Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Out of the Blue

Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Out of the Blue by Jason June

12 reviews

blewballoon's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

There were things I liked about this book. One is that it was refreshing to have a male main character/love interest who didn't have "hard planes of abs" for a change. I think there's been a lot of progress in terms of having romance novels with female leads that are a larger size, but I feel like there's still a big lack of the same for male leads. Another is that I like that the story concludes essentially that

friends and family are just as important, if not more than, a month long romantic relationship. Although, I do feel like the rest of the text didn't really support that conclusion since it spent a lot more time developing the romantic relationship than any others.

Unfortunately, I also disliked aspects of the book. I had seen that the reviews for this weren't great, but I tried to go in optimistically. I have to admit that the negative reviews are probably justified. The book did give me the vibes of reading merperson AU fanfic written by an inexperienced young author. I read The Spells We Cast by this same author and thought it was well written and very enjoyable, so maybe they have improved a lot. It does seem like this was a fun project for the author, so I'm happy they shared it.

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avalon_green's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I definitely judged a book by it's cover. It looked really cute from the front, but was definitely really weird. The in depth detail of how mermaids have sex... was a lot. There were some really good elements in the book, like finding out that you need to love yourself, what depression looks like in a parent, and how to grow in a friendship. I had a feeling that I knew how the book ended, and I was mostly right, but the plot twist (the way I had thought) had another plot twist! I really loved the representation of different kinds of queerness, genders, and love. There were bi characters, lesbian, gay, and non-binary all represented very well in this book.

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luminareads's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was great, the characters are relatable and seem real, and I love the world building about the Mer people. Fake dating is always one of my favorite tropes and this book does it perfectly

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rdubs15's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

3.75

It’s a cute, lighthearted, easy read. I wanted something fun and light to break up my heavier reads and it worked perfectly. It’s tropey, it’s fun, and, as a filmmaker, Sean is aware of all the tropes and beats they’re hitting, which I found enjoyable. Also has a non-binary main character, we love to see it!

I haven’t decided if I like the ending or not. On the one hand, it’s probably the most realistic end to a romcom like this (who is leaving their whole world behind forever at 16 for someone they’ve known for a month??? No one, that’s who!), but on the other hand those unrealistic endings are kind of what make romcoms fun. Eventually I’ll probably decide I like the ending, but dang it, I was rooting for those kids and I wish they could’ve ended up together!

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mattyb's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-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

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bookishchef's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I really wanted to like this.
Fake dating and the chubby filmbro falls for non binary merperson?
That sounds amazing!
However... It's not.

As a chubby ex-media major who used to swim competitively, I really want to like Sean. The guy literally has a lot of the same life experiences as I do. So, I thought he would be super super relatable.

He wasn't.

His tendency to turn real life events into small movies in his head, felt unrealistic and was annoying to read.

It comes down to entire paragraphs being written like this:

"Scene 1: Dominic and I make out. Close up.
Scene 2: Dominic and I still make out. Mid shot.
Scene 3: Dominic and I are still making out. Wide shot"

Like bitch please. I had the film/camera brainrot for a while while I was in uni too, but never THAT bad. People don't think in shotlists THAT much.

He constantly thinks of his life as a plot in a movie too. And while I get that to some extent, he insists that his life will follow movie cliches too. He'll make Dominic jealous and they'll have to kiss and make up by prom because that's oh so romantic and oh so dramatic.

Honey, this is real life. Even media majors know the difference between real life and movie cliches and shorthand. He treats the people around him like sidecharacters. Stop 🛑.

Crest isn't much better. I wanted to like them, I really did. Like wow a non binary merperson? And they're sassy and kind of a cunt too? They had all the potential to become my favourite character.

BUT the way they're written is just so cringe. The bumbling idiocy around human culture isn't cute, it's really really cringe.

There are detailed descriptions of kissing and how boners work and it honestly made me a little nauseous. I really did not need the detailed mental image of a tongue being halfway down someone else's throat. When described that way, it sounds super gross.

And as you can tell from all the complaints so far, the writing is mostly where my issues with this book lie. The writing is cringey, overly childish and very repetitive. The repetition wasn't just in the writing style either. It was also in the specific words chosen. I think I've heard the phrases "bubble guts", "donkey laugh", "jellyfish tingles", "Dominic looked crestfallen", "the romcom of my life", and "that weird eel moved" (TO DESCRIBE SOMEONE'S DICK), at least a million times. Half of those are metaphors. And they weren't even good metaphors the first time they were used. Let alone the bazillionth time.

Unfortunately, there's also some story beats that hit me wrong. Sean is kind of toxic sometimes. And so is his relationship with Crest.

