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A review by mollyreadsandcrafts
Pansies by Alexis Hall
4.0
Alfie visits his hometown of South Shields and unexpectedly stumbles into Fen. When he realizes Fen is the boy he used to bully, he's wracked with guilt and ready to beg for forgiveness. But Fen has bigger things to deal with than Alfie, and how can Alfie even win him over when the only thing they have in common is this sleepy little northern town?
I really love Alexis Hall's characters and these two are particularly complicated. They are both at a vulnerable place in their lives in a town that feels like home but also carries bad memories.
Alfie realizes his sexuality later in life and has a lot of learned behavior and internalized homophobia he's working through. He's not perfect, but he surrounds himself with pretty amazing friends who push him to be more open and thoughtful without judgement. When he's with Fen he feels he has a safe space to be himself rather than the masculine imagine he tries to portray for the world, especially to his family. Fen is so understanding with Alfie's internal struggles and sees the good man he is at the core.
Fen is a bit prickly at first and doubtful of Alfie's intentions. He's also struggling emotionally with trying to find who he is in the wake of his grief. Alfie is drawn to his quiet determination and fierceness. He not only wants Fen's forgiveness, but to learn who Fen is and show him he deserves everything he wants. They both have a perfect understanding of one another, unexpectedly because of the town they're from and their pasts. They've both grown and are starting a new chapter of their lives where they fit together seamlessly.
Like For Real, as much as I loved the characters and the overall theme the story was kinda slow. I wanted to know what was going to happen, but it just felt like it took forever to get there. Hall's writing is also a little more dense for me but I do enjoy their writing, it's thoughtful and the annotations are so fun to go back and read. I could not be looking more forward to the rest of the Spires series!
Read if you like:
• hurt/comfort
• complicated past
• small town romance
•••••••••••••••••••••
I really love Alexis Hall's characters and these two are particularly complicated. They are both at a vulnerable place in their lives in a town that feels like home but also carries bad memories.
Alfie realizes his sexuality later in life and has a lot of learned behavior and internalized homophobia he's working through. He's not perfect, but he surrounds himself with pretty amazing friends who push him to be more open and thoughtful without judgement. When he's with Fen he feels he has a safe space to be himself rather than the masculine imagine he tries to portray for the world, especially to his family. Fen is so understanding with Alfie's internal struggles and sees the good man he is at the core.
Fen is a bit prickly at first and doubtful of Alfie's intentions. He's also struggling emotionally with trying to find who he is in the wake of his grief. Alfie is drawn to his quiet determination and fierceness. He not only wants Fen's forgiveness, but to learn who Fen is and show him he deserves everything he wants. They both have a perfect understanding of one another, unexpectedly because of the town they're from and their pasts. They've both grown and are starting a new chapter of their lives where they fit together seamlessly.
Like For Real, as much as I loved the characters and the overall theme the story was kinda slow. I wanted to know what was going to happen, but it just felt like it took forever to get there. Hall's writing is also a little more dense for me but I do enjoy their writing, it's thoughtful and the annotations are so fun to go back and read. I could not be looking more forward to the rest of the Spires series!
Read if you like:
• hurt/comfort
• complicated past
• small town romance
•••••••••••••••••••••