A review by fanboyriot
Out Of Touch by Michael Sarais

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

3.0

♡ Pen Pals
♡ Angst with a Happy Ending
♡ Foreign Exchange Students

Well, what a roller coaster ride with this book was.  There are three parts to this book and each part has a completely different vibe to it. This book was way more hurt than comfort and I just didn’t vibe with that much of the story past part one.  There was just too much of an on again off again vibe for me.  However, I liked the characters and the plot was good, while it focused way too much on the hurtful moments—and I’m aware books don’t have to be all sunshine and rainbows but I wish there was a bit more balance to it.

Part One
This was by far my favorite part.  I loved the characters, the friendships, and the storyline.  It was very well written and cute.  Teddy and Vincent becoming pen pal friends after finding each other through an exchange program’s Facebook.  They have a well developed friendship that slowly builds to more.  Also, Hazel was so iconic in this part of the book, she was such a great friend.

Part Two
Oh my god, the end of part one and all of part two were quite depressing.  This hit hard into the angst vibes.  If I’m being honest I didn’t quite care for this storyline as much.  It was so devastating and sad with what happened with both main characters.  And I hated reading all of the stuff about Vincent ending up in such a toxic relationship.  It was also a bit more detailed than I thought it would be to be honest.  It was so uncomfortable to read which from a writer point of view it was actually well written.  The PTSD felt so real and devastating.  The nurse Teddy met with made me uncomfortable as well.  Also I low-key hated Hazel in this part of the book.

My main thought through this part was: Why was the bulk of this so sad, “we can’t be together” but why?  Your life sucks already why not just at least be with the person you want???  You have zero losses.  You both had lives that fell apart so why are you going back to the bad?  “Let’s make it worse” apparently applies.

(SPOILER BELOW)
The fact Vincent even married Kyle made me so mad.  Like, your soon to be husband does coke on your wedding day and you still go through with it!!??  What is wrong with you??  You deserve better Vincent.

Part Three 
This part was slightly better than part two.  When life brings them back together I feel like it was way too glossed over.  Like we went through all of the hell of part two and only get a few happy chapters??  It wasn’t as balanced out as I had hoped.  Also Mitchell was so damn annoying.  I thought he’d get better and having to deal with everything that he did but dude was just so rude.  Stop dragging others into your drama at some point, please.

Thank you to the author and PrideBookTours over on Instagram for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ (2/5)
Angst Level: 💧💧💧💧 (4/5)
POV: Duel, First Person
Release Date: 19, September 2024
Rep: Gay (Main Characters)
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