clarian's review against another edition
4.0
This was so cute. I enjoyed it a lot.
I liked the art gallery setting, tho the mistery was A-level predictable, and it was clear is was Maurice from minute 1.
But wjat I loved the most was the communication, trust and sincerity between Vaughn and Jonah. When Vaughn tells Jonah he's asexual they talk about, actively talk about it. They share what their wants and needs are and where their limits lay, both physically and emotionally. And they find a solution that fits them. They will have an open relationship that will allow Jonah to have one night stands, and for Vaughn op feel like he's not depriving Jonah of what he's not willing to give him. And they are okay with it, like perfectly okay with it. This is what works for them. There are as many types of love and relationship and understaing as many as there are people in this world.
It was great to see this play out in a healthy way. It was also my first read of an asexual character. I'd been wanting to get into it for a while. And I loves to see how Vaughn amd Jonah got their HEA.
Also:
1)Zay was great.
2) Everytime Vaughn surnames was mentioned, Hargrave, I couldn't help thinking about the Hatgraves of The Umbrella Academy.
I liked the art gallery setting, tho the mistery was A-level predictable, and it was clear is was Maurice from minute 1.
But wjat I loved the most was the communication, trust and sincerity between Vaughn and Jonah. When Vaughn tells Jonah he's asexual they talk about, actively talk about it. They share what their wants and needs are and where their limits lay, both physically and emotionally. And they find a solution that fits them. They will have an open relationship that will allow Jonah to have one night stands, and for Vaughn op feel like he's not depriving Jonah of what he's not willing to give him. And they are okay with it, like perfectly okay with it. This is what works for them. There are as many types of love and relationship and understaing as many as there are people in this world.
It was great to see this play out in a healthy way. It was also my first read of an asexual character. I'd been wanting to get into it for a while. And I loves to see how Vaughn amd Jonah got their HEA.
Also:
1)Zay was great.
2) Everytime Vaughn surnames was mentioned, Hargrave, I couldn't help thinking about the Hatgraves of The Umbrella Academy.
galleytrot's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
READ: Jan 2023
FORMAT: Digital
FORMAT: Digital
BRIEF SUMMARY:
In this contemporary romance set in Toronto, the museum that Vaughn works at is experiencing a string of art thefts. Growing suspicious, the insurance company flags their latest claim and sends Jonah to the scene to investigate. After their professional meeting, the two encounter each other in the Toronto nightlife and find themselves inexplicably intrigued by one another.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3 / 5⭐
This book starts us off with a bit of a mystery that it largely forgets about in order to instead explore sex and sexuality. Early on in the book I remember thinking, “Oh wow, these are the most oblivious humans in the whole of Ontario, aren’t they?” and not just about our two MCs, either – several other characters are also shockingly obtuse.
We have two men who identify as gay, one of which is shockingly promiscuous, and the other who is very solidly not. They both “don’t do relationships” for their own dissimilar reasons, and neither one understands why the other is the way they are (nor, for that matter, do they really understand their own selves). It isn’t until Vaughn overhears a discussion at a party that he comes across a term he’s not heard of before – asexual – and suddenly the stars align and everything falls into place.
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4 / 5⭐
If I have any gripes about this book, it’s a) that I was able to correctly identify the art thief within the first couple chapters, and b) that Jonah as a character is: tactless, intrusive, disruptive, overbearing, and only kind of redeems himself by occasionally being apologetic about it. Yes, I’ll grant that he has his demons, but for much of his behaviour they are an excuse rather than a justification.
I’m also not completely certain, but I felt like a couple of the things stated about asexuality are somewhat outdated now. This is not the book or the author’s fault – times change, definitions evolve, and this book is 6-7 years old at the time of reading/reviewing. For the most part it rang true, and it was lovely to see representation for a romantic asexual in a main character.
FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.5 / 5⭐
It’s a good read, though not an especially challenging one. Check your content warnings though, as this one does portray a few scenes of some non-inclusive and some self-destructive behaviour.
It explores a pretty wide sampling of the LGBTQIA+ scene, with representation for gay, lesbian, bi and ace sexualities. A couple of characters are notably not white.
The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
Spoiler
This book includes: past child neglect and abandonment; heavy alcohol use; alcohol-induced vomiting; light drug use; mentions of alcohol and drug addiction; scenes of acephobia and homophobia; mentions of infidelity sometimes played off for laughs; classism; sex shaming; and, a calorie-restrictive diet rooted in fear of weight gain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Dysphoria
Minor: Child abuse and Violence
mkeen148's review against another edition
3.0
This book was not bad, but it was odd for me. I just really did not enjoy either character, and I did not see the connection, and the plot was weird. It was...a read.
dorkira's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
3.75
frogy927's review against another edition
5.0
This book is somewhere between four and five stars. It was incredibly enjoyable and sweet.
rachelini's review against another edition
4.0
There was lots to love in this book - first of all it was a relationship I hadn't read before. And I love reading books set in Toronto. I did sometimes feel like the people were acting out of character in order to move the plot forward. I'll definitely read the next in the series.
kikiduck's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
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
militarycorecunt's review against another edition
1.0
wow. This book made me so fucking angry.
What the FUCK.
Asexual MC was just treated like a fucking doormat and he was so okay with it. Fucking Jonah. Fuuuuucking Jonah. In the beginning, I could tell he was going to be an annoying character, but I was okay with that bcs I expected his character to develop! It absolutely did. Not.
He was overly pushing, disrespected Vaughn's boundaries, was an overall disrespectful, stupid piece of shit. The way he reacted to Vaughn saying 'no' to sex was so so disgusting and the fact VAUGHN FELT HE HAD TO APOLOGIZE. FOR BEING ASEXUAL? as someone who is ace+aro this fuckin book made so fucking angry with how Jonah was so insufferable towards Vaughn.
