fanboyriot's review against another edition
emotional
tense
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
Read For:
Rivals to Lovers
Second Chances
Homecoming King
Cheerleader x Football Player
Friends to Lovers to Enemies to Lovers
The only thing that comes to mind when I think of this book is: “I love it and hate it at the same time” and really I kind of do.
The queer kids in this book were amazing, everyone else just kinda sucked. The trans rep in this was so painfully well written. The things Jeremy thought and the way he described how he felt was as heartbreaking as it was relatable.
But wow, were these characters so toxic.
Naomi was such a horrible friend it was laughable. She was jealous constantly and she just goes and asks out her best friend’s ex, who had made it clear he didn’t like her like that?? Like why?? All because of some banters that were messed up, I get being petty but bro have a good reason.
Lukas was so toxic. One minute he was fine, going through a lot at home and having to always be the best at everything. He had to get into an amazing college, he had to win homecoming king because if he did that then he would get into a good school, then his family would care about him like they did his dead brother… yeah, because that's how it’s going to work. So he took his anger out on Jermey.
Jeremy was also toxic, just not as bad in my opinion. He was selfish and breaking up with his boyfriend when and how he did it was so incredibly messed up but people acted like he was the worst person ever. He literally had no one. His mom was so desperate to have a daughter she failed her son in the process. Jeremy might have been a mess but wouldn’t you be when everyone failed you and had no problem telling you that they hated you, he was bullied, harassed, and misgendered constantly.
The last few chapters were the best. Everything coming together, the person who got the crown, the drama being resolved finally, and the relationships being settled.
(Switching, First Person POV)
Spice: Lightly Mentioned
Rep: trans (ftm) MC, Autistic MC, Non-Binary SC, Latinx SC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Bullying, Ableism, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Violence, Deadnaming, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Cursing, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual assault, Body shaming, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Medical content, Racism, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Drug use, Blood, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
gigi785's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The chapters are written off of one of the main character’s POV which makes it all very easy to get frustrated by the decisions they make😭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Transphobia, Bullying, Deadnaming, and Homophobia
Moderate: Child death, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body shaming, and Sexual assault
Minor: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
darkmattersoybean's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Transphobia, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Sexual content, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
sunsetcity's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Deadnaming, Cursing, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
maisierosereads's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- 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
I was provided with an eARC of this book so that I could write an honest review as part of the Turn the Pages blog tour! Click here to read this review (and enter a giveaway for a physical copy) on my blog.
Content Warnings: transphobia, misgendering, bullying, homophobia, anti-autistic ableism, violence, hate crime, sexism, threats of sexual assault, underage drinking, past domestic abuse/physical abuse of child, toxic relationship, infidelity, grief (past death of loved one/car accident), drug use, threats of knife crime
I loved the premise of this book when I first heard about it – a YA lovers-to-rivals-to-lovers romance between a 17 year old trans boy (Jeremy) and an 18 year old autistic boy (Lukas) is right up my street! I was also drawn to the gorgeous cover art by J. Yang, “a transmasc illustrator in a penguin onesie”. The audiobook is narrated by Avi Roque, who did a great job narrating both of Aiden Thomas’ audiobooks – it’s great to see that books like this one are creating work for other trans artists in addition to the authors!
To start by clearing up a little misinterpretation I had: I was under the impression before starting this book that it was a romcom, but I would say it’s more of a drama than a comedy.
The main characters are both morally-grey disasters who make more than their fair share of bad decisions. They’re not exactly loveable at the start of the book – Jeremy in particular comes across as very self-centred. The success of series like The Foxhole Court (with its infamously messy main characters) implies this won’t be an issue for many readers, but it might be a turn-off for others. The characters did undergo a degree of development by the end of the book and recognise that they should have acted differently in the past, and seem to want to do better moving forward.
I could empathise with Lukas feeling that he had to mask his autistic traits, and struggling to ask for the accomodations he needed from teachers with inaccessible teaching styles. However, I would have loved to have seen a little more positivity around him being autistic, perhaps as part of his character development or through more neurodivergent side characters.
Speaking of side characters – my favourite character of the whole book was probably Sol, a nonbinary Latine computer nerd in the school year below Jeremy and Lukas. While they also made some poor decisions, as teenagers are likely to, I found them much more loveable than the main characters and would love to know more about them and their story.
The rest of the cast of characters includes some definite antagonists, and others whose motivations are more complex. I don’t know how realistic the school’s policies on e.g. bullying and harrassment are, since I went to and work in English secondary schools where the antagonist’s actions would easily be grounds for exclusion, but I’m glad that this “outdated administration” was challenged by many of the characters.
One issue which went unchallenged and which I would like to highlight is the arguably lesbophobic description of TERFs (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists) given by one of the side characters, who says that a lot of TERFs are lesbians who “hate trans people because they like to claim they’re the most oppressed queers in existence”. I really hope this was edited for the final copy. While I don’t disagree that the queer community needs to reflect on its own transphobia, I think this line is a dangerous oversimplification when many young adults who will read this book may not have encountered this term before; after all, people of all sexualities are TERFs, and their transphobia is not because of any discrimination they may receive for other marginalised identities. Reinforcing the association between lesbians and transphobia will not help anyone.
