A review by invisibleninjacat
Something Spectacular by Alexis Hall

emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

Lots of gender in this one. I liked Orfeo and Peggy, and their relationship development and personal development was pretty satisfying. At the same time, the novel sometimes had abrupt tonal shifts from serious emotional moments to abruptly treating itself completely unseriously, like the time Peggy accidentally got a poetry club into an orgy. Which was admittedly hilarious, but kind of a shocking tonal shift nonetheless. 

I was also annoyed, in a nitpicky sort of way, that Orfeo was never actually gendered in conversation, but somehow even people who had never heard of them used they/them pronouns correctly.