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unsuccessfulbookclub's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
Super lighthearted and fun, but with some deep exploration of coming out to your family, standing by your person and accepting love when it is offered to you. Bursting with queer joy.
Heavy on the insta-love for my taste but if that works for you this book will really sing. I super super loved both MCs journeys in this book and the scene when D’Vaughn came out to her mom had me WEEPING.
Heavy on the insta-love for my taste but if that works for you this book will really sing. I super super loved both MCs journeys in this book and the scene when D’Vaughn came out to her mom had me WEEPING.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
dwoht's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
5.0
fake dating, a reality tv show concept and LESBIANS? sign me up!!!
i just want to say that this book is so underrated and deserves more attention from the sapphics who read books community! it has pretty much everything that i love in a romance book.
this is the second book that i read where it is set in a reality show and i loved both of them. it has little to no angst that you would usually expect in a reality show but i still loved it. d'vaughn's story hits too close to home but i'm glad they did it justice. i think...
there's no third act break up or miscommunication trope and i love that. it's unapologetically sweet and gay and funny, and i just love every single minute of reading this book.
the characters are so!!! god. they invented chemistry. their dynamic!!! the TENSION!!! it's so tender and i found myself grinning and kicking my feet up in the air while reading this book. it's also very funny!!! their family are hilarious and i love their bond so much. it has very diverse characters and it's so refreshing to read.
i think everything played out well in the end. i really love it. i'm glad i read this book. the only bad thing about this book is that it ends!!! i really wish it was longer :(
i just want to say that this book is so underrated and deserves more attention from the sapphics who read books community! it has pretty much everything that i love in a romance book.
this is the second book that i read where it is set in a reality show and i loved both of them. it has little to no angst that you would usually expect in a reality show but i still loved it. d'vaughn's story hits too close to home but i'm glad they did it justice. i think...
there's no third act break up or miscommunication trope and i love that. it's unapologetically sweet and gay and funny, and i just love every single minute of reading this book.
the characters are so!!! god. they invented chemistry. their dynamic!!! the TENSION!!! it's so tender and i found myself grinning and kicking my feet up in the air while reading this book. it's also very funny!!! their family are hilarious and i love their bond so much. it has very diverse characters and it's so refreshing to read.
i think everything played out well in the end. i really love it. i'm glad i read this book. the only bad thing about this book is that it ends!!! i really wish it was longer :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Minor: Religious bigotry
victoriousbookworm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Pregnancy
wilybooklover's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.5
This was really cute! I loved the emphasis on communication and how there wasn’t any unnecessary drama. I also enjoyed the humour and all of the secondary characters, especially Kris’s family.
Unfortunately though, I just wasn’t sold on the whole reality TV premise. It seemed really cruel and out of character for our two heroines to lie to their families and make them plan a fake wedding (and honestly, their families are way nicer than me because I would’ve been mad to find out it was all lies after genuinely welcoming someone into the family and putting all that work into the planning). I was also completely baffled bythe choice at the end to get married over taking the money — weddings aren’t cheap but you can certainly pay for one with plenty left over with two hundred thousand between you.
Unfortunately though, I just wasn’t sold on the whole reality TV premise. It seemed really cruel and out of character for our two heroines to lie to their families and make them plan a fake wedding (and honestly, their families are way nicer than me because I would’ve been mad to find out it was all lies after genuinely welcoming someone into the family and putting all that work into the planning). I was also completely baffled by
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy
midnacine's review
emotional
funny
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
5.0
I usually don't read contemporary fiction but this was such a light and fun read, it's easily one of my favorite books of the year. I literally didn't play Tears of the Kingdom all day yesterday to finish this because it was that good. If you're contemplating, don't, just go read it right now.
Also can we talk about how perfect Kris is? A buff Afro-Latinx butch with tattoos and piercings who loves thick, curvy women?? Sign me the fuck up.
Also can we talk about how perfect Kris is? A buff Afro-Latinx butch with tattoos and piercings who loves thick, curvy women?? Sign me the fuck up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Religious bigotry
notsobinaryart's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Minor: Cursing, Racism, Outing, and Alcohol
tabbed_reads2much's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Lesbophobia
booksjessreads's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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? No
3.75
I really enjoyed this book!! It was such a wholesome romance between D'Vaughn and Kris and they are both such great characters. I loved listening to both of their perspectives, getting to know their families and their friends. I also loved the premise for the show and how there was a really diverse range of contestants. It was super joyful and lighthearted and just the kind of queer joy I needed to hear.