By the end, their relationship is disgusting and Sean is a massive dickhead. This doesn't feel like a romance at all. I truly don't think it is one.

:(

Sean viewing everything as a movie becomes a problem. And I love that Kavya eventually calls him out on it.
Sean *is* manipulative. Sean *is* selfish. He doesn't consider Miguel's feelings, or even really Dominic's or Crest's. He forces Crest into a fake relationship. He enjoys it when Crest and Dominic fight over him!

Yet, the plot rewards him for it. By the end, Crest wants to be with Sean again.

Sean is the first person Crest meets and shows them kindness. Crest is a bumbling idiot when it comes to the human world. And is oh so innocent. And of course, that means Crest gets attached to Sean. He's confused and needs guidance. But Sean doesn't seem aware of that power imbalance. Of that dependency that Crest has on him (even though Crest outright says "what am I supposed to do without you?")

So their entire relationship hit me wrong. It felt icky.

Sean getting angry at Crest when Crest tries to fuck Drop? Literally gtfo. Y'all weren't exclusive. You called yourselves friends with benefits for fuck's sake. That does not imply exclusivity!

That entire speech against Crest was vile. And really made me hate Sean. Sean calling Crest selfish? Humans destroy merpeople's ecosystem and environment constantly, and this enby STILL came out to help someone, against their own wishes. That's literally the most selfless thing. So Sean can fuck all the way off.

Yet, Crest does a full 180.
After that speech, they get angry with Drop instead of Sean. Tell DROP that Drop and Crest weren't exclusive so Crest should be allowed to fuck Sean???

What???

Is it opposites day or some shit? They should get mad at Sean! Telling them they're not exclusive so Crest is allowed to fuck Drop! I feel like I'm going insane.

And then suddenly Miguel and Sean are best friends? And Miguel wants Sean to get back with Crest despite thinking Crest cheated on Sean?

Insane behaviour.

And then Crest basically admits to themselves that they just want physical contact with Sean and not much else. Which is valid but HOW TF is that romantic?

Then Kavya admits to Sean that she called Drop to Crest. And that somehow makes Sean forgive Crest for what he perceives as cheating? Like... Crest made the voluntary decision to hook up with Drop. Whether Kavya caused Drop to show up or not, Crest still jumped at the opportunity to fuck Drop. Kavya didn't force them to do that. So why does Sean forgive them?

And then due to PLOT somehow both Crest and Sean end up as merpeople. Crest does another 180 and suddenly wants to be with Sean for more than just physical stuff. The "love" word is dropped.
And then Sean decides that he DOES NOT want to be together with Crest and Sean becomes a human again.

SO HOW THE FUCK IS THIS A ROMANCE

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finntheguy's review against another edition

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emotional 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

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lexa's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted

3.75

I this was fun. Not super memorable, but fun. Dragged a bit in the middle, and some very high school actions from characters (which I suppose is expected for a YA book).

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bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.0

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I feel cheated by this book. Everything about it was set up like a romcom: the cover, the tropes, the implied retelling of The Little Mermaid, the fact that Sean, one of the MCs, is obsessed with romcoms and points out all the romcom beats in the story… All this for it to end without the most important romcom beat, the Happily Ever After. The characters didn’t even get a Happy For Now. It was like a slap in the face, and aside from being a tonal shift the ending didn’t make sense for other reasons, too.

For example, the narrative is truly focussed on Crest and Sean’s relationship. Any character development is to the level you would expect in a romcom, NOT in a coming-of-age story where the relationship is there for formative purposes, which is what the ending turns the story into. So the ending feels jarring as it depends on having major character development in both MCs, which wasn’t the case. Ironically, the ending is the reason why Crest CAN’T have any major character development, because it depends on their views on humans and the Blue remaining the exact same. I was hoping at least for them to learn that there is a lot of nuance regarding humans and the environment given power systems like capitalism and white supremacy. I was also hoping they might seek to change the parameters of the Journey, because its conditions are unfair and don’t allow meaningful connections between human and mer to form. But Crest just returns to the sea, holding much the same beliefs, only thinking that they might try to spread love for humans among mer, which seems a bit of a weak resolution.

As you can tell it seems I didn’t like Crest in the end, but in fact I didn’t like them most of the book. They didn’t really try to give humans and life on land a chance because of their uninformed view of humanity. I also hated how hot and cold they were with Sean, getting so angry with him out of nowhere and not allowing Sean to explain. And then they really cheapened their connection with Sean when after one little misunderstanding (again, not allowing Sean to explain), they cheated on him.

The only reason this isn’t getting a one star is that there were some redeeming qualities. I was enjoying it in the beginning, I liked Sean as a character, and the worldbuilding surrounding the mer was interesting (despite the literal infodump in the middle).

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