I do not have a lot of experience with Danmei novels. The only other series I have read has been Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation on some w2.5 stars
I do not have a lot of experience with Danmei novels. The only other series I have read has been Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation on some website years ago and even though the writing was clunky, I read it in one ago. It was a sort of guilty pleasure.
This book was also a similar experience for me. There were parts I liked, such as the political setting (even though it was so difficult to follow wth) and the enemies-to-lovers slow burnish trope. But the writing- it was so average. What also would constantly put me off was the fact that there was no consistency in POVs. The POVs would keep changing so abruptly and it just came off as strange and made it difficult for me to stay connected to the characters.
So yes, it is a decent enough read if you are looking for some nice slow burn queer historical romance guilty pleasure. ...more
I really liked this book, even though I had pretty much ditched it at 20% for a very long time before I picked it up again and then finished 3.5 stars
I really liked this book, even though I had pretty much ditched it at 20% for a very long time before I picked it up again and then finished it rather swiftly.
There were a lot of things in the book that could have been better, things that would have usually called for a lower rating. There was the poor editing, uncomfortable details in the prose that just made the writing really awkward sometimes, and over-done insertion of fragmented flashbacks randomly (you'll know what I'm talking about if you read this). Initially, that was cool but then after a while, it was bordering on bromidic.
And then the plot itself- it was actually a decent plot, not mindblowing, because I guessed the mystery at around 84%, which is not too bad but again, I am a slow at this. So I would imagine, the characters, who are alleged veterans in this field (beat detectives) should not have taken this long to figure stuff out, especially when it was glaringly obvious at a point.
So what did I like then? The characters. They were pretty well done. I was not expecting the main characters to embody such depth and authenticity. It was honestly messy-but in a good way-the stuff that had gone down between the characters in the past, and their story forward will take some time before we can expect rainbows and sunshine, but I was all for it. I think Gregory Ashe did a spectacular job with bringing out the really, really grey bits of his characters, which truly came off as extremely realistic. I felt pity, anger, frustration, and a bunch of other negative stuff throughout but I did find myself also rooting for the characters, so I am actually really excited to see how all of this plays out. On top of that, a lot of issues highlighted in the plot, mainly revolving around intolerance and how batshit crazy intolerance can make a person, no matter which side they are on, whatever cause they are advocating.
All in all, I had a good time. The fact that I am so invested in these two characters is the redeeming quality of this book. I do hope for some better female characters in the coming books because what the hell was this...more
Started out very interesting, then around 50%, my interest plummeted like nobody's business, had to drag myself for a while, things finally became morStarted out very interesting, then around 50%, my interest plummeted like nobody's business, had to drag myself for a while, things finally became more interesting again towards the end.
Overall, it was a fun read, although there was one particular thing that incensed me to no extent. I feel the whole thing about Alice's appearance was re-iterated way too much. I cannot even count the number of times Alice's lack of good looks was mentioned and every time it was followed by a discussion of her sharp intellect, it genuinely felt very backhanded. Once, twice, thrice was still fine. But every discussion about her didn't need to be about her appearance. It was extremely overdone.
There were things to like (the banter, some of the angst as well, some excellent conversations about interesting topics) and things to not like. A quick, enjoyable read, very typical of KJ Charles....more
Not as horror-ish as I thought it would be considering the "horror" tag under its main genre, but really funny, cute and had a lot of fun wit3.5 stars
Not as horror-ish as I thought it would be considering the "horror" tag under its main genre, but really funny, cute and had a lot of fun with it. The author also introduced me to my new favourite band so rounding it off to 4 stars....more
“I had a rule that it was better to be bored by yourself than to be bored with someone else. I pretty much lived by that rule. Maybe that
4.25 stars
“I had a rule that it was better to be bored by yourself than to be bored with someone else. I pretty much lived by that rule. Maybe that's why I didn't have any friends.”
Ari is a 15-year-old boy with a little bit of pessimism, a whole lot of dissatisfaction with the world and a fiery uproar of confusing emotions alight in his heart. He is lonely. He is bored. He is miserable. And then he meets Dante, ever so innocent, ever so bright and precious. And he brings along something in Ari's life that was missing. Not happiness and joy per see, but I like to think it's more of the ability to find joy in the littlest of things. To appreciate life a little more.
