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nimtheoracle's review against another edition
2.0
I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I requested this book because it seemed to suggest there would be trans representation and asexual representation, and I suppose it did that. BUT there are problems. The story is too short. There isn't room for character development, the "mystery" is extremely obvious from the get-go, and there is no punishment for the bullies or attackers of Andy. Sure, one "flees" to South America, (huge eye roll btw) but that's about it. Robby's own sister calls Andy a girl until the end of the book, but receives no reprimand for it. Like, I get it. There are towns where transgendered people are misunderstood, there is a large lack of education about transgender people, but there should be a "Come-to-Jesus" moment when people realize that what they were doing was wrong. The attack would be perfect for that if people were properly punished.
I appreciate what this novel is trying to do, but there are things that need to be worked out before this story is ready to better the world of diversity. I liked the characters and the overall idea, it just fell a little flat for me. I like it, it just needs work.
Thank you NetGalley and Harmony Ink Press for letting me read this book.
I requested this book because it seemed to suggest there would be trans representation and asexual representation, and I suppose it did that. BUT there are problems. The story is too short. There isn't room for character development, the "mystery" is extremely obvious from the get-go, and there is no punishment for the bullies or attackers of Andy. Sure, one "flees" to South America, (huge eye roll btw) but that's about it. Robby's own sister calls Andy a girl until the end of the book, but receives no reprimand for it. Like, I get it. There are towns where transgendered people are misunderstood, there is a large lack of education about transgender people, but there should be a "Come-to-Jesus" moment when people realize that what they were doing was wrong. The attack would be perfect for that if people were properly punished.
I appreciate what this novel is trying to do, but there are things that need to be worked out before this story is ready to better the world of diversity. I liked the characters and the overall idea, it just fell a little flat for me. I like it, it just needs work.
Thank you NetGalley and Harmony Ink Press for letting me read this book.
jennyoli96's review against another edition
4.0
This is a sweet, simple book that brings awareness to topics such as transsexuality, asexuality, bullying and acceptance.
I do know about asexuality and the struggle in this book felt real and I very much liked to read about it. In regards to the transgender character, I'm not sure how realistic the situation was because I don't know as much about it as I know about asexuality, but it still felt good to read.
The writing isn't complex, there are a few things that seem rushed when it comes to the plot, specially the development of the main relationship, and the supposed mystery behind the side story didn't get me all that excited either, which is why I'm rating this book a 3.5/5 (which rounds it up to 4). I still recommend it to anyone interested in these topics, it's a good book and there aren't many like it out there.
I do know about asexuality and the struggle in this book felt real and I very much liked to read about it. In regards to the transgender character, I'm not sure how realistic the situation was because I don't know as much about it as I know about asexuality, but it still felt good to read.
The writing isn't complex, there are a few things that seem rushed when it comes to the plot, specially the development of the main relationship, and the supposed mystery behind the side story didn't get me all that excited either, which is why I'm rating this book a 3.5/5 (which rounds it up to 4). I still recommend it to anyone interested in these topics, it's a good book and there aren't many like it out there.
pipn_t's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
The concept of this book is really cute, and I’m always happy to see ace rep, but the dialogue felt really stilted and needs some work. I found the bullying scenes all really hard to read and skipped past a lot of bits as it was just uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
carstairst's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
swamphag's review against another edition
1.0
A quick note before I get into the review:
Please forgive me/educate me if I write about the Trans character in a way that is not accepted by the Trans community. I personally don’t know anything about what it is like to go through this, but I am indeed a supporter of the LGBTQA+ community so I am not trying to purposefully be hurtful or use incorrect terminology. Also, the phobic words that appear in my review were used in the book, and I am commenting on their usage when I use them here. Thank you for your understanding in this matter!
So I did not like this book at all. I really wanted to because the premise sounded pretty cool, but it turned out to be a poorly written mess.
The biggest problem that I had with this book (other than the bad writing itself) was that the inclusion of a transgender and an asexual character seemed like they were just there to seem hip to the ongoings of the community to gain readers. I honestly hope that this author had good intentions and they just got bungled due to writing/editing issues.
Robby is the asexual character, but his potential asexuality barely came up. His parents kept asking him if he was gay, and he talked to Andy about it when they kissed. Otherwise it seemed like it didn’t exist. Throughout the book he came across as the master of LGBTQA+ knowledge, but he had no idea what asexuality was or any clue about his own sexual identity. It would be okay that he was confused, but the author did not make it believable that he could be both, and he came off as preachy.
