20sidedbi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Chronic illness, and Ableism
Moderate: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying
unusablebooklore's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
3.0
It was an alright book. I felt like it could have used a little something to make it more interesting. To be honest I’m not sure what, I never felt like I really connected with it.
I’m not a huge fan of Kirt Graves but adore Alexander Cendese.
Over all I didn’t hate it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Medical content
nickoliver's review
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
3.0
I was feeling extremely depressed one day and decided to read a Kindle Unlimited romance, mostly because those are quick reads and therefore provide good distraction. I picked this book in particular because I'd read the books James had co-written with Eden Finley and was curious to see if I'd like her own work, too.
Overall, this book was exactly what I expected it to be: a cute, predictable romance with virtually not much plot. Nothing extraordinary, but nothing particularly bad, either.
The premise of the book appealed to me from the start. Usually, I'm not the biggest fan of best-friends-to-lovers, but make it queer and I'm a man transfixed. At the beginning of the story, Australian Roo came back to the US after five years down under, where he'd moved as an 18-year-old in order to undergo surgery for his epilepsy. He'd promised himself that he'd finally tell his best friend, Tanner - the golden boy of Sunbury, Oregon, the small town he grew up in - that he was deeply in love with him and had been for years. And things progress from there.
I really did enjoy the main characters and their relationship with each other. Even before they became a couple, the way they treated each other and showed affection for each other was simply endearing. There were some unnecessary conflicts and some instances where communication was lacking a bit too much, but for the most part, I liked reading about these guys.
What I both appreciated and am kind of wary about is the disability rep. While Roo had epilepsy, Tanner was dyslexic, and there was a bit of an imbalance of how much focus was put on those two topics? Roo's epilepsy was explored a lot and talked about a lot, but while Tanner having difficulty reading was mentioned consistently, it was never really called by its name and also not discussed quite as much? It was mostly just there because it made it hard for Tanner to get the job he wanted - firefighter -, and because Roo wanted Tanner to stop calling himself dumb. But I would've liked to see it explored a little bit more.
I'm also not entirely sure how I feel about the epilepsy rep. I haven't read many books with epileptic main characters, despite the fact that I myself am, in fact, epileptic. And it might just have to do with the fact that my epilepsy doesn't give me any issues - I'm on meds that work, so I haven't had a seizure in about thirteen years -, while Roo's epilepsy is more severe. Maybe I'm simply not aware just how life-impacting epilepsy can be if it can't be as easily controlled as mine. I do think that the rep is, overall, authentic and good - James portrayed many of the bad sides of it, like the fact that you sometimes wet yourself or that you're completely exhausted after a seizure. But there were just some instances where I felt like the author talked out of her ass.
Back to the main couple. Like I said, I really liked them together and enjoyed their dynamic a lot. However, I do think that the focus of them was a bit too much on sex? I could've done with a sex scene less and instead have the characters talk a bit more about what was different about their day-to-day interactions now that they were a couple . Plus, some of the dialogue in the sex scenes really made me cringe hard.
I also felt like the discussions about Tanner's newly discovered bisexuality were a bit weird? They were always so short and never really went anywhere, and I was also a bit annoyed that Roo started that discussion by talking about the Kinsey scale. I really don't like the Kinsey scale, so every time I read a queer romance where they explain sexuality with it, it always bothers me. And while James acknowledged that there were many different sexualities - for example, one of the side characters was pan -, at the end of the day, Tanner didn't really come to any conclusions for himself. I would've liked to see a bit more.
The side characters of the book were a bit too underdeveloped. They were likeable and funny, but they weren't really fleshed-out? They were mostly just there to either talk about Tanner and Roo and how everyone had always thought they were a couple, anyway, or they were there to further the plot a little bit. One of the characters - one of the friends - was also biphobic for no fucking reason, which no one even acknowledged or challenged. I just generally wanted them to be more in the story.
The story was amusing, though! Sometimes James tried a bit too hard at sounding witty, but for the most part, I found the banter between the characters entertaining.