I am in partial agreement with the other reviews in that this could have benefitted from some more drama. But also f*** the drama, let the characters have their queer joy!! Romance is not my genre generally, but I know that there is often a point of contention that comes up as a plot point throughout the book. Whilst I think in ways, it definitely could have benefited from that, it was also great on its own and our MC's were just having a great time.
One thing that I also did find could have made it better is if the 'miscommunication' trope wasn't used consistently throughout the whole book. When any of the characters had an issue with something, they just didn't speak to one another until a lot later. I found this incredibly annoying and perhaps they could have had some more juicy conversations had they spoken to one another. The game show premise also could have been explored slightly more with relation to the other contestants, they were left out a lot. Furthermore, the game show felt a bit rushed at the end. We get to Week 4 by like 70-80% of the way through the book. I did feel as though this could have been more balanced.
Overall, I really enjoyed this!! I felt it was super wholesome and I loved all of the characters, the idea of the gameshow and the direction in which the storyline went. I would recommend and definitely listen to the audio, because it had me fully laughing on the train in a way I don't think the print would have!
I am in partial agreement with the other reviews in that this could have benefitted from some more drama. But also f*** the drama, let the characters have their queer joy!! Romance is not my genre generally, but I know that there is often a point of contention that comes up as a plot point throughout the book. Whilst I think in ways, it definitely could have benefited from that, it was also great on its own and our MC's were just having a great time.
One thing that I also did find could have made it better is if the 'miscommunication' trope wasn't used consistently throughout the whole book. When any of the characters had an issue with something, they just didn't speak to one another until a lot later. I found this incredibly annoying and perhaps they could have had some more juicy conversations had they spoken to one another. The game show premise also could have been explored slightly more with relation to the other contestants, they were left out a lot. Furthermore, the game show felt a bit rushed at the end. We get to Week 4 by like 70-80% of the way through the book. I did feel as though this could have been more balanced.
Overall, I really enjoyed this!! I felt it was super wholesome and I loved all of the characters, the idea of the gameshow and the direction in which the storyline went. I would recommend and definitely listen to the audio, because it had me fully laughing on the train in a way I don't think the print would have!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Racism, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Pregnancy
ramreadsagain's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
boobs should not be called ‘round globes’ and eyes should not be called ‘orbs’. anyway.
I did love the representation in this and I’m guessing this is a large contributing factor to why this has such a high rating.
I was super intrigued by the reality TV aspect but it ended up hardly even mattering or contributing to the plot. Even at the end when it’s revealed at the wedding we never get to see people’s reactions, and I feel there would be at least some negative reactions to that! I would also have loved to see some of the other couples and had some actual proper reality TV style drama.
D’Vaughn and Kris’s narrative voices were too similar for me, leading to me hardly even bothering to read whose POV each chapter was. Their insta love was cute but more tension, drama or conflict would have really been a benefit here. The book somehow ends up feeling incredibly plot light. It was overall enjoyable and cute to read but I’ve ended up feeling disappointed by this.
A lot of the Spanish wasn’t even correct lol – how hard is it to find a Spanish-speaking proof reader??
One last thing is that I found everyone’s family members to be very weird. At one point one of their sisters comes across them snogging in the hallway and says “you look like you’re going to whip out your strap and fuck her in the hallway”!!??! Who talks like that to their SISTER???
I did love the representation in this and I’m guessing this is a large contributing factor to why this has such a high rating.
I was super intrigued by the reality TV aspect but it ended up hardly even mattering or contributing to the plot.
D’Vaughn and Kris’s narrative voices were too similar for me, leading to me hardly even bothering to read whose POV each chapter was. Their insta love was cute but more tension, drama or conflict would have really been a benefit here. The book somehow ends up feeling incredibly plot light. It was overall enjoyable and cute to read but I’ve ended up feeling disappointed by this.
A lot of the Spanish wasn’t even correct lol – how hard is it to find a Spanish-speaking proof reader??
One last thing is that I found everyone’s family members to be very weird.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Pregnancy
Minor: Lesbophobia
onlyonebookshelf's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia