Scan barcode
mitchellhallski's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
anigirl524's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
sol84's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
celestialray's review
4.0
*Proper Version on www.chaoticopinionsofacelestialbeing.com*
Title: The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers
Author: Adam Sass
Tags: LGBT, Romance, Young Adult, Queer, Contemporary, Fiction, MLM Romance, Gay
Triggers: I wouldn’t say there is any major triggers, but just like any book read with caution if you’re worried about triggers.
Ratings: GR Average: 4.34 My Overall: 4 Plot: 3 Character: 4
Format: NetGalley eARC on Kindle
Finished: 12/8/2022
Release Date: 20th of September 2022, Published by Penguin Books
Thoughts:
I want to start this review by thanking NetGalley and Penguin Publishing for accepting me to read this ARC with the understanding that I will be honest in my review (I mean when am I not?). As this is an advanced Reader Copy I have to remind you that the cover, anything that happens within the book, and the this review is subject to change at any point between now and publication. Just like with any books out there.
I’m very excited to start reading more ARC’s and helping my readers find their next favourite books.
First of all, can we just talk about how nice this cover is? I mean, its so simple but I just really enjoy the vibes and if I had actually liked the book more, I would have definitely bought a paperback for my book shelf. But alas, despite this book sounding like it was literally written for me, I just didn’t click with it. I mean, a gay Cinderella-esc story but from the princes perspective? and Me, The biggest Cinderella story lover of all time? It sounds like a match made in book heaven. And yet, it really comes down to one simple reason that it didn’t work. I’m just getting older.
Micah is a high school student who runs an anonymous instagram account called ‘Instaloves’ where he has sketched and posted 99 dream boyfriends from his real life crushes. After meeting who he believes to be ’Boy 100’ on the train after what feels like a fated meeting and separation, he goes through a journey to find Boy 100 (a high schooler named Grant who is attending the Art Insitute in Chicago). They meet, have cute dates, and fall in love with each other. At least, that’s Micah’s plan and for two weeks yeah thats basically what happens. But Micah is also friends with this other boy, Elliot, who is in a not great relationship and they just work better together.
It’s clear form maybe 50 pages into the novel that Elliot is really the Cinderella of this story, and Grant is not. Now, there’s not really anything wrong with Grant. He’s a nice guy for most of the book, but as Micah is the son of a very popular sports player and basically famous, Grant begins to use Micah’s popularity to further his own designer career and basically over steps a bunch of hard lines for Micah. He gaslights him, pushes him into situations were he can’t say no, and its hard to feel sorry for him knowing he’s going to get his heart broken at the end of the book. Especially since Grant saw Micah’s post when he was trying to find him originally and purposely made him come find him so Micah could prove he wanted him. Grant sounds like he has a lot of unresolved relationship trauma which he uses as an excuse to get Micah to basically promise to never leave him and to do things Micah isn’t comfortable doing and as someone who’s been in a relationship like that before it was hard to read.
Yet I really need to point out that Micah also isn’t this great guy, he’s rich and white and his monologues just scream privilege and the doesn’t really go away. Even at the end of the book, he gets his way because of money and influence. There’s the stereotypical ‘I didn’t know I was in love with you until the end of the novel’ moment where Micah chases after Elliot to the train station for a train he’s going to catch so he can get out of Chicago and it’s heat and focus on being the type of Vet he wants to be but he gets off, because of course he does. It wasn’t cute when Rachel did it at the end of friends and it wasn’t cute now. I’m so tired of people staying for a person and leaving behind their chance at doing what they want to do because someone made this big grand gesture at the place where they were leaving from. Did Micah consider for once that Elliot would be happier leaving and staying on his aunts farm? No it was all about Micah this and Micah that. I just don’t think its as cute of an ending as people make it out to be honestly.
