Reviews

This is genuinely the blandest romance I've ever read. The characters are incredibly dull, and there is just truly nothing interesting happening at any point. There are also very jarring switches in the tone of the narrative where it will switch from serious to awkward to sexual innuendo-esque to very juvenile within a few paragraphs, which made for a really annoying reading experience. On top of all that, the characters, who are in their late twenties, often sound like a bunch of 16-year-olds.

Honestly I was just really excited that I'd found a male/nonbinary adult contemporary romance from a big 5 publisher, but it was a massive disappointment. I can't find any reason to give it anything other than 1 star.

heapsofbirds's review against another edition

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5.0

I love books that teach you things. I love Sydney and their undefined gender and deep commitment to truly communicating who they are and what they need. I love Declan and his humor and gentleness and passion. And I loved how this book talked about love outside of traditional paths and roles and binaries. “The queering of marriage” is such a good descriptor for truly opening up an institution that is based on prescribed gender roles and gendered expectations and gendered experiences. This book explores that idea beautifully and I loved it.

ellie_can_probably_read's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-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

4.5

nina_chan01's review against another edition

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4.0

I'm rating on a curve with this one because I had some issues with how it's written, but it's the sweetest and I love how it puts the importance of communication and finding your own definition of what makes you happy on the forefront.
Poor Declan has so many issues and his friends don't really help when they always make his first introduction to people a poke at the source of those issues. And Sidney is a bit of an enigma that never quite gelled for me, but served as the perfect foil for Declan's neuroses.
In the end, it was more the overall message and Declan and his crazy friends that won me instead of the romance. Not exactly the best endorsement for a romance story, but trust me when I say that it's worth it just to see how well Ripper sets up a message of accepting yourself and being open to communicating your feelings.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for the early read.

satsumabug's review against another edition

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4.0

When I had to stop mid-book to go to bed, I put it down with a huge grin and internal squee of "THIS IS SOOOOO CUTE."

thefreckledbookworm's review against another edition

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5.0

SO MUCH QUEERNESSSSSSS

somethingdumb's review against another edition

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2.0

liked the genderqueer love interest, the friend group dynamics, the emphasis on the importance of communication in a relationship, and the conclusion that not all relationships have to be "romantic" or "traditional" but overall found it boring and wished there was more chemistry/build up between the leads

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