Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Out of the Blue by Jason June

35 reviews

blewballoon's review

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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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sunflower7skull's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

3.0

This was not really my kind of book, to be honest. It was fairly well-written but I found myself cringing often - in truth, I'm usually not one for romcoms anyway. But I loved the rep and overall didn't dislike the book, it just wasn't for me. I'd definitely recommend this book to someone who's a fan of romance books with unconventional twists and anyone who really enjoyed mermaid books growing up!
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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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pipettesandpages's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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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thenextbookdilemma's review

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adventurous emotional funny 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

3.75

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reading_srsly's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.0

* Fake Dating
* Queer love
* Culturally aware
* #Trends

What is a broken-hearted lifeguard to do when one of the merfolk on a mission to do some good in the world washes ashore during their shift? Take them out to eat, of course! This chance encounter sparks a journey of self-development for our leading men - one working through a breakup, one exploring the world, but both reflecting on the kind of person they want to be.

This lighthearted read highlights some of the best and craziest parts of the world in a way only someone who's lived their entire life underwater can experience. There was strong characterization throughout, and the author does a great job of building up the relationship between the characters, while also weaving in some heavier topics that help to ground the characters. There were some real eyebrow raisers if you think too hard about the logic of the plot, but the fun of just going along with the story more than makes up for it. There is a pretty significant amount of horny teenagers processing their emotions going on, so if you’re not in the mood for inconvenient boners and sex jokes between friends, this might not be the book for you. 

If you’re looking for a more serious and intricately designed plot, you may want to keep looking for your next great read. But if you’re looking for an adorable, lighthearted LGBTQ+ coming of age story geared towards teen audiences, you’ll love Out of the Blue! 
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theaceofpages's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

"Labels everywhere and they all seem to be wrapped around genitals."

Firstly, yay for enby merfolk! DeFINitely one of the things that drew me in. I'm a little older than the target market for this, so please keep this in mind for my review.

Crest (ugh Ross) is forced to go ashore for a moon cycle so that they can become an elder merperson. They expect to hate every minute - humans are terrible after all. But they don't count on meeting Sean, a lifeguard, who shows them that humans can be good. They agree to help Sean get his boyfriend back as their selfless act so that they can return home at the end of the month, but as the fake dating trope goes, they end up falling in love. Crest then has to decide if they want to go back to the home they have always loved, or if they should stay on land with Sean, never to return to the mer world.

I have to agree with Crest. People are terrible. I know that drama is pretty typical of YA books (and this book is very YA - I don't mean that as a good thing or a bad thing but as a simple fact) but oh man, the characters were incredibly annoying. Is it accurate for their ages? Yeah, probably, but that doesn't change the fact that I ended up hating pretty much all of them. I did kind of like Crest (or at least disliked them less) but they too weren't the greatest. (sidenote: I liked the way they referred to people and didn't gender everything!)

That being said, this was a fun and easy read. Between being annoyed at everyone and the dragging middle I had a good time reading this. I think queer teens will enjoy this one! Just be prepared to be annoyed at everyone. And hey, queerphobes aren't really a thing in this book so if you are looking to escape that this would be a good choice.

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dallas_'s review

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lighthearted 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

2.0

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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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refrejarator's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad 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

5.0

I was so excited to see a book with a nonbinary main character, and was not disappointed! The gay mer romance of the summer, and all summers to come! 
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