I really liked the book. I think there is something so endearing about boys innocently falling in love. I would also like to mention the writing style- it is very simple. It's no lyrical, pretty purple prose. It's written in short sentences. It is not overly complicated. I love beautiful, sophisticated language, but there was something really beautiful in the simplicity of it, and how it was still laden with so much emotion. It reflects exactly how a fifteen year old boy's mind thinks. And I think that's one of the biggest merits of the writing. To capture that simplicity of a teenage boy's thoughts while also making sure it carries the emotion it's supposed to. (And I have realised I also write like that. Yes, I write like a 15 year old boy. Well.) As one of my bookclub members rightly stated yesterday- "the writing is simple but not shallow." And I think that's brilliant
I also liked the fact that the book was in Ari's POV. After all, he is the philosopher. And I was so invested in his jumble of emotions and musings, half of them shielded from his own conscious brain , in denial. I loved Ari but I think I will always have a special soft spot for Dante. He touched my heart. The image of him crying over a dead bird fills me up with a lot of something. I don't know. Love? Sadness? Both? It is just that he is one of the purest, most honest characters ever.
“I wanted to tell them that I'd never had a friend, not ever, not a real one. Until Dante. I wanted to tell them that I never knew that people like Dante existed in the world, people who looked at the stars, and knew the mysteries of water, and knew enough to know that birds belonged to the heavens and weren't meant to be shot down from their graceful flights by mean and stupid boys. I wanted to tell them that he had changed my life and that I would never be the same, not ever. And that somehow it felt like it was Dante who had saved my life and not the other way around. I wanted to tell them that he was the first human being aside from my mother who had ever made me want to talk about the things that scared me. I wanted to tell them so many things and yet I didn't have the words. So I just stupidly repeated myself. "Dante's my friend.”
.
Over the course of the book, we see the budding friendship between these two boys, them falling into an easy, innocent friendship; it's one of the most beautiful things. Somewhere along the way, they begin to grow up, and the loss of innocence of being just little boys that comes with growing up is a tiny bit heartbreaking.
“We’ll play that game,” I said. “That game you made up to beat the hell out of your tennis shoes.”
“It was fun, wasn’t it?”
The way he said that. Like he knew we would never play that game again. We were too old now. We’d lost something and we both knew it.
I loved a lot of things about the book. The only thing that could have been better was the realisation bit on Ari's part. I could tell it was there but I wish it was not so abrupt. I wish there were more signs. More signs that separated Ari's feelings from platonic love. Because I disagree with Ari's parents on the front that no one would do the things Ari did for someone who they were not in love with. I like to think platonic love can be just as powerful.
But regardless, the ending is such a beautiful, hopeful ending, and while it's a good enough ending to their story in itself, I want more. But the good news is, we have a sequel, and being pretty late as a reader, I thankfully didn't have to wait almost 10 years for it. So yay....more
Cute. Too cute, almost to the point of being unreal. I just think my tastes have changed over the years and overly fluffy books do not do it for me.
TCute. Too cute, almost to the point of being unreal. I just think my tastes have changed over the years and overly fluffy books do not do it for me.
The book started out really nicely. The writing style was different and I have seen some other reviewers talk about how it is pretty much what a fanfiction writing style reads like. I do not read a lot of fanfic so I wouldn't know honestly. But regardless, as I said, the book starts off a little abrupt but good. I like the whole concept, I also liked how the narrative around epilepsy disorder was handled. So, all in all, I was pretty interested.
However, my interest began to dip as the book progressed. The romance bit was done very well and it was a nice, respectful, healthy relationship but there were no character developments, so to speak. Everyone was so overly nice but there was no build-up to that. Even the other team members were suddenly so kind and protective and it just seemed so abrupt? I felt the characters were not exactly well fleshed out. Even our main characters, because we do not really see much of their lives except for their romance. Especially Eli. Apart from Cody, we see nothing from other domains of his life, his new friends, his figure skating, nothing.