Overall, I had a good time reading this story. It wasn't anything special and definitely didn't bring anything new to the table, and there were some things that bothered me, but it proved to be a nice distraction for a few hours. Though I've definitely read better.
Overall, this book was exactly what I expected it to be: a cute, predictable romance with virtually not much plot. Nothing extraordinary, but nothing particularly bad, either.
The premise of the book appealed to me from the start. Usually, I'm not the biggest fan of best-friends-to-lovers, but make it queer and I'm a man transfixed. At the beginning of the story, Australian Roo came back to the US after five years down under, where he'd moved as an 18-year-old in order to undergo surgery for his epilepsy. He'd promised himself that he'd finally tell his best friend, Tanner - the golden boy of Sunbury, Oregon, the small town he grew up in - that he was deeply in love with him and had been for years. And things progress from there.
I really did enjoy the main characters and their relationship with each other. Even before they became a couple, the way they treated each other and showed affection for each other was simply endearing. There were some unnecessary conflicts and some instances where communication was lacking a bit too much, but for the most part, I liked reading about these guys.
What I both appreciated and am kind of wary about is the disability rep. While Roo had epilepsy, Tanner was dyslexic, and there was a bit of an imbalance of how much focus was put on those two topics? Roo's epilepsy was explored a lot and talked about a lot, but while Tanner having difficulty reading was mentioned consistently, it was never really called by its name and also not discussed quite as much? It was mostly just there because it made it hard for Tanner to get the job he wanted - firefighter -, and because Roo wanted Tanner to stop calling himself dumb. But I would've liked to see it explored a little bit more.
I'm also not entirely sure how I feel about the epilepsy rep. I haven't read many books with epileptic main characters, despite the fact that I myself am, in fact, epileptic. And it might just have to do with the fact that my epilepsy doesn't give me any issues - I'm on meds that work, so I haven't had a seizure in about thirteen years -, while Roo's epilepsy is more severe. Maybe I'm simply not aware just how life-impacting epilepsy can be if it can't be as easily controlled as mine. I do think that the rep is, overall, authentic and good - James portrayed many of the bad sides of it, like the fact that you sometimes wet yourself or that you're completely exhausted after a seizure. But there were just some instances where I felt like the author talked out of her ass.
Back to the main couple. Like I said, I really liked them together and enjoyed their dynamic a lot. However, I do think that the focus of them was a bit too much on sex? I could've done with a sex scene less and instead have the characters talk a bit more about what was different about their day-to-day interactions now that they were a couple . Plus, some of the dialogue in the sex scenes really made me cringe hard.
I also felt like the discussions about Tanner's newly discovered bisexuality were a bit weird? They were always so short and never really went anywhere, and I was also a bit annoyed that Roo started that discussion by talking about the Kinsey scale. I really don't like the Kinsey scale, so every time I read a queer romance where they explain sexuality with it, it always bothers me. And while James acknowledged that there were many different sexualities - for example, one of the side characters was pan -, at the end of the day, Tanner didn't really come to any conclusions for himself. I would've liked to see a bit more.
The side characters of the book were a bit too underdeveloped. They were likeable and funny, but they weren't really fleshed-out? They were mostly just there to either talk about Tanner and Roo and how everyone had always thought they were a couple, anyway, or they were there to further the plot a little bit. One of the characters - one of the friends - was also biphobic for no fucking reason, which no one even acknowledged or challenged. I just generally wanted them to be more in the story.
The story was amusing, though! Sometimes James tried a bit too hard at sounding witty, but for the most part, I found the banter between the characters entertaining.
Overall, I had a good time reading this story. It wasn't anything special and definitely didn't bring anything new to the table, and there were some things that bothered me, but it proved to be a nice distraction for a few hours. Though I've definitely read better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism and Homophobia
Minor: Biphobia
Also CW for cissexist comments (equating genitals with gender), epilepsy, and seizures. It's also a bit acephobic at times.
More...