By the end of the book Micah and Elliot make up and they decide to date and I think this is the part I hated the most. Micah says that Elliot is actually Boy 100 and that he always had been. Which just seemed wrong to me. Yes, his relationship with Grant didn’t work. But that’s life. There was all this pressure on Micah to find Boy 100 that he states multiple times that he feels like there will never be another boy after Boy 100. And I just think this was a mistake to make, Micah could have had this great revelation of realising that Boy 100 was this pressure that made him do irrational things that genuinely hurt people and that its okay to have a Boy 101. Plus, by calling Elliot his Boy 100, he completely invalidates his relationship with Grant and that is just a dick move in my option. Pretending he didn’t date/love Grant and removing him from the title of Boy 100 just proved that Micah hadn’t really grown up at all throughout the book and honestly if I was Elliot I wouldn’t have been happy to hear that.
However, like I said in the beginning of this review, I’m just getting older and this book just wasn’t for me. And thats okay. Its understandable at 23 that there are going to be some of those teen romance novels that you just don’t vibe with. I think this book is cute all around even with the parts I’m not super fond of. I think the story is fun and has its moment where it really shines through and I genuinely believe that some young queer teens will cherish this novel well into their lives. I think the side characters are great, they all have their own personalities and they add to the story in a way that works constructively rather than being forced into the story for no reason. The illustrations throughout the book were adorable and I loved the art style, I would be very curious to see if these remain to be the final copies or if they’re changed before release. Either way, they worked great. This story is that sort of novel you wanna read if you don’t like surprises, and like cheesy endings. I think people will love it, and I really hope people do.
Thank you again Penguin Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the ARC, I hope you enjoyed my review. Please don’t forget to leave a like and comment if possible, it really helps me write more of these and it really means a lot. Until next time, Stay Chaotic friends!
Title: The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers
Author: Adam Sass
Tags: LGBT, Romance, Young Adult, Queer, Contemporary, Fiction, MLM Romance, Gay
Triggers: I wouldn’t say there is any major triggers, but just like any book read with caution if you’re worried about triggers.
Ratings: GR Average: 4.34 My Overall: 4 Plot: 3 Character: 4
Format: NetGalley eARC on Kindle
Finished: 12/8/2022
Release Date: 20th of September 2022, Published by Penguin Books
Thoughts:
I want to start this review by thanking NetGalley and Penguin Publishing for accepting me to read this ARC with the understanding that I will be honest in my review (I mean when am I not?). As this is an advanced Reader Copy I have to remind you that the cover, anything that happens within the book, and the this review is subject to change at any point between now and publication. Just like with any books out there.
I’m very excited to start reading more ARC’s and helping my readers find their next favourite books.
First of all, can we just talk about how nice this cover is? I mean, its so simple but I just really enjoy the vibes and if I had actually liked the book more, I would have definitely bought a paperback for my book shelf. But alas, despite this book sounding like it was literally written for me, I just didn’t click with it. I mean, a gay Cinderella-esc story but from the princes perspective? and Me, The biggest Cinderella story lover of all time? It sounds like a match made in book heaven. And yet, it really comes down to one simple reason that it didn’t work. I’m just getting older.
Micah is a high school student who runs an anonymous instagram account called ‘Instaloves’ where he has sketched and posted 99 dream boyfriends from his real life crushes. After meeting who he believes to be ’Boy 100’ on the train after what feels like a fated meeting and separation, he goes through a journey to find Boy 100 (a high schooler named Grant who is attending the Art Insitute in Chicago). They meet, have cute dates, and fall in love with each other. At least, that’s Micah’s plan and for two weeks yeah thats basically what happens. But Micah is also friends with this other boy, Elliot, who is in a not great relationship and they just work better together.
It’s clear form maybe 50 pages into the novel that Elliot is really the Cinderella of this story, and Grant is not. Now, there’s not really anything wrong with Grant. He’s a nice guy for most of the book, but as Micah is the son of a very popular sports player and basically famous, Grant begins to use Micah’s popularity to further his own designer career and basically over steps a bunch of hard lines for Micah. He gaslights him, pushes him into situations were he can’t say no, and its hard to feel sorry for him knowing he’s going to get his heart broken at the end of the book. Especially since Grant saw Micah’s post when he was trying to find him originally and purposely made him come find him so Micah could prove he wanted him. Grant sounds like he has a lot of unresolved relationship trauma which he uses as an excuse to get Micah to basically promise to never leave him and to do things Micah isn’t comfortable doing and as someone who’s been in a relationship like that before it was hard to read.