And the plot of so sweet that it was borderline unrealistic and ostentatious to me. Does that make me a cynical, morbid person? Maybe. But, I cannot help it if I like some depth in my characters. If everything is too perfect and lovely, I can appreciate the sweetness (sometimes with a bit of an eye roll, but only if it's too much), but I cannot prevent myself from getting super bored. Which I was halfway through.
P.S. I did not know this was a Check, Please! fanfic but I think I figured that on my own because of how some elements resembled the Check, Please! comics so much....more
I think I was just in mood for something like this, with a lot of longing, pining, subtle flirtations. Some parts were quite unbelievable, for exampleI think I was just in mood for something like this, with a lot of longing, pining, subtle flirtations. Some parts were quite unbelievable, for example the fact that Henry was over 500 years old but still had never been anywhere out of England? That just does not make sense. Or how he would get so entrapped by Greek mythological stories because he had never heard them before? Sir, what have you been doing for the last 500 years?
Despite all of this, I found this very cute. I also liked the inclusion of ADHD and ASD symptoms in our main characters, without really mentioning any labels. It was a nice attempt. Also, they had a very healthy and respectful dynamic which was refreshing to read. And I love slow burn. So with all of that, I am choosing to ignore the unrealistic bits....more
Can we please have more romance books with relationships this pure, honest, and non-toxic? Never before have I read a book do "consent is sex4.5 stars
Can we please have more romance books with relationships this pure, honest, and non-toxic? Never before have I read a book do "consent is sexy" better than this one did.
As expected, the sequel also turned out to be an incredibly sweet read. However, I believe I enjoyed the first book way better. In fact, I think it waAs expected, the sequel also turned out to be an incredibly sweet read. However, I believe I enjoyed the first book way better. In fact, I think it was because my love for these two boys is so immense that I pulled up the rating to four stars. I know this might give off the impression that the book might have been terrible, but no. I did enjoy it a lot. But I had something to compare it with, and that is its predecessor. I found myself enjoying the story but also, at the same time, zoning out. I found myself constantly checking how many more pages were left. The issue with this book was that it was a tad bit too long, and some of the content in it was repetitive.
And I know the author wrote this because he felt that he had left a lot of things left unfinished and unsaid when he ended Ari and Dante's story the way he did in the first book, so he simply had to get all of this out. And that is completely fine; it is his prerogative to do so. And I liked that he did it; I feel a lot of important developments took place in the story, some satisfying and some heartbreaking. But, I constantly felt that the book did not need to be as long as it was. I have no problems with thick books but the thickness should be in tandem with the content of the plot.
Yes, it is a coming-of-age story, so we have various elements that Ari seems to be struggling with because he is a teenager, and that is normal. However, sometimes pages and pages were discussing the same thing. Or like, multiple people talking about the same message, which somewhat brought the said message close to being almost trite.
But not the entire book was like that. The book picks off exactly where the last one stops. And this one focuses on how Dante and Ari's relationship progresses and while obviously, their relationship is central to the book plot, this book was about so much more. We get to see Ari's character develop so beautifully, and the change from the previous book was very heartwarming. This book also focused a lot more on Ari's other friendships and I am so glad for that. This book was about love but about all forms of love and how incredible each kind is. And despite my issues with the repetitive nature of some messages that the author wanted to drive home, there were remarkably lovely and touching quotes.
Yet another complaint from me was that the book had poor editing. And that is a big issue for me when it is such a famous book published by a well-established publishing house. And the book that I had did not seem like a counterfeit. I did a bit of googling and realised that some editions had these errors because, apparently, they weren't there in the ebook. So I kept telling myself that "it is okay; first of all, mistakes are natural and second of all, I just happened to get one of those faulty editions. And more or less, I was able to ignore that. " ...more
Up till now, all the adult MxM romances that I have read which have had a thriller/mystery plot have almost always been more romance focused. And the Up till now, all the adult MxM romances that I have read which have had a thriller/mystery plot have almost always been more romance focused. And the remaining plotline most of the time just feels like a filler material to spice up the romance.
That is why Kill Game surprised me a lot. Its plot was strong and intriguing. The focus was not on the romance, which made everything so much better. And realistic. Because Levi, one of the MCs, just got out of a long term relationship and it would have been a huge no-no if we had jumped into a new romance altogether.