Poor Andy, the transgender male character, seemed like the book’s punching bag. Also I understand about including conflict/bullying/whatever because a character is trans, but on the other hand how often do you need to use terms like “dyke,” “trannie,” and “fag”? I am not a sensitive person, but it really seemed like these words were overused to prove that Andy was getting bullied.
I don’t want to read or hear those words, but I’ll accept them as something coming from a bully– up to a point. After that it gets really uncomfortable to read the trans character getting constantly bashed throughout the book when there was little to no character development. It came off like trans people can’t be anything but victims, and it bothered me a lot.
It felt like the characters were asexual and transgender just to have them in the book, to tag it a certain way. Nothing was really done with either aspect, other than to either mention it offhand or to have someone bash them. There was the whole awkward, “I like you” / “are you gay” / kissing thing, but it was really awkward like the author didn’t think it through other than to just have these characters be a certain way.
This was complicated by the language and writing style of the book. The language used in this book was probably intended to make the main kids seem like they were good with the LGBTQA+ community. However, the majority of it came off as pretty phobic, or at least too focused on people’s sexualities/genders.
For example, Robby gets home and his sister is complaining about a new “dyke” in school (Andy the transgender boy) and then Robby thinks to himself:
“Surely Rhonda would’ve said if there was a new lesbian in class.”
Firstly, Rhonda was a one off character at the beginning of the book, so when would she have mentioned it to him? Secondly it was offensive to me that Robby assumed she would have outed someone to him randomly. Who would do that to someone?
The actual plot of the book was less of a plot and more of a poorly handled mess of unrelated things shoved together. It was like the author couldn’t make a decision about a plot, included everything they thought of, and then didn’t write it well. There was transgender angst, asexual angst, graduation, a kidnapping, bullying, a mystery… It doesn’t seem like much but when you are reading the book everything gets kind of jumbled and frustrating.
It was dizzying to try to keep up with everything particularly because the language was also incredibly stilted and awkward. What I really wish the author had done was focus on the mystery about Aunt Ivy’s missing trinkets, and then reveal stuff about the characters instead of making a big stink about their sexual and gender identities and then doing nothing with it.
This entire book just frustrated me greatly and if you read it and I am just missing something please tell me. Now I just want to read a well written book about a trans character and an asexual character solving mysteries.
Originally posted over at Just Love Romance: https://justloveromance.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/fine-bromance-christopher-moss/
Please forgive me/educate me if I write about the Trans character in a way that is not accepted by the Trans community. I personally don’t know anything about what it is like to go through this, but I am indeed a supporter of the LGBTQA+ community so I am not trying to purposefully be hurtful or use incorrect terminology. Also, the phobic words that appear in my review were used in the book, and I am commenting on their usage when I use them here. Thank you for your understanding in this matter!
So I did not like this book at all. I really wanted to because the premise sounded pretty cool, but it turned out to be a poorly written mess.
The biggest problem that I had with this book (other than the bad writing itself) was that the inclusion of a transgender and an asexual character seemed like they were just there to seem hip to the ongoings of the community to gain readers. I honestly hope that this author had good intentions and they just got bungled due to writing/editing issues.
Robby is the asexual character, but his potential asexuality barely came up. His parents kept asking him if he was gay, and he talked to Andy about it when they kissed. Otherwise it seemed like it didn’t exist. Throughout the book he came across as the master of LGBTQA+ knowledge, but he had no idea what asexuality was or any clue about his own sexual identity. It would be okay that he was confused, but the author did not make it believable that he could be both, and he came off as preachy.
Poor Andy, the transgender male character, seemed like the book’s punching bag. Also I understand about including conflict/bullying/whatever because a character is trans, but on the other hand how often do you need to use terms like “dyke,” “trannie,” and “fag”? I am not a sensitive person, but it really seemed like these words were overused to prove that Andy was getting bullied.
I don’t want to read or hear those words, but I’ll accept them as something coming from a bully– up to a point. After that it gets really uncomfortable to read the trans character getting constantly bashed throughout the book when there was little to no character development. It came off like trans people can’t be anything but victims, and it bothered me a lot.
