Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender

10 reviews

lugotthecinema's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

3.0

ngl i was really invested in the story but there were just so many things that i didnt like, i dont really like any of the characters as they can all be annoying and unreasonable but i love the childhood best friend to lovers

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2busyreading's review

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lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

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slugpony412's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I don't read YA but this was shelved with the romance and I saw lambda and the diverse characters and gave it a go, while I appreciate the diverse identities of the characters as represented here in ways that feel both real and important I was disappointed with both the story and the writing was dull, repetitive and sparse for what I like in romance. Finished it quite fast and feel it was and most effective as a really horny teen wish fulfillment fantasy.

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ridesthesun's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I honestly wanted to like this book so much more than I did. Unfortunately... the story just wasn't very good. All of Nate's friends were manipulative assholes tbh, especially Flo, who he kept insisting was such a good best friend like???? dude???? I get yall are in high school so things are a mess but come on. The will they/won't they that kept going back and forth with so many characters just wasn't convincing enough to get me invested. And at the risk of sounding like a Boring Adult™, this book felt way too explicit to be a YA. The themes and characters felt very YA, but the graphic sex was - while convincingly awkward for teens doing the deed for the first time - was pretty damn graphic for the target age group. (also my pet peeve of "character is hesitant about sex and doesn't really want to do it that much but has sex anyways and the moment is used as an example of Character and Relationship Growth" was v much there. let people - ESPECIALLY TEENS!! - be virgins and let them be ok with that).

One thing I DID love about this book is how it seems like all these kids are so so unapologetically queer. It was never even a topic of interest; no one even mentioned being gay or queer, they were all just comfortably having crushes on whatever gender suited them at the moment. No one questioned it or discussed it. No one's parents were shitty about it, no one was bullied about it. It was unrealistic, but a really nice unrealism. It was a fun thing to see :)

I also really enjoyed the Deaf rep here, especially for a teen. Ollie was honestly really good Deaf rep, and surprisingly realistic. It was refreshing for a Deaf character to be shown not magically being a good lip reader, and actually having the communication struggles Deaf kids in a hearing world have. (though the constant descriptions of his signs got grating after a while. They were mostly accurate, but just..... unnecessary. you can just say the character signs, guys, you don't have to describe every sign I promise)

I think I was spoiled by reading Felix Ever After and absolutely adoring it; I came into this with Expectations that made it more of a bummer when those expectations weren't met.

I think this story had a LOT of potential, but the execution just wasn't there. The family dynamics and relationship struggles could have gone in a lot of great directions, but things just fell flat, which is an honest bummer :(

(also Oliver-James is the dumbest hyphenated name I have ever seen tbh. no)

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quasinaut's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.0

Cute! Some awkward character interactions (and, like, gaslighting?) that didn't sit well with me, but overall I liked the romance -- and the Deaf and ASL representation!

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rayne_1906's review against another edition

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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

3.25

Audiobook - 3 hours 57 minutes - I have an affinity for LGBTQ YA contemporary books, even if they don't end up being amazing pieces of literature, which is why I keep reading them, and will continue to keep reading them, regardless of how low the average rating I give them may be. This book was nothing groundbreaking - it followed the same sort of pattern that a lot of YA contemporaries do. Some good points: it included a lot of diversity without the book being focused on the diversity. This is not necessarily a bad thing but it is nice to see books where the characters can just be, and have problems outside of discrimination. For example, the two of the main characters in this book are bisexual, but there is no plot/sideplot about coming out/struggling with self-acceptance. As I have previously said, there is nothing wrong with books which do focus on these issues, it is just a nice and refreshing change, making for a more relaxing read. However, this book did feel repetitive at points. The main character often repeated the same trains of thought over and over which became a little tedious and boring at times. On the whole though, this was a perfectly decent book, nothing special, but okay and fun to read.

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anniereads221's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

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samchase112's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Nate and Oliver's "epic" love story was not really so epic to me. They were sweet together...except we never really got to know them as a couple. The characters in this book are truly despicable; I think the only one I didn't hate at some point was Ashley. I appreciated the way the author dove into what it really means to be a teenager -- awkward conversations, not knowing what to do with yourself half the time -- but I still wish they'd made the characters a bit more likable. And is virginity really a defining trait?? All in all I wasn't the biggest fan of this one, but I think it's more of a "it's me not you" situation.

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alyshkalia's review

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emotional

3.0

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ambernicole1901's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

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