essjay's review
4.0
A sweet and angsty story of queer first love. I read this when it first came out, but had forgotten the details.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
queerreadsandzines's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
mavenbooks's review
4.0
The book that started the series, this was a quick but enjoyable read. I will definitely be reading the third book in the series. Just good all around.
writerlibrarian's review
4.0
Pretty good. I liked reading about young G-Man and Rickey. I loved Liquor and Prime and really liked The Value of X.
jrhartauthor's review
4.0
Despite this book being the first in Rickey and G-man's story, it wasn't actually necessary to read in the grand scheme of the greater story. Unlike Prime or Soul Kitchen, which need Liquor for a good backstory, this is sort of an extra bonus, not plot-essential but deliciously sweet and angsty.
If you love Rickey and G-man, you'll enjoy this taste of them during their teen years. I highly recommend reading it directly before or directly after Prime, because of the characters that come back into Rickey's life in that one from this story specifically. I read this one immediately following Prime, and knowing where the story in this was headed made it so much better than had I read it alone.
The story was sweet and a little angst-filled, and it certainly left me wanting more. In many ways, I felt like for a book about Rickey and G-man, there wasn't much of the two of them together. However, the time they spent apart — something readers of the series are very familiar with — is a wonderful look at young love surviving the test of distance, time, and family opposition. For me, it required many, many tissues.
Where Liquor fails to tell their relationship in detail — and left many readers confused until late in the game that they were committed to each other in every way, not just as business partners and roommates — The Value of X picks up that story from the beginning of their want for each other, back when Gary was Gary and not G-man, or even just G.
You see the beginning of their life in the kitchen, their first times in the kitchen, and it becomes a beautiful introduction to their world.
The true beauty of this book is that it's a standalone in more than one way. You don't have to read the rest of the series to appreciate the story told here, nor do you need to read this story to appreciate the rest of the series (most of what happens in this appears in other books in bits and pieces of summary backstory). That said, it's beautiful and touching. If you love these characters, you'll want to read this one for sure.
As the first book in a series? I'd recommend skipping to Liquor and coming back to read this one after Prime, unless you want this as a standalone story.
If you love Rickey and G-man, you'll enjoy this taste of them during their teen years. I highly recommend reading it directly before or directly after Prime, because of the characters that come back into Rickey's life in that one from this story specifically. I read this one immediately following Prime, and knowing where the story in this was headed made it so much better than had I read it alone.
The story was sweet and a little angst-filled, and it certainly left me wanting more. In many ways, I felt like for a book about Rickey and G-man, there wasn't much of the two of them together. However, the time they spent apart — something readers of the series are very familiar with — is a wonderful look at young love surviving the test of distance, time, and family opposition. For me, it required many, many tissues.
Where Liquor fails to tell their relationship in detail — and left many readers confused until late in the game that they were committed to each other in every way, not just as business partners and roommates — The Value of X picks up that story from the beginning of their want for each other, back when Gary was Gary and not G-man, or even just G.
You see the beginning of their life in the kitchen, their first times in the kitchen, and it becomes a beautiful introduction to their world.
The true beauty of this book is that it's a standalone in more than one way. You don't have to read the rest of the series to appreciate the story told here, nor do you need to read this story to appreciate the rest of the series (most of what happens in this appears in other books in bits and pieces of summary backstory). That said, it's beautiful and touching. If you love these characters, you'll want to read this one for sure.
As the first book in a series? I'd recommend skipping to Liquor and coming back to read this one after Prime, unless you want this as a standalone story.
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