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rosa3's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
samuraibunny's review against another edition
Don't feel like reading about teenage angst and drama
what_courtreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
ashction's review against another edition
5.0
A one day (more like three hour) read that was a perfect balance for these two! The ending was honestly what I expected - a middle-ground for the optimistic and pessimistic realists - and I'm so happy to have finally read Arthur and Ben's story. š
slvrdragon1090's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book so badly, but I just couldnāt. The whole story was clichĆ© and cringe-worthy, and not in the good ways. I didnāt care for either main character either. The only saving grace was Dylan because he rocks.
nightwithbooks's review against another edition
Ben... Ben I love Ben so much. Miss Arthur was a little bit too much, but Ben is everything ā¤
jagic's review against another edition
4.0
Both authors have disappointed me in this work of fiction. I don't think they are compatible writers. I expected a lot more from both of them.
dwinareads's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Iām in LOVE, and Iām almost in tears because I just found out that thereās a sequel coming out soon and I CANNOT FREAKINā WAIT.
Ben and Arthur. Arthur and Ben. Oh, my heart. Where do I even begin with these two? I will say, when I started the book, I didnāt realize how young the characters were, since I try and read YA about actual young adults rather than teenagers. At first it kind of threw me off, but the more I read, the more I fell in love with these adorably clueless disaster gays. I found myself rooting for them (and their friends) the entire time! Some parts were predictable and some parts made me roll my eyes in frustration (duh, teenagers) but other parts made me LAUGH OUT LOUD and also SQUEAL and YELL! Thatās how I know Iām loving a story ā I react as if itās real. I felt so invested! What a great book to end the year with.
4.5/5. Do yourself a favor, pick up this book and relive that blissful teen feeling of finding your soulmate.
Ben and Arthur. Arthur and Ben. Oh, my heart. Where do I even begin with these two? I will say, when I started the book, I didnāt realize how young the characters were, since I try and read YA about actual young adults rather than teenagers. At first it kind of threw me off, but the more I read, the more I fell in love with these adorably clueless disaster gays. I found myself rooting for them (and their friends) the entire time! Some parts were predictable and some parts made me roll my eyes in frustration (duh, teenagers) but other parts made me LAUGH OUT LOUD and also SQUEAL and YELL! Thatās how I know Iām loving a story ā I react as if itās real. I felt so invested! What a great book to end the year with.
4.5/5. Do yourself a favor, pick up this book and relive that blissful teen feeling of finding your soulmate.
erikariehigano22's review against another edition
5.0
Every single part of this book is so lovely and adorable!!! I only have to say a few "hmm" moments into it.
This is a lovely change of setting compared to Adam Silvera's We Both Died At The End. I love Ben and Arthur so much I hope one of them moves to a common state at least and live together as boyfriends please :(
This is a lovely change of setting compared to Adam Silvera's We Both Died At The End. I love Ben and Arthur so much I hope one of them moves to a common state at least and live together as boyfriends please :(
At first, the whole dynamic and issue between Ben, Hudson, Harriet and Dylan were skeptical for me. I thought it was some angsty typical teenage drama like what happened with Jessie, Ethan and Arthur. But how it was so emphasised that the friendship between the friends from New York were broken after getting into relationships made me realise this is beyond teenage angst but actually something that can happen even to adults in their friend circles. That is why the depiction on how the four friends were able to amend their ties and reconcile were realistic and resonating for me.
The whole 'New York' being spectacle was a nice theme in the book to add in the humour and extra sweetness between Ben and Arthur's relationship. Between the two of them, I felt as if their relationship was not too sensationalised nor too romanticised compared to other YA novels. This is why I'm willing to read the 2nd book of this and hope for the best Arthur and Ben are endgame!!
I 100% recommend this book. It is everything you would want with a LGBTQIA+ young adult love story. If I wasn't so caught up into reading a 36-chapter fanfic, I would have finished this for 2-3 days.
annieni's review against another edition
2.0
Oof. I don't know what to say. I feel soo bad for giving this book 2 stars, but I can't give it anything else. I was really excited about this book, and I was ready to love it. What I was not ready for was 437 pages of frustration, losing my brain cells, and constant rants to my friends.
PART ONE: WHAT IF.
I was originally excited to read this because this book had some pretty rad representation and dealt with racism and homophobia. (also panic attacks!) Arthur is from Georgia and he's only here for the summer. He's gay, Jewish, and has ADHD. He's BIG on musicals, especially Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. Ben is a New Yorker, gay, and Puerto Rican. He loves Harry Potter and writing. If you're in any of these fandoms, you'll definitely enjoy the jokes and mentions! I could definitely tell these two apart; they had their own unique voices. The book doesn't feel choppy and flowed pretty well. I think they're both cute people, and they're noticeably flawed, which I liked. I mean, they drove me crazy a couple (read: a lot) of times, but there were some really cute moments between them.
Buuuut.
The beginning was so hard for me to get through. I felt like the conversations with Ben and his best friend Dylan were kinda stilted and awkward because it's basically an info dump. I also couldn't stand Arthur's whole Universe spiel. Just a heads up, if you don't believe in the Universe having complete control over every aspect of your life, you should just skip this book. It would have saved me 2 days of headaches.
PART TWO: IT'S US.
