A review by razzlet83
Disasterology 101 by Taylor V. Donovan

3.0

3x the love.

This one left me with mixed feelings. There's a lot of potential here, but I could probably use a look through with a sensitivity reader.

Kevin call Cedric a thug a lot, he says things like pretty thug, and it's a little cringy. His reasons for it are Cedric wears his hair in cornrows, has piercings, and wears gauges in his ears. It's even more awkward because you're not entirely sure of Cedric's ethnicity. You either have a person of color whose boyfriend is calling him a thug, or you have a white guy who's using cornrows to intimidate others into staying out of his personal space.

There was another instance where Kevin went on a date with an effeminate older man. Kevin couldn't decide if you wanted to keep insulting the guy with stereotypes in his head or if they were going to be friends. Then the guy is never mentioned again.

Cedric's British is also exaggerated for someone who's been in Manhattan for three years. He says chap way too often.


The OCD storyline is unique and refreshing, it's the saving grace of the book. At about 20%, the author eases up on some of the stereotyping early on which was a relief because I was close to setting the book aside. Unfortunately it does reoccur at various points, particularly the soccer game. I think this could easily be polished up, but right now it just needs a little TLC. 3/5

There's a really good story buried in there, but there are definitely some rough edges that need smoothing.