Even if Vaughn wasn't ace, anger and pettiness (aka going and obviously fucking 3 other people) is NOT an appropriate response to your love interest saying no to sex. And the fact vaugn reacted by waiting for him and wanting to apologize was the worst shit I've ever read. Absolute doormat material.
Look, let me get personal here.
I have "come out" to people by just saying "I've never had a crush on anyone in my life, and I don't have any interest in romance." I only use the term "aromantic" with friends I know will understand.
I get a mix of reactions, mostly shock but luckily most have been positive. But you know what fucking sucks? When people become what I call "accusatory shocked" or seriously accusing me of lying to hide a crush or some bullshit. Yeah it sucks but I understand the confusion.
But if anyone was ever to react the way Jonah did to Vaughn's coming out, I would be so fucking livid. He absolutely made Vaughn feel like he wasn't human for not wanting and saying "that's not normal" and shit. Like??????? My friends would never say that to me and this guy is supposed to be his love interest. So fucking disgusting.
Like Jonah is allowed to be confused and worried and hurt about Vaughn not wanting to have sex with him. But HE NEEDS TO BE RESPECTFUL. AND FUCKING LEARN TO DEAL WITH IT IF HE WANTS TO BE WITH VAUGHN. also btw lol this ends up being an open relationship which um. Okay. That's actually fine irl but I fucking hate Jonah so no it's not fine in this book.
Also what the FUCK is with Jonah's friends just kissing and touching Vaughn without his consent?? I'm 100% sure people who aren't ace would be uncomfortable if some dude just made out with you and felt you up. Ugh. And Jonah just encouraging them?? Pressuring Vaughn to show more skin and be more "sexy" like that is FUCKED. UP.
Also I'm not even going to talk about the stolen painting plot bcs I forgot about it halfway through in anger over this fucking book.
Two points I enjoyed: mention of Portal, Halo Reach and Bioshock. All excellent games and appreciate that the author actually knew about gaming in general.
Second, I appreciate that Vaughn actually had hard limits when it came to sex itself. I've seen a trend of asexual characters still having "normal", penetrative sex, which again is fine, but I always appreciate when ace characters are more restrictive.
Overall,
FUCK THIS BOOK.
What the FUCK.
Asexual MC was just treated like a fucking doormat and he was so okay with it. Fucking Jonah. Fuuuuucking Jonah. In the beginning, I could tell he was going to be an annoying character, but I was okay with that bcs I expected his character to develop! It absolutely did. Not.
He was overly pushing, disrespected Vaughn's boundaries, was an overall disrespectful, stupid piece of shit. The way he reacted to Vaughn saying 'no' to sex was so so disgusting and the fact VAUGHN FELT HE HAD TO APOLOGIZE. FOR BEING ASEXUAL? as someone who is ace+aro this fuckin book made so fucking angry with how Jonah was so insufferable towards Vaughn.
Even if Vaughn wasn't ace, anger and pettiness (aka going and obviously fucking 3 other people) is NOT an appropriate response to your love interest saying no to sex. And the fact vaugn reacted by waiting for him and wanting to apologize was the worst shit I've ever read. Absolute doormat material.
Look, let me get personal here.
I have "come out" to people by just saying "I've never had a crush on anyone in my life, and I don't have any interest in romance." I only use the term "aromantic" with friends I know will understand.
I get a mix of reactions, mostly shock but luckily most have been positive. But you know what fucking sucks? When people become what I call "accusatory shocked" or seriously accusing me of lying to hide a crush or some bullshit. Yeah it sucks but I understand the confusion.
But if anyone was ever to react the way Jonah did to Vaughn's coming out, I would be so fucking livid. He absolutely made Vaughn feel like he wasn't human for not wanting and saying "that's not normal" and shit. Like??????? My friends would never say that to me and this guy is supposed to be his love interest. So fucking disgusting.
Like Jonah is allowed to be confused and worried and hurt about Vaughn not wanting to have sex with him. But HE NEEDS TO BE RESPECTFUL. AND FUCKING LEARN TO DEAL WITH IT IF HE WANTS TO BE WITH VAUGHN. also btw lol this ends up being an open relationship which um. Okay. That's actually fine irl but I fucking hate Jonah so no it's not fine in this book.
Also what the FUCK is with Jonah's friends just kissing and touching Vaughn without his consent?? I'm 100% sure people who aren't ace would be uncomfortable if some dude just made out with you and felt you up. Ugh. And Jonah just encouraging them?? Pressuring Vaughn to show more skin and be more "sexy" like that is FUCKED. UP.
Also I'm not even going to talk about the stolen painting plot bcs I forgot about it halfway through in anger over this fucking book.
Two points I enjoyed: mention of Portal, Halo Reach and Bioshock. All excellent games and appreciate that the author actually knew about gaming in general.
Second, I appreciate that Vaughn actually had hard limits when it came to sex itself. I've seen a trend of asexual characters still having "normal", penetrative sex, which again is fine, but I always appreciate when ace characters are more restrictive.
Overall,
FUCK THIS BOOK.
cramaley's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Abandonment and Death of parent
eloise_bradbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Second best book I've read that goes into detail about asexuals and their relationships with allos, best book about where to get information on asexuality and the validation of queerness of asexuality I've ever read.
The story was nice too, but let's be honest, it's the ace parts that made me enjoy this book so very much.
Full review to come.
The story was nice too, but let's be honest, it's the ace parts that made me enjoy this book so very much.
Full review to come.