It felt like the characters were asexual and transgender just to have them in the book, to tag it a certain way. Nothing was really done with either aspect, other than to either mention it offhand or to have someone bash them. There was the whole awkward, “I like you” / “are you gay” / kissing thing, but it was really awkward like the author didn’t think it through other than to just have these characters be a certain way.
This was complicated by the language and writing style of the book. The language used in this book was probably intended to make the main kids seem like they were good with the LGBTQA+ community. However, the majority of it came off as pretty phobic, or at least too focused on people’s sexualities/genders.
For example, Robby gets home and his sister is complaining about a new “dyke” in school (Andy the transgender boy) and then Robby thinks to himself:
“Surely Rhonda would’ve said if there was a new lesbian in class.”
Firstly, Rhonda was a one off character at the beginning of the book, so when would she have mentioned it to him? Secondly it was offensive to me that Robby assumed she would have outed someone to him randomly. Who would do that to someone?
The actual plot of the book was less of a plot and more of a poorly handled mess of unrelated things shoved together. It was like the author couldn’t make a decision about a plot, included everything they thought of, and then didn’t write it well. There was transgender angst, asexual angst, graduation, a kidnapping, bullying, a mystery… It doesn’t seem like much but when you are reading the book everything gets kind of jumbled and frustrating.
It was dizzying to try to keep up with everything particularly because the language was also incredibly stilted and awkward. What I really wish the author had done was focus on the mystery about Aunt Ivy’s missing trinkets, and then reveal stuff about the characters instead of making a big stink about their sexual and gender identities and then doing nothing with it.
This entire book just frustrated me greatly and if you read it and I am just missing something please tell me. Now I just want to read a well written book about a trans character and an asexual character solving mysteries.
Originally posted over at Just Love Romance: https://justloveromance.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/fine-bromance-christopher-moss/
yousaidokay's review against another edition
3.0
This book caught my attention because of the cover. I ended up reading it because one of the main characters were trans and it was written by a trans author. It was a quick and easy read, I read it in one sitting. While I liked the characters, I didn't enjoy the plot too much. It fell flat to me.
*Received an arc from net galley*
*Received an arc from net galley*
bellesbooknook's review against another edition
3.0
I received a free digital copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
You can also read this review on my blog at Belle's Book Nook!
I was so excited to read this book. An ace boy who befriends and falls for a boy who's transgender. Yes, please! This book was published by Harmony Ink Press, the same publisher of We Awaken, which I've also read and written a review for. So, I really appreciate Harmony Ink for yet again publishing a novel that features queer identities--in this case, asexuality and transgender--and perfectly and clearly explaining these identities and the myths commonly associated with each. Besides this, this book also mentions the term genderqueer! A Fine bromance, then, is great for people, queer or otherwise, who are familiar with the queer community, as well as for those who may not be but are interested in learning more.
I also just thought the relationship between Robby and Andy was so pure and wonderful, full of many cute moments, and I adored how unequivocally Robbie accepted and loved Andy for who he was and, later, how Andy was so patient and understanding as Robby came out to him as asexual.
Now for the not-so-great.
This was a difficult book to rate, and I was swaying between two and three stars. Honestly, if I could give this book two ratings, I would give it a three for the story and a two for the actual writing. While I really appreciated this story, I found a similar issue in A Fine Bromance as I did inWe Awaken where I just thought the dialogue was incredibly stilted and unnatural and didn’t read as how people would actually speak-- more so in this novel, I’d say. No matter what, I can’t completely get into a story if the characters don’t come alive and I’m unable to connect with them. That is, they don’t come across as real people. A lot of the time, this story felt more like one of those older classic novels, and sometimes even like a children’s novel--you know, before dialogue in books progressively became more and more realistic. To me, the the dialogue was just incredibly flat in this book.
Besides this, there were a few other things here and there that I wasn't completely sold on:
1. I found it pretty alarming that Andy had already gotten a hysterectomy, considering he’s still in high school. Also, that’s a major surgery. It’s not like getting hormone treatment. I was really surprised that his parents would just be perfectly okay with this. Also, is that even legal for a doctor to perform a hysterectomy on a minor?!
2. I really would have liked more of a resolution with Claire and her relationship with Andy, considering that she treated him horribly throughout the entire novel. To me, it simply wasn’t enough to say, She just hung out with the wrong crowd, but she’s learned her lesson now! I wanted Claire herself to formally address all of this and to apologize to Andy for how she treated him.