Basically, Ben and Arthur have a meet-cute and then get separated and go on this big journey to find each other. Except, I was so over the hunt for each other. I liked the idea at first, but it got tiring quickly with all the missed connections. When they finally reunite and go on their date, their chemistry was.....off? Nonexistent? All Ben could think about was Hudson, his ex, which was really annoying. I honestly felt so bad for Arthur. Fast forward a couple dates, Ben is suddenly so enamored with Arthur that I got whiplash reading it. Like, this guy couldn't stop comparing Arthur to Hudson on literally every date they went on, and suddenly he's head over heels for him. I didn't really feel like they had anything.
This was kind of insta love. After knowing each other for 2-3 weeks, they're dropping the Big L Word and thinking abt sex after 5 dates. I'm 17, the same age as Ben (Arthur being 16) and it's just weird to think someone my age is already dropping L words after knowing a person for 2 weeks.
PART THREE: ONLY ME SCREAMING.
The thing is, it's like Ben and Arthur don't want their relationship to work out. They get into the stupidest miscommunication situations I've ever seen, and I've been on Wattpad circa 2013 and read "I was sold to 1D" fanfics. I KNOW unnecessary drama when I see it. It's like, do these authors even know what it's like to be teenagers? Is this what adults think teenagers are like?
I already said this, but they drove me nuts. It was like I was going through a mind field! At every turn, something went wrong. I know relationships take work and they don't just magically work out. But. Gotdamn. No one gets into THAT many miscommunications in one week. I was so close to not finishing this book. I stopped so many times to rant to my friends (bless them).
And the whole Universe thing drove me up the wall. Both Ben and Arthur believe in the Universe, but like. Fuck the Universe, man. Do what you want! Don't let some nonexistent entity control your life! You are in charge of your own fate! If you want something, someone, then GO FOR IT.
EPILOGUE: ER...WHAT?
The ending. Um. It left something to be desired, for sure. (lowkey annoyed and irritated I really went through 437 pages for that conclusion, but whatever.)
I'm really sad that I didn't end up enjoying this book. It had good representation and dealt with real-world problems. I just wish the boys' relationship problems were more realistic? less dramatic?
For what it's worth, the friendship in here is solid (er..ish). I liked Dylan's personality, and Samantha was pretty cool! There are some fall outs, but the characters try really hard to make their friendships work, and I really liked that aspect.
PART ONE: WHAT IF.
I was originally excited to read this because this book had some pretty rad representation and dealt with racism and homophobia. (also panic attacks!) Arthur is from Georgia and he's only here for the summer. He's gay, Jewish, and has ADHD. He's BIG on musicals, especially Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. Ben is a New Yorker, gay, and Puerto Rican. He loves Harry Potter and writing. If you're in any of these fandoms, you'll definitely enjoy the jokes and mentions! I could definitely tell these two apart; they had their own unique voices. The book doesn't feel choppy and flowed pretty well. I think they're both cute people, and they're noticeably flawed, which I liked. I mean, they drove me crazy a couple (read: a lot) of times, but there were some really cute moments between them.
Buuuut.
The beginning was so hard for me to get through. I felt like the conversations with Ben and his best friend Dylan were kinda stilted and awkward because it's basically an info dump. I also couldn't stand Arthur's whole Universe spiel. Just a heads up, if you don't believe in the Universe having complete control over every aspect of your life, you should just skip this book. It would have saved me 2 days of headaches.
PART TWO: IT'S US.
Basically, Ben and Arthur have a meet-cute and then get separated and go on this big journey to find each other. Except, I was so over the hunt for each other. I liked the idea at first, but it got tiring quickly with all the missed connections. When they finally reunite and go on their date, their chemistry was.....off? Nonexistent? All Ben could think about was Hudson, his ex, which was really annoying. I honestly felt so bad for Arthur. Fast forward a couple dates, Ben is suddenly so enamored with Arthur that I got whiplash reading it. Like, this guy couldn't stop comparing Arthur to Hudson on literally every date they went on, and suddenly he's head over heels for him. I didn't really feel like they had anything.
This was kind of insta love. After knowing each other for 2-3 weeks, they're dropping the Big L Word and thinking abt sex after 5 dates. I'm 17, the same age as Ben (Arthur being 16) and it's just weird to think someone my age is already dropping L words after knowing a person for 2 weeks.
PART THREE: ONLY ME SCREAMING.
The thing is, it's like Ben and Arthur don't want their relationship to work out. They get into the stupidest miscommunication situations I've ever seen, and I've been on Wattpad circa 2013 and read "I was sold to 1D" fanfics. I KNOW unnecessary drama when I see it. It's like, do these authors even know what it's like to be teenagers? Is this what adults think teenagers are like?
I already said this, but they drove me nuts. It was like I was going through a mind field! At every turn, something went wrong. I know relationships take work and they don't just magically work out. But. Gotdamn. No one gets into THAT many miscommunications in one week. I was so close to not finishing this book. I stopped so many times to rant to my friends (bless them).
And the whole Universe thing drove me up the wall. Both Ben and Arthur believe in the Universe, but like. Fuck the Universe, man. Do what you want! Don't let some nonexistent entity control your life! You are in charge of your own fate! If you want something, someone, then GO FOR IT.
EPILOGUE: ER...WHAT?
The ending. Um. It left something to be desired, for sure. (lowkey annoyed and irritated I really went through 437 pages for that conclusion, but whatever.)
I'm really sad that I didn't end up enjoying this book. It had good representation and dealt with real-world problems. I just wish the boys' relationship problems were more realistic? less dramatic?
For what it's worth, the friendship in here is solid (er..ish). I liked Dylan's personality, and Samantha was pretty cool! There are some fall outs, but the characters try really hard to make their friendships work, and I really liked that aspect.