Some scenes and details which I did enjoy included Jeremy’s fabulous outfit for the last day of homecoming week, a review of scented candles, the use of the song “Holding Out For a Hero” (yes, the one from Shrek; and yes, it was stuck in my head for days afterwards), and the people elected as homecoming king and queen.
Overall, if you like a dramatic contemporary romance with imperfect characters? Definitely give this one a try!
Content Warnings: transphobia, misgendering, bullying, homophobia, anti-autistic ableism, violence, hate crime, sexism, threats of sexual assault, underage drinking, past domestic abuse/physical abuse of child, toxic relationship, infidelity, grief (past death of loved one/car accident), drug use, threats of knife crime
I loved the premise of this book when I first heard about it – a YA lovers-to-rivals-to-lovers romance between a 17 year old trans boy (Jeremy) and an 18 year old autistic boy (Lukas) is right up my street! I was also drawn to the gorgeous cover art by J. Yang, “a transmasc illustrator in a penguin onesie”. The audiobook is narrated by Avi Roque, who did a great job narrating both of Aiden Thomas’ audiobooks – it’s great to see that books like this one are creating work for other trans artists in addition to the authors!
To start by clearing up a little misinterpretation I had: I was under the impression before starting this book that it was a romcom, but I would say it’s more of a drama than a comedy.
The main characters are both morally-grey disasters who make more than their fair share of bad decisions. They’re not exactly loveable at the start of the book – Jeremy in particular comes across as very self-centred. The success of series like The Foxhole Court (with its infamously messy main characters) implies this won’t be an issue for many readers, but it might be a turn-off for others. The characters did undergo a degree of development by the end of the book and recognise that they should have acted differently in the past, and seem to want to do better moving forward.
I could empathise with Lukas feeling that he had to mask his autistic traits, and struggling to ask for the accomodations he needed from teachers with inaccessible teaching styles. However, I would have loved to have seen a little more positivity around him being autistic, perhaps as part of his character development or through more neurodivergent side characters.
Speaking of side characters – my favourite character of the whole book was probably Sol, a nonbinary Latine computer nerd in the school year below Jeremy and Lukas. While they also made some poor decisions, as teenagers are likely to, I found them much more loveable than the main characters and would love to know more about them and their story.
The rest of the cast of characters includes some definite antagonists, and others whose motivations are more complex. I don’t know how realistic the school’s policies on e.g. bullying and harrassment are, since I went to and work in English secondary schools where the antagonist’s actions would easily be grounds for exclusion, but I’m glad that this “outdated administration” was challenged by many of the characters.
One issue which went unchallenged and which I would like to highlight is the arguably lesbophobic description of TERFs (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists) given by one of the side characters, who says that a lot of TERFs are lesbians who “hate trans people because they like to claim they’re the most oppressed queers in existence”. I really hope this was edited for the final copy. While I don’t disagree that the queer community needs to reflect on its own transphobia, I think this line is a dangerous oversimplification when many young adults who will read this book may not have encountered this term before; after all, people of all sexualities are TERFs, and their transphobia is not because of any discrimination they may receive for other marginalised identities. Reinforcing the association between lesbians and transphobia will not help anyone.
Some scenes and details which I did enjoy included Jeremy’s fabulous outfit for the last day of homecoming week, a review of scented candles, the use of the song “Holding Out For a Hero” (yes, the one from Shrek; and yes, it was stuck in my head for days afterwards), and the people elected as homecoming king and queen.
Overall, if you like a dramatic contemporary romance with imperfect characters? Definitely give this one a try!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Hate crime, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Self harm, Grief, Drug use, Bullying, Body shaming, and Ableism
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Physical abuse
Minor: Car accident, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Stalking
spearly's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the eARC for review!
Do not let this incredible cover fool you. This is not a fluffy, easy story.
TW: Transphobia, dead naming, misogyny, bullying, attempted sexual assault, harassment, violence, homophobia, ableism
Exes Jeremy and Lukas have a lot on the line with the Homecoming king title. For Lukas, it means stepping out of his late brother's shadow and earning a sure acceptance into one of the ivy leagues that would finally make his parent's proud. For Jeremy, it means everyone has finally accepted what he's always known: he is a guy, and he's not gonna let his pseudo-progressive school and some transphobic classmates stand in his way. But before he came out, Jeremy used to be Lukas's girlfriend, and Lukas never understood why he ended things. Competition heats up as the two vie for the crown, and neither of them seem to care who they hurt in the process.
First and foremost, the audiobook was great. I did end up listening to it in 1.25 speed, but I loved the narrator, Avi Roque, and found the voices of all the characters easy enough to follow. I'm also very happy Avi is a member of the LGBTQ+ community themself. They were a great fit, and really brought the book to life!
