A review by danwyn
Okay, Cupid by Mason Deaver

4.0

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve mostly stopped reading YA books because I found they didn’t appeal to me as much as they used to. Nothing against the books or the genre, I’d just personally moved on. But when I saw Okay, Cupid on NetGalley, I was immediately intrigued! I went back and forth on requesting because I didn’t want my general bias against (disinterest in? Apathy towards? Whatever.) YA books to color a review. I have read and enjoyed Mason Deaver’s books before so I decided to go for it.

And I’m so glad I did! The premise is so unique and interesting. Jude is a teenage cupid who is sent to a human high school to try to help a pair that is “meant to be” get together. Obviously, shenanigans ensue, and as much as this book is a lot of fun, it’s also a really sweet, thoughtful look at what it means to be human and also what it means to be yourself to the fullest. As with all of Deaver’s books, there’s a lot of queer representation. Jude, the main character, is non-binary and one of the pair they’re trying to get together is a trans man. Both of the people Jude is trying to pair up are Vietnamese, but I’ll leave it to someone else to evaluate the representation there.

I wouldn’t say Deaver’s writing style is anything particularly exciting but I don’t have anything to say against it either. The characters and the premise are definitely the stars of the show here, and it’s more than enough to keep me interested. I’d recommend this book to just about anyone, but especially anyone looking for t4t romance.

My one semi-complaint is the ending. It felt a little unsatisfying, but at the same time, given the set up, I have no idea how else it could’ve ended.