akvolcano's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
things100'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
5.0
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Homophobia
Minor: Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Classism
ellaticonstellation'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? It's complicated
5.0
Spoiler
This is my first book from Casey and I must say, it didn't disappoint. I love Alex's smart mouth and the fact that he was named after Hamilton was awesome (I'm a big fan of the musical.) The enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, and royal tropes were neatly done. Henry was charming and interesting. Every character from Alex's side was amazing. I'm so sad about Raf's experience. I can truly say that the world today is more open-minded about queer people today more than ever. I also love that there was a "we against the world" type of feeling. Damn, the monarch was cruel at the least, but I'm happy that most of Henry's family members were supportive of him. Oh, Zahra, my girl, you are my spirit animal❤️ Btw, I was surprised a bit that this was spicy; I devoured every bit nonetheless. Overall, I love that this is about family, friendship, and love. I'll read all your books, Casey, that's for sure✨ P. S. I'm super excited to see the movie adaptation.Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Homophobia
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting
cdoubet'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
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Outing, Sexism, Bullying, and Misogyny
Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Racism
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Vomit, Alcohol, Cancer, and Sexual harassment
ophycore's review
- 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
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Cancer, Death of parent, Biphobia, Addiction, Grief, Terminal illness, Sexism, Alcohol, Outing, Homophobia, Racism, Misogyny, and Cursing
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
jodierose14'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
3.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
at806'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Alcohol, Biphobia, Addiction, and Homophobia
marinasslibrary'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
3.0
Trotzdem große Empfehlung!
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Biphobia, Classism, Outing, and Homophobia
neni's review
- 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
I adored the emails they exchanged and the respective range of the subjects and emotions: from cute and hilarious to the most romantic sappy shit I've ever seen (reciting quotes from famous author's and american personalities love letters to each other - UGH YES PLEASE). I WAS TOTALLY INTO IT.
Lowkey kinda disappointed the smut scenes were very much not explicit, mostly vague imagery over in 3 lines. I'm not sure if this book is considered young adult or not, but they're both adults and I would have liked the steaminess to have been turned up a notch, especially considering other romance books I read. The fact this was a queer romance story shouldn't mean the sex needs to be censured or less explicit, but an argument can also be made that, unlike other romance novels, this one had a lot going on plot-wise that didn't revolve around the main character's relationship drama - namely the election - so maybe it made sense there was more attention put into plot and character development, than the sex scenes. As much as I'm a ho for good smut, I can respect that decision.
The last few chapters were really wholesome in vibe, I found myself being swept up in the election excitement and actually got a little emotional at the ending results, even though I never thought I'd get that into politics lol.
It's interesting to see how the author didn't go for the usual romance novel route of having half the book being just about them "will they won't they". 20% in and they already had a thing going, the rest was just them navigating their relationship (in significantly complicated circumstances) and quite a bit of plot was dedicated to the election efforts, which I found refreshing.
Overall, I really liked this. It was a perfect escapist read, especially considering the topic (politics) and the optimist "faith in humanity" vibes, which normally don't really come hand in hand. In this current mess of a world, it was quite soothing to read an "alternate universe" where people in power can do good things and be good humans, even though it made the whole thing less "realistic". No one reads romance for the realism though, so I have nothing bad to say on that front.
The romance was quite cute, had some hilarious bits of banter in it, and the characters were lovable and not super shallow. Great read!
Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault, Racism, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Drug use
kyrstin_p1989's review
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Outing, Sexual content, Biphobia, Car accident, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship