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barbarella85's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Eating disorder and Homophobia
Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, and Alcohol
levilore_'s review against another edition
- 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
Now the ending.
Throughout the different weddings, Luc and Oliver obviously have different opinions about what marriage means and in Oliver's case, he is still figuring out what being queer means for him. The other weddings celebrate the joy of marriage and how individualized the experience is for each couple. My main takeaway from the book was that for Luc and Oliver, the act of marriage isn't, well, that important. For them, not being married is more important because it's an act of protest. Neither of them really talk about why they want to be married, rather they are both focused on the expectations that they should want to get married. They already do all the things that a life partner does for each other. Luc shows this when he supports Oliver through his dad's death. Oliver supports Luc when they go to Miles' wedding. The only time their communication fully breaks down is when they are trying to plan an event neither of them want. For the characters, the ending makes sense. Is it extremely dramatic and surprising? Absolutely. But through that act, through their complete honesty with each other, they are able to have their version of what love means, which is them bailing on their own wedding, running into the rain, and making out. (I really enjoyed the sweet touch of the rainbow umbrellas)
In a larger context, I enjoyed this book because it explores the complexity of queerness and marriage. They talk about how marriage is an important right for queer people, but there is no right way to be queer. Having that conventional expression of love, for a relationship that started and continues to be unconventional, just doesn't work for them. And that's the point of the ending. Did it annoy me that they wasted all that time and money just to not get married? Yes, it did. Do I think they could have just had a big party and skipped the ceremony? Absolutely. But I think that's the whole point. From the outside, them running off looks absolutely ridiculous and stupid, but character wise it makes sense because honestly they are both kind of ridiculous and stupid. People want everything to be wrapped up in this beautiful bow of marriage = happiness but I think Alexis Hall uses this book to show how true queerness is about accepting that not being married, not having the flashy rainbow ceremony, should be just as beautiful as all those things. The idea of "love is love" should not just be "love is love if you follow the traditional normative conventions of how love should be expressed", but rather "love is complex and weird and that is beautiful too". And I personally think that is more impactful than them getting married in the first place.
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Excrement, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Although arguing is part of even then healthiest relationships, the amount in this book was downright unhealthy. It really put a downer on where live and made this a drag for me to finish. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this duology to anyone wanting a well written realistic queer romance reccomendations.
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
kathis_wonderland's review against another edition
- 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
After absolutely loving the first book in this series, I was equally excited to read this one. Right at the beginning I have to say that the first book was so much better than the second book, but I am a sucker for the fake-dating trope. Still, I really enjoyed this book. It was good the read about their relationship going quite well (most of the times). Luc is still quite immature, which already annoyed me in the first book.
Throughout the book I was quite scared of the ending.
Now I am quite excited to read the third and last book in this series. I don't have the highest of hopes for the next book, but I enjoy these books. The writing style is different to those that I am used to and I like that. I still am a massive fan of the first book and will recommend that one whenever someone asks of my opinion.
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Vomit, and Gaslighting
whatifitsbooks's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide
annahamburger's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Minor: Infidelity
stacy837's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cursing and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder and Classism
merah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Biphobia, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Terminal illness, and Dysphoria
Never feeling worthy / good enough (very graphic!) Difficult family dynamics. Feelings of child abandonment.