The characters, Levi and Dominic, are really mature and talented. I really liked the way they were written and I personally think they complement each other's personalities a lot. More than anything, they both are great at what they do. They have flaws but that is what makes them all the more realistic. I love characters with flaws. Who doesn't? The only person I feel bad about is Stanton, Levi's ex-boyfriend. Breakups are never easy and I cannot put the entire blame on him. Both parties were at fault at some point or the other, things like these are not as black and white as we sometimes wish they were. But they were really not cut out for each other, with the way things were going for the both of them. And all they were doing was hurting each other.
I loved how the suspense played out. It was quite gripping. While it was certainly not the best mystery storyline out there, it was plenty enticing. There is still a lot to uncover. I cannot say anything else about the mystery plot without revealing too much. But I am excited to pick up the second book in the series....more
Before I begin, I just want to say that the BFMOF audiobook was by far THE BEST audiobook I have ever listeneWow, this was unexpected.
*4.75 stars*
Before I begin, I just want to say that the BFMOF audiobook was by far THE BEST audiobook I have ever listened to.
When I say this was unexpected, what I mean is that yes, I had expected an interesting gay romance but I had just not expected the worldbuilding to be so brilliant and entertaining. BFMOF is a gay romance set in a fantastical world. It's historical fictionish. Nowhere has it been mentioned so but I think you can surmise as much from the way everyone dresses and how there is absolutely zero technology mentioned anywhere. It definitely can not be a modern setting.
I had such a fun time with his one. It was creative, hilarious and thoroughly entertaining. This book is escapism at its finest, if you will. From unicorns to dragons, to giants and cyclopes and evil sprites and fairies. You got them all. It had a sort of nostalgic edge because it reminded me very vaguely of my childhood. I mean the worldbuilding. Let's take the hilarious way everyone's names were named - Quinn Broomsparkle, Twig Starfig and especially the villains - Lapus Rainbowpebbles, Nyx Dabblepool. The word "Rainbowpebbles" and evil just do not go together. But that's precisely what I am talking about. It was nostalgic in the sense that it reminded me of all the super cool fantastical stuff I had read and watched as a kid. While reading this book, I sometimes felt like a kid who has entered this shimmery, wonder-like world. And that is sort of weird because this is NOT a children's book. It's got the same vibe until you have two guys having sex. So yes. What I am saying is that it was nice to see this sort of fantastical worldbuilding in an adult book.
I know all of it sounds super weird. Trust me, I am cringing as I write this nonsense but you will get me once you read the book. It's highly entertaining and cute. Characters are likeable. I suppose Quinn, at times, had an annoying personality. Getting mad and offended at every little thing. I usually can not stand such characters. But I barely gave two flying shits because as I said before - escapism at its finest. You take it all in and you love it. There is no other way....more
The House in the Cerulean Sea was an adorable, heartwarming story which I very much enjoyed.
This is the second time I am reading TJ Klune 3.75 stars
The House in the Cerulean Sea was an adorable, heartwarming story which I very much enjoyed.
This is the second time I am reading TJ Klune. The first time was when I read Wolfsong. And apparently, I rated that 4 stars. I must have lost my marbles when I was rating that book because it was pretty cringy. I mean, it definitely was NOT worth the four stars I gave it, considering this one got only 3.75 when I enjoyed it way more. I think that was more of a spur of the moment thing. I wanted to read something trashy and angsty at that time, I got what I wanted, so I guess it must have seemed appropriate to give it a high rating. Well, whatever.
Coming back to the book at hand, this is not a book without flaws. In fact, there were several little things here and there that irked me. However, after having finished the entire book, when I look back at it, it makes me feel very pleasant and warm. As a whole, everything seems to fit in quite well, despite of the flawed bits.
I cannot express my love for the "found family" trope enough. I love, love, love that concept. I am a total sucker for that sort of thing. And that is precisely what was the most touching part for me in this book. I love children. I love stories with children in them. And I loved how the children in this book were written and how they made the story so much more endearing. They were all so precious and innocent and they deserve all the love in the world and show much more.
