Disclaimer: so this novella is part of the new edition of "Waiting for the Flood", for which I received an ARC from Netgalley, but since I loved that one so much, I couldn't stand to write this not-so-positive review in the same section of a book that felt so special to me. So separate reviews it is.

So, where to start. The bundle of these novellas, "Waiting for the Flood" and "Chasing the Light", is the perfect example of why at times Alexis Hall's writing works for me perfectely ("Waiting for the Flood" is my favourite of his to date, and made me cry my eyes out) and why in other instances it doesn't work for me at all.
So yep, I really disliked this novella.
I love redemption arc stories, I really do, and I also love asshole characters that hide behind a mask of hurtful words and unlovable attitudes to protect their squishy, vulnerable hearts and hidden pains. Ash, in "Glitterland", is the perfect example: he's an asshole, he's mean, and he's also depressed, afraid, terrified, lost, and wholly relatable for it.
Marius, in some ways, has a bit of that in him too: he lashes out and makes a ton of mistakes, hides behing stupid, hurtful words and a self-distructive façade, but yeah... I don't know, unlike Ash, I didn't relate to him at ALL (despite the fact that (view spoiler)), and I just didn't like him. Not one bit. He's mean, he's entitled, he's insensitive, he's a brat (and not the fun type), he absolutely does not learn from his mistakes and keeps acting up and being an asshole up until the very end, when he suddenly has a change of heart. Yep, nope, not buying it.

Alexis Hall's humour walks a very fine line between being hilarious and heartfelt and snarky in a good way (i.e. "Ten Things That Never Happened", "Glitterland"), and being so mean it stops being funny; this was the case with Marius. He reminded me of Luc, and if you've read my reviews of Hall's stuff since my ill-fated reading of Husband Material, that is not a good thing.
Also, Leo was... bland. So very unlike Alexis Hall's usually incredible and unforgettable love interests. So not even the romance worked for me.

I'm giving this two stars only because of Marius's parents (I LOVED THEM TO BITS) and the Edwin and Adam crumbs (my precious babies).
Redemption arc? Not achieved.
I'm still excited for "For Real" though.