3. For me, the ending was just a liiiiittle too cheesy, with the flash forward revealing Robby and Andy eventually getting married. Not that I didn’t want them to get married. I just would have preferred for it to have been left more up in the air, like most other romance novels tend to do. Truly, we readers are perfectly happy just knowing that Andy and Robby are together. We don’t need to know how their entire future panned out!
All in all, this was definitely a cute read, and I do appreciate A Fine Bromance for featuring a relationship with two different queer identities--something that I definitely think we need to see more of. But for me, the writing just didn't quite measure up, and I felt that it lacked the palpable characters and authenticity that so defines young adult literature.
You can also read this review on my blog at Belle's Book Nook!
I was so excited to read this book. An ace boy who befriends and falls for a boy who's transgender. Yes, please! This book was published by Harmony Ink Press, the same publisher of We Awaken, which I've also read and written a review for. So, I really appreciate Harmony Ink for yet again publishing a novel that features queer identities--in this case, asexuality and transgender--and perfectly and clearly explaining these identities and the myths commonly associated with each. Besides this, this book also mentions the term genderqueer! A Fine bromance, then, is great for people, queer or otherwise, who are familiar with the queer community, as well as for those who may not be but are interested in learning more.
I also just thought the relationship between Robby and Andy was so pure and wonderful, full of many cute moments, and I adored how unequivocally Robbie accepted and loved Andy for who he was and, later, how Andy was so patient and understanding as Robby came out to him as asexual.
Now for the not-so-great.
This was a difficult book to rate, and I was swaying between two and three stars. Honestly, if I could give this book two ratings, I would give it a three for the story and a two for the actual writing. While I really appreciated this story, I found a similar issue in A Fine Bromance as I did inWe Awaken where I just thought the dialogue was incredibly stilted and unnatural and didn’t read as how people would actually speak-- more so in this novel, I’d say. No matter what, I can’t completely get into a story if the characters don’t come alive and I’m unable to connect with them. That is, they don’t come across as real people. A lot of the time, this story felt more like one of those older classic novels, and sometimes even like a children’s novel--you know, before dialogue in books progressively became more and more realistic. To me, the the dialogue was just incredibly flat in this book.
Besides this, there were a few other things here and there that I wasn't completely sold on:
1. I found it pretty alarming that Andy had already gotten a hysterectomy, considering he’s still in high school. Also, that’s a major surgery. It’s not like getting hormone treatment. I was really surprised that his parents would just be perfectly okay with this. Also, is that even legal for a doctor to perform a hysterectomy on a minor?!
2. I really would have liked more of a resolution with Claire and her relationship with Andy, considering that she treated him horribly throughout the entire novel. To me, it simply wasn’t enough to say, She just hung out with the wrong crowd, but she’s learned her lesson now! I wanted Claire herself to formally address all of this and to apologize to Andy for how she treated him.
3. For me, the ending was just a liiiiittle too cheesy, with the flash forward revealing Robby and Andy eventually getting married. Not that I didn’t want them to get married. I just would have preferred for it to have been left more up in the air, like most other romance novels tend to do. Truly, we readers are perfectly happy just knowing that Andy and Robby are together. We don’t need to know how their entire future panned out!
All in all, this was definitely a cute read, and I do appreciate A Fine Bromance for featuring a relationship with two different queer identities--something that I definitely think we need to see more of. But for me, the writing just didn't quite measure up, and I felt that it lacked the palpable characters and authenticity that so defines young adult literature.
poketaco's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Kidnapping
librarycowboy's review against another edition
2.0
The first Young Adult book I have read that talks, in depth, about asexuality. Could be a great resource to any youth in the process of learning about themselves. The only problem I had while reading it was that the actual writing of the novel seemed at a lower reading level than the content itself, which was slightly off-putting. Overall a good book.
bloodredrache's review against another edition
3.0
What a delightfully adorable YA romance! I honestly could not tell you the last time I read published fiction that featured an ace character, and I love love loved that the ace character was one of the principal players in the romance. It's significant and important to represent the difference between asexual and aromantic in fiction, and this was a delightful start in doing so. There were some haphazard moments, particularly in pacing, but easily overlooked in favorite of lovely characters with genuine connections.