Some parts made me teary as well. I am soft when it comes to cute budding relationships and we got to see all kinds of beautiful relationships here.
The message is wonderful. I think this book is more appropriate for younger readers. I have no idea why is it tagged as "Adult". It is definitely more targeted towards the younger masses and in fact, I feel it is a great book for children since the message behind the story is lovely and positive.
The romance between Linus and Arthur was not very high-key. It is more of a developing love story which made everything cuter and more organic. I loved to see how it all played out and it definitely touched my heartstrings.
When it comes to the writing, I guess, T J Klune's writing style is just not my cup of tea. Although it was way different and better than Wolfsong, it was still a little off. when I say off, I do not mean bad, but just strange in some parts.
Another thing was Linus and how is character was written. In some parts, I aboldsutely adored his character. He is quite adorable most of the time and I can rleate to him quote a bit, when it comes to hs lack of self-confidence, fear of confrontation and high levels of anxiety. Only sometimes, I felt it got a little too much. Especially the whole thing with Lucy. And also, I found myself getting highly irritated with Linus' argument (or lack thereof) whenever the purpose of his work was questioned. He would parrot the same diplomatic answer all the time and it would annoy be to mo extent that he would simply refuse to sit and think about it for the longest time.
Another problem was the whole thing with the ending and how everything magically seemed to become alright so easily. (view spoiler)[ and Linus magically being able to change the entire Upper Level Management's mentality with one speech. (hide spoiler)] It seemed a bit of a stretch. Especially when we are talking about such strong prejudices, no matter how irrational, that have been ingrained in the minds of the masses since time immemorial. It does not go away or even gets reduced the way it did so quickly. I like happy endings and I would not have liked anything which was not equal to being "happy" as an ending. But maybe, it could have done differently? I do not know. All I am saying is that what happened is rarely realistic.
But nonetheless, the book made me happy and it would definitely make for a great pick for the pride month....more
I probably should have reviewed this book the moment I finished it because it has been too long now and I just cannot seem to recall much to say otherI probably should have reviewed this book the moment I finished it because it has been too long now and I just cannot seem to recall much to say other than the fact that I had lots of fun with this one. But sure, I'll try to remember as much I can.
Only Mostly devastated had me intrigued right at the beginning with its super-cute cover and also that title - it's all very much catchy .
Now, highschool young-adult romance/drama books are a bit of a hit or miss for me. I either end up loving them or simply cannot make myself go through some of the very overused high school tropes. Which usually entails extremely, extremely annoying characters. I do not know what is it with teen books and bitchy characters and of course, this whole thing of trying to be "cool enough" which then leads to acting like an even bigger jerk.
I make myself sound like some forty-year-old shaking my head disapprovingly and being all "these kids nowadays" but the thing is I myself am only twenty. And I go to college. And a lot of these things do happen (though I am sure it's more common in the western countries than the East.). And I am not a huge fan of it. I am an introvert and have a very selective group of people around me and I like to keep away from the pretentious bits of college life (most of the time) because that honestly gives me anxiety. A whole lot of it.
So yes, when I see too much of that whole bitchy highschool/college thing going on, I get drained very quickly. Unless the drama is really well-written because then I am all up for it. So yes, I am not opposed to reading dramas. I watcha lot of K-Dramas so... (and they have some really really cliche plotlines at times). As I said, hit or miss. Can't explain it.
So yes, coming back to the book in hand, it was a hit. Clearly, from the rating. I'll talk about a few points that I retain from my reading experience.
BUT BEFORE THAT- *DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER* Moing on, there are going to be a few minor spoilers so read at your own risk
The first half of the book was really not doing it for me because of the very same reason. I could not stand Lara. I just could not. She was horrible for the most part of it. She was manipulative and bitchy and was just enhancing the bad bits of highschool drama that I ate. However, by the end, you find yourself not hating her. That is because the author made her do a couple of nice things. Now, I am very open to messed up characters and their character developments. In fact, that is what I love the most in any book (For someone who has read and loved the entire of The Foxhole Court trilogy, believe me when I say I have no problems with characters with flaws because hell, if those kids were not toxic.) but something here bothered me till the very end. There were a lot of things that Lara did that were not okay with me. Had I been in Olly's place, I would have been so hurt. And miserable. And all of a sudden at some point she begins to take Olly's side here and there. That is well and good but it felt too sudden for me and that still did not make a lot of things okay. I do not remember her apologising even once for the stuff she said to Niamh (or Olly for that matter.) And that truly is a very very horrible thing to say to a friend, especially when you know their insecurities and how hard they are working for something.
