hints about wanting him back whenever she and her girlfriend get into a fight.
She continues to act even more possessive when he begins a relationship with Ollie (oh and she outs him), and oh my god she's such a horrible friend.
I was waiting and waiting for the moment Nate ended his friendship with Flo and called her out for being such a self-centred, selfish, horrible person that cares only about herself. But no he just forces himself to forgive her because he doesn't really have a choice since she weaponises his fear of losing people.
Also, the girl she leaves Nate for is also totally horrible to Nate and has the audacity to go off at him for participating in one of the weird hangouts Flo forced them to have as if she didn't know full well Flo forced him to be involved.
Next onto Nate, who isn't quite as bad as Flo but is still a real crap person when it comes to Ollie. Despite just lived through his girlfriend cheating on him he still kisses Ollie twice (without consent) knowing that Ollie has a boyfriend. Nice. He also plays with Ollie's feelings constantly, while I understand his fear of abandonment he's so cruel to Ollie multiple times to protect himself instead of just having a proper conversation with him. The relationship is toxic if too and I wish they didn't end up together.
Nate is also a complete doormat when it comes to Flo, she treats him so bad all the time but he always forgives her (even when most of the time she doesn't even ask for forgiveness she just expects it without making amends). Despite how much it clearly torments him to pretend he's okay with it he pretends it's fine, which is so damn unhealthy. But then at the end, he's miraculously fine once he and Ollie get back together for the 98th time.
Gidon? is a very minor character but he's also a giant asshole who's so self-centred (Flo's perfect man probably).
The ONLY good thing about this book is that pretty much the whole cast of characters are POC and the HOH rep which is fantastic in a (queer) ya book. But then all the characters are so insufferable with basically no redeeming qualities or character development for them to learn to be better people so I found it impossible to actually root for any of them.
Wouldn't recommend to anyone, especially if you hate cheating plotlines (with zero ramifications) as much as I do, would have DNF'd if I hadn't already paid for my copy.
tsukibunny68's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lbarsk's review
4.0
A sweet YA romance with great POC and queer rep, as well as a Deaf love interest. Felt VERY true-to-life as I remember high school, with Big Feelings and small dramas and fears about the future.
ashreadsandbowls's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
heathssm's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
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? Yes
4.5
beasleysbooks's review against another edition
DNF @ 3%
I already find the mc’s descriptions of other people to be kind of gross and his friendship with his ex girlfriend to be so weird. No thanks.
I already find the mc’s descriptions of other people to be kind of gross and his friendship with his ex girlfriend to be so weird. No thanks.
kimapede's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? Yes
_kayreads_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Here is the thing, I like this author a lot. I enjoyed "Felix Ever After". I was hopeful. I just found a lot of the characters bit annoying. I was so proud of Ollie for standing upstairs for himself when he was treated bad by Nate. But I really didn't like Flo for most of the book.
I thought the ending was sweet though. It is about growing and dealing with pushing boundaries. Overall, 2.5
I thought the ending was sweet though. It is about growing and dealing with pushing boundaries. Overall, 2.5