I never know what to do at parties. Seriously, what do I do with my hands? Do I shuffle my feet to this song?
This was cute!
Unfortunately, my reasons for not liking it have more to do with my personal tastes and not against the book itself.
If anything, I thought the message was great, I found Kai relatable (regarding
some personality traits) - and I never related to a male protagonist before, so
this was a big yay for me! - and I enjoyed the cuteness between him and Bryson
(even though I was embarrassed with some awkward scenes haha).
However, contemporary romances tend to have that same old same old cycle of events
that gets... really... tiring. Like, seriously, it's almost always literally
the same chain of events only change some scenarios and names.
I'm especially frustrated when we reach the inevitable "breakup" due
to
misunderstanding/jealousy/characters wanting to "protect" the other
for "their own good".
That cycle of events tends to tire me out and it's part of the reason why I am
currently pretty much aversed to most contemporary romance books (be them YA or
adult). The other reason is that my favorite genre is fantasy romance, and
contemporary romance is basically the opposite of that, the patterns they
follow being very different from one another.
I'm still giving contemporary romance a try every now and then, but since they
mostly end up disappointing me, I don't do it too often.
I would still recommend this book though, it was a fun and quick read, which
I'm sure many people would love, I read it hardly without stopping because it
was really easy to read, it's just that is lacked for me due to personal
tastes, even though I was sure it was going to be amazing because I loved the
beginning. Oh well.
*Spoilers from now on*
I honestly thought we were going to skip that breakup trope in
this book, it really looked like we were and I was happy about it, but then it
did happen (lol), and a character in the story even commented about it (!), by
saying: “You know what trope I really hate is when the main character decides
to give up on the person they love in the name of protecting them. That’s what
you’re doing right now. You’re trying to protect Bryson, but you don’t realize
you’re hurting him instead.” Nice touch, I admit, but if the author was aware
of it, then why do it at all?
Granted, it wasn't as bad of a "breakup" scene as it usually is, it
was more of a "put on hold" due to wanting to protect the other
person, but I was still slightly annoyed at it.
They eventually make up, of course, but often the story ends there and we never
see what, you know, happened after. In this book, the case was especially strong
as it was more of an HFN than a HEA, and I probably shouldn't complain because
this seems like what the author wanted from the story, to make us see how to
live in the moment, BUT the romantic in me tends to disagree *sigh* what can I
say, I love love.
Another point I may add, is that some of the reviews I read here mentioned the story pretty much erasing bisexuality. I have to admit, thinking back, there's truth to that. It really did feel like, if you were going to introduce a character that was potentially bi - Bryson - you should do more than have them throwing it as a possibility in a moment of panic. Also, Kai pretty much always asked himself "Is Byrson gay?" without seeming to consider the possibility that Bryson could be bisexual...? Or Pansexual...?
Lying to those closest to me is exhausting, but at any hint at my possible sexuality, I become a knight protecting his kingdom—armed and ready to defend my secret until the very end, or at least until I’m away at college.
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