And I do not want to be okay with Lara just because the author made her do one or two nice things at the end. Mainly because she never truly apologised. But it did make the second half of the book better. It was hard to dislike Lara a lot. A little yes, BECAUSE SHE DID NOT APOLOGIZE. I am sorry, I cannot get over it.
With Will as well, I felt something was just all of a sudden. We know Will had his reasons for whatever decisions he had made and that's okay. But there was one thing that stuck with me. When Olly finally realises that Will never felt the same thing as he did or else he would have somehow tried to at least send one text saying how he was grounded and would not be able to text for some time. Just one text would have been enough. especially after he knew what Olly would be thinking about his sudden absence.
It is a little hard to explain this one. It is different from Lara's case, Will had apologised for a lot of things and him finally deciding to make that big move at the end did stem after realising something. So it made sense. For the most part but not all, at least not to me. There just is something that still doesn't sit all too perfectly well with me.
However, all those things aside, I did genuinely have a good time read this book. I was very fond of the writing, it was easygoing, witty and hilarious. Some bits were quite hilarious actually. I wish I had highlighted them while reading so I could share a couple with you all but, well, I didn't fo that so, yes, nevermind that.
As much as a few things felt strange to me, I was all in for the drama. And I know I made the book sound all bitchy and loudbut there is plenty of wholesome too look out for as well....more
I loved every bit of this book. I don't think I have ever felt so satisfied with an MM historical romance before. Or any historical romance, for that I loved every bit of this book. I don't think I have ever felt so satisfied with an MM historical romance before. Or any historical romance, for that matter. And the heist, murders and all that lovely drama was the cherry on the top.
P.S. I am so excited for Lane and Susan's story. That will be my first time reading a hetero romance by KJ Charles....more
“I don’t believe in songs or promises. I don’t believe in hearts or flowers or lightning strikes.” Aiden snatched a breath as though it was his last
“I don’t believe in songs or promises. I don’t believe in hearts or flowers or lightning strikes.” Aiden snatched a breath as though it was his last before drowning. “I never believed in anything but you.”
Guys. I think I might have OD'd on cuteness and wholesomeness.
So my October TBR, ambitious as it is, obviously has very octoberesque books. And that would mean, not cute and wholesome and rainbows and sunshine. However, the last book that I read two days ago (from my Sep. TBR pile. I know I am running late, screw me) had left me quite devastated by the end and I had needed someone lighter and brighter before I went into the dark, gothic, horror themes. This book was just what I needed. It was a very impulsive read but I do not regret it one bit.
This book is set after the events of Volume 4 of the graphic novel series. This isn't written by C.S. Pacat who is the original creator of the graphic series. Instead, it is written by another author, Sarah Rees Brennan with the help of the original creator, of course. I haven't read Sarah Rees's any other books so I can't compare but I definitely enjoyed this so much. While I have loved the graphic series and I am glad I had read em so I can imagine certain things much better, I definitely found myself enjoying the novel far more. Because of obvious reasons. You get a much deeper insight into each character's lives, thoughts, and emotions.
And you realize things, that perhaps you hadn't fully with the graphic novels. You realize how absolutely, and I can't stress enough on the absolutely, dumb these boys are. All of them. Each one of them. I am not even kidding. I am not exaggerating. They are the biggest dumbfucks I have ever seen. And I love it.
I genuinely had so much fun with them. They are so stupid it's honestly hilarious. And severely endearing, of course. I enjoyed Seini's narrative the best because I cannot with him. I just can not. I laughed so much. All of these boys are strange but he honestly is the most peculiar.