Lets start with the good: I feel like I am better for having read this story. Ellor goes very into depth on several trans issues, and even though I wasn't a huge fan of Jeremy's character, I really understood where he was coming from. He has a truly great arc in the book, and his chapters definitely opened my eyes more to the trans experience. Ellor also delved into ableist issues with our other lead, Lukas, who is neuro-divergent. His chapters stuck out to me; Lukas's voice was so raw, so needing, so lost. I wanted to give him a big hug.
We also have a great cast of side characters, all of whom felt distinct and fleshed out, and all of whom had their own issues going on outside the main conflicts of the story. Ellor's diversity extended well beyond the two white male leads, and I was happy to see issues of race and the gender spectrum talked about as well.
All that said, I found the book a bit tough to get through because, obviously, it deals with some heavy themes. But more so because I really didn't enjoy Jeremy's character. Like I mentioned, I understand why he is the way he is. He's a small guy struggling to be seen in the world as he sees himself, constantly having to remind others of his gender identity and queerness. Fighting against transphobia, both overt and unconscious. So I get it. But like... he is also kind of an asshole. I won't go too much into detail (you'll have to read it for yourself!), but let's just say his arc is one of the most dramatic in the book.
Lukas. My sweet bb Lukas. I love that kid. An angel who just wants to keep his family together. A kid who struggles with social cues and nuance and has no idea why the guy he loves dumped him out of no-where before coming out. A boy who wants to be homecoming king so he can get into an ivy school and finally fill the shoes left behind by his perfect brother. I'm a bit bias... he's definitely not perfect. He makes mistakes. He takes things too far in his competition for the crown.
Complicated characters. Deep themes, troubling to some. Lots of ups and downs. A very relevant story in today's day and age; even as progressive as someone might think they are, there will always be things that cishet people can never understand. Thankfully we have people like Z.R. Ellor to tell the stories we need to hear.
Do not let this incredible cover fool you. This is not a fluffy, easy story.
TW: Transphobia, dead naming, misogyny, bullying, attempted sexual assault, harassment, violence, homophobia, ableism
Exes Jeremy and Lukas have a lot on the line with the Homecoming king title. For Lukas, it means stepping out of his late brother's shadow and earning a sure acceptance into one of the ivy leagues that would finally make his parent's proud. For Jeremy, it means everyone has finally accepted what he's always known: he is a guy, and he's not gonna let his pseudo-progressive school and some transphobic classmates stand in his way. But before he came out, Jeremy used to be Lukas's girlfriend, and Lukas never understood why he ended things. Competition heats up as the two vie for the crown, and neither of them seem to care who they hurt in the process.
First and foremost, the audiobook was great. I did end up listening to it in 1.25 speed, but I loved the narrator, Avi Roque, and found the voices of all the characters easy enough to follow. I'm also very happy Avi is a member of the LGBTQ+ community themself. They were a great fit, and really brought the book to life!
Lets start with the good: I feel like I am better for having read this story. Ellor goes very into depth on several trans issues, and even though I wasn't a huge fan of Jeremy's character, I really understood where he was coming from. He has a truly great arc in the book, and his chapters definitely opened my eyes more to the trans experience. Ellor also delved into ableist issues with our other lead, Lukas, who is neuro-divergent. His chapters stuck out to me; Lukas's voice was so raw, so needing, so lost. I wanted to give him a big hug.
We also have a great cast of side characters, all of whom felt distinct and fleshed out, and all of whom had their own issues going on outside the main conflicts of the story. Ellor's diversity extended well beyond the two white male leads, and I was happy to see issues of race and the gender spectrum talked about as well.
All that said, I found the book a bit tough to get through because, obviously, it deals with some heavy themes. But more so because I really didn't enjoy Jeremy's character. Like I mentioned, I understand why he is the way he is. He's a small guy struggling to be seen in the world as he sees himself, constantly having to remind others of his gender identity and queerness. Fighting against transphobia, both overt and unconscious. So I get it. But like... he is also kind of an asshole. I won't go too much into detail (you'll have to read it for yourself!), but let's just say his arc is one of the most dramatic in the book.
Lukas. My sweet bb Lukas. I love that kid. An angel who just wants to keep his family together. A kid who struggles with social cues and nuance and has no idea why the guy he loves dumped him out of no-where before coming out. A boy who wants to be homecoming king so he can get into an ivy school and finally fill the shoes left behind by his perfect brother. I'm a bit bias... he's definitely not perfect. He makes mistakes. He takes things too far in his competition for the crown.
Complicated characters. Deep themes, troubling to some. Lots of ups and downs. A very relevant story in today's day and age; even as progressive as someone might think they are, there will always be things that cishet people can never understand. Thankfully we have people like Z.R. Ellor to tell the stories we need to hear.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Cursing, Body shaming, Ableism, and Hate crime
Moderate: Misogyny and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, Biphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
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