Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Whiteout

If you're looking for a quick holiday read with great diversity rep where all the character's stories are separate but intertwined and come together in the end. This is it!

Content Warnings

_thebookishbarista_'s review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

emily_mh's review against another edition

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3.75

Overall this was fairly decent. I think I wanted more variety of romance tropes in the end, as it was all friends to lovers or second chance romance. I will say that the whiteout provided an excellent atmosphere and created a bunch of different interesting scenarios that otherwise wouldn’t have existed. As a side note, the audiobook has a full cast for each POV character and was really well done.

Below is my review of each romance:

Stevie and Sola: these two had such a sweet best friends to lovers backstory. Sola’s sustained reaction to their argument did feel a little dramatic. Ultimatums are never the go, and it didn’t make sense that she would ignore Stevie trying to get in touch like Sola asked. The lack of communication was certainly frustrating, but also they are teenagers. I loved the gender questioning rep in Stevie. I liked that they were such a science nerd, and how much love they had for their friends. I also think it was good we had a chapter from Sola so we could see her processing the relationship and get a feel for her character. Their reunion was cute, but I wish we had seen more of the gifts that the book is revolved around obtaining.

Kaz and Porsha: there was a little too much of the jealousy trope here for my liking. But the connection between the two MCs was palpable and I will always love the best friends to lovers trope. I also liked their communication around Eid, and loved Portia’s passion for Christmas.

Evan-Rose and Savannah: the love triangle in this story was in my opinion unnecessary and detracted from my enjoyment as I detest that trope (unless it ends in polyamory which this one didn’t). But I liked Evan-Rose as the MC and particularly enjoyed the themes of queer self-discovery present in her story.

Jordyn and Omari: this was a very sweet second chance romance. The two had a believable connection, but this was definitely the point where things started feeling repetitive because every story I had read so far was a variation on friends to lovers.

Jimmi and Taio (apologies if the latter name is spelt incorrectly; I listened to the audiobook and couldn’t find a review that spelt his name): this was again a nice second chance, friends to lovers romance, but with the repetition of the tropes it felt very samey.

Ava and Mason: yet another second chance romance, although this one wasn’t based on friends to lovers like the others. It also had a refreshing break from format with a dual POV set-up, and I liked the aquarium setting. I also appreciated the glimpses of how their relationship evolved.

Unfortunately there are two authors contributing to this book whom I consider problematic: Nicola Yoon and Nic Stone. Because the authors don’t clearly put their names to each story, I could not leave out my review of the stories these authors contributed.

Content Warnings

le3713's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

calamitywindpetal's review against another edition

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funny hopeful 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

Content Warnings

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-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

4.5

Such a cute YA love story set during a rare Atlanta blizzard. I love the way these authors collaborate with one another to tell the stories of these teenagers. This book is heartwarming and happy — and makes you believe in love.

Content Warnings

kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted 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

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