“So is he going to be your boyfriend?” Seiji asked. “I’m, uh,” said Harvard. “I’m not sure.” “When will you know?” “For now, we’re just dating.” Wasn’t dating what you did with boyfriends and girlfriends? Wasn’t that what they were specifically for? Was there a probationary period? That seemed stressful. Stress was bound to affect the captain’s game. Why was nobody sensible? Was there a probationary period for being friends? Seiji glanced at Nicholas in alarm. Why did nobody ever tell Seiji the rules of social behavior? He’d been taught the rules for fencing, and he excelled in that. He didn’t see why everybody expected him to excel in life with no training.”
Also, it was so amazing to see Seiji and Nicholas progressing as friends. It was super adorable.
“From now on, when we speak of a prank that is truly legendary, we will call it a Seiji,” vowed Chad. “Boys, grab him!” To Seiji’s evident and overwhelming horror, Eugene’s weight-lifting bros seized him and lifted him bodily over their heads. Nicholas moved very fast, using all the speed he’d been born with. He grabbed Eugene’s phone out of his hands and took a picture of Seiji’s expression at the moment they were lifting him. Then Nicholas texted the photo to his own number. He’d found his new phone background.”
I don't know if the writer ever plans to make them more than friends or not but I don't mind even if that doesn't happen.
Because I was more than sated in the romance department.
Aiden and Harvard.
*insert insane madwoman fangirling noises*
I am not going to say anything about them other than the fact that they made my day. They are perfect. And I am so invested in them, it's not even funny anymore.
Uh, probably the most unoriginal thing I have read this year.
There is a reason why I do not read a lot of romance, and by roDNF'ed at 70%
*1.5 stars*
Uh, probably the most unoriginal thing I have read this year.
There is a reason why I do not read a lot of romance, and by romance I mean books that are solely romance (I love romance when it is a subplot compared to when it isthe plot) Instead, you would find me often picking up fantasies or thrillers or Sci Fi-s. Because I like fast-paced books with good plots. With fantasy, you can do just about anything with the plot, be as bizarre as you want, build your own fricking world. Fantasy comes with that kind of flexibility where you are allowed to tweak, bend, or create the storyline however you wish to. With contemporary romances, you can only do so much with the plot. They are assembled on the same classic, cliche tropes all the time. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I do not enjoy them. They have their own charm. And that charm lies more in interesting characterization, writing style, dialogue and chemistry between the characters rather than the plot.
Sadly, I felt Fake Out lacking in all the above departments. Immensely.
I started Fake Out sometime in May or June? I was in need of something steamy at that point. I didn't really care for the plot much at that time, I just wanted s to read some good steamy stuff so I kept on reading even though I could tell, even then, this was really not something I would read at any other point of time. And the half star is solely because it served its purpose for me then. I wanted to read sexy, and I got that. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't too bad either. However, soon I found myself losing interest very quickly and wanting to pick up other, much more interesting books. It's almost September now, I saw this book the other day lying in my kindly library and thought that I might as well finish it. Sadly, I just could not. I didn't even remember the plot and it just felt like an excruciatingly painful process, even turning the pages.
It was all too bland for me. Especially in the beginning, I just felt so out of touch with the writing. It felt more than a stating of events rather thanstorytelling. It was more like- And this happened, then he said this and then he saw that and he did that. I felt no appeal in the writing style whatsoever. I do not require long, flowery prose. An easy, simple writing style is always a nice and fresh break but it definitely shouldn't feel like a boring account of events. It shouldn't feel so bland. It did get slightly better when the story got a little more bearable, but really not by a huge margin.
The characters were also extremely unoriginal. I do not even remember their names but all I remember is that they just felt like labeled characters on a page. Characters are the most important to me and I need them to be written to life, with whom I relate to and in case of romances, ship, and root for from the bottom of my heart. Instead, I felt nothing, nada. So that was definitely a huge minus for me.
Lastly, the plot. Nothing that I haven't already read too many times before. Obviously almost all contemporary romances (or historical even) are built on the tropes that we haven't already read a bazillion times but when you find a romance that despite being based on the cheesiest of the tropes turns out to be fun and original, you know you got yourself a good one this time. Take Boyfriend Material for example. It's also based on the same fake dating arc but I was in fricking love when I was reading it. To me, Fake Out was just a lot of potential gone to waste....more