Yet I really need to point out that Micah also isn’t this great guy, he’s rich and white and his monologues just scream privilege and the doesn’t really go away. Even at the end of the book, he gets his way because of money and influence. There’s the stereotypical ‘I didn’t know I was in love with you until the end of the novel’ moment where Micah chases after Elliot to the train station for a train he’s going to catch so he can get out of Chicago and it’s heat and focus on being the type of Vet he wants to be but he gets off, because of course he does. It wasn’t cute when Rachel did it at the end of friends and it wasn’t cute now. I’m so tired of people staying for a person and leaving behind their chance at doing what they want to do because someone made this big grand gesture at the place where they were leaving from. Did Micah consider for once that Elliot would be happier leaving and staying on his aunts farm? No it was all about Micah this and Micah that. I just don’t think its as cute of an ending as people make it out to be honestly.
By the end of the book Micah and Elliot make up and they decide to date and I think this is the part I hated the most. Micah says that Elliot is actually Boy 100 and that he always had been. Which just seemed wrong to me. Yes, his relationship with Grant didn’t work. But that’s life. There was all this pressure on Micah to find Boy 100 that he states multiple times that he feels like there will never be another boy after Boy 100. And I just think this was a mistake to make, Micah could have had this great revelation of realising that Boy 100 was this pressure that made him do irrational things that genuinely hurt people and that its okay to have a Boy 101. Plus, by calling Elliot his Boy 100, he completely invalidates his relationship with Grant and that is just a dick move in my option. Pretending he didn’t date/love Grant and removing him from the title of Boy 100 just proved that Micah hadn’t really grown up at all throughout the book and honestly if I was Elliot I wouldn’t have been happy to hear that.
However, like I said in the beginning of this review, I’m just getting older and this book just wasn’t for me. And thats okay. Its understandable at 23 that there are going to be some of those teen romance novels that you just don’t vibe with. I think this book is cute all around even with the parts I’m not super fond of. I think the story is fun and has its moment where it really shines through and I genuinely believe that some young queer teens will cherish this novel well into their lives. I think the side characters are great, they all have their own personalities and they add to the story in a way that works constructively rather than being forced into the story for no reason. The illustrations throughout the book were adorable and I loved the art style, I would be very curious to see if these remain to be the final copies or if they’re changed before release. Either way, they worked great. This story is that sort of novel you wanna read if you don’t like surprises, and like cheesy endings. I think people will love it, and I really hope people do.
Thank you again Penguin Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the ARC, I hope you enjoyed my review. Please don’t forget to leave a like and comment if possible, it really helps me write more of these and it really means a lot. Until next time, Stay Chaotic friends!
katie9787's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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
4.25
sofia_pinho's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ebarrett3's review
5.0
Ultimately, I liked that this book takes a hard look at fairy tales and how they inevitably clash with reality. It's definitely for an upper-teen audience at the youngest. I appreciated Micah's journey to figuring out what healthy relationships should look like - at any age but especially for teenagers. He begins the book incredibly naive and idealistic, with a fairy tale support system that he doesn't realize has protected him from a lot of the 'real world'. As an adult, I could clearly see the coming main conflict and he ends up growing and dealing with his messes in realistic ways. I also enjoyed the examination of fame and the dangers of going viral. I think it's a well-balanced romance for teens.
wavesturneddown's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
adelle_bookworm's review
4.0
Za mě něco mezi 3/5 a 4/5. Na mě je to trochu jednoduché a přehnaně dramatické, ale jo, bylo to fajn, taková lanczovka, but make it gay. Svižná komedie o